Scholarship Panel Dianne Danov, Associate Director of Compliance & Scholarships, U of MN

– Twin Cities Sandy Sundstrom, Director of Financial Aid, St. Olaf College

Brenda Trafton, Director of Scholarships & Loan Process, Normandale College

University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesScholarships

• Statistics• Scholarship Student Selector• Undergraduate Scholarship Search• STAR-Scholarship Tracking and Reporting• Online Scholarship Application• Scholarship Administrators and Best Practices

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 2013-2014 Academic Year Statistics

• Public institution- 51,000 enrolled students• Scholarships are decentralized, administered and awarded by • Admission• Financial Aid• Colleges and Departments• Merit scholarships and Need based scholarships

• 2750 different scholarship funds awarded this year

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 2013-2014 Academic Year Statistics

• 18,000 institutional scholarships awarded to students - $57.4 million - run through the Scholarship Unit in financial aid• Many students receive more than one scholarship• Over 230 scholarship administrators on campus

• In addition, Outside Scholarships run through the Scholarship Unit in Financial Aid• 6600 processed totaling $9.7 million

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Why we need scholarship toolsEveryone awards scholarships• Scholarship Unit in the Office of Student Finance• Admissions Office for incoming freshman and renewals• Hundreds of scholarship administrators on campus– For most college administrators this work is “other duties as assigned”– There was no formal or systematic training– Administrative responsibility was not standard and exists at all levels (college,

department, offices)– College and departments need to know how much money there is to award–We need to spend the scholarship funds for students to have funding for

college and to provide better stewardship to our donors

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Scholarship Student Selector

• Looked at the most requested criteria for scholarship selection– College, program, need, GPA, gender, COA and other financial aid awarded–We found over 90% of scholarships were awarded on a small set of criteria, 9

items– Determined the location of the data within the computer system-financial aid,

admissions and student records

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Scholarship Student Selector

• A tool was built to reduce administrative effort− The tool identifies and ranks potential candidates for scholarship awards−Data base produces an excel spreadsheet with data elements for each

student, such as COA, EFC, need, GPA, program, high school student attended, 35 different elements. Administrators can filter the spreadsheet to look for the particular criteria need for the scholarship

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Undergraduate Scholarship Search

• Goal was to centralize the source of all scholarships− Student saw notices on bulletin boards or heard about scholarship

opportunities from professors− Each college/department managed how they advertised differently

• Search provides one place for colleges and departments to advertise their scholarship opportunities to current students− Colleges/departments can promote scholarships to targeted groups based on

quantitative data (like GPA)

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Undergraduate Scholarship Search

• Student logs into the search and it brings up scholarships they may be eligible to apply for based on biographical and academic data pulled from the system− Provides direct links to the application and information about the scholarship−Allows student to ask “what if” questions, if the student changes colleges,

there would be different scholarship opportunities

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities STAR-Scholarship Tracking and Reporting

• Hundreds of scholarship administrators on campus− For most this work is “other duties as assigned”− There was no formal or systematic training−Administrative responsibility was not standard and exists at all levels (college,

department, offices)• Information necessary to make informed decisions is complicated,

confusing and scattered

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities STAR-Scholarship Tracking and Reporting

• The University has various funding sources for scholarships‒ Foundation endowments‒ Treasury accounting scholarships- prior to the creation of the University of

Minnesota Foundation‒ Central funding• Colleges and Departments needed one place to see the scholarships and

the available balance to make informed decisions• One place to see the names of students that received the funds, how much

and when

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Online Scholarship Application

• Hundreds of different scholarship applications− Each college/department had their own application, paper or online with

different processes− Student would have to fill out multiple applications− Everyone asks student for name, ID, address, GPA, etc.

• Wanted one application for students to complete to apply for multiple scholarships and from various departments

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Online Scholarship Application

• Easy for students− Log into the system with their University ID/password− System recognizes the student so there is no need to complete any

bio/academic information, it brings up all scholarships the student could apply for, by college or University wide scholarships− Interface allows student to complete and submit the application on line− Colleges/departments will have access to their applicants and data output

and can give view access to committee members to review the applications

Went live two weeks ago!

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Scholarship Administrators and Best Practices

•Monthly meetings with Scholarship Administrators‒ Give financial aid and scholarship updates‒ Get their input on processes‒ Discussion of among administrators of best practices‒ Provide demos of products available to use

•Scholarship Administrators list serv‒ financial aid sends out updates and important

information as needed

•Training materials available on our web page•Best practices materials available for college staff

St. Olaf College• 4- year, residential, Lutheran, undergraduate, private, liberal arts college• Located in Northfield, MN• 3125 enrollment• 70% receive need-based grants/scholarships• 24% receive merit scholarships (and have no financial need)• 70% of students participate in study abroad

St. Olaf CollegeScholarships

• Academic Merit scholarships awarded by Admission department

• Fine Arts scholarships awarded by Departments

• Endowed scholarship funds awarded by FA Department

St. Olaf CollegeAcademic Merit Scholarships

• Students indicate interest in academic merit scholarships on Common Application• Admissions completes a holistic review of the applicant’s file and

makes scholarship recommendation• Admissions Scholarship Committee selects recipients• Renewable for 4 years

St. Olaf College Academic Merit

• Institutional priority is on need-based grants• Offer fewer scholarships at lower dollar amounts than other private

colleges• No grid or chart available to determine eligibility• No additional application required• Top 5% of applicant pool invited to campus to interview with faculty

for highest academic scholarship

St. Olaf CollegeFine Arts Scholarships

• Music, Theater, Dance, and Art• Awarded to incoming freshman, renewable for 4 years• Top candidates are invited to campus for auditions and/or

portfolio submissions and interviews

St. Olaf CollegeEndowed Scholarships

• Offered to continuing students with financial need• Students complete an online institutional aid application and

FAFSA to be considered• 700 different awards; approximately half are unrestricted; the

other half have restrictive criteria (major, geographic, study abroad, etc.)

St. Olaf CollegePublicity

• Admissions sends a mailing/brochure to all applicants and inquiries outlining available scholarships• The various fine arts departments (Theater, Music, Art, and

Dance) send separate mailings outlining audition criteria

St. Olaf CollegeChallenges

• Due to selective criteria, auditions, interviews, etc., difficult to automate process.• Very manual and time-consuming• Matching donor specific criteria with the “right” student• Timing and communication of scholarship decisions with Admissions

• 2 year, liberal arts college founded in 1968• 2012-2013 enrollment was 14,693• 43% full-time, 57% part-time• 35% are students of color• 33% are students 25 or older

• 62% awarded financial aid (federal/state/institutional)• Our institutional funding is less than 1% of the total aid awarded• 2012-2013 we had about 350 applications, awarded 199 scholarships,

$383,222

• Normandale Foundation Scholarships• Academy of Math & Science • Departmental Scholarships

Normandale Foundation Scholarships• Range from $375 - $3000 per year• Awarded to both New and Current Students• Most are targeted toward full-time students, with financial need, strong

academic background, strong leadership and community service involvement • Some available for part-time students, or students enrolled in specific programs• Students are required to complete the FAFSA and an on-line Normandale

scholarship application to apply• An on-campus committee reviews applications and scores them based on essay,

strength of courses taken, volunteer activity, financial need, and letters of recommendation

Academy of Math & Science • A scholarship and mentoring program funded through a federal grant• Students interested in S.T.E.M. majors• Cohort of students for peer support• 2 year commitment to program• MUST fill out a FAFSA and an AMS Application• They choose recipients, with input from FAO, and notify FAO for

disbursement

Departmental Scholarships • Apply directly to the department• Application periods and processes vary • Usually funded by current/retired instructors• They choose recipients and notify FAO for disbursement

Publicity• Late December, mail postcards to currently registered students, extras in FAO to hand out• November-May, Admissions includes information about scholarship process with

information sent to new students• Emails• Facebook posts• On-campus posters• Table tents in cafeteria and student gathering spots• Ask instructors to announce in class • During Student Success Day we do a presentation about applying for scholarships

Challenges• Getting students to apply• Getting students to read and follow directions• Getting the departments to communicate with us and follow

the rules• Getting our Foundation Office to limit criteria to things we

can access

Questions???

• Dianne Danov, 612-624-2057, d-dano@umn.edu• Sandy Sundstrom, 507-786-3357, sundstro@stolaf.edu• Brenda Trafton, 952-358-8850, brenda.Trafton@normandale.edu