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22 March 2007 HEFCE logo
To  Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions
Direct Line 0117 931 7300
Direct Fax 0117 931 7203

Circular letter number 12/2007

For further information contact Suzanne Wilson, tel 0117 931 7458, e-mail s.wilson@hefce.ac.uk

Dear Vice-Chancellor or Principal

Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS): arrangements for 2007-08 and 2008-09

1.   This letter updates the arrangements for the ORSAS scheme outlined in HEFCE Circular Letter 21/2005. The new arrangements apply for 2007-08 and, subject to the availability of funding following the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, for 2008-09.

Terms of funding

2.   The terms of the funding are unchanged, and can be summarised as follows:

  • the ORSAS scheme aims to encourage high quality overseas postgraduate research students to undertake their research in the UK
  • the funding should be used to provide awards to full-time postgraduate students who are classified as 'overseas' for tuition fee purposes
  • awards must be made for the difference between the home tuition fee for postgraduate research students and the institution's overseas tuition fee for the relevant subject
  • awards can be held for a maximum of three years
  • ORSAS awards may only be made up to the value of each institution's ORSAS allocation. Additional awards funded from other sources should not be associated with the ORSAS name.

3.   Award maintenance issues (such as students' leave of absences, suspensions, transfers and withdrawals) will continue to be managed by each institution in line with the objectives of the scheme and the terms of funding listed above.

Selection of candidates

4.   As in previous years, award holders should be selected solely on the basis of academic excellence and research potential, having regard to relevant equal opportunities legislation. The details of operational arrangements are at institutions' discretion.

Allocations

5.   We have already informed institutions of the ORSAS allocations for 2007-08 in the annual grant letter. The timing of the announcement of allocations for 2008-09 is expected to be similar, but is subject to the outcome of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

6.   Institutions' allocations will be raised in line with inflation, subject to the availability of resources.

Payment arrangements

7.   HEFCE will pay institutions' formula-based allocations in full in October each year. Institutions should not issue invoices for ORSAS awards to HEFCE or to the ORSAS scheme.

Renewals

8.   Institutions' allocations cover both new and continuing awards. Before allocating new awards for 2007-08 and 2008-09 institutions should establish how many of their existing awards require renewal, as this will determine how much of their allocation is available for new awards.

Monitoring arrangements

9.   ORSAS expenditure will be monitored in 2006-07 through the annual monitoring statement and from 2007-08 onwards through the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Funding allocations beyond 2008-09

10.   As the current ORSAS funding allocations have been calculated from the outcomes of past award competitions, this information is becoming historical. We will need to develop a more up-to-date method for allocating ORSAS funding from 2009-10, should funding be available to continue the scheme beyond 2008-09. We will be reviewing the scheme in the second half of 2007 to develop a revised formula for the allocation of ORSAS funds.

11.   Subject to the outcomes of the review, new funding allocation arrangements will be announced in early 2008. This would allow the new method to be used to allocate ORSAS funding for 2009-10.

12.    As part of the review, consideration will be given to transitional arrangements from the existing system to any new allocation system.

Yours sincerely

Rama Thirunamachandran
Director (Research and Knowledge Transfer)