Scholarship, Bursary and Grant Regulations of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

Pursuant to Section 36 (2), Act no. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Supplements to some other Acts (The Higher Education Act), the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports registered these Scholarship, Bursary and Grant Regulations of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice under ref. no. MSMT-11444/2017 on May 16, 2017.

SCHOLARSHIP, BURSARY AND GRANT REGULATIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BOHEMIA IN ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE

 

Article 1

Introductory provisions

 

  1. These Scholarship, Bursary and Grant Regulations of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (hereinafter as the “Scholarship Regulations”) regulate the procedure and conditions of awarding scholarships, bursaries and grants to students of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (hereinafter as the “USB”) in accordance with Section 91of the Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Supplements to some other Acts (The Higher Education Act), as amended, (hereinafter as the “Act”). Further details on scholarships, bursaries and grants are determined by the Rector or Dean by an ordinance; these ordinances must be in compliance with these Scholarship Regulations.

 

  1. The scholarship, bursary or grant is awarded to the student by the decision of a dean of the faculty at which the student is enrolled. The decision process of awarding the scholarship, bursary or grant is regulated by Section 68 of the Act and relevant provisions of the Act No. 500/2004 Coll., of the Administrative Procedure Code, as amended. The decision is delivered via the electronic information system of the USB. The delivery to the university email address assigned to the student during enrolment is an integral part of the electronic information system.
  2.  Scholarships, bursaries and grants are disbursed from the Scholarship fund of the USB established pursuant to Section 18 (6), subsection c) of the Act. The Scholarship fund is, in terms of generation and drawing, divided into parts administered by faculties, from earmarked subsidies from the state budget, from earmarked resources of state funds, budgets of regional and municipal authorities and from abroad, from earmarked or institutional support of research, experimental development and innovations from public resources, from the contribution from the state budget provided to the USB pursuant to Section 18 (2), subsection a) of the Act, furthermore, also from income from donations and sales of services and goods.
  3. Apart from scholarships, bursaries and grants according to the Scholarship Regulations, the student may receive a scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Education. Youth and Sports under announced programmes.

 

Article 2

Awarding a scholarship, bursary or grant

 

  1. The following scholarships, bursaries and grants may be awarded to students of the USB who meet relevant conditions:
    1. Merit-based scholarship pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection a) of the Act,
    2. Premium scholarship for excellent research, development and innovation, artistic or other creative results pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection b) of the Act,
    3. Scholarship to support research, development and innovation activities of students pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection c) of the Act,
    4. Bursary pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection d) of the Act,
    5. Bursary pursuant to Section 91 (3) of the Act,
    6. Extraordinary scholarship pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection e) of the Act,
    7. Scholarship for students with special needs for the purpose of providing equal opportunities for learning pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection e) of the Act,
    8. Grant to support the development of co-operation with practice pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection b) and e) of the Act,
    9. Accommodation bursary pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection e) of the Act,
    10. Grant in support of studies abroad pursuant to Section 91 (4), subsection a) of the Act,
    11. Grant in support of studies in the Czech Republic pursuant to Section 91 (4), subsection b) of the Act,
    12. Basic scholarship for students of doctoral degree programmes pursuant to Section 91 (4), subsection c) of the Act.

 

  1. There is no legal claim to awarding a scholarship or bursary or grant in a specific amount.
  2. Scholarships bursaries and grants may be awarded only for such a period and in such an amount that their disbursement is guaranteed by the amount and prescribed structure of the resources that the faculty has available for disbursing scholarships, bursaries and grants.
  3. Scholarships, bursaries and grants are awarded for the maximum period of one academic or calendar year or as one-off scholarships, bursaries and grants.
  4. Awarding one scholarship, bursary or grant does not exclude the option of awarding other scholarships, bursaries or grants displayed in section 1.

 

 

Article 3

Merit-based scholarship

 

  1. A merit-based scholarship pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection a) of the Act may be awarded to full-time students of bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes who met the conditions of courses worth at least 60 credits in total and achieved a weighted study average of 1.60 at the most in the past academic year.
  2. The merit-based scholarship is awarded during the standard length of studies. A dean may award the merit-based scholarship during the standard length of studies increased by up to one year to a student who successfully completed a study at a foreign higher education institution executed under a programme of international study mobilities in the course of studies at the USB.
  3. The amount of the merit-based scholarship and details of the award of the merit-based scholarship are set by the dean in an ordinance.
  4. The merit-based scholarship is awarded by a decision of the dean ex officio on the basis of instigation that is prepared by employees of the department of student affairs of the faculty or another employee of the faculty designated by the dean.

 

Article 4

Premium scholarship

 

  1. A premium scholarship for excellent research, development and innovation, artistic or other creative results pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection b) of the Act may be awarded to students who achieved excellent results in the research, development, innovation or artistic areas or other excellent creative results related to the study. 
  2. The premium scholarship is awarded by the decision of a dean ex officio on the basis of instigation of any member of the academic community of the USB.
  3. The premium scholarship is awarded in the form of a public award. The premium scholarship may be awarded as:
    1. ‘The Rector’s Award’ for excellent results to students of a master’s degree programme who defended their master’s thesis, achieved the assessment “excellent” and concurrently obtained the overall assessment of studies “graduated with honours” and achieved the weighted study average over the course of the entire study of 1.20 at the most;
    2. ‘The Dean’s Award’ according to the rules set by the dean’s ordinance;
    3. Another award according to a decision of the dean or rules set by the dean’s ordinance.
  4. The award of a premium scholarship including the grounds for its award, but excluding the amount of the award, is made public in an oral announcement during a ceremonial promotion or in writing in the public section of the website of the faculty in question.

 

Article 5

Scholarship to support research, development and innovation activities of students

 

  1. A scholarship to support research, development and innovation activities of students pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection c) of the Act may be awarded to students who are actively engaged in researching projects of the Grant Agency of the USB, grant agencies of constituent parts of the USB or in other activities in the area of research, development and innovation executed at the USB.
  2. The scholarship to support research, development and innovation activities of students is awarded by the decision of a dean ex officio on the basis of instigation of an employee of the faculty who is responsible for managing activities in the area of research, development and innovations in which the student is engaged.

 

Article 6

Bursary

 

  1. A bursary pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection d) of the Act may be awarded to full-time students who find themselves in difficult social conditions.
  2. The bursary pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection d) of the Act is awarded by the decision of a dean on the basis of a duly substantiated application of a student. The student must substantiate the grounds for the application. In cases meriting a special consideration, the dean may accept an affidavit of the student concerning the grounds as the substantiation of the grounds.
  3. A bursary pursuant to Section 91 (3) of the Act is awarded to students who qualify for increased child support pursuant to Section 17 of the Act No. 117/1995 Coll., on State Social Support, as amended, should the relevant family income ascertained for the purpose of child support does not exceed the family subsistence level multiplied by a factor of 1.5.
  4. The bursary pursuant to Section 91 (3) of the Act is awarded by the decision of a dean on the basis of an application by the student. The student substantiates the claim to the bursary by written notification, issued at his/her request by the social security office that granted the child support, stating that the family income ascertained for the purpose of child support for the third calendar quarter of the year did not exceed the family subsistence level multiplied by 1.5. The notification for the purpose of awarding the bursary is valid for 21 months from the end of the quarter for which the family income was ascertained. The student may claim the bursary only once during a specific period of time, i.e., only at one higher education institution regardless of the number of degree programmes that the student studies concurrently at the USB or other higher education institutions. The student submits the application substantiated by the written notification of the social security office to the dean via the department of student affairs of the faculty at which the student is enrolled. It shall be submitted after enrolment or as soon as the claim to the bursary arises, should the claim arise in the course of the study.
  5. The bursary pursuant to Section 91 (3) is awarded for the standard length of studies for ten months in the academic year. The bursary is not awarded for the months of July and August. Should the student meet the conditions of the claim to the bursary only for a part of a calendar month, the bursary is awarded in the amount that appertains to the whole calendar month. The bursary is disbursed in three instalments, i.e., for the period of January to March, April to June, September to December. The amounts of instalments and the dates of their payment are set by the Rector by an ordinance.

 

Article 7

Extraordinary scholarship

 

  1. An extraordinary scholarship pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection e) of the Act may be awarded to students in cases meriting special consideration.
  2. The extraordinary scholarship is awarded by the decision of a dean ex officio on the basis of instigation of any member of the academic community of the USB or on the basis of a duly substantiated application of a student.

 

Article 8

Scholarship for students with special needs

 

  1. A scholarship for students with special needs for the purpose of providing equal opportunities for learning pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection e) of the Act may be awarded to students with disabilities or handicaps.
  2. The scholarship for students with special needs is awarded by a decision of the dean ex officio on the basis of instigation that is prepared by the Support Centre for Students with Special Needs of the USB on the basis of documents provided by the student proving disabilities or handicaps and on the basis of an objective need of compensation of increased expenses related to studies.

 

Article 9

Grant to support the development of co-operation with practice

 

  1. A grant to support the development of cooperation with practice pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection b) and e) may be awarded to students engaged in activities developing co-operation of the USB, or a faculty, and practice relevant to the area of education in question as defined by the Government Decree No. 274/2016 Coll., on Standards for Accreditation in Higher Education.
  2. The grant to support the development of co-operation with practice is awarded by a decision of the dean ex officio on the basis of instigation of a member of the academic community of the USB assigned to the management of activities of the development of co-operation with practice as defined by the Government Decree No. 274/2016 Coll., on Standards for Accreditation in Higher Education, in which the student is engaged.

 

Article 10

Accommodation bursary

 

  1. An accommodation bursary pursuant to Section 91 (2), subsection e) of the Act may be awarded to students of a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree programme who study full-time, have not achieved a higher education degree in the programme of the type in question, have not exceeded the standard length of studies in none of concurrently studied degree programmes that they are potentially enrolled in and who do not have their permanent residence in the county where their studies are located.
  2. For the purposes of ascertaining whether the student meets the conditions according to section 1, the time of studies in previous bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes that were terminated differently than duly pursuant to Section 45 (3) or Section 46 (3) of the Act, unless it is a prior study after the termination of which the student duly completed a degree programme of the same type, is included in the length of studies. The period in which the student studied in such degree programmes or in such degree programmes and concurrently in the current degree programme are included in the length of studies only once. However, the recognised parental leave period, as defined by Section 21 (1), subsection f) of the Act, will be discounted from the total length of studies calculated according to this section first.
  3. The accommodation bursary may be awarded to students, who meet the conditions outlined in section 1, even during the period of studies at a foreign higher education institution executed during studies at the USB under a programme of international study mobilities. The accommodation bursary may also be awarded to students of a foreign higher education institution, who are also students of the USB, during studies at the USB executed under a programme of international study mobilities.
  4. Students receiving a grant in support of studies in the Czech Republic pursuant Section 91 (4), subsection b) of the Act, international students studying under AKTION and CEEPUS programmes and students who were awarded a scholarship or bursary by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports pursuant to Section 91 (6) of the Act are not entitled to the accommodation bursary.
  5. The fact that conditions for awarding the accommodation bursary according to section 1 are met is verified on the basis of information recorded in the Database of Union Information from Students’ Registers (hereinafter as the “SIMS”).
  6. The bursary is awarded for a bursary period that is usually identical with a calendar year. In the case that a student submits an application for an accommodation bursary in the course of the calendar year in question, the bursary period begins with the month in which the application was submitted. It is possible to award the accommodation bursary to students, who meet conditions for the award of the accommodation bursary according to sections 1 to 3, only for the part of the bursary period during which they meet these conditions in the proportional amount according to the number of months in which they meet the conditions while a month in which the students met the conditions for 15 or more days is also considered to be a full month.
  7. The amount of the accommodation bursary is set by the Rector by an ordinance. The accommodation bursary is disbursed in quarterly instalments, the dates of payment of which are set by the Rector by an ordinance, always after the relevant time for meeting the conditions of an award of the accommodation bursary for the last month of the instalment quarter has elapsed, i.e., after the 15th day of the relevant month at the earliest.
  8. Pursuant article 10 (6) and article 2 (4), the accommodation bursary for the first bursary period is awarded by the decision of a dean on the basis of an application of the student. Should the student also meet the conditions for the award of the accommodation bursary according to sections 1 to 3 in the following bursary periods, the bursary is awarded by a decision of the dean ex officio for these following bursary periods.

 

Article 11

Grant in support of studies abroad

 

  1. A grant in support of studies abroad pursuant to Section 91 (4), subsection a) of the Act may be awarded to students who actively participate in a programme of international study mobilities at the USB and, at the same time, have not exceeded the standard length of study increased by 1 year.
  2. The grant in support of studies abroad is awarded by the decision of a dean ex officio on the basis of instigation of a faculty coordinator of programmes of international study mobilities or on the basis of a duly substantiated application of a student.

 

Article 12

Grant in support of studies in the Czech Republic

 

  1. A grant in support of studies in the Czech Republic pursuant to Section 91 (4), subsection b) of the Act may be awarded to students enrolled in degree programmes executed in a foreign language.
  2. The grant in support of studies in the Czech Republic is awarded by the decision of a dean ex officio.

 

Article 13

Basic scholarship for students of doctoral degree programmes

 

  1. Basic scholarship for students of doctoral degree programmes pursuant to Section 91 (4), subsection c) of the Act may be awarded to students of a doctoral degree programme who study full-time and at the same time have not exceeded the standard length of studies increased by 1 year. All periods of previous unsuccessful studies in doctoral degree programmes will also be included in the length of studies.
  2. The amount of the scholarship and details of awarding the basic scholarship for students of doctoral degree programmes are set by a dean by an ordinance.
  3. The basic scholarship for students of doctoral degree programmes is awarded ex officio by the dean.

 

Article 14

Payment of scholarships, bursaries and grants

 

  1. The student is entitled to the payment of the awarded scholarship, bursary or grant and the amount of the awarded scholarship, bursary or grant cannot be lowered during the period of validity of the decision if the grounds for the award of the scholarship, bursary or grant did not change. The student is required to notify the dean about every change in details that were used for the substantiation of the application for the award of the scholarship, bursary or grant within 8 days.
  2. The scholarship, bursary or grant is paid via cashless transfer to a bank account denominated in Czech koruna, the number of which the student has displayed for these purposes in his/her personal record in IS STAG.
  3. Every student is obliged to ensure the display of a correct, complete and current account number in his/her personal record in IS STAG. Should the student not fulfil this duty even on the basis of a formal notice made by the department of student affairs of the faculty within the prescribed period, the payment to the student will be suspended until the duty is fulfilled. In substantiated cases, the dean may allow the payment of the scholarship, bursary or grant in cash at the cash-desk of the faculty upon a request of the student.
  4. The date of payment of the scholarship, bursary or grant or its individual instalments and the notification of the duty according to section 3 are an integral requisite of a decision on the award of a scholarship, bursary or grant.
  5. The payment of a scholarship, bursary or grant that was not awarded as a one-off scholarship, bursary or grant, or the payment of a scholarship, bursary or grant awarded in accordance with articles 5, 6 (1 & 2), 8, 9, 11 or 12 is suspended should the person who was awarded the scholarship, bursary or grant lose the student status under the law.
  6. Should the student enrol again after interrupting his/her studies within the period for which he/she was awarded a scholarship, bursary or grant before interrupting his/her studies, an entitlement arises to renewed payments of the scholarship, bursary or grant awarded earlier.
  7. The payment of a scholarship, bursary or grant may be suspended in the case of not fulfilling student obligations pursuant to Section 63 of the Act or in the case of a disciplinary offence pursuant to Section 64 of the Act. After the inquiry is finished, the dean decides on further payments of the scholarship, bursary or grant awarded earlier.
  8. The student is required to reimburse a scholarship, bursary or grant that was paid wrongfully, in particular, on the basis of incorrect information or on the basis of not meeting the condition outlined in section 1. The date of reimbursement, manner and method of reimbursement of the scholarship, bursary or grant are set by the dean by a decision.

 

Article 15

Final provisions

 

  1. The Scholarship, Bursary and Grant Regulations of the USB registered by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on June 24, 2014, under ref. no. MSMT-23075/2014, as amended, is, hereby, rescinded.
  2. These Scholarship, Bursary and Grant Regulations were approved pursuant to Section 9 (1), subsection b) (3) of the Act by the Academic Senate of the USB on March 7, 2017.
  3. These Scholarship, Bursary and Grant Regulations come into force pursuant to Section 36 (4) of the Act on the day of registration by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

 

doc. Tomáš Machula, Ph.D., Th.D., v.r.

Rector

 

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