Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual - Policy 2335: Departmental Scholarships

Date Originally Issued: 07-01-2005
Revised: 04-30-2014

Process Owner: Vice President, Enrollment Management

1. General

Departmental scholarships enable the University to recruit, retain, recognize, and reward the best and brightest by providing financial support to students who demonstrate superior motivation, curiosity, and intellect. Through departmental scholarship programs students registered at the University may be eligible for monetary assistance to help in meeting their educational expenses. This assistance may include scholarships, non-service awards, student tuition payments, and fellowships, hereafter referred to as scholarships. This policy defines the requirements for scholarships to ensure equal treatment and access to departmental scholarship programs.

2. Departmental Scholarship Programs

To establish a departmental scholarship, departments must submit either a Proposal for Establishing a Departmental Scholarship (Exhibit A) or a description of the program to the appropriate dean for approval. Each proposal or description must include the following elements in accordance with applicable sections herein:

• scholarship objective;
• type of award and value or range of values;
• typical number and frequency of scholarships to be awarded;
• source of funds;
• criteria for eligibility, nomination, and participation;
• process used to promote the scholarship and request applications;
• selection procedures indicating who selects recipients and timeline for selection; and
• criteria upon which scholarship decisions will be made.

3. Publicity

Departments must formally announce all available awards on departmental web pages.

 4. Eligibility

In order to assist students in their search for scholarship support, departments must have written guidelines on file that include eligibility criteria for each of their scholarship programs. These guidelines must be printed on all departmental scholarship announcements and placed on departmental scholarship web pages. The criteria for scholarships paid from endowed programs must adhere to donor agreements.

5. Nomination

Departments may have scholarly award programs whereby they request nominations from faculty, staff, and constituents. These awards differ from scholarships in that they are designed to recognize specific scholarly achievements and are generally not comparable to the dollar amounts of scholarships.

6. Selection and Notification Process

Departments must have a formal selection process that includes a selection committee of at least two (2) individuals, unless the fund donor has different requirements. For limitations on donor involvement concerning recipients, refer to Section 4 of UAP 1030 ("Gifts to the University"). The selection process must be documented in writing and the selection timeline must be placed on the departmental scholarship web page. Departments must:

• coordinate and maintain records of all applicants and the selection process for three (3) years,
• notify recipients in writing on University letterhead, and
• notify the Scholarship Office of all awards via a Departmental Award Form.

The University does not discriminate in scholarship selection on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental handicap, age, sex, sexual preference, gender identity, ancestry, or medical condition. However, legitimate preferences of scholarship fund donors shall be observed, with approval of University Counsel. The Scholarship Office and the University Cashiers Department will facilitate the payment of all awards. All awards will be distributed in accordance with UAP 7230 ("Financial Aid Disbursement").

7. Scholarship Office

The Scholarship Office is responsible for:

• processing departmental award forms, and
• monitoring the proper use of funds.

Forms, submission instructions, and additional scholarship information can be found on the Scholarship Office website.

8. Attachment

Exhibit A. Proposal for Establishing a Departmental Scholarship