Allowance for People with Disabilities
The allowance for people with disabilities may be awarded to a student holding a certificate confirming disability issued by a competent authority. This benefit is granted at the student’s formal request submitted via USOSweb by the 10th day of the month. If the application is submitted by the 10th day of the given month, the allowance is paid out for the month in which the application was submitted; if the application is submitted after that date – the allowance is paid out in the following month without any compensation for the previous month.
The decision on granting the allowance is made by the Dean or Vice-Dean under the authority of the Rector.
The application shall have appended one out of three documents:
- a certificate stating the degree of disability issued by the powiat, municipal or voivodeship Disability Assessment Board,
or - a certificate of inability to work issued by the Social Insurance Institution [ZUS] on the basis of legal provisions on pensions and invalidity pensions paid from the Social Insurance Fund [Fundusz Ubezpieczeń Społecznych], or
- a certificate of disability.
The allowance for people with disabilities is granted for one semester but no longer than for the period of the certificate’s validity. If the validity of the appended certificate expires during the semester, the payment of an allowance will cease to be paid from the next month after the expiry of the certificate.
When a new certificate, being the continuation of the previous one, is obtained, the student is entitled to compensation for the period that has elapsed since the expiry date of the previous certificate, provided that the new certificate states continuous disability.
The amount of the allowance for people with disabilities depends on the type of disability stated in the certificate. The highest amount of allowance may be granted to students with a significant degree of disability, first disability class or total inability to work and live independently. An adequately lower amount of allowance may be granted to students with a moderate degree of disability, second disability class or total inability to work. The lowest amount of allowance may be granted to students with a mild degree of disability, third disability class or partial inability to work.
The student is not entitled to have the financial aid granted in the case they hold a Master’s degree, also if it was obtained abroad. The student is not entitled to have the allowance granted in the case they hold a Bachelor’s degree and start the 1st cycle studies once again.
All benefits, including the allowance for people with disabilities, are subject to certain rules:
1) they are granted for the 1st cycle, 2nd cycle, and long-cycle studies;
2) they may be granted for the total period of 12 semesters, regardless of whether a student receives them or not, provided that the benefits within this period may be granted during:
- a) 1st cycle studies for no longer than 9 semesters,
b) 2nd cycle studies for no longer than 7 semesters;
3) the total period stipulated in point 2 is longer by 2 semesters when a student is enrolled in long-cycle studies, which last for a total of 11 or 12 semesters according to legal regulations;
4) the period stipulated in points 2 and 3 takes into account all semesters started by a student during studies stipulated in point 1, including the semesters on leave stipulated in Article 85(1)(3) of the Act of 20 July 2018: The Law on Higher Education and Science, except for semesters of subsequent 1st cycle studies started or continued after receiving the first Bachelor’s degree, Engineer’s degree or their equivalent. In the event a student is enrolled in more degree programmes at a time, the semesters taking place simultaneously count as one semester;
In the event a disability has occurred during studies or after receiving a degree, a student may receive the allowance for people with disabilities for an additional period of 12 semesters. The rules stipulated in points 2 and 4 apply accordingly.
In the event a student is enrolled in more degree programmes, the allowance for people with disabilities may be granted in only one programme of the student’s choice.