From the Vice-Chancellor
Student 2024 fee debt appeals and financial assistance for 2025
08 January 2025
Dear colleagues and students
1. Introduction
The University of Cape Town (UCT) has always prioritised the provision of student funding as one of its transformation goals. Over the years, significant funding has been provided to assist academically and financially deserving undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the last several years, the university has faced a cut in external funding, particularly from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the National Research Fund (NRF). There have also been some donors, including corporate entities that have either reduced or dropped student financial aid support owing to the difficult economic conditions, as well as shifts in the geopolitical landscape. The funding provided in 2024 is R200 million less than what was anticipated. In our effort to assist as many deserving students as possible, our projection for 2024 shows that at least R1.7 billion (audited) has been spent by several key financial aid sponsors in support of UCT students. Key to this support is still NSFAS, the NRF, UCT’s own funding, including departmental awards, other government entities, South African corporates, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foundations, trusts, donors, and our alumni. R1.2 billion was designated for undergraduate funding, with the other R500 million set aside for postgraduate funding.
The support provided to undergraduate students has decreased over the last two years, however, close to 50% of undergraduate and 30% of postgraduate students still receive funding support. One of the most important funders for undergraduate students is NSFAS. There have been significant changes in NSFAS funding policy, which includes academic progression requirements for renewal of funding. All funders have academic requirements and NSFAS has now included such a requirement for renewal of funding.
The most notable change in NSFAS funding policy is the cap imposed on the amount of funds NSFAS will allocate to funded students for accommodation. The NSFAS capping of accommodation has had a significant impact on the university for NSFAS funded students. The university has actively worked on finding ways to mitigate the impact of this funding shortfall on students, but the shortfall amount has been too significant – the shortfall is over a R110 million – resulting in fee debt. Where it has been possible, funds raised have been used to assist as many students as possible that meet the funders criteria with a contribution towards the shortfall.
Students and applicants to UCT are encouraged to apply to as many sources of funding so as to mitigate the NSFAS accommodation funding shortfall. The university will also continue with its fundraising initiatives to help mitigate the impact of this shortfall. However, we anticipate that this shortfall will not be covered given the current economic challenges and that many students will face a fee debt related to the NSFAS funding accommodation cap. We therefore, appeal to all internal and external parties (including our alumni) who are able to assist the university financially towards meeting the funding shortfall for NSFAS students, to contact the Development and Alumni Department (DAD).
Information on other sources of funding is available on the financial aid website’s Bursary and Loan noticeboard, the Careers Service Portal and the bursary handbook. As this is not an exhaustive list of other funding opportunities, students are encouraged to continue searching for legitimate funding sources.
Notwithstanding the 2024 funding challenges, the university remains committed to trying to assist current financially needy students who are in good academic standing that have a 2024 fee debt so that they can complete their studies within our approved financial aid policies. We have therefore set aside a fee debt appeals budget for this purpose. In addition to the fee debt appeals budget, Council approved total allowable debt at the time of registration to be R10 000 for continuing students that were registered in 2024. However, any debt will continue to attract monthly interest, and it is therefore important to minimise any debt. All other fee payment policies remain unchanged as they apply to initial payment, Southern African Development Community (SADC) and international students’ registration requirements.
2. Undergraduate financial assistance for Registration Relief Measure qualifiers
2.1 Undergraduate NSFAS Funded Students
The university has a limited budget available for appeals, and due to the NSFAS accommodation cap, this budget allocation will be utilised to reduce the fee debt of NSFAS funded students who
- were NSFAS funded and paid for on 10 December 2024
- have a debt greater than R9 999 – the Council limit that allows for registration in the next academic year (excludes GAP funded students)
- have a CONT academic standing status
- meet NSFAS funding renewal criteria for 2025
- have not exceeded N+1 years of study
NSFAS funded students that meet the above criteria are ranked in debt size. Assistance will be provided to reduce debt to R9 999 from the smallest debt until the available budget is exhausted.
2.2 NSFAS funded students who do not meet the above criteria will receive a Registration Relief Measure on the following criteria:
- meets NSFAS funding renewal criteria for 2025
- has not exceeded N+2 years of study
Students who meet the eligibility for 2.1 and 2.2 above will automatically be able to register for 2025 where the criteria have been met.
2.3 NSFAS funded students eligible for NSFAS Academic Appeal
The NSFAS provides for an appeals mechanism for students who lost their funding and can submit an appeal to NSFAS to substantiate their case for reinstatement of funding. These include the following categories of students:
- lost NSFAS funding on 60% pass and is within N+1 rule
- 2025 final year students who need to appeal for N+2 funding
- students who passed 60% and do not have a CONT status and can complete within N+1 rule
The Student Financial Aid (SFA) office will open an appeals process for such students, and they will have to provide the following:
- proof of NSFAS appeal submission for N+2 appeals and where the 60% pass requirement has not been met
- a motivation with supporting documents to support the appeal
- SFA UCT Curriculum Advisor form for academic progression information
The SFA office will automatically enable an online appeal submission for these students and will verify the appeal submission to NSFAS and review the appeal for NSFAS eligibility against the NSFAS advertised appeals criteria.
Students who passed 60% for NSFAS funding renewal and do not have a CONT status will be evaluated for academic progression within the N+1 rule. Successful students will be assisted with the Registration Relief Measure. The Appeals tile for students that meet the criteria for 2.3 above will automatically be assigned and open for submission in the Peoplesoft Self Service system on 15 January 2025 and it will close on 6 February 2025.
It is important to note that these Registration Relief Measures will not clear the fee debt, which must still be paid. We therefore encourage students to find alternative sources of funding to cover this debt by perusing the available sources of other funding on the Bursary and Loan Noticeboard, which includes both loan, bursary and crowdfunding options.
3. Financial Assistance 2025
3.1 NSFAS funding for first time entering and continuing students
NSFAS currently funds first time and continuing students who come from households with an annual income of no more than R350,000. First-time applications for NSFAS financial aid (as well as funding renewal for students who already receive NSFAS funding) are handled centrally via NSFAS. Although the student may have applied to study at several universities, only one financial aid application directly to NSFAS is required. NSFAS funding decisions are available on the MyNSFAS portal, and students must track their funding status to ensure any requests for information is timeously attended to.
For 2025, NSFAS will continue to apply the accommodation cap to their funding for those in residence or private accommodation. NSFAS funded students will therefore need to apply to other sources of funding to cover any shortfall in NSFAS funding to cover the residence accommodation fee debt as well as any vacation accommodation costs related to supplementary and deferred exams, as well as winter or summer term accommodation costs.
Students who opt to stay in private accommodation must ensure that the accommodation is accredited. Funding will not be provided for lease agreements within the NSFAS cap where the accommodation is not accredited. Information on accredited accommodation is available on the OCSAS website. Private accommodation for NSFAS and UCT GAP funded students must be submitted on the Accommodation tile on Peoplesoft Self Service with all required documentation.
NSFAS has confirmed that universities may continue to pay student allowances to qualifying NSFAS funded students in 2025, for at least the first semester. A decision on the second semester allowance payments will be taken later.
3.2 NSFAS funding status for 2025
3.2.1 Applicants
Universities are receiving feedback from NSFAS on eligible students as of 5 January 2025. However, some students may not have received a funding application outcome yet, due to outstanding documentation required to finalise the application. It is therefore important that NSFAS applicants take responsibility for tracking the status of their NSFAS application on the myNSFAS portal.
For applicants that are ineligible for NSFAS funding, but where the applicant can prove that their gross family income is below R350 000 per annum, NSFAS will have an online appeal process for a review of the application outcome. Applicant appeals on the NSFAS funding decision must be made directly to NSFAS using the online myNSFAS appeals platform. NSFAS allows for a limited timeframe (30 days) to appeal after the funding decision is made, and it is therefore important that applicants monitor their NSFAS funding status, should they need to appeal the outcome of their application.
For those NSFAS applicants that applied for the NSFAS loan, as the gross family income is between R350 001 and R600 000 per annum, NSFAS will provide further details around eligibility once the financial eligibility assessment is done. The allocation of NSFAS loans within their budget must be allocated to 70% STEM programmes. The eligibility for loan funding is therefore provisional to verification of qualifying study programme and budget.
3.2.2 Continuing students funded by NSFAS in 2024
NSFAS will make the funding renewal decisions for students funded in 2024 as academic results are submitted by the university. The results for students who have supplementary and deferred exam results can only be submitted to NSFAS at the end of January 2025, and therefore the funding decisions for these students can only be expected thereafter.
Students funded by NSFAS in 2024, are not required to reapply as NSFAS will apply their academic progression and N+1 funding rules to consider whether funding renewal requirements are met. NSFAS may also elect to re-evaluate students’ financial eligibility.
Students must track the status of their NSFAS renewal on their MyNSFAS portal, to ensure that they are able to meet the NSFAS deadline to submit an appeal if required.
3.2.3 Transferring students
Students that have transferred to study at UCT and were NSFAS funded previously must verify their eligibility for continued funding and remember that the N+1 funding rule still applies, as all years of study at a university are counted (including study at UNISA).
The university is unable to take responsibility for students whose funded years are exceeded due to changing their programme of study or transferring from another university and starting a new programme from academic year 1.
Continuing and transferring students that have a provisionally funded status and that change their programme of study may be affected by the N+1 rule, which will be recalculated by NSFAS on the new programme of study on the submission of student registration cost data. Change-in-programme students may find that NSFAS withdraws registration cost approval despite the provisional funding status, if the N+1 rule is reached due to the change.
3.3 UCT GAP funding
UCT offers GAP funding, the financial assistance programme for the “missing middle” – those students who come from families with an annual gross income above the NSFAS threshold of R350 000 household income per annum, but no more than R600,000 per annum. Applications will only be considered from those undergraduate students who are NSFAS loan eligible but who do not meet the 70% STEM requirements set. Students who meet this requirement, can contact the Student Financial Aid office on UCTGapApplication@uct.ac.za for application assistance.
GAP funding is exclusively financed by UCT in line with the funding policy terms and information on UCT’s GAP funding programme is available on the financial aid website.
3.4 UCT Sibling Rebate bursary
The UCT Sibling Rebate bursary programme provides reduced tuition costs to undergraduate siblings who do not qualify for NSFAS financial aid or GAP funding. This is for students from families with a combined annual household income of between R600 000 to R750 000 per annum with two or more undergraduate siblings at UCT at the same time. Qualifying students are eligible for a bursary equivalent to 20% of the tuition fee for the year. Further information on the Sibling Rebate bursary programme and the Sibling Rebate application form is available on the UCT website. Applications close on 15 May 2025.
3.5 Other funding
Funding from corporates, NGOs, sponsors and other key funders is provided directly to eligible students, but is administered with the assistance of UCT as the university provides all the necessary documents (academic transcripts and fees statements) and other information required by the funders after registration. The requirements for academic and financial eligibility are determined by these funders and tend to vary according to programme of study. All students remain responsible for their fee debt, therefore any delays with funding confirmations or pay-outs must be addressed directly by the student.
4. SADC and international students’ undergraduate financial assistance
Despite the university’s efforts to extend, as far as possible, the limited resources available, funding for undergraduate students goes primarily towards supporting South African students, or those with permanent residency in the country. Unfortunately, UCT is not able to provide relief for international students, including SADC students, because of constraints on its own resources and due to restrictions imposed by funders, which often stipulate that only South Africans or students with South African permanent residency may be assisted with funding. No appeals from these students will be considered.
5. POSTGRADUATE STUDENT FUNDING
Given the global and local financial climate, the Postgraduate Funding Office (PGFO) administers limited funding for honours, master’s and doctoral students. These funds are intended to provide partial financial assistance and are unfortunately not intended for fee debt or funding appeals. This includes awards funded by NRF, science councils, philanthropic organisations, companies, endowments and a limited number of awards from UCT itself.
Please note that the first call for applications for 2025 postgraduate funding has now closed. However, information on additional funding opportunities that remain open is available on the Bursary and Loan e-noticeboard.
Postgraduate Research awards (formerly known as Departmental awards) are announced and awarded by the specific academic departments or individual researchers or research groups but are also processed through the PGFO.
5.1 Postgraduate financial support for honours, master’s and doctoral students funded by UCT
The university has a limited financial aid budget available for qualifying postgraduate students, based on criteria similar to those applied for undergraduate financial aid, including the same income thresholds for eligibility. The university offers excellence awards for meritorious students, which further supports our commitment to transformation at the postgraduate level.
This funding is designed to provide partial financial assistance to honours, master’s, and doctoral students and is not intended to cover historical fee debt. Funding is not available for occasional studies, professional degrees with less than a 33.3% research component or postgraduate diplomas and certificates.
These funding opportunities are administered by the PGFO via the online UCT Postgraduate Financial Aid application. Applicants for need-based funding will undergo a UCT means test using the information provided by the applicant.
UCT’s need-based funding from the General Operating Budget (GOB) is divided into two categories:
1. PG Financial Aid: Applicants with a combined annual household gross family income of less than R350 000 are eligible for funding to cover their partial cost of attendance (PCOA).
2. PG GAP Tuition Bursary: Applicants with a combined annual household gross family income between R350 001 and R600 000 are eligible for funding to cover a percentage of their tuition fees. This award does not include support towards accommodation costs, either in UCT residence or private accommodation, nor does it include monthly allowances.
5.2 International and refugee students at postgraduate level
A limited number of scholarships are available to postgraduate students from countries outside of South Africa. These scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis with emphasis given to academic merit and to the seniority of the candidate. The scholarships do not provide full-cost support, and all UCT international and refugee student scholarships should secure supplementary funding prior to registering at UCT. Thus, applicants must ensure that they have sufficient financial support for their studies. The scholarships are renewable (for master’s and doctoral studies) for the duration of the course of study, subject to satisfactory progress being maintained. The maximum duration for renewal is two years of a master’s degree and three years of doctoral study.
5.3 Postgraduate diplomas
Please note that no financial aid support is available for advanced diplomas, postgraduate certificates, and postgraduate diplomas. No appeal process is available for financial aid and fee debt.
Contact information and further inquiries
For additional details on postgraduate funding please contact the office on +27 (0)21 650 3622 or email pgfunding@uct.ac.za.
You may also find more information about the funding opportunities provided by the Postgraduate Funding Office on their website.
We wish all our students success during these challenging times and hope the information provided will guide your next course of action. We urge you to take careful note of the information provided, along with the relevant deadlines contained in this notice to ensure that you do not leave important funding decisions until it is too late. Should you require further information, please do contact the relevant undergraduate or postgraduate office.
Yours sincerely
Professor Mosa Moshabela
UCT Vice-Chancellor & Principal
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