Passing your course
If you get a Student Allowance for tertiary study, you must pass more than half of the work of a full-time tertiary course to get it again. If you get a Student Loan you must pass at least half of your course load (EFTS) over a set period to get it again.
On this page:
How to calculate if you have passed more than half for the Student Allowance
An enrolment must have a certain EFTS (equivalent full-time student) value to be considered full-time depending on the length of the enrolment.
You must pass more than half of the EFTS needed to be full-time to get another Student Allowance. For example, a 52 week long course needs a minimum EFTS value of 0.8 to be full-time. This means if your course is 52 weeks long you will only be required to pass 0.4001 EFTS or more to get another Student Allowance, even if your course is more than 0.8 EFTS. See the table below for full details.
EFTS is a measure of the amount of study or the workload involved in undertaking your course. EFTS are set by the Tertiary Education Commission.
| Number of gross weeks | EFTS for full-time | EFTS you need to pass to get another Student Allowance | Number of gross weeks | EFTS for full-time | EFTS you need to pass to get another Student Allowance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 0.3 | 0.1501 | 23 | 0.575 | 0.2876 | |
| 13 | 0.3 | 0.1501 | 24 | 0.6 | 0.3001 | |
| 14 | 0.3 | 0.1501 | 25 | 0.625 | 0.3126 | |
| 15 | 0.3 | 0.1501 | 26 | 0.65 | 0.3251 | |
| 16 | 0.4 | 0.2001 | 27 | 0.675 | 0.3376 | |
| 17 | 0.4 | 0.2001 | 28 | 0.7 | 0.3501 | |
| 18 | 0.4 | 0.2001 | 29 | 0.725 | 0.3626 | |
| 19 | 0.4 | 0.2001 | 30 | 0.75 | 0.3751 | |
| 20 | 0.5 | 0.2501 | 31 | 0.775 | 0.3876 | |
| 21 | 0.525 | 0.2626 | 32-52 | 0.8 | 0.4001 | |
| 22 | 0.55 | 0.2761 | 53 or more | 1.0 | 0.4001 |
How to calculate if you have passed at least half for the Student Loan
If you get a Student Loan (fees, living costs or course-related costs) you need to pass at least half of your course load (EFTS) over a set period in order to keep your eligibility to a Student Loan.
The assessment of performance includes courses of study ending in 2009 or later.
The EFTS count starts once you have used one or more parts of the Student Loan (eg living costs, course fees, or course-related costs).
Your performance will be assessed once you have used 1.6 EFTS. This is equal to about two years of full-time study.
Your performance is measured using a five year rolling assessment period.
Five year rolling assessment period for Student Loans
Your performance is measured using a five year rolling assessment period from when you first draw down a Student Loan for study ending in 2009 or later.
Once you have received a Student Loan, the EFTS for any periods of study where a Student Loan is not received (e.g. study that is self-funded), are also included in the assessment.
View some examples of the five year rolling assessment
If you withdraw from your course:
- If you withdraw from your course, and receive a full refund of your tuition fees before the end of that course, the EFTS for that study are not included in your performance test.
- If you withdraw from your course within 30 days of the date it started and receive a partial fee refund, the EFTS for that study are not included in your performance test.
If you withdraw from part of your course:
If you withdraw from part of your course (eg papers or a semester), the EFTS value of the portion you withdrew from won't be included in your performance test.
Telling us whether you have passed
When you apply for your Student Allowance and or Student Loan, you will be asked whether you passed more than half the work of a full-time course the last time you received the Student Allowance and/or if you have passed at least at least half of your course load (EFTS) over a set period of time for Student Loan.
We may check your study results with the Ministry of Education. If you answer "yes" but they confirm you didn't pass the work load requirements set for Student Allowance and Student Loan, you may have to repay any payments you have received.
If you don’t know if you have passed
For the Student Allowance
If you don't know your results yet, you can answer "I'm not sure" and let us know when you have your results.
We will check with the Ministry of Education. Or you can let us know as soon as you find out your study results.
We can't finish processing your application until we know whether you've passed or not.
For the Student Loan
When you apply for your Student Loan you will need to tell us if you have passed at least half of your study.
If you're not sure about your study results, then it's best to wait until your results have been confirmed by your education provider before applying for your loan. You are not able to answer "I'm not sure" when you apply.
If you're still unsure once you've received your results, your education provider may be able to tell you the total EFTS you have used and the total EFTS you have passed.
If you didn’t pass your course for reasons beyond your control
Student Allowance
For the Student Allowance if you didn't pass more than half, but:
- have passed study since at your own expense, or
- didn't pass because of reasons beyond your control - such as illness (we will need proof of medical reasons and in the case of continuing illness or other reasons, we also need evidence that you are now capable of undertaking study),
then you may still be eligible. Please contact us.
Student Loan
For the Student Loan, if you didn't pass at least half you may still be eligible if you:
- didn't pass because of reasons beyond your control - such as illness (we will need proof of medical reasons and in the case of continuing illness or other reasons, we also need evidence that you are now capable of undertaking study) or,
- have continued to study at your own expense and have passed at least half of your total EFTS or,
- have regained eligibility as a result of the five year rolling eligibility period.
