University of Silesia in Katowice

The social allowance may be granted to a student in a difficult financial situation, whose family’s income per capita does not exceed the threshold of 1.6 sum of the amounts stipulated in the Act of 28 November 2003 on Family Benefits [Ustawa z dnia 28 listopada 2003 r. o świadczeniach rodzinnych]. The amount of the allowance is determined by the Rector—in agreement with the Student Government—at the end of October (for the winter semester of a given academic year) and in March (for the summer semester).

A student’s financial situation is determined on the basis of a monthly income per each member of a student’s family. The monthly amount of income per capita in the family of a student applying for the social allowance is determined in accordance with the Act of 28 November 2003 on Family Benefits. If the monthly income per capita in a family does not exceed PLN 600.00 (the amount set in the social welfare system), the application for the social allowance shall include a social welfare certificate attached, issued by the Social Welfare Centre or the Centre for Social Services stating that the student or members of their family have benefited from social allowance in the year of submitting the application.

A student may receive a higher amount of the social allowance in particularly justified cases. Such allowance is granted, in particular, to a student who is an orphan or has reached the legal age in foster custody.

Social allowance is granted at the student’s formal request. The application filled out via USOSweb shall be printed out and submitted along with the required documentation to the Dean’s Office 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 allowance is granted by the Dean or Vice-Dean under the authority of the Rector.

According to the Act of 20 July 2018: The Law on Higher Education and Science, when determining the amount of the income entitling a student to apply for the social allowance, the following incomes shall be taken into account:

• of the student;
• of the student’s spouse;
• of the student’s parents, legal or factual guardians;
• of underage children, children in education up to 26 (or until the end of the studies if the student reaches 26 in the last year of their studies), and disabled children, regardless of age, who are dependent on the aforementioned persons.

A student who does not maintain a common household with any of their parents, or legal or factual guardians may apply for a social allowance without the need to prove the income earned by these people and children dependent on them if they meet one of the following criteria:

• have reached the age of 26;
• are married;
• have dependent children;
• have reached the legal age while in foster custody;
• have a permanent source of income and their average monthly income in the previous tax year and in the current year is higher than or equals 1.15 of the sum of the amounts specified in Article 5(1) and Article 6(2)(3) of the Act of 28 November 2003 on Family Benefits.

The student shall submit a declaration confirming that they do not maintain a common household with any of their parents, or legal or factual guardians.

Maintaining a common household means being partly or fully dependent on the person with whom the household is maintained. The circumstances of maintaining a common household also include other constituents, including incurring accommodation fees, providing care in illness, performing ordinary activities related to running a household or disposing of a joint income to meet living needs.

The fact that a student lives independently outside their family home is not unequivocal with the fact that they do not maintain a common household with any of their parents, or legal or factual guardians.

When the monthly amount of income per capita in the family of a student applying for the social allowance is determined, the following are not counted into the income:

• benefits received pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 20 July 2018: The Law on Higher Education and Science (e.g., social allowance, the Rector’s Scholarship, the Minister’s Scholarship);
• scholarships granted to pupils, students and PhD students within the framework of:
  • Structural Funds of the European Union,
  • non-recoverable funds granted as aid by European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Member States,
  • international agreements or implementation programmes prepared in relation to the aforementioned agreements or international scholarship programmes (e.g. Erasmus+ grant);
• financial benefits for students received on the basis of regulations concerning the education system (e.g., school scholarship);
• social allowances awarded by other entities referred to in Article 21(1)(40)(b) of the Act of 26 July 1991 on Personal Income Tax [Ustawa z dnia 26 lipca 1991 r. o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych] (e.g., scholarships awarded by the ‘Dzieło Nowego Tysiąclecia’ Foundation);
• family benefits with bonuses, social welfare benefits, benefits within the Family 500+ programme;
• direct payments for farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union.

Each student applying for the social allowance is obliged to submit:

• certificates issued by the tax office appropriate to the student and the student’s family members stating income subject to personal income tax according to Articles 27, 30(b), 30(c), 30(e) and 30(f) of the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax;
• certificates issued by the tax office appropriate to the members of the student’s family who pay flat-rate tax under the tax regulations concerning certain income earned by natural persons, which present the income earned in the calendar year preceding the academic year;
• statements of the student and the student’s family members on the income not subject to personal income tax earned in the calendar year preceding the academic year;
• the student and the student’s family members’ certificates presenting the amount of health insurance contributions paid in the calendar year preceding the academic year.

The student is not entitled to have the social allowance granted in the case they hold a Master’s degree, also if it was obtained abroad. The student is not entitled to have the social allowance granted in the case they hold a Bachelor’s degree and start the 1st cycle studies once again.

All benefits, including the social allowance, 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:

1. a) 1st cycle studies for no longer than 9 semesters,
2. 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 student is enrolled in more degree programmes, the social allowance may be granted in only one programme of the student’s choice.