12.01.01 – Scholarship Administration
Section: Academic Affairs
Area: General
I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this document is to define and set forth minimum criteria for the administration and oversight of college and institutional scholarships. This document assigns responsibilities and assists university personnel in complying with federal and state guidelines for scholarship management and stewardship of private gifts.
II. DEFINITIONS
This document will address the administration of traditional scholarships. Other forms of student financial support are defined to provide direction to the appropriate administering office or policy.
A. Scholarship: An amount given to or on behalf of a student for purposes of educational activities not to exceed the cost of attendance. A scholarship may include, but is not limited to: tuition, mandatory fees, room, board and books/supplies. A scholarship is not compensation for services rendered by the student and cannot be used to compensate a student for employment services (including for part-time employment), which must be paid as wages.
B. Assistantship/Fellowship: Graduate students determined by the Vice Provost and Dean for the UH Graduate School as eligible for support under this program will be awarded a fellowship amount equal to resident tuition and designated tuition charges for nine credit hours for each fall and spring semester of eligibility, and six credit hours for the summer. The Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship program (DSTF) does not cover mandatory or course fees, which remain the obligation of the student. (The DSTF is offered each semester subject to funding availability). For more information on the university's graduate assistantship/fellowship program, see MAPP 11.03.03 .
C. Stipend (Compensation): A payment made to an individual for purposes of living or maintenance, most commonly associated with the educational activities of a student or scholar. A stipend may or may not require performance of services; however, to the extent services are associated with and/or required as a condition of receiving the stipend payment, the "fair market value" for the services is classified as "compensation" for tax purposes. Because a stipend does not typically refer to amounts provided as or for tuition, it is generally not excludable from tax as a qualified scholarship. Compensation is administered through the university's payroll processes.
III. RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCIAL AID
As required by SAM 06.B.02, Administration of Scholarships and Financial Aid , the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is responsible for notifying the campus community, through an annual notification, the criteria and guidelines, including timetables, for coordinating and awarding all financial assistance (non-Title IV). This notification must be provided no later than July 1 of each year for the upcoming aid year.
IV. MINIMUM CRITERIA FOR COLLEGE-ADMINISTERED SCHOLARSHIPS
A. Written guidelines, provided and maintained by the college, which state how the scholarships are awarded, including the requirements for the college scholarship committee(s).
B. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is responsible for developing criteria and guidelines, including timetables, for administration of college-administered undergraduate scholarships that comply with federal, state, University of Houston System endowment and management guidelines and directives. These guidelines apply to all students, including UH employees who are also students.
C. Eligibility guidelines and other scholarship criteria must be written and maintained within the college. These guidelines apply to all students, including UH employees who are also students.
D. In those instances where financial need will be considered in the award, college guidelines as to financial need and cost of attendance will acknowledge the appropriate Department of Education definitions and the estimated cost of attendance and expected family contribution established by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for students who complete the FAFSA. The definitions for this purpose are:
1. Financial need: The difference between the cost of attendance at a college and the expected family contribution.
2. Cost of Attendance (COA): Costs related to a student's enrollment in a postsecondary school for a defined academic period. COA components include tuition and fees, room and board, allowances for books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses, along with other applicable expenses such as loan fees, dependent care costs, costs related to a disability, and study abroad costs as outlined in Section 472 of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, also known as 20 U. S. C. 1087LL .
3. Expected Family Contribution (EFC): A calculated amount, based on a Federal formula, of how much the student's family can be expected to contribute toward the cost of the student's education in an award year.
E. Application criteria and requirement to publicize must be documented. The college must be specific as to how they will provide notification of available scholarships.
F. Documentation standards for the scholarship awarding process must be publicly available. The college is responsible for maintaining a record of the standards used in determining awards.
G. A mechanism and timeline for notification to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid of the awardees must be defined within the college's written guidelines.
H. The actual awards to students will be provided through the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid through the university's financial aid and student accounting systems.
I. College criteria must comply with federal, state, and University of Houston System endowment and management guidelines and directives. Colleges may consult with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for review of criteria.
V. MINIMUM CRITERA FOR INSTITUTIONALLY-ADMINSTERED SCHOLARSHIPS
The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is responsible for developing criteria and guidelines, including timetables, for institutionally-administered undergraduate scholarships that comply with federal, state, University of Houston System endowment and management guidelines and directives. These guidelines apply to all students, including UH employees who are also students. Recommendations for the award criteria for institutionally-administered scholarships will be made by the Enrollment Management Committee with the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost or delegate. The Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost may assign responsibility for graduate and professional scholarships and fellowships to the UH Graduate School.
Employees who are students at the University of Houston may receive scholarships from scholarship funds maintained in cost centers that are established for that purpose under the guidelines specified in Sections IV and V above. Employees may only be awarded scholarships from other funding sources, such as departmental M & O cost centers, with the written approval of the Vice President responsible for that cost center. In such instances, these awards must comply with the institutional award criteria specified by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, including public posting of availability to all eligible students. Non-job related scholarships must be reported in accordance with requirements of SAM 03.D.06, Taxable Fringe Benefits .
VI. GIFT COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR ENDOWED AND OTHER PHILANTHROPIC SCHOLARSHIPS
A. Philanthropic scholarships are to be awarded on the time table provided by the Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid.
B. The actual awards to students are to be made through the University's financial aid and accounting system.
C. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid shall provide scholarship recipients' names (and other identifying criteria), the name of the scholarship award, and the amount of the award to University Advancement, upon request, within a reasonable time frame, for purposes of donor reporting, in compliance with FERPA.
D. Student names may not be released by the university or its staff if the scholarship criteria contain a component of financial need and/or if the student has opted out from the release of directory information.
E. Distributed income from endowment funds will be retained in individual cost centers whose spending may be traced back to the endowment corpus. Non-endowed scholarship gifts will also be held in cost centers whose spending may be traced to the original gift.
F. The Office of Gift Compliance and the Office of Academic Budgets and Administration will review scholarship income accounts periodically to ensure that scholarship funds are expended.
VII. REQUIREMENTS FOR MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING FOR SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
A. All funds received or disbursed for scholarships will be recorded with the appropriate fund codes and program codes (function) in the university's financial records.
B. All funds received for scholarships should be awarded within the period specified by the donor or fund source. Awards should be made by the end of the year following receipt in cases where the period has not been specified.
C. Year-end equity balances will not exceed the amount necessary for total award commitments plus a reserve of 25 percent of the funds received the previous fiscal year. Total award commitments may mean either the awards for the following year or the total commitments for multiple year awards, as determined by the donor or fund source. Excess funds will be made available for awards in the following year or, in the case of endowed scholarships the excess will be returned to the endowment, as permitted by the donor.
REFERENCES
20 U. S. C. 1087LL - Cost of Attendance
MAPP 11.03.03 – Non-Resident Tuition Employment Waivers
SAM 03.D.06, Taxable Fringe Benefits
SAM 06.B.02, Administration of Scholarships and Financial Aid
Issued: 02/28/2007
Last Reviewed/Revised: 12/04/2023
Responsible Office(s): Academic Affairs