New Online Student Grants Procedure for Academic Year 2012/2013

Dear Principal
 
With the Leaving Certificate exams fast approaching many of your pupils will have made plans in relation to their ongoing education.  Given the current economic pressures the need for your pupils and by extension their parents to check out their options in relation to a student grant is a key part of that planning process. 
 
Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), a unit of the City of Dublin VEC has been appointed the single awarding authority for student grants (background note attached). 
 
Student Grant Information Week (30^th April 2012 – 4^th May 2012)
As part of the information campaign prior to the launch of the new Online SUSI Student Grant System, the week from 30 April – 4 May 2012 has been designated Student Grant Information Week and is aimed at secondary schools nationwide.  During that week, you and your colleagues are requested to facilitate, within your timetable, a presentation to your leaving certificate pupils on the new Online Student Grant System.  
 
SUSI will provide easy to use supporting briefing material to use during the presentation.  In addition there will be a 12 minute multimedia Grant Application Tutorial available to download for use during the presentation which will address most of the information necessary.  
 
The briefing material and multimedia tutorial were devised following consultation with various education sector stakeholders, and was informed in particular by the extensive feedback we received from the SUSI seminar we hosted at the Guidance Counsellors Conference in March of this year. 
 
Next Steps

• In discussion with your colleagues you are asked to select a suitable day during Student Grant Information Week (30^th April 2012 – 4^th May 2012) to facilitate the presentation to your leaving certificate pupils
• Attached below you will find 2(A4) Poster options to publicise your event. All you need do is insert your selected Date(s)/Time and Location, then print them out for use on relevant school notice boards as soon as possible.
• Next week we will email you with details of the webpage where you will be able to access and download the SUSI Grant Application Tutorial and the accompanying facilitator’s notes for use at your presentations. 

Download the Poster & insert your details before printing		Download the Poster & insert your details before printing