Dear Staff and Students
Please take note of the following updates pertaining to students funded by NSFAS.
REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR NSFAS FUNDED STUDENTS
Information on the registration process for NSFAS funded students can be found on the links below:
- Link: Registration Process for NSFAS Funded Students
- Link: Uhlelo lokubhalisa lwabafundi abakhokhelwa u-NSFAS
CONFIRMATION OF Funding Decisions for 2025
- To date, the university has received three NSFAS funded lists which have all been processed by Student Funding and financial clearance granted to students appearing on these NSFAS funded lists (±20,405 returning students and ±6,954 FTENS).
- All students who appeared on these NSFAS funded lists would have received sms confirmation advising of their funding status.
- Once the financial clearance has been completed, students will receive an sms confirming that that they have been granted financial clearance.
- These students need to ensure that they finalise their registration for both tuition and residence (as applicable) as a matter of urgency to avoid any delays with submission of their registration data to NSFAS for disbursement of allowances.
- Students whose funding for 2025 has not been confirmed by NSFAS will need to make the required payments as outlined in the financial clearance concessions to be able to register. (Link to financial clearance concessions)
NSFAS APPEALS PROCESS FOR 2025
- For 2025 all NSFAS Appeals (for new and returning students) will be handled through the NSFAS online process.
- Students who wish to submit appeals or obtain more detailed information on the appeals process may access the online Appeals system on the NSFAS Website (www.nsfas.org.za).
- Students awaiting the outcome of NSFAS appeals will need to meet the financial clearance requirements applicable to unfunded students.
NSFAS FUNDED STUDENTS WITH DEBT
- There are several NSFAS funded students for which NSFAS still needs to make payments to the University for 2024. Those amounts still expected to be received from NSFAS for 2024 will be deducted accordingly when determining the debt amounts that are the responsibility of the students. Student Funding will communicate these amounts to the Student Fees Office on behalf of students who were funded by NSFAS in 2024.
- The debt amounts that are the responsibility of students generally arise because of:
- Unpaid fees from years during which students were not funded by NSFAS.
- Unpaid fees from years during which the student’s actual costs exceeded the NSFAS funding cap. The NSFAS funding cap is applicable to students who entered their tertiary level studies before 2018 and to student accommodation charges.
- Unpaid fees from other costs that are not covered by NSFAS, such as fees for clubs and societies, and fees for supplementary exams. The only costs that are funded by NSFAS are tuition, student levies, accommodation, and allowances.
- Students are reminded that they remain fully liable for any outstanding amounts not paid by NSFAS. This includes payments not received for previous years other than for the 2024 academic year.
ALLOWANCES FOR THE 2025 ACADEMIC YEAR
- The University has been advised by NSFAS that Semester 1 allowances (Cycles 1 to 5) will be disbursed by the University. However, the University has not received any communication from NSFAS regarding the 2025 allowance amounts.
- Notwithstanding the lack of communication from NSFAS, the Executive Management of the University has taken a decision to commence the process of disbursing Cycle 1 allowances which will be based on the 2024 allowance amounts.
- However, please be advised that the process takes a little longer at the start of the year due to programme changes that need to be made to the allowance system. This is being prioritised and the provisional date for the first payment is 4 February 2025.
SUBMISSION OF BANKING DETAILS TO UKZN
- In order to receive allowance payments, all students who will be funded by NSFAS for the first time in 2025 must complete a banking details form (Link to banking details form)
- The completed form together with all the required supporting documentation must be submitted to Student Fees using Fresh Desk (Link to Fresh Desk Portal): Click on “Submit a ticket” and Select “Student Fees” from the drop down. Select “Submission of Bank Detail Forms” from the drop down menu under Query Type – Query Item 1.
- Please be advised that allowances can only be paid to bank accounts that are in the name of the student and not third parties.
NSFAS PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION PORTAL
- All payments for private accommodation will be done by NSFAS and will be paid directly to landlords.
- Students wishing to apply for Private Accommodation are required to use the NSFAS Private Accommodation Portal and approvals will be processed by the NSFAS Private Accommodation system. (Link to NSFAS Student Accommodation Portal)
Any further queries regarding Student Funding may be sent to the Student Funding Advisors.
Issued by
N Mbhele
Chief Finance Officer