Long-term tuition fees

Remission options for disabled and chronically ill students

Proof and personal statement required

The long-term tuition fee can be waived in full or in part on application by the student in individual cases if the collection of the fee would lead to undue hardship. Undue hardship is generally deemed to exist in the case of the effects of a disability or chronic illness that extend the duration of studies(§ 14 sentence 2 no. 1 NHG).

How does the proof work?

In order to provide proof of a disability or chronic illness, students must submit a medical certificate from a public health officer stating the period for which they are or were only able to study "to a limited extent" and for what reasons. It is even desirable to specify the exact percentage of the impairment of the ability to study. Under no circumstances is it sufficient to simply state the diagnosis and the diagnosis(es) need not be included in the medical certificate. In other words: The medical officer is the authority who has the medical documents and who can and may write the certificate without stating a diagnosis.
If you have a disability or illness that permanently restricts your studies, you can also apply for exemption for a longer period than one semester. As an official medical certificate is unfortunately subject to a fee for students (€30 to over €100, depending on the cost), you should try to obtain it for several semesters in advance. The medical officer at the first place of residence is responsible. The medical officers themselves can obtain information on the subject of exemption from long-term tuition fees from the Enrolment Office and the Disability Counselling Service at the Studierendenwerk.

An official medical certificate is not necessary if the degree of disability is at least 50% according to the severely disabled person's pass. In this case, the students themselves must explain in a letter for which period they are or were only able to study "to a limited extent" and for what reasons (see above).

Further information and contact persons

The University of Oldenburg provides detailed information on its homepage about the possibilities of a hardship application for long-term tuition fees and names the contact persons.

The contact persons for hardship applications at the Jade University of Applied Sciences are the persons otherwise responsible for students in the I and P Office. You can download the application form here.
The contact person at Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences is Ms Riemann. You can download the application form here.

 

It is advisable to consult the disability counsellor, as she is in regular contact with the Admissions Office and the other counselling centres and is therefore informed about the current approval process.

You can also find clear information on enrolment costs, study credits and long-term fees here.