Financial aid payments stopped for 3,500 higher education students
Kela assesses the academic progress of higher education students on a yearly basis. This autumn the academic progress of about 138,000 higher education students was monitored. Based on this, financial aid payments will be stopped for about 3,500 students.
In autumn 2022, more requests to provide further information were sent than last year. One reason for the increase is the increase in the number of recipients of student financial aid in academic year 2021-2022 compared to the preceding academic year.
For an estimated 3,500 students, the student financial aid will be discontinued as of January because the student has not earned enough credits. For about 1,900 of these students, the payments are stopped because they did not reply to the request for further information.
What can students do if financial aid payments are stopped?
If the financial aid payments have been stopped because the student forgot to reply to the request for further information, he or she can request a review of the cancellation decision.
These students are sent a decision letter explaining what they can do to requalify for financial aid. Students can requalify for financial aid if they, after the financial aid payments were stopped, have obtained at least the minimum number of credits required. Students can also be granted financial aid again if there is a valid reason for not completing the required number of credits. Valid reasons include for instance illness or other difficult personal circumstances.
The decision is also accompanied by information about other kinds of support available to students.