Speech by the Secretary of State for Higher Education at the Conference on "National Strategy for the Social Dimension in Higher Education – Evaluation and Perspectives"
The guiding principle is equal opportunity: no student should be prevented from entering or completing higher education for economic reasons. The model is built on:
Transparency: Ensures that individuals have access to information about the scholarship system and that the system is easy to understand.
Simplicity: Ensures that scholarship allocation is as simple as possible, minimizing the use of resources and time by applicants.
Consistency: Ensures a consistent definition of financial need across different systems (social security, tax authority).
Communication: Ensures that students and families have access to the information.
Its allocation guidelines include:
• real student costs;
• the concept of student disposable income;
• fully progressive support;
• predictability for prospective students;
• interoperable systems with social security and tax authorities.