07 - Austria - Registration and/or tuition fees

Colleges and other training institutions for health occupations

Paramedical colleges, midwifery colleges, training for cardiology technicians

Most of the training programmes in the health sector are offered by public entities as part of their private-sector functions, some are offered by private entities. Under the law, fees may be collected. In practice this is done only for a few courses.

Universities

Students who are Austrian nationals, citizens of EU or EEA member states or Swiss citizens have to pay EUR 363.36 for their tuition each semester. For other students tuition fees are higher, i.e. EUR 726.72. If students make use of extended payment deadlines (30 November for winter semesters, 30 April for summer semesters), their fees are increased by another ten percent. Students who are enrolled in several courses (at one or more Austrian university/-ies) do not have to pay more. Students who have been granted a leave for a semester (which is only possible upon their formal request and in exceptional cases and for a maximum period of two semesters) do not have to pay tuition fees during that period. As a consequence, however, these students are not entitled to take classes and exams during their leave, nor may they submit academic theses or art work for assessment.

Tuition fees must be paid in advance for each semester. In addition to these fees, students have to pay a membership fee to the students union as well as other special premiums (currently premiums for personal accident insurance and personal liability insurance for students). Students have to pay all these fees in order to be admitted to studies and in order to be able to continue their studies. Payment is monitored by means of a data communications network at the Federal Computing Centre. Tuition fees are at the universities’ disposal. The students union membership fees ("ÖH-Beitrag") go to the Austrian National Union of Students ( Österreichische Hochschülerschaft).

Since students have to pay tuition fees, they are entitled to co-determine how this money is to be used by choosing among various possibilities put forward by the senate.

The rectorate ( Rektor )is to exempt the following students from paying tuition fees:

• students at Austrian universities who engage in studies or traineeships within the framework of transnational EU, state or university mobility programmes (for the time they spend abroad)
• students at Austrian universities who study abroad due to obligatory provisions of their curriculum (for the time they spend abroad)
• non-Austrian students under partnership agreements with other universities to mutually exempt students from paying tuition fees
• Convention refugees
• students from one of the least developed countries according to the OECD

Fachhochschulen

The providers of Fachhochschule programmes and/or the Fachhochschulen are entitled, but not obliged, to charge their students tuition fees of EUR 363.36 per semester. 

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