LESSON OUTLINE



INTRODUCTION

In our final lesson we will be talking about some additional guidelines to assist committees with running effective scholarship committees.


You will not be required to take a short quiz at the end of this lesson, but we encourage you to review the contents of this lesson and others, as often as is required.



MEETING AGENDAS

The Committee Chairman is responsible for setting and finalizing the agenda for each committee meeting. All committee members are encouraged to submit items for the agenda via the committee secretary, but the final agenda should be set and approved by the committee chair.


An example of a committee meeting agenda may include the following components:


Meeting Information

  • Meeting Date
  • Location
  • Attendees


Procedural Items

  • Opening and Closing Prayers
  • Review of Minutes from the Previous Meeting
  • Review of Action Items from the Previous Meeting
  • Review of the Event Calendar


Administration Items

  • Financial Reports
  • Needs-Based Scholarship Application Reviews
  • Needs-Based Scholarship Candidate List
  • Merit-Based Scholarship Register Review
  • Merit-Based Scholarship Candidate List
  • BYU-Hawaii Pacific Area Scholarships (PAS) Candidate List
  • Other Items


This agenda is an example of the typical discussion points that may occur in a committee meeting. Committees may have other points to discuss, but this agenda is provided as a sample to help get committees started.



THE SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE FILE

All documents, lists, agendas, minutes, registers, and other relevant records relating to the scholarship committee should be kept in a secure file. This could be a physical folder with paper documents, a digital folder with electronic files, or a combination of both.

 

The Committee Chairperson, with the help of the secretary, is responsible for keeping this file and its associated documents up to date and well organised. The committee chair should have full access to this file also.

 

While this file may contain many different types of documents and information, the following key documents should be kept in this file as a minimum:

 

  • The Scholarship Register
  • Merit-Based Scholarship Candidate List*
  • Needs-Based Scholarship Candidate List*
  • Meeting Agendas
  • Meeting Minutes
  • The Scholarship Committee Calendar
  • Budget Reports
  • Financial Reports
  • Needs-Based Scholarship Application Forms
  • Exports of SQL Report Data used for Selecting Candidates

 

*Needs-Based Scholarship Candidate Lists

If using PowerSchool, Needs-Based Scholarship Candidate lists can be managed entirely through the PowerSchool interface. If using the PowerSchool interface for needs-based scholarship tracking, a copy of this list would not have to be provided in the Scholarship Committee file. If not using PowerSchool, a needs-based scholarship candidate list could be created using a simple word or excel document. At a minimum, this list should contain the name of each recipient, the amount awarded, and any notes or dates relevant to each recipient. 


*Merit-Based Scholarship Candidate Lists

Merit-Based Scholarship Candidate lists could be recorded directly within the scholarship register. If not recorded in the scholarship register a merit-based scholarship candidate list could be created using a simple word or excel document. At a minimum, this list should contain the name of each recipient, the amount awarded, and any notes or dates relevant to each recipient. The list should be divided into sections – one section for each type of merit-based scholarship, with the list of candidates included in each section. An additional column could be included to indicate whether each student was shortlisted, approved, or declined etc.



MEETING MINUTES AND RECORD KEEPING

It is very important to keep accurate records for all meetings held, applications reviewed, and decisions made. The secretary is responsible for keeping all scholarship committee files up-to-date, and should use standard templates for agendas, minute keeping, and candidate lists etc.

 

The secretary is responsible for recording minutes during each meeting, but he or she may also be required to update related documents such as the candidate lists, the scholarship register, and individual application forms, as discussions are being held, and decisions are being made.

 

In some cases, it may be faster for the secretary to record all decisions and actions required in the meeting minutes and then transfer and update necessary information to related documents and reports (such as the scholarship register or candidate lists) after the meeting has concluded.


At other times it may be better for the secretary to update lists, spreadsheets, SQL Reports, and other related documents during the meeting to ensure that details are being updated in real-time.


Committees should be mindful of the secretary and try to assist him/her as much as possible by slowing down and waiting for critical updates to be made to related documents before moving on to the next discussion point or application form. Sometimes, other committee members might be asked to assist with document updates during the meeting. For example, one person might be recording minutes, while another person might be making updates to the candidate lists at the same time.

 

Once a meeting is concluded, the secretary is responsible for drafting a full and complete record of proceedings, decisions, and action items from the meeting. These minutes should be presented to the Chair for review and approval. If the minutes are approved, the Chair signs the minutes, after which they are filed in the Scholarship Committee File for future reviews. The Committee Chair should maintain possession of the file that contains the minutes.



ADDITIONAL POLICY GUIDELINES

Student Expenses

The scholarship committee should ensure that the total value of scholarships awarded to an individual student is not more than 100% of the annual school tuition for that student. This means that scholarship funds should never be used for expenses other than tuition fees. Other fees related to damages, lost textbooks, uniforms, and bus-fares etc, should be paid for by parents or from other external funding. These types of expenses should not be paid for from scholarship funds.


Committee Decisions

The Scholarship Committee’s decisions are final and cannot be contested. If there are queries concerning scholarships awarded, they are to be directed through the Chair of the committee to resolve. 


Refunds

Scholarship funds cannot be refunded back to students if they transfer out of school during the academic year. Funds are transferred back to the scholarship to be used by other students.



LESSON SUMMARY

In this lesson we:

  • Reviewed a sample of a standard meeting agenda
  • Reviewed the standard contents contained in a scholarship committee file
  • Reviewed guidelines for keeping minutes and updating relevant documents
  • Reviewed some additional policy guidelines

 

Thank-you for reviewing this lesson and completing this course. By following the principles and guidelines outlined in this course, scholarship committees will be better prepared to fulfil their purpose of promoting fairness and providing accountability for sacred scholarship funds. 

 

Committees are encouraged to review the lessons in this course as often as required, to ensure that the standards for reviewing, awarding, and documenting scholarships are raised and maintained across all Pacific Church Schools.