Accepting a Scholarship
After the assessment panellists have reviewed your application, we will contact you by email. If your scholarship application is successful we will send you your scholarship terms and conditions and you will be required to send further supporting documents and a signed scholarship agreement.
Scholarship Notification
You will be notified by email if your application has been successful or unsuccessful on the application round notification date. Depending on circumstances, the notification dates may be brought forward or extended. TeachNZ will contact you should this be the case.
Reserve and Alternative Scholarship Offers
On the day notification the TeachNZ team may also contact you to let you know you have received a Reserve or Alternative Scholarship offer.
After each application round, the assessment panellists are tasked with compiling a list of the candidates who have not been awarded a scholarship, but who they believe would be worthy scholarship recipients. If you are one of these applicants the TeachNZ team will contact you to let you know you have been recommended as a Reserve. You will also have the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship after if:
- Other candidates who were successful withdraw their application
- There is a surplus of scholarships remaining to be allocated.
The assessment panellists and TeachNZ can also award you a different scholarship to the one you initially applied for. You can be offered an ‘alternative’ scholarship if:
- The assessment panellists believe you are a more suitable candidate for a different scholarship
- There is a surplus of different scholarships remaining to be allocated.
Accepting a Scholarship
-
If your application is successful, we will email you a scholarship offer with an agreement setting out the terms and conditions of the scholarship. Note: Your scholarship offer is subject to you gaining entry onto an approved qualification.
-
Gather the appropriate document to include with your scholarship agreement. This will include your signed agreement, NSN number, original or certified copies of bank evidence, IRD number and provider confirmation of enrolment.
-
Get all of your photocopied documents certified. Take the copies and originals to be sighted, and ensure all front pages are stamped and endorsed as true copies of the original.
-
Email your completed agreement documents to TeachNZ. We will let you know by email that we have received your agreement documents.
We will pay all eligible fees through StudyLink to your tertiary provider and any eligible allowances directly to you. Note: Payments can take up to six weeks once all required documentation is received and your provider confirms enrolment with StudyLink.
Scholarship Agreement / Terms and Conditions
By signing your Scholarship Agreement, you give your consent you will be awarded a TeachNZ Scholarship and will have to meet the terms and conditions of the Agreement you sign.
Under the Agreement, TeachNZ will pay Fees and an Allowance for each year you meet the requirements
of your Scholarship. By accepting the Scholarship, you agree to complete your Study and work as a
teacher after you have completed your teacher education qualification.
If you are not able to meet the terms and conditions of this Agreement you must repay all or part of the
Scholarship. Each scholarship has different terms and conditions. These differences are related to payment amounts, the scheduling of payments and the amount of teaching you are obligated to complete (bonding)
once you have completed your Initial Teacher Education course.
Example Scholarship Agreement and Terms and Conditions can be found under each different scholarships page on the TeachNZ website.
In accepting a scholarship you agree to the following:
Payment Disclaimer:
If you do not complete your study or bond period you will be held liable for the repayment of fees and allowance payments you received from your TeachNZ scholarship.
Course fees and Allowances
Course fees are the compulsory fees charged by the tertiary provider for each paper in which you are enrolled in for your approved teaching qualification. ‘Course fees’ do not include course-related costs such as stationery, books, computer equipment, or travel.
An allowance is money in to your own pocket in contrast to course fees going to the provider for the course that you are undertaking. The schedule for payment of allowances varies depending on the scholarship you receive but to be eligible you must:
- be studying full time (or have limited full-time status from StudyLink)
- pass all your papers you are enrolled in (Kupe Applicants – you must maintain a B+ or above grade average).
Payments are managed by Studylink on behalf of the TeachNZ team. When you receive a scholarship, StudyLink confirms with your tertiary provider that you are enrolled. StudyLink then pays your course fees directly to your tertiary provider.
Bonding
If you receive a TeachNZ Scholarship, to pay back public funding, you are required to teach in a New Zealand licensed ECE centre, state or state-integrated schools for a stipulated time after you graduate. This is what we call a ‘bond period.’ Typically, a bond period is two years for every year a scholarship is received. Career Changer recipients should be aware that they may be required to teach for six years to complete their bonding obligations.
If your application is successful we will send you the Terms and Conditions of the Scholarship Agreement, which will outline your bond period and further information.
If you feel you will not be able to complete your bonding period, or that the prospect of teaching for period of time you are required to is not something you would like to do, please do not accept a scholarship offer.
For more information around bonding, please visit the Bonding page.