Poland 2013/14 - student fees and grants

National student fee

Students pay administrative fees which include the issue of student ID cards, student record books and diplomas. Fee amounts are defined annually by the Minister of Science and Higher Education. Students also pay a fee related to enrolment procedures. The maximum possible amount of this fee is defined annually by the Minister, while the actual amounts are decided by rectors of individual higher education institutions (HEIs). The amount of the fees altogether is approximately PLN 170. The amount is paid once per cycle not every year.

Tuition fees, set by public higher education institutions, are generally paid by part-time students only with exemptions and reductions possible mainly on the basis of low economic status or excellent results. Detailed rules regulating the actual amounts of tuition fees and the mode and conditions for exemptions are laid out by the senates of particular institutions.

Full-time students in public HEIs pay fees only if they repeat a study course due to unsatisfactory academic results.

Students from the EU and EFTA countries and some other defined categories of students (e.g. students with refugee status) study according to the same rules as Polish citizens. Fees for international students other than these are decided by the senates of individual HEIs.

Student grants

Financial support is granted to students in the following forms: a needs-based grant available for students with a low personal/family income, a needs-based grant available for students with disability, emergency grant/ allowance and merit-based grant for best students. The income threshold to be eligible for need-based grants for students with low family income is PLN 592.80-850.20 per person per year (from 1 November 2012).

The average amount of the need-based grant is PLN 2 783 (2011). The average amount of the merit-based grant is PLN 1 035 with a maximum of PLN 14 000.

Loans

Loans of PLN 6 000/year may be taken out in any cycle for those students whose personal income is below net PLN 2 300/month (in 2012). The state guarantees part of the loans for low income students: students with family income of PLN 600/month per person have been granted a 100 % guarantee of their loan and students with a family income of PLN 1 000/month a 70 % guarantee.

Tax benefit for student's parents

Tax benefits for parents/guardians of students in the form of tax relief of PLN 1 112.04 per child per year in 2011, if families receive a care allowance or other social benefits and/or the student did not earn a taxable income (including capital gains) exceeding PLN 3 089/year.

Family allowances

Family allowance based on low income of parents or disability of a student.