The University Offers Numerous Tools of Financial Support for Students

16:34, August 2, 2020

The Worried Parents Forum experts told how to get money for higher education

On July 29th, the second Worried Parents Forum took place online. Its main topic was «Education as an investment into the future: How to get the money for it?»

The topic is essential for today’s agenda as there are fewer and fewer opportunities to get affordable higher education each year. A simple fact to illustrate this: over the last 8 years the share of state-funded places in universities dropped from 74% down to 62%. Whereas not every parent has the means to cover tuition fees for their child. What to do in this situation? The Forum experts told about various opportunities of financial support so that talented students could get high-quality education and find a good job.

The Forum was organised by Ural Federal University represented by Graduate School of Economics and Management, Analytical Center Expert and Expert Ural Business Magazine with the support of the Ministry for Education and Youth Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region, as well the Ekaterinburg City Administration.

The Forum was moderated by Alexey Klyuev, Editor in Chief of the journal University Management: Practice and Analysis, Director of the School of Public Administration and Entrepreneurship, GSEM UrFU.

UrFU First Vice Rector for Economics and Strategic Development, Associate Professor of GSEM UrFU Daniil Sandler remarked that there are tried and tested successful mechanisms of supporting students, including those paying their own tuition, and new ones are being implemented.

«Life itself urges us to support talents, — commented Daniil Sandler. — We now offer scholarships funded by the university endowment, we also expect more scholarships from prospective employers who would like to invest into students with specific competences who would go on to work for them for a while. There is also a huge potential in decreasing interest rates for education loans as this project is now actively supported by the state».

Prof. Sandler also stressed that the university will continue to pay special attention to employing its own students.

GSEM Deputy Director for Education Elena Avramenko talked about anti-crisis measures of Admission 2020. For example, tuition for 2020/21 for all degrees remains the same as last year.

«We also have a flexible discount system for tuition fees, —says Elena Avramenko. — There is a 4% discount if tuition is paid in advance for the whole academic year. The discount can be up to 43% or 129 thousand RUB a year».

Another important tool is grant support. Grants for tuition are available for talented first-year students of GSEM UrFU this year. In addition, first-year students can get bigger scholarships for winning Russian and international school student contests during their school years. Scholarships are also offered for first-year students that scored the most on the Unified State Exams.

Despite the complicated economic situation, universities, charities and NGOs, government of different counties are trying to support talented students. Elena Chernyshkova, a member of the Joint Council of Russian Presidential Grants Foundation, Head of the Centre for Philanthropy Studies and Social Business Programmes at GSEM UrFU told about scholarships for undergraduate and Master students.

«On the one hand, funding scholarships, education and research project is common practice among charities in many counties. On the other hand, the pandemic shifted the focus to people suffering from this particular situation. Priority is given to social programmes rather than education or cultural projects. This situation is temporary of course, but currently very unfavourable for those starting a university or moving to the next degree level», — concluded the expert.

However, in Russia there is a good support system consisting of both government and non-governmental projects.

«The most popular scholarship now is the Presidential one. You can get a decent amount if you have a good score, the scholarship ranges from 2 to 22,8 thousand RUB per month. The results in your studies and research are considered for this scholarship», — explained Elena Chernyshkova.

There are also the Russian Government and the Sverdlovsk region Governor’s scholarships, as well as several granted by charitable foundations or philanthropists.

Universities also try to support talented young people with their own means. Ural Federal University has financial support for all years and levels of study.

UrFU Chief Accountant, GSEM Professor Gavriil Agarkov commented on the university’s financial services and opportunities for tax deductions when paying tuition. Prof. Agarkov also elaborated on the maternity capital and how to use it to cover the cost of studies.

The Forum also featured presentations by the regional government representatives, higher education experts from other universities, employers and GSEM graduates.