Nuffic SOL manual for applicants version 3.11 1
SOL Manual for applicants
1. Getting started ............................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Register an account ...................................................................................................................................... 4
3. LOG in to submit an NFP fellowship application ............................................................................................ 5
4. My profile ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
5. Application: Short Course and Master degree programme ........................................................................... 8
6. Application: PhD studies .............................................................................................................................. 9
7. Edit Employer history and job info ............................................................................................................... 11
8. Completing your application ........................................................................................................................ 13
9. Personal account page ................................................................................................................................ 14
10. Questions and Answers .............................................................................................................................. 15
Disclaimer This manual gives information on the use of Scholarships Online (SOL) when using it for the Netherlands Fellowship Programmes. The information contained in this publication was compiled with the greatest of care. Nevertheless, we are unable to guarantee its accuracy or completeness at the time of reading. Because information is constantly subject to change, Nuffic is unable to accept any liability whatsoever for your use of the information. Please note that it is your responsibility to check the accuracy of any information before acting on it. Copyright © 2011 Nuffic. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced or published without the prior written permission of the author. However, sections of up to five pages of this work may be reproduced or published as long as Nuffic is properly acknowledged as the source of the work.
Nuffic SOL manual for applicants version 3.11 2
1. Getting started
Go to the Nuffic website: www.nuffic.nl/nfp and read the information regarding the NFP programme. If you believe you are eligible and you wish to start an application for an NFP fellowship you can follow the instructions in this manual: On the www.nuffic.nl/nfp page go to the left hand menu and click on :
fellowships for master's degrees programmes or , fellowships for short courses or; fellowships for Phd studies
Click on application procedure:
You will find the following frame (for master/ short course or Phd programmes):
Click on: prepare an application.
You will enter the following page (this is an example of an application for a masters degree fellowship):
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Answer the questions by clicking on “yes” or “no” Click on the [submit] button
If you do not understand the question click on “explanation” for more information. After clicking on submit you will be directed to the SOL log in page. On this page you can register yourself in SOL (see chapter 2).
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2. Register an account
To be able to use SOL and submit an application you will need to register first. Registering means getting account details to be able to log in and enter your personal information (name, address, etc) into SOL. 2.1 Get account details To get your account details you need a valid email address and an account name of your choice (you can choose anything you like but try to choose something you can remember easily). In the register frame: Enter your email address Enter an account name Copy the captha numbers that you see in gray Click on the [register] button
DO NOT CLOSE THE PAGE WITH THE REGISTRATION SCREEN
Go to your email box:
You will receive a confirmation email with your account name and a temporary password within seconds. With this account name and temporary password you can log into SOL. When logging in into SOL for the first time SOL will request you to change this temporary password into a password you can easily remember. Please note that your email provider may see this email as spam, so check if your junk/spam folder contains an email sent by [email protected].
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3. LOG in to submit an NFP fellowship application
You log in to the SOL application via the log-in screen for applications (see chapter 1 for link to
this page).
Account name: Enter your account name
Password: Enter your password
Click on the [Login] button
If you log into SOL for the first time you need to enter the temporary password generated by SOL
which you have received by email. After logging in SOL will request you to change this password.
After you changed your password do not use the temporary password you received from Nuffic
anymore. The screen shows as follows:
If you enter a wrong account name and password combination five times, your account will
be blocked. Get in touch with Nuffic to have your account unblocked.
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select the “I accept” checkbox to agree with the SOL general conditions and privacy policy. If you do not accept you cannot continue.
enter your new password twice,
click the [ok] button (this button will only be visible after you have selected the “I accept”
checkbox.
After changing your password you will enter SOL and you will be requested to enter your
personal information in “my profil”.
3.1 Privacy policy
We collect personal information through the application process only. We do not sell, trade or rent
your personal information to third parties. We will only disclose personal information to our
partners and to other registered users and to the suppliers we engage to process data for the
Scholarship on Line-process. Given that the Internet is a global environment, using the Internet to
collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an
international basis. Therefore, by making an online application on the Scholarship on Line
website and by communicating electronically with us, you acknowledge and agree to our
processing of personal data in this way.
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4. My profile
In “my profile” you are requested to enter your personal information. Please do this carefully. After
saving this information cannot be changed anymore. This is a partial example of the My profile
screen:
Fill in all the information marked with a red *.
Click on the [Save] button.
Do not press [enter] when choosing an item from a drop down list. This might generate an
expected error.
You have now registered your profile in SOL. However you have NOT yet applied for an NFP
fellowship. You can continue to start an application now (see chapter 5 for further details) or log
of and apply for a fellowship later. If you apply for a fellowship later you need to log in to the SOL
application via the log-in screen for applications (see chapter 1 for link to this page).
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5. Application: Short Course and Master degree programme
After saving your personal information you will be directed to the application form. (If you have
filled in your profile before you will see an overview of your personal details. After clicking [ok] you
will be directed to the application form). The application form for SC and MA shows as follows:
Choose from the drop down list:
• Dutch institution: the educational institution were you want to do your SC or MA
• The name of the course you are applying for
Fill in:
• Your employer history (see chapter 7)
upload documents in all the fields marked with a red * (which are obligatory fields).
5.1 Document requirements
- Formats for several of these documents can be found on the Nuffic website www.nuffic.nl/nfp on the page “downloads”.
- An uploaded document has to be smaller than 5MB. It also has to be in one of the following formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, jpg or jpeg.
- The file name of an uploaded document has to be recognizable by our system. This means a file name may not contain spaces, extra dots other than the dot prior to the file extension (.doc or .pdf is okay), punctuation or other non standard characters. Letters, numbers, underscores (_) and dashes (–) are allowed.
- Only a number of governments of countries on the NFP country list require a statement of the government before candidates can apply for an NFP fellowship. Check with the Netherlands embassy if this applies in their country.
We advise you to save regularly in order not to lose information. To save your application you need to fill in at least the fields ‘host institution’ and ‘course name’.
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6. Application: PhD studies
After saving your personal information you will be directed to the application form. (If you have
filled in your profile before you will see an overview of your personal details. After clicking [ok] you
will be directed to the application form). The application forms shows as follows (after filling in):
• Choose from the drop down list:
• Dutch institution: the educational institution were you want to do your PhD
• Your field of study
Fill in:
• The title of your research proposal. Do not copy your entire research proposal here, just
the title of the research proposal.
• upload documents in all the fields marked with a red * (which are obligatory fields)
6.1 Document requirements
- Formats for several of these documents can be found on the Nuffic website www.nuffic.nl/nfp on the page “downloads”.
- An uploaded document has to be smaller than 5MB. It also has to be in one of the following formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, jpg or jpeg.
- The file name of an uploaded document has to be recognizable by our system. This means a file name may not contain spaces, extra dots other than the dot prior to the file extension (.doc or .pdf is okay), punctuation or other non standard characters. Letters, numbers, underscores (_) and dashes (–) are allowed.
- Only a number of governments of countries on the NFP country list require a statement of the government before candidates can apply for an NFP fellowship. Check with the Netherlands embassy if this applies in their country.
The second part of the application form for PhD studies shows as follows:
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Fill in all the fields marked with a red * (which are obligatory fields).
Supervisor: the person at the Dutch educational institution (the host institution) that will supervise
you during your PhD. You are obliged to have a supervisor in the Netherlands.
The Co supervisor is someone in your own country that may act as a co-supervisor. You are not
obliged to have a co-supervisor. If you don’t have a co-supervisor you can leave the boxes
relating to this items empty.
The last field “duration” is the number of months of your fellowship period. The maximum duration
is 48 months.
We advise you to save regularly in order not to lose information. To save your application you need to fill in at least the fields ‘host institution’ and ‘ title research proposal and the start and end date of your research.
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7. Edit Employer history and job info
In this field you need to fill in all the information relating to your employment history. It is in fact
the registration of your Curriculum Vitae in SOL. Next to entering your employment history you
need to select your current employer.
Entering employment history click on the red button [edit employment history and job info]
Click on the [add new record] button in the left upper corner in the pop up screen.
The following screen will open:
Fill in all the fields with a red * (which are obligatory fields). Start at the top, and then fill in
all the fields one by one.
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Name of employing organization: if your employing organization is on the drop down list, please select your employer on this list. But: If your employing organization is not on this list you can type the name of your employer in the bar: “name of employing organization (free text)”: - The field current position: use maximum 50 characters including spaces and signs. - The field tasks and responsibilities: use maximum 180 characters including spaces and signs - Name superior: if the name of your superior is listed in the drop down list, please select your superior from this list. But: If your superior is not on the drop-down list you can type the name of your superior in the bar: name superior (free text). After filling in all the information click on the [save] button Then click on the [ok] button
The edit employer screen will close. Start over again to add more employers if you have had other employers in the past. When you finish you will be in the main application form again.
In the LEFT hand drop down field click on your current employer.
Continue with the rest of your application as shown in chapter 5 (SC and MA) or chapter 6 (PhD).
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8. Completing your application
After filling in all the fields marked with a red * and
After uploading all documents marked with a red *
Click the [save] button or;
Click on the [save and go back to my personal account] button or;
Click on the [submit and print page]
You will be directed to the submit page. On this page you can submit your saved application. If
you choose the submit and print page you can also print a copy of your application for your own
administration.
Before submitting you will be requested to accept the NFP Rules and Regulations for candidates
and fellowship holders.
8.1 Rules and regulations for candidates and fellowship holders
The Rules and regulation set out the rules and regulations governing NFP fellowships for
candidates as well as for fellowship holders for all NFP sub-programmes: master’s degree
programmes, short courses, PhD studies and refresher courses, including e-learning
programmes. By submitting an NFP fellowship application, candidates and fellowship holders
agree to comply with NFP rules and regulations. Moreover candidates and fellowship holders are
expected to prepare themselves properly and to have taken note of the information available on
the NFP. The booklet with the rules and regulations can be found on the Nuffic website.
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9. Personal account page
In your personal account page in SOL you can check the status of your application during the
application and selection process. To enter your personal account page follow the instructions in
chapter 1. When you find the following frame:
Click on: Go to your personal account
The status of your application is shown on the left hand side next to your application. You will also
see a button [select]. Click on this button to see the details of your application.
SOL will also inform you by email if the status of your application changes. Below is a list of the
most important statuses:
• saved: your information is saved in SOL;
• submitted: your application is submitted in SOL and will be processed for consideration;
• admitted: the Dutch institution indicated that you are admitted to the course;
• not admitted: the Dutch institution indicated that you are not admitted to the course;
• eligible: your application is considered eligible;
• not eligible: your application is considered not eligible;
• selected: you are selected for a scholarship;
• not selected: you are not selected for a scholarship;
• confirmed: you confirmed your availability for the scholarship;
• not confirmed: you did not confirm your availability for the scholarship.
9.1 Availability check
When Nuffic will start making the selection you might be asked to confirm if you are still available
for a fellowship. You can confirm your availabilityby clicking on the [confirm] button in your
personal account page in SOL. If requested to do so you have 7 days to confirm your availability.
You will also see a button [withdraw] on the right hand side next to your application(s). If you
click on this button you will withdraw your application. After you withdraw your application this
application will not be taken into consideration during the selection process.
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Questions and Answers
My account is blocked
You can submit a request through www.nuffic.nl/contact to unblock your account. In your request
please mention your account name and email address.
My employer is not on the list If your employer is not on the drop down list provided in SOL you can enter the name of your
employing organization in the free text field in “edit employment history and job info” (see the
instructions in chapter 7). When you enter your employer in the free text field, you do not need to
choose an employer in the list even though it is marked with a red *.
I cannot click on ok after I have edited my employer history If the [ok] button does not show it probably falls of your screen so you cannot see or click it. Try to
adapt the screen reSOLution of your computer screen so all will be shown in a smaller size. You
will then be able to click on the [ok] button.
The current status of my application is 'saved'. Does this mean that I have successfully applied for an NFP fellowship? No. It only means that you have filled in all the required information and have uploaded all the
requested documents. However, you have not yet applied. To apply you have to submit your
application. You have to submit your application before the application deadline. If your
application still has the status 'saved' at the time of the deadline your application will not be
considered.
How can I add information to my fellowship application? You cannot make any changes or additions to your application after you have submitted it, not
even if the fellowship deadline has not yet passed.
I forgot my password You can request a new password in the log-in screen. go to the Log-in screen and scroll down to
the frame “remind password”.
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Email address: Enter here your email address that you use for SOL
Captcha numbers: Enter here the numbers you see in the grey field “Captcha numbers”
Click on the [remind log in] button
A new password will be sent to your email address. Maybe your email provider sees this email as
spam, so check if your junk/spam folder contains an email sent by [email protected].
I can not apply. The only options I see are “edit profile” and “log out”. If you see only the two options “edit profile” and “log out” and you do not get the possibility to start an application and upload documents you are in the account part of SOL. You need to go to the application part. Please go to our website: www.nuffic.nl/nfp and do not use the old address in your browser history or any link that has been send to you by email. Follow the instructions as mentioned under “getting started” in chapter 1 of this document. Click on: prepare an application. (and not on "go to your personal account")
You will then be redirected to the SOL system and you can apply for a scholarship. Please also check our website www.nuffic.nl/nfp for the latest information and more questions and answers on: www.nuffic.nl/nfp-faqs