Students with disabilities sometimes receive special financial support from the state. In the following, we will give you a brief overview of grants, assistance and other information that may be relevant for students with disabilities:
If you have any suggestions or questions, please feel free to send us an email to . We will be happy to advise you!
Barrier-Free Studying at JKU Linz
Institute for Integrated Studies at JKU Linz
Our most important partner at JKU in terms of barrier-free studying is the Institute for Integrated Studies. The Institut Integriert Studieren (Institute for Integrated Studies) is committed to the integration and inclusion of people with disabilities at Johannes Kepler University.
If you have impairment and would like to or are already studying at JKU, the team of the Institute for Integrated Studies offers you the possibility of a support check. During this initial consultation, the individual conditions you need for successful studies at JKU will be determined and agreed upon with you. The Institute for Integrated Studies is your first point of contact, especially when it comes to handling exams. The Institute for Integrated Studies also supports you in the preparation of teaching and learning materials. Furthermore, the Institut Integriert Studieren is involved in research, development and teaching.
Contact us:
Institute for Integrated Studies
Johannes Kepler University Linz
Address: Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040 Linz
Location: University Fund Building; 1st floor; Room: HF102
Phone: 0732/ 2468 3750
Mail: integriert-studieren@jku.at
Website: www.jku.at/iis
Waiver and refund of tuition fees
Students with an impairment of at least 50 percent according to federal regulations are exempt from paying tuition fees, without taking into account the planned period of study and the tolerance semesters. Proof of this exemption must be provided in the form of a disability pass issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Attention: The ÖH fee is 21,20 Euro (as of 01.09.2022) and has to be paid by all regular and extraordinary students without exception, even by those who are exempt from paying the tuition fee!
Contact:
Admissions Service of JKU Linz
Location: Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz (bank building)
Phone: +43 (0) 732/2468 2010
Mail: studienbeitrag@jku.at
If you are unable to continue your studies for one or two semesters, it is possible to take a leave of absence from your studies. A leave of absence is possible in certain cases - for example if you are ill for a longer period of time. During the leave of absence, the admission to studies remains valid, but during this time no academic performance (i.e. taking exams, participating in courses, assessing academic papers, etc.) is allowed.
The application for leave of absence must be submitted to the Admissions Service at JKU together with the relevant supporting documents.
Approval is permitted until the end of the grace period of the semester (summer semester: April 30; winter semester: November 30) for which the leave of absence is to apply. However, submission by mid-April (summer semester) or mid-November (winter semester) is recommended.
Important: After the application for a leave of absence has been approved, the ÖH fee must be paid by April 30 (summer semester) or November 30 (winter semester) at the latest.
New: As of 1.09.2022, there will no longer be a grace period.
Winter semester: until 30 October
Summer semester: until 30 April
Please also note that a leave of absence can have a negative effect on your family allowance as well as on your student allowance!
Contact:
Admissions Service of the JKU Linz
Location: Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz (bank building)
Phone: +43 (0) 732/2468 2010
Mail: zulassung@jku.at
Grants and subsidies
Increased family allowance
The increased family allowance amounts to a maximum of 152.90 euros per month (as of 01.01.2021) and is paid in addition to the family allowance. Eligible students are entitled to it as long as the general family allowance is granted, and it can also be awarded retroactively, but for a maximum of five years from the month of application.
Students with a disability of at least 50 percent ("significant disability") are eligible. A person is considered to have a significant disability if, as a result of an illness or infirmity, he or she has a functional impairment that is not merely temporary (at least three years) in the physical, mental or psychological sphere or in sensory perception and, as a result, has a degree of disability of at least 50 percent. In addition, it must be proven that one is permanently unable to support oneself.
Attention: If one also receives care allowance in addition to the increased family allowance, the care allowance may be reduced due to the avoidance of double subsidies!
For students who receive an increased family allowance due to a chronic illness or a disability, special regulations apply with regard to the success of their studies:
Because for recipients of increased family allowance, there must not be any negative consequences in principle if they exceed the minimum period of study plus tolerance semesters or do not achieve the required study success of 16 ECTS points per academic year. However, problems can arise if no examinations are taken at all within an academic year - because then it could be doubted that one is pursuing serious and purposeful studies at all. Caution is advised here!
Attention: The study change regulation also applies to the increased family allowance! That means: The study may be changed only twice and not later than after the second semester!
The tax office of your place of residence is responsible for applying for the increased family allowance. You can find the form for applying for the increased family allowance in the documents in the appendix or you can pick it up at the ÖH Sozialreferat during our opening hours.
In order to prove your disability, you will be invited to an examination by an expert doctor after submitting your application to the relevant tax office at your place of residence. If the tax office refuses to grant the increased family allowance in spite of expert opinions and confirmations, a decision must be made on the matter, which can be appealed.
General information on family allowance can be found here.
Contact:
Your local tax office.
The Student Assistance Act provides special provisions for students with impairments, which are explained in more detail below. In principle, however, the general requirements for receiving study grants apply. You can find more information about the general requirements here.
Extension of the period of entitlement:
For students with a recognized disability of at least 50 percent, the period of entitlement is extended by two semesters per study period. The proof is provided by the receipt of the increased family allowance or by the receipt of federal care allowance or by proof in the sense of the Disability Employment Act.
In addition, the period of entitlement per study section shall be extended:
1. by one semester for students suffering from malignant tumors, leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, cerebral palsy, or who require a prosthetic leg.
2. by half the scheduled study time for students who are blind or severely visually impaired, and for students who are deaf or severely deaf, or who are predominantly dependent on the use of a wheelchair, wears a cochlear implant, are undergoing dialysis treatment, or suffer from cystic fibrosis.
In all of these cases, however, the total extended period of eligibility due to disability may not exceed twice the minimum duration of study for each section of the program.
Increase in tuition assistance:
For students with an impairment, the study grant is increased by.
1. 160 euros per month for students who are blind, severely visually impaired or predominantly dependent on the use of a wheelchair.
2. 420 euros per month for students who are deaf or profoundly hard of hearing or who wear a cochlear implant.
Increase in age limit:
For students with an impairment, the age limit at the start of studies increases from 30 to 35. However, the studies must be started before the student reaches the age of 35 (i.e. before the 35th birthday). Otherwise, there is no entitlement to study assistance.
Consideration of disabled siblings:
For siblings who are incapacitated due to a disability, a deduction may be taken into account when calculating tuition assistance even after reaching the age of majority.
Tuition Assistance:
In cases of hardship, where adequate support is not possible with a study grant for legal reasons, the competent minister may grant study support. The support is provided either as a one-time payment or in the form of a regular scholarship, for example, to bridge payments.
Contact:
Scholarship Office Linz
Location: Ferihumerstraße 15; 4040 Linz
Phone: +43 (0) 732/ 66 40 31
Mail: stip.linz@stbh.gv.at
Website: www.stipendium.at
Please always include your matriculation number, personal identification number, or social security number in all mail inquiries!
ÖH JKU Social Fund/ Federal ÖH Social Fund
Students at JKU who are in financial need can apply for support from the ÖH JKU Linz Social Fund once per semester. This form of support is possible three times during the entire duration of studies, provided that the criteria for receiving this support are met.
Further information can be found here.
The Federal Representation of the Austrian National Union of Students (Bundesvertretung der Österreichischen HochschülerInnenschaft) has set up a special fund to support students with disabilities. You can apply for support from the Federal ÖH Social Fund once a year. The application form can be found here in the attachment.
Further information on the Federal ÖH Social Fund can be found here.
Attention: Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply for both funds at the same time because of the resulting double funding (the ÖH JKU co-finances the Social Fund of the Federal ÖH). We, therefore, advise you to first apply for support from the Federal ÖH, and if your application is evaluated negatively there, you can apply for support from the Social Fund of the ÖH JKU Linz at the ÖH Sozialreferat of the ÖH JKU Linz.
Important: There is no legal entitlement to support from the ÖH JKU Social Fund or from the Federal ÖH Social Fund.
Education allowance from the Social Ministry Service
The Social Ministry Service (Sozialministeriumservice) can grant an education allowance for additional expenses incurred due to a disability in the context of school or vocational training.
The prerequisites for this include:
- attendance at a teaching institution in accordance with § 3 of the Study Support Act 1992 (studies at JKU Linz fall into this category)
- and proof of additional expenses due to the disability.
Duration of grant:
In the case of a course of study, for a maximum of the period of study stipulated by law plus additional semesters permissible for the receipt of the study grant (see study grant regulations).
Grant amount:
The monthly additional expenses due to disability can be compensated up to the amount of the compensation tax. In case of demonstrably higher costs, the monthly subsidy amount can be increased up to three times the amount of the compensatory tax.
Important: Supplements to the student grant, as well as comparable benefits from third parties are to be taken into account in the sense that these benefits are to be deducted from the actual additional expenses.
Application: Informally to the responsible Ministry of Social Affairs.
Contact:
The competent regional office of the Social Ministry Service.
Website: https://www.sozialministeriumservice.at/site/
Support fund of the Social Ministry Service
Benefits for one-time disability-related expenses from the "Support Fund for People with Disabilities" can be received by disabled persons, regardless of the cause of their impairment, who are in a social emergency situation due to an event related in particular to their disability, provided that rapid assistance may alleviate or eliminate the emergency situation.
The aim of the support fund is to provide assistance above all to those people who are not yet employed, are no longer in gainful employment or have never been able to integrate into gainful employment due to the severity of their disability. Subsidies may only be granted if the economy, expediency and efficiency of the use of the fund's resources are guaranteed. There is no legal entitlement to the granting of subsidies.
Prerequisites:
- permanent residence in Austria
- Existence of a concrete project of medical, social or professional rehabilitation (e.g. adaptation of a wheelchair user's home to the needs of the handicapped, adaptation of a car to the needs of the handicapped).
- Existence of significant permanent health impairment (degree of disability at least 50 percent of 100 percent). As proof of the handicap is recognized: handicap passport, receipt of the increased family allowance, receipt of care allowance.
- Disabilityrelated connection of the concrete project.
- The income limit for one person is 1,680 euros net. It is increased by 380 euros for each dependent relative or partner living in the same household, and by 570 euros if the relative or spouse is disabled.
- The project must not be financed by other cost units such as district authorities, various public or private welfare funds, the provincial government, or social insurance institutions (health, accident and pension insurance).
Application (see appendix) to your responsible regional office of the Social Ministry Service before realization of the project.
Grant amount: depends on family income; maximum grant amount 5,800 euros.
Contact:
The relevant provincial office of the Social Ministry Service.
Website: https://www.sozialministeriumservice.at/site/
Students who are classified in care level 5, 6 or 7 can make use of personal assistance at the workplace if this enables them to complete a course of study or vocational training in the legally prescribed duration plus the additional semesters permitted for the receipt of study assistance.
In justified exceptional cases, personal assistance at the workplace can also be granted in care levels 3 and 4.
Application: The application must be submitted to the competent district administrative authority. You can also submit the application to the Office of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government or the responsible municipality, a social counseling center or to the facility itself. It will then be forwarded immediately to the competent district administrative authority.
However, there is no entitlement to a specific benefit. If no resources are available, a reservation is made and an assignment of urgency is made, taking into account defined indicators.
The use of personal assistance at the place of work and training is free of charge for those affected.
Contact:
Office of the Upper Austrian. Provincial Government/ Directorate of Social Affairs and Health
Department of Social Affairs
Phone: +43 (732) 77 20 16281
Website: www.land-oberoesterreich.gv.at
Personal assistance at the workplace and training center
Address: Schillerstraße 53/4, 4020 Linz
Phone: 0699 13782080
Mail: paa@miteinander.com
Website: www.miteinander.com
Status: October 2021
