Reminder for students in higher education to check that they meet the minimum credit requirements for financial aid
Kela monitors the academic progress of students in higher education on a yearly basis. Students who have not made enough progress with their studies will receive a request for further information. Students who wish to reduce the number of months of financial aid taken into account when monitoring academic progress can pay back financial aid for the spring via OmaKela until 10 September 2023.
Kela monitors the academic progress of students in higher education on a yearly basis. Students have to make sufficient academic progress in order to be entitled to student financial aid. Sufficient academic progress means that the student must complete on average at least 5 credits per month of financial aid, and in any case at least 20 credits over the whole academic year.
For instance if the student has received financial aid for 9 months in the previous academic year, he or she must have completed at least 45 credits. If the number of credits is smaller than 45, the student must have earned on average at least 5 credits per month of financial aid during the entire period of study.
Students who have not made enough progress with their studies will receive a request for further information at the beginning of October.
Time to check if all the credits have been entered in the study record
When monitoring the academic progress this autumn, Kela looks at the credits completed in the previous academic year (1 August 2022-31 July 2023) and, when needed, the credits completed over the whole period of study. The academic year is monitored as a whole, so the credits completed in any individual month are not monitored.
Kela takes into account all the credits completed in higher education studies and the used months of financial aid. The monitoring of academic progress does not apply to general housing allowance payments.
Students should not delay in checking that all their credits have been entered in the study record. If data are missing from the study record, the student should ask the educational institution to enter the missing credits in the study record. In this way, the student can avoid receiving a request for further information in October.
Student financial aid for the spring 2023 can still be paid back via OmaKela in September
If the student has completed fewer credits than required, he or she can pay back financial aid for the spring term (1 January-31 July 2023) via OmaKela. The last day to pay back financial aid is 10 September 2023.
When the student pays back financial aid for the spring term, the number of months of financial aid that are taken into account when monitoring academic progress is reduced.
If the student has received financial aid both in the autumn 2022 and in the spring 2023 and has completed less than 20 credits in the previous academic year, Kela will send the student a request for further information even if the student pays back all the financial aid for the spring 2023. This is because it is no longer possible to return financial aid received in the autumn 2022.
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