Principles of Scholarship Development and Scholarship Awarding

The following outline details the principles and motivations behind the scholarship development portion of the Study Abroad Curriculum Integration project.

1. Scholarships support and motivate students. Scholarships meet student needs and motivate them by providing financial resources to study abroad.

2. Scholarships motivate meaningful planning. Broad scholarship availability motivates planning, and early planning helps students overcome all sorts of financial and academic obstacles related to program selection, financial aid, etc.

3. Invest Up-front
1. Paid grant-writer took our ideas, combined them with ideas of his own, and wrote the grant collaboratively with us.  Got two grants that were a great return on the investment.  Some of the grant money went into scholarships, some was used to leverage with University funds to create more scholarships.
   
2. 1/2-time development officer for Office of International Programs who spends some of her time prospecting for study abroad scholarship donors.
   
3. Senior International Officer on TC campus has placed a priority on scholarships as a tool to overcome the "cost" barrier.
   
4. Strong support from University of MN central administration Bruininks, Craig Swan (Executive Vice President and Provost for Undergraduate Education) both invested time and effort up-front envisioning and encouraging this project.
   

4. Diversify Access to Scholarships: Two broad types of scholarship awards
1. "In-house" scholarships are awarded each term
   
2. "Admissions" scholarships are awarded at the time of admission and can be redeemed at any time during the student's academic career

5. Build University-wide collaboration
   1. Involve Faculty and advisers on all 4 campuses
       i.         Faculty and staff read and rate essays for in-house scholarships
•  This is another avenue to show faculty and advisers how study abroad adds academic richness and quality to student's degrees
•  Proves fairness and equity of the awarding process

    ii.         Promote funding partnerships with colleges and departments via faculty and adviser connections.
  iii.         Promote scholarship availability to students through advisers and faculty

2. Work with Admission
   i.         Study Abroad scholarships are a powerful recruiting tool
   • Bring in outstanding students
   • Used as a "topper" for very competitive students
   ii.         SA Scholarships are the largest single pool of scholarship dollars used by Admissions.
   • First money came directly from study abroad office reserve fund funded by program fees (not to be confused with student fees.) "We put our money where our mouth is."
   • Grant match dollars from Central Administration placed in scholarship fund.
   • Study Abroad Scholarship $ leverage college's and academic unit's contributions.
   iii.         Now all Univ. of MN scholarships will be able to support a study abroad experience.
   
3. Work with Colleges and Academic Units
   i.         Leverage $ and partner with other units to expand the pool of resources and eligible applicants.
   
4. Work with Financial Aid Office
   i.         Since 1991 Federal Student Aid must be paid to students for credit-bearing study abroad experiences.  Aid cannot be denied.
   ii.         Working cooperatively with the financial aid office (Office of Student Finance - OSF) helps relieve the administrative burden of this requirement, and builds good faith and cooperation.
   iii.         Scholarships and program costs are reported in a timely manner to OSF.
   iv.         Scholarships not need or merit-based, so awarding is not burdensome to OSF.
   v.         Motivating early planning through scholarships, advising, and a broad communications effort builds collaborative spirit with OSF.
   vi.         We trust OSF to work with students and do what's best to help them understand their financing options and resources.
   vii.         Encourage OSF by helping to target additional funds.
   viii.         Communication lines are open both ways about non-University national and regional scholarship opportunities.
   
   
6. Keep administrative overhead to a minimum for in-house scholarships.
1. No recommendations required
   
2. One  application essay for all "in-house" scholarships
   
3. Shared $ managed through our office
   
4. Not need or merit-based, so easier to manage
   
   
7. Spread in-house scholarship awards broadly, keep the amounts term-based

   1. Average $750, range $500-$1500
      
   2. One in three applicants receives at least one scholarship, some get more than one award
      
   3. Broadly think of in-house scholarships as covering transportation costs.
      
   4. Semester awards - $750
      
   5. Year Awards- $1500
      
   6. Short-term program awards - $500
      i.         Encourage short-term programs as stepping-stone into longer experiences
      ii.         Short-term programs as good opportunities for highly technical or lock-step major
      
      
8. Promote student recipients
   1. Annual dinner with donors highlights student achievements.
      
   2. Crookston notifies local papers of students going abroad and scholarship receipt.
      
   3. Publicize scholarship recipients and their achievements and activities (as well as donors) in alumni magazines and student periodicals.
      
9. Scholarships are awarded for all credit-bearing programs. 
   1. Students and advisers work to find the best academic and geographic fit.
      
   2. Puts student's needs first--no conflict of interest with specific programs or program providers.
      
   3. Scholarship readers are "blind" to the particular programs.
      
   4. Maintains and increases the visibility of the academic rigor of our study abroad programs.
      
10. Reach targeted audiences
    1. Diversity Scholarship
       i.         Cleared by General Counsel.
        ii.       Broad definition of diversity.
       
    2. General College scholarships
       i.         A matched college scholarship, but not awarded through admissions.
       ii.       GC students can apply for these scholarships as a "birthright"-- even after transferring to another college.
       
    3. Access abroad web site
       
11. Leverage increased numbers into lower program costs
    1. Co-sponsor "scholarship" agreements.
       
    2. Raising enrollments leads to lower administrative overhead per student.
       
    3. Holding down fees in face of rising tuition makes programs more cost competitive, increasing the relative value of scholarships awarded.