Student Finance

Essex Opportunity Scholarship

Terms and conditions applicable to 2010/11 entry

These terms and conditions apply to scholarships awarded to students entering the University in October 2010. These terms and conditions do not apply to any other year of entry.

1.1  Eligibility – undergraduate students

To be eligible for the Essex Opportunity Scholarship undergraduate students must meet all of the following conditions:

• they must register for a Bachelors degree at the University of Essex;
• they must be nationals of one of the following countries:
  • Bulgaria
  • Estonia
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Poland
  • Romania
• they must be ordinarily resident in one of the above-named countries (see paragraph 11 for definition of ordinary residence).

Any student who does not meet all the above conditions will not be eligible for the Essex Opportunity Scholarship.

1.2  Eligibility – postgraduate taught students

To be eligible for the Essex Opportunity Scholarship postgraduate students must meet all of the following conditions:

• they must register for a full-time or part-time Masters degree (MA, MSc, LLM, MRes, MEnv, MPEM, MPH, MFA) at the University of Essex;
•  they must be nationals of one of the following countries:
  • Bulgaria
  • Estonia
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Poland
  • Romania
• They must be ordinarily resident in one of the above-named countries (see paragraph 11 for definition of ordinary residence).

Any student who does not meet all the above conditions will not be eligible for the Essex Opportunity Scholarship.

Masters students who register for part-time study will be eligible for half the scholarship (£500) in each year of study.

Students who register for modular study at Masters level are not eligible.

Students who register for a research-based Masters (MAD, MSD, MPhil) or a PhD programme are not eligible.

2. Award notification

Scholarships will be awarded to eligible students at the end of their first term at the University of Essex. Acceptance of the scholarship constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions. A scholarship will not commence until the student formally registers on a relevant course at the University of Essex.

3. Value

Each scholarship is worth £1,000 per full-time year of study (or £500 per part-time year of study for Masters students). Further payments of £1,000 per year (or £500 per part-time year of study for Masters students) are available for students enrolled on courses which last longer than one year. Payments in the second and subsequent years of a student's registration will be dependent on academic achievement in the previous year (see paragraph 5).

4. Transferability

Change of course within the University of Essex will not affect the continuation of a scholarship, providing that the student continues to be registered on an eligible course as defined in paragraphs 1.1 and 1.2 above.

5. Suspension of Scholarship

Undergraduate students and part-time Masters students must satisfy the normal academic requirements of their first year of study for progression to be eligible for payment in the next year of study. This also applies for progression from years two to three and years three to four (if applicable). If a student is required to repeat a year of study or to resit out of residence, the scholarship will be suspended for the period of the repeat year or year out of residence. The scholarship will be re-instated for subsequent years of study up to the standard number of years to complete the course.

6. Termination of Scholarship

The scholarship will be terminated if a student ceases to be registered as a student with the University, or for good cause at the discretion of the Dean of the student's Faculty, or his/her nominee for this purpose.

7. Payments

Payments will be made part-way through the year, in one or two instalments, by cheque or other means, at a date chosen by the University. No payments will be made until after 1 December 2010.

8. Intermission

In the event that a student is given formal permission to interrupt his/her studies part-way through an academic year (intermit), the scholarship will be suspended for the remainder of the academic year. Payment for the subsequent year will be made at an appropriate point in the academic year unless there are circumstances which deem that the student is no longer eligible for the scholarship. This decision will be taken by the Dean of the Faculty, or his/her nominee for this purpose.

9. Retrospective payments

No retrospective payments will be made to students who registered at the University prior to October 2010.

10. Resolution of disputes

In cases not covered by the above terms and conditions, or where a student claims exceptional circumstances, or disputes a decision not to make payments due under a scholarship, the Academic Registrar or his/her nominee will review the case and his/her decision will be final.

11. Definition of Ordinary Residence

For the purposes of assessing eligibility for the Essex Opportunity Scholarship, ordinary residence will be defined as follows:

• the student must have been ordinarily resident in one of the relevant EU countries for the three-year period prior to the commencement of the course; ordinarily resident means that the student must have been habitually, normally and lawfully residing in one of the relevant EU countries (see paragraphs 1.1 and 1.2 above) from choice for the three-year period; 
• the three-year period prior to the commencement of the course is calculated as follows:
  • for courses starting in October 2010: 1 September 2007 - 1 September 2010;
• temporary absences during the three-year period prior to the commencement of the course may be permitted at the discretion of the relevant University officer.

Please note that in some cases, it may be necessary for the student to provide documentary evidence in order to determine ordinary residence in the relevant EU country for the three-year period prior to the commencement of his/her course. Where necessary, an assessment of whether the student meets the ordinary residence criteria will normally be made by the Head of Admissions or his/her nominee, and his/her decision will be final.

last updated: 10 February 2010.