1. Higher Degree and General Regulations
1.1 A University scholarship holder, known as the scholar, will be registered at the University as a full-time or part-time postgraduate student on a postgraduate research programme under the relevant University degree regulations and the General Regulations of the University. In addition, all scholars will be subject to the following terms and conditions.
1.2 These terms and conditions apply only to Kent scholarship holders and not to students who may be engaged as Graduate Teaching Assistants who are governed by the University’s Terms and Conditions for Graduate Teaching Assistantships and the Conditions of Service for Graduate Teaching Assistants or those in receipt of a UKRI Research Council scholarship who should refer to the UKRI Training Grants Standard Terms and Conditions of those of their Research Council.
2. Agreement
2.1 All scholars will be required to confirm the formal offer of the scholarship by agreeing to the terms and conditions set out in this document and any supplementary conditions set out in the scholarship offer. Scholars are advised to keep a copy of these Terms and Conditions for their records.
2.2 The scholarship offer will specify the start date of the scholarship, the amount of the scholarship and the method and frequency of payment.
2.3 Scholarship holders must inform the Scholarships Office of any other award(s). It should be noted that the value of a scholarship may be adjusted or terminated considering other awards.
2.4 Payment of the scholarship will be subject to continued satisfactory academic progression and performance.
3. Length of Scholarship
3.1 A scholarship will normally be tenable for one year in the first instance, renewable annually for a maximum of three years (36 months) for full-time scholars or five years (60 months) for part-time scholars, subject to satisfactory progress and continued registration as a student at the University.
3.2 A scholar who has completed part of the period of registration for a degree prior to applying for a Kent scholarship will only be offered a scholarship for the remaining period required for the completion of their registration.
3.3 A scholar who secures alternative or additional sources of funding during their scholarship funding should inform the University (by contacting the Scholarships Office) immediately. Depending on the circumstances, the scholarship may be withdrawn or reduced pro-rata.
4. Mode of Study
4,1 Scholarships may be offered for full-time and part-time study. The mode of study will be agreed in advance of registration and award of the scholarship. This is accepted and agreed with these terms and conditions
4.2 Any change in mode of study, whether from part-time to full-time or vice-versa, must receive prior approval from your School. Following approval, the change must be communicated to the Scholarships Office immediately. Please note that your scholarship funding will be adjusted in accordance with the updated enrolment status.
5. Intermission
5.1 Students may apply for intermission if needed. During a period of intermission, scholarship payments will be suspended.
5.2 Periods of intermission will not normally be granted for periods longer than 12 months. Applications for intermission should be made in advance and require the support of the supervisor and approval from the School Director of Graduate Research Studies (SDGRS).
6. Medical Leave
You may request medical absence as a paid intermission from your studies. Medical evidence is compulsory for sickness absence requests and requests should go through the Research Programmes Administration Team in the Graduate and Researcher College. If you are attending on a UKVI student immigration arrangement, the scholar is advised to contact visacompliance@kent.ac.uk prior to submitting a request.
6.1 Payment of a scholarship will continue for absences covered by a medical certificate for up to 13 weeks within a rolling 12-month period.
6.2 Self-certificated periods of illness (those that are less than a week) will not be covered, scholars are to make up the time.
6.3 Should the period of illness last more than 13 weeks, scholars are advised to request a period of unpaid intermission. At this point, the scholarship will be suspended until the scholar resumes their full mode of study.
6.4 Retrospective periods of illness will not be granted unless under exceptional circumstances outside of the scholar’s control.
7. Family Leave
If you are eligible for any type of Family Leave listed below, you will need to request paid intermission through the Postgraduate Research Programmes Administration Team.
7.1 Maternity Leave. Maternity leave can commence up to 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. You are eligible for Maternity Leave if (1) the maternity leave is planned to commence (or does commence) before the end of your funded period and (2) you are the birth parent of the child. You will be entitled to a full rate stipend for the first 26 weeks of Maternity Leave; at a level commensurate with Statuary Maternity Pay for the next 13 weeks of Maternity Leave. Your stipend will not be paid for the final 13 weeks. The total period of the scholarship may thus be extended to a maximum of 48 months (the financial support available will not extend beyond the usual 36 months plus the period of nine months funded maternity leave as stated).
7.2 Partner’s or Paternity Leave. You are entitled to two weeks full stipend payments if you are the partner of a mother or birth parent. You are eligible for this leave if you met the following conditions:
- the leave is planned to commence (or does commence) before the end of your funded period and the leave commences within 52 weeks of the birth of a child AND
- you are either (i) the father or non-birth parent of the child or (ii) partner of the child’s birth parent AND
- you have or expect to have the main responsibility (apart from any responsibility of the mother/birth partner) for the upbringing of the child.
7.3 Adoption Leave. You are eligible for Adoption Leave if you have been newly matched with a child through an adoption agency, of if you have used a surrogate during your funded scholarship. Leave during the scholarship for a main adopter of a child in the UK begins when the child’s placement starts, or an agreed period of time before the child’s placement starts to support preparation.
7.3.1 The support available for the main adopter is commensurate to Maternity Leave (defined in 7.1).
7.3.2 The support available for a student who is the partner (as defined in 7.2) of the main adopter of the child or is the co-adopter, is commensurate with Paternity Leave.
7.4 Neonatal Care Leave. You are eligible for Neonatal Care Leave if: (1) the birth of the child is within the funded period of the scholarship or a planned period of Maternity Leave and the child is receiving neonatal care in a hospital and (2) you are either (i) the mother/birth parent of the child or (ii) a the father/non birth parent or partner of the mother/birth parent as defined in 7.2. One week of Neonatal Care Leave will be provided for each week or part-week in which the child is in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. This is additional to Maternity or Paternity Leave and a stipend will be drawn at the usual rate. The scholarship will be extended to account for periods taken as Neonatal Leave.
8. Additional Leave
8.1 Additional Leave may be provided to cover specific instances where you may be required to be absent from study that is not covered by other types of leave. These include:
8.1.1 Special Leave (including bereavement and pregnancy loss)
This covers paid leave on compassionate grounds (compassionate leave) in addition to emergency situations such as serious illness or injury involving a dependant. In the following circumstances you are entitled to up to 10 days’ paid leave pro rata (1) in the event of the death of a parent, close relative or a child (2) in the event that a pregnancy is lost before 24 weeks whether the you (i) experiences this loss directly or (ii) you are the partner, as defined in 7.2, of someone who experiences the loss; or (iii) you lose a baby via surrogacy.
8.1.2 Baby loss (including stillbirth and neonatal death)
You are entitled to this leave, in addition to Special Leave (8.1.1), if you are (1) the mother/birth parent or (2) the father/non-birth parent/partner of the birth mother (as defined in 7.2) and (3) the baby is stillborn or born at any stage of pregnancy in or beyond week 24 of the pregnancy but dies within the first 52 weeks of being born. This is irrespective of whether the child was stillborn, dies within the first 28 days (neonatal death) or dies at any other time in the first 52 weeks. You will be provided the same amount of Family Leave as you would have been provided had the child survived.
8.1.3 Carer’s leave
A stipend of up to 5 days per year pro rata may be awarded if you need to give or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. This is defined as a dependant with a disability under the Equality Act 2010, care need related to old age, or an illness or injury likely to need care for more than 3 months. Your scholarship may be extended to account for periods taken as carers leave.
9. Teaching/Demonstrating
9.1 For certain scholars teaching and demonstrating may constitute an integral part of the development of their academic skills and will form a subsidiary part of their studies. Where this is the case, then:
9.2 The number of contact hours that a scholar may participate in teaching shall be reasonable in the context of their academic load and not exceed the equivalent of 4 hours a week or 96 hours over the two 12 week teaching terms; additionally scholars are expected to undertake the appropriate preparation, marking, examination and the presentation of an end of year report in respect of these contact hours. Where scholars are engaged to undertake laboratory demonstrating or act as language lectors, or other activities which do not require such extensive preparation, this will be 10 contact hours per week or 240 hours over the academic year.
9.3 Scholars will be responsible to the Head of School for their teaching or demonstrating duties. These should be specified in writing at the time the scholarship is offered.
9.4 Scholars will be required to conform to the University’s Quality Assurance and Health and Safety procedures.
9.5 Scholars may be required to participate in relevant modules of the University’s Postgraduate Certificate for Higher Education (PGCHE) and/or Associate Teacher Accreditation Programme (ATAP), or another training the University decides is appropriate in relation to the teaching or demonstrating required as approved by the School Director of Graduate Studies.
9.6 If a scholar is deemed not to be teaching or demonstrating to a satisfactory standard, then the Head of School, in conjunction with the scholar’s supervisor may redirect the scholar’s duties to include marking, research or other academic related activity, commensurate with their academic studies.
10. Annual Leave
10.1.1 Scholars are entitled to a reasonable paid holiday, a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of eight weeks per year to include public holidays and the University closure at Christmas (pro rata for part time students).
10.2 Holidays should be agreed in advance with the supervisor and, in cases where the scholar is engaged in teaching or demonstrating, with the approval of the Head of School.
11. International Students on a Student Visa (formally Tier 4)
11.1 For students whose permission to remain in the UK is granted under a Student Visa, the entitlement of Family Leave or Medical Leave, and any associated funding or payment during such leave, is subject to the conditions and limitations imposed by the UK immigration laws and relevant visa guidance. This includes, but not limited to, restrictions on leave duration, eligibility to remain in the UK during periods of non-study and access to financial support.
12. Monitoring
12.1 Continuation of a scholarship is subject to satisfactory progress in research training and in the preparation of the thesis.
12.2 Scholars and their supervisors are required to complete progress reports in accordance with Annex J of the University Code of Practice for Research. At the end of each academic year, the supervisor must recommend whether the scholar should be permitted to continue to receive the scholarship. This recommendation will be considered by the School Director of Graduate research Studies (SDGRS). Should the recommendation be satisfactory then the scholarship will be renewed for a further 12 months, or until the end of the period of registration, whichever date is sooner. If a scholar’s progress is found to be unsatisfactory, the supervisor, in conjunction with the Director of Graduate Research Studies or the Head of the School should recognise either:
- that the scholarship is continued for a further limited period after which the scholar’s progress will be reviewed again (mid-year review) to determine whether the scholarship may continue for the remainder of the academic year, or
- that the scholarship be terminated.
13. Submission of Thesis
13.1 All scholars are expected to submit their thesis no later than 12 months after the minimum of period of registration. (3 years for full-time students and 5 years for part-time students), unless their scholarship funder states otherwise.
14. Termination of Scholarship
14.1 The University will terminate a scholarship when progress or performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory. Scholars should therefore inform their supervisors and the School Director of Graduate research Studies (SDGRS) of any problems or difficulties at the earliest opportunity. Similarly, supervisors should assist in identifying problems so that a scholar’s progress is not impeded.
14.2 If a scholarship is terminated prematurely for any reason, a scholar must repay to the University any monies including maintenance, travel, subsistence, fees overpaid from the date of the termination of the scholarship.
14.3 If a scholar is permitted to reduce the period of registration and the scholar’s period of registration finishes before the scholarship is due to finish, the scholarship will be terminated on the date of the completion of registration.
14.4 If a scholar submits a thesis before the end of the scholarship, the scholarship will be terminated on the date of submission.
14.5 If a scholar takes up full-time employment whilst in receipt of a scholarship, the scholar must inform the Scholarships Office prior to commencement of employment. The scholarship will be terminated as of the first day of employment.