1. Background

Each year the Director of Research and Enterprise (R&E) distributes four types of Master scholarships:

  1. Industry Scholarships – the application selection process is managed by the Director R&E
  2. Masters Scholarships Programme Base – the application selection process is managed by the relevant Academic Programme Managers (APMs)
  3. Masters Scholarships for Māori Students – the application selection process is managed by the Director of Māori success
  4. Masters Scholarships for Pacific Students – the application selection process is managed by the Director of Pacific success
  5. Director R&E anticipates that the scholarships will be used as a recruitment tool for supporting talented students who might not otherwise choose/be able to study at Unitec.

 

2. Funding Available

The level of support given to individual students is at the discretion of the Director R&E, APMs, or Director of Māori and Pacific success, i.e., the total amount allocated for the scholarships could go to one student or be split between students.

2.1 Payment of scholarship(s):

  • The payment will be made directly to the student’s allocated bank account after week 4 of the start of the semester.
  • Payment will be made once proof of enrollment and payment of fees have been provided unless the students opt to have the scholarship used to pay the fees.
  • The student can opt for the scholarship payment towards the student’s fees for the semester immediately after the Scholarship is awarded. Any scholarship funds remaining after fee payment for a given student will be deposited to the student’s allocated bank account.

 

3. Criteria

Domestic and international students studying full-time or part-time are eligible at a minimum they must:

  • have an offer of place in a Unitec Masters Programme.
  • have committed themselves to completing a research thesis of at least 90 credits.
  • have a minimum average grade – as given below – or equivalent in all previous studies at Level 7 or above;

a.minimum grade of B+ for programme level scholarships
b. minimum grade of B for Māori and Pacific scholarships
c. minimum grade of B- for industry scholarships

  • Provisional grades can be used to calculate the GPA if necessary.
  • Full-time Unitec staff are not eligible for these scholarships.

Tūāpapa Rangahau must be advised at the earliest opportunity if there are no students who meet the above eligibility criteria.

Where a number of applications are received from students in a particular programme, all of whom meet the criteria, a transparent process for application and selection must be put in place by the directors or APMs at their discretion.

Applicants must declare any other scholarships they have received, have applied for, or intend to apply for. Directors or APMs have the discretion to allocate or not allocate scholarships to students who hold other scholarships.

In instances where students fail to meet scholarship deadlines due to technical enrolment issues or other factors caused by Unitec, which are outside of their control, the Programme, Priority Group, and Industry Scholarship review panels may exercise discretion with their decision to include or exclude the individual concerned. These groups should report this discretion back to the PGRSC for the purposes of systems improvement.

 

4. Scholarship Acceptance Requirement

For the scholarship to be awarded the successful applicants must sign the Scholarship Terms and Conditions document while providing any required supporting documents; for example, proof of enrolment or documentary proof of bank account number.

 

5. Other obligations and conditions

  • The offer of the scholarship is made subject to all information provided by the Recipient being true and accurate.
  • By accepting the offer of the scholarship, each recipient agrees to the Scholarship Terms and Conditions.
  • The offer of the scholarship is only valid for the intake defined in the scholarship letter of offer and cannot be deferred.
  • The recipient is responsible for advising the Director or APM of any changes in circumstances that would make him/her ineligible for continuation of the Scholarship, e.g. unenrolled in a programme.
  • By accepting the offer of the scholarship, each recipient agrees to allow for their personal information to be provided to Unitec (or any third party engaged by Unitec) to use that information (names, photos, and images) for marketing and promotional purposes without further compensation.

 

6. Termination of Recipient’s Scholarship

The Scholarship will terminate:

  • If the recipient ceases to meet the eligibility criteria; or
  • If the recipient breaches any regulations of the scholarship; or
  • If Unitec determines that the student is guilty of misconduct and after consultation with Tuapapa Rangahau, deems that it is not appropriate for the recipient to continue to hold the scholarship.
  • The Scholarship may terminate if the recipient ceases to meet the eligibility criteria or breaches any Regulations of the scholarship after the start of Semester 1 or 2, Unitec may require any Scholarship payment(s) already made (above the $5,000) to be reimbursed to Unitec.

 

7. Responsibilities

The Directors and APMs are responsible for:

  • Promoting the availability of scholarships to eligible students and answering any queries from students about the availability and terms and conditions of the scholarships.
  • Setting a deadline for applications that will enable Tūāpapa Rangahau to pay out the scholarship(s) in time.
  • Assessing applications received from students enrolled in their programme(perhaps in conjunction with their Programme Academic Quality Committee).
  • Informing applicants and Tūāpapa Rangahau of the outcome of their applications(whether approved or declined).
  • Obtaining the signed acceptance of the scholarship(s) terms and condition document from successful applicants, including any supporting documents.
  • Forwarding the successful applicant’s signed acceptance of the scholarship(s) terms and condition document to Tūāpapa Rangahau together with the required supporting documentation.

Tūāpapa Rangahau will provide the appropriate templates for this purpose but will not take responsibility for these tasks. Tūāpapa Rangahau will make payments directly to cover fees, as well as directly to students (in the event the scholarship amount exceeds fee costs). The Director’s/APM’s decision on scholarship applications will be final and binding.

 

8. Timeframes

The Directors and APMs must have allocated their available scholarships and undertaken all of their responsibilities in time. Failure to do so may result in the forfeiture of any unallocated scholarships.

Approved at the April 2021 PGRSC meeting.