Information for Academic Staff

Introduction

The following procedures describe the processes surrounding the establishment of a research scholarship established through Faculty funding obtained from research grants or ARC Linkage projects. Academic staff should familiarise themselves with these processes and contact the Office of Graduate Studies should they have any queries in relation to the establishment of research scholarships. Some funding bodies have specific requirements with regard to the appointment of scholars, e.g., by set timelines.

Academic staff should contact ResearchScholarships@newcastle.edu.au for advice on current minimum conditions required for UNRS External (UNRSE) scholarships. These scholarships are funded by Faculties from research or industry money. They are established as University of Newcastle scholarships, under UNRSE scholarship conditions. There is provision to change the conditions in the areas of:

• Stipend rate (but not less that the base APA rate)
• Research at other institutions
• Travel and relocation allowance
• Thesis allowance

Such changes are obtained from your advice on the Scholarship Establishment Proposal form.

APA Industry (APAI) scholarships (ARC Linkage) are funded by the Government and industry under APAI government prescribed conditions which may not be changed.

Establishment

Complete a Scholarship Establishment Proposal form, ensuring funding is confirmed by your Finance Officer, and forward to the Office of Graduate Studies. Your scholarship will be assigned a unique identifying code. The information included on the Establishment Proposal form is the basis for the conditions of scholarship associated with your scholarship (stipend, supplementation, tenure, research at other institutions, allowances, tuition fees, health cover).

If you wish to set up a short term completion scholarship please follow this link.

Academic staff can also choose to pay a top-up (supplementation) to a candidate who is currently receiving a research scholarship. To establish a scholarship top-up please complete the Top-Up Establishment Proposal ensuring funding is confirmed by your Finance Officer. Forward the approved form to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Recruitment

Advise the Office of Graduate Studies of your nominated student on the establishment form if known at the time.

If you need to recruit a student for the project, the Office of Graduate Studies can assist by:

• Providing access to the central pool of scholarship applicants, who may have been unsuccessful in obtaining a research scholarship in the main APA/UNRSC round in November. This includes both domestic and international applicants.
• Advertising on the Joint Academic Scholarships On-line Network (JASON) – a free service for you
• Assisting in the preparation of advertisements for Marketing and Media in other sources.

Advertising

Advertising on JASON is at no cost to the Faculty. The University maintains a subscription to this service. All available research scholarships are advertised on this resource.

To advertise on JASON, send the text of the postgraduate research scholarship in an email to ResearchScholarships@newcastle.edu.au.

To check the information needed to advertise your scholarship, visit the JASON website, and click on Download Submission Form. Most information is restricted, with fields selected from options provided. Click here to see the JASON Search structure.

All other advertising is at the Faculty’s expense. Prepare a draft advertisement and provide to Media & PR and to the EO Scholarships, Office of Graduate Studies. Your advertisement must include the following details:

• Amount of scholarship stipend (not less than the minimum base APA rate - $24,653 for 2013)
• Tenure of scholarship (2 years for Masters; 3 years for PhD)
• Eligibility criteria (for example, minimum academic level, relevant experience in a field)
• Academic Contact for further research details (your website is recommended if available)
• A closing date for applications and the following statement:
  
  Scholarship Establishment Proposal forms are available from:
  Office of Graduate Studies, The Chancellery,
  University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308
  Telephone 02 49216537
  Fax 02 49216908
  Email: ResearchScholarships@newcastle.edu.au

The Executive Officer Scholarships of Graduate Studies will confirm that the advertisement contains the required information and may proceed. A final copy of the advertisement should be provided to the Office of Graduate Studies to ensure staff have full details to respond to enquirers.

Application

The application form covers both candidature and scholarship. To be eligible for a research scholarship, an applicant must first have an offer of admission to a research higher degree at the University. Application forms are available from the Office of Graduate Studies or from our website. The Office of Graduate Studies will process the application and forward direct to you.

You must make a recommendation on admission to candidature to your Head of School and Assistant Dean Research Training. You must make a recommendation in regard to the offer of your scholarship. You may receive a number of applications for your scholarship. You will need to ensure that full details of the successful applicant, a ranked list of reserves, and advice on unsuccessful applicants, is provided to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Offer/Acceptance/Commencement

The successful applicant will receive:

• A letter of offer
• Scholarship Conditions
• An Acceptance Agreement
• A Scholarship Personal Details form

For APAI successful applicants, their acceptance will be incorporated into a formal agreement including an agreement on intellectual property.

Scholarship Maintenance

Claims for scholarship allowances, such as thesis benefits, travel/relocation reimbursement are submitted by the student to the Office of Graduate Studies. Variations to scholarship, such as suspension, employment, sick/maternity leave, are submitted by the student to the Office of Graduate Studies. Variations to scholarship requiring Faculty approval, such as upgrade to PhD, leave of absence/suspension, will be submitted to the student’s supervisor in the first instance. The Faculty will forward these variations to the Office of Graduate Studies after approval has been obtained.

Advice should be provided to the Office of Graduate Studies at the earliest opportunity of any variations to a student’s scholarship, in particular, those variations which require the scholarship to be suspended or terminated. This is critical to avoid the overpayment of scholars, necessitating the need for the scholar to return the overpayment. Common oversights relate to the appointment of a scholar who is undertaking employment above the maximum permitted. Payroll staff will liaise with the Executive Officer Scholarships, Office of Graduate Studies to identify such internal instances for resolution.

Documentation relating to research scholarships will be placed on the student's file. Where appropriate, copies of documents will be sent to you for information.

Annual Review of Scholarship

At the end or commencement of each year supervisors will be approached by the Office of Graduate Studies to confirm scholarship details including details on stipend, supplementation, and account codes. This process is initiated when the new stipend rates for APA, APAI, NHMRC become available.