WESTERN CAROLINA FINANCIAL AID AND

UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarship PREPARED BY:

Assessment
J. TYLER DAVIS
RILEY J. JELENICK
AMY L. KALAYJIAN

Report AMBER L. UPTON

CALEB M. WILLIAMS
CONTENTS
3
Introduction
A Message from the Team • Project Goals • Purpose

4
Financial Aid and Scholarships at Western Carolina University
Mission & Vision • History • Learning Outcomes

5
Survey Development and Design
Survey Design • Process

6-8
Results
Motivations • Completion • Encouragement • Communication

9
Data Analysis / Discussion
Critical Perspective

10
Limitations
Bird’s Eye View on Scholarship Report

11-12
Recommendations
Improvement to the Research

13 References

14-29
Appendix
Sample Letter • Survey Question • Protocols • Etc.

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY • FINANCIAL AID • 2020 SCHOLARSHIP REPORT

A Message
from the Team
The mission of the Higher Education Student
Affairs (HESA) program at Western Carolina
University is to develop practitioner-scholars
through relevant academic coursework and
professional experiences outside the
classroom. In the EDHE-650 course, HESA
students study program assessment and
evaluation. The studies are put into practice
with an out-of-classroom, semester-long
project with a campus partner. Our team,
partnered to work specifically with the
Scholarships division of the Financial Aid
and Scholarships office, is comprised of five
graduate students: Tyler Davis, Riley
Jelenick, Amy Kalajian, Amber Upton, and
Caleb Williams. The assessment project
assigned to our team addressed the question
“why don’t students take a more active
interest in applying for scholarships?”
(Appendix A). We designed a survey and
gathered information on students’ “why” so
that the Office of Financial Aid and
Scholarships could improve their outreach
and engage more students in scholarship
processes at Western Carolina University.

“The ultimate goal of assessment is to

use information to ensure quality and to
guide improvement actions”
(Schuh et al., 2016, p. 214).

GROUP 1
TYLER, RILEY, AMY, AMBER, AND
CALEB

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Financial Aid and

Scholarships at Western
Carolina University The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships is the
primary resource for students receiving or interested in
SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AN
receiving tuition relief. In the 2019-2020 academic year,
AFFORDABLE DEGREE
the office awarded financial aid totaling
$104,430,316.61. There are ten different programs
The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships at
students could utilize for receiving financial aid.
Western Carolina University is divided into two
These programs are Federal Grants, State Grants,
primary areas, Financial Aid and Scholarships, each
Institutional Grants, Federal Student Loans, Federal
with their own mission statement.
Parent Loans, Private Student Loans, Federal Work
The mission statement of Financial Aid and
Study, State Scholarships, Institutional Scholarships
Scholarships is as follows:
(including donor-funded and institutionally supported
“The Financial Aid Office is dedicated to providing scholarships), and Outside Scholarships. The group’s
students with the highest quality service while
client was Brenda Holcombe, the Director of University
helping to remove financial barriers to higher
education at Western Carolina University. Our staff Scholarships. For our assessment project, Brenda
is committed to administering federal, state and tasked the group with finding out why Western Carolina
institutional assistance programs and maintaining
University undergraduate students are or are not
compliance with laws and regulations.”
applying for scholarships. Our project supports the
The mission statement of University Scholarships is as
follows: Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships’ broad goal to
“facilitate the elimination of financial barriers to
“University Scholarships, a unit with the Financial Aid
Office, works in collaboration with campus departments student enrollment and graduation” by identifying
and external partners in order to manage a barriers to the scholarship application process
comprehensive scholarship program focused on the
(Appendix B).
needs of our students, parents, donors, faculty, and
staff who are seeking, receiving, and awarding
scholarships.”

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 FINANCIAL AID
Survey Development and Design
We recognize that there will be a variety of
reasons that students do or do not engage with
scholarships. We believe students’ “why” can be
better identified through specific surveys
targeted to smaller groups rather than one survey
sent to the entire campus of thousands of
students.
Therefore, we designed a series of surveys to
better understand why Western Carolina
University students are or are not applying for
scholarships. We identified five smaller student
groups from the larger, complete student
population: (1) students who started but did not
finish WCU’s Scholarship application (See
Appendix C); (2) students who completed the
WCU Scholarship application freshman year, but
not sophomore/junior/senior years (See Appendix
D); (3) students who completed the WCU
Scholarship application multiple years/every year
enrolled (See Appendix E); (4) students who did
not attempt WCU’s Scholarship application at all
(See Appendix F); and (5) students who brought in
external scholarship funds (See Appendix G).
FALL 2020
Due to the time limitation on this project, we
focused our assessment on group one, specifically
undergraduate students that started WCU’s internal
scholarship application process for the 2020-2021
academic year, but did not finish the application.
We sent our initial survey to students via email on
Monday, October 5. We sent two reminder emails on
Sunday, October 18 and Sunday, October 25 to
students who had not yet completed the survey. The
survey closed at midnight on Sunday, November 1.
The survey created in Qualtrics was sent out via
email to 761 students in total (Appendix C). We
ended up with 133 students that participated in the
study for a 17.48% response rate. 68.50% of
participants do remember starting the WCU
Scholarship application, while 31.50% do not
remember starting it. We felt it was important to ask
whether students remembered starting the
scholarship application to differentiate from those
who may have absently clicked on the link and not
returned to complete any of the requirements.
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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Results

MOTIVATIONS FOR APPLYING FOR

SCHOLARSHIPS

*Note: we offered two write-in options for students that appear here at two “other” options.

Tuition costs motivated 45.45% of participants to apply for scholarships, followed by

encouragement from parents to apply (24.24%). Feeling qualified or eligible for a scholarship
motivated 20.71% of participants to apply for scholarships. In the write-in option, participants
indicated they were an adult learner and that they were just browsing to see how the
application looked, but they did not end up qualifying for it.

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Results

REASONS FOR NOT COMPLETING THE

APPLICATION

*Note: we offered two write-in options for students that appear here at two “other” options.

Participants stated they were discouraged from completing and submitting the application
because they did not have time to complete it (31%) and they did not feel qualified or eligible
for the scholarships (31%). 14% of participants stated the application was too long or difficult.
16% of participants indicated that they thought they had finished the application, but we know
from the Financial Aid office data that they did not, which brings up another question to look
into further in the future – do students receive a confirmation of their application with a copy of
their responses, so they know that their application was received for consideration?

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Results

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPLYING FOR COMMUNICATION FROM THE OFFICE OF

SCHOLARSHIPS IN THE FUTURE FINANCIAL AID

The top four answers participants selected

when asked what, if anything, would
encourage them to apply for scholarships in
the future was an easier application process
(23%), better advertisement (22%), if they felt
qualified for a specific scholarship (22%), and
if they met the eligibility for scholarships
(22%). In the write-in section of the item, a
first-year student expressed feelings of being
overwhelmed and too nervous to apply. One
participant suggested having all the required
information added in a portal that could pull
for various scholarships rather than retyping
and resubmitting multiple times.

Participants stated they would like to receive

scholarship information via email (57%), flyers
around campus (i.e. academic buildings, University
Center) (15%), and Instagram (12%).

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 FINANCIAL AID
Data Analysis / Discussion
Looking critically at the results of the survey helps us
determine reasons why this particular group of students
started but did not finish WCU’s internal scholarship
application. Analyzing the data collected, we are able to
report important information for the Office of Financial Aid
and Scholarships to use for improvement of future
scholarship application processes.
The results of the survey showed 31% of participants did
not feel qualified for scholarships. Additionally, 21.1% of
the participants said they would be more likely to apply in
the future if they felt they met eligibility requirements.
Financial Aid & Scholarships has information on their
website clearly outlining eligibility requirements to assist
students who are unsure of whether or not they are
eligible. They have a “Browse the List” option that links to
the scholarship library where every scholarship is listed
along with its specific eligibility requirements:
https://wcu.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/scholarx_sc
holarshipsearch.aspx.
Based on the survey responses, and the one student
interview and his lack of knowledge of this resource, we
suggest this list be better publicized with the WCU Internal
Scholarship Application.
FALL 2020
Financial Aid and Scholarships should advertise
the internal scholarship application via email
(indicated as the preferred method of
communication by 57% of participants) but also
have information available across campus on
bulletin boards and digital displays (15%).
45.45% of participants were motivated to apply
for scholarships because of tuition costs, showing
an awareness of the monetary burden of a
college degree. Financial Aid and Scholarships
can support student financial literacy through
programming on financial aid options, including
internal and external scholarships. Research
shows that students look to financial aid offices
as support for financial literacy opportunities;
“[financial aid] offices have a captive audience
for advertising of workshops, seminars, or
classes” (Danes & Hira, 1987, p. 15).
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 FINANCIAL AID
Limitations
ADEQUATE INFORMATION
Of the 133 total survey responses, 62 students
indicated “yes” they would be willing to
participate in a follow-up interview or focus
group to further discuss their experiences
applying for scholarships. The survey was
designed so that if they indicated “yes”
students were then provided a text entry box
and asked to input their name and WCU
Catamount email address.
We received consent and contact information
for only 38 students willing to participate in
follow-up interviews or focus groups. 20
students selected “yes” they would be willing
to participate in a follow-up conversation, but
they did not include their name and email
address to be contacted for an interview or
focus group. Four students provided an email
address external to WCU (gmail, hotmail, etc.),
but as a team we decided to keep our
communications within WCU accounts and
therefore did not contact these four students.
FALL 2020
CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION
The survey about scholarships was emailed to students
from the Financial Aid office general email account
(finaid@wcu.edu). When contacting students for
follow-up interviews and focus groups, that
communication came from personal WCU email
accounts associated with the graduate student
research team. We believe this was a limitation
because many students may have ignored an email
from an unfamiliar name, while they were more likely
to open an email from the Financial Aid office.
VIRTUAL-ONLY ENGAGEMENT
An additional limitation to student engagement was the request
for virtual student participation. Fatigue with surveys is
becoming prevalent among students in higher education. This
may have resulted in fewer students completing the survey
regarding scholarships and scholarship applications. Students
who completed the online survey were asked to participate in
additional online engagement activities (focus groups and
interviews). During the time participants were requested to
participate in additional activities, many students began to
experience Zoom fatigue, which also may have contributed to
fewer students electing to participate in focus groups or
interviews. With an increase of hybrid and online course
modality, requesting additional virtual commitments may have
discouraged student participation in follow-up interviews and
focus groups.
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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Recommendations

FUTURE SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS

While results from this survey may indicate that future changes to WCU’s internal scholarship
application will be necessary, we feel that a larger percentage of the student body should be
surveyed prior to making any substantial changes. We recommend the Office of Financial Aid and
Scholarships conduct further surveys and, most importantly, interviews of undergraduate students.
To better understand why each group of students in not participating or choosing not to participate
in the scholarship application process.

We identified several student populations to survey to better understand their “why” for
participating/not participating in the scholarships process and designed a survey specifically for each
identified population:
(1) students who started but did not finish WCU’s Scholarship application (Appendix C);

(2) students who completed the WCU Scholarship application freshman year, but not

sophomore/junior/senior years (Appendix D); (3) students who completed the WCU Scholarship

application multiple years/every year enrolled (Appendix E);

(4) students who did not attempt WCU’s Scholarship application at all (Appendix F); and

(5) students who brought in external scholarship funds (Appendix G).

Due to the time limitation on this project, we selected only one student population -- those
who started the 2020-2021 WCU Scholarship application but did not finish -- to survey and
interview. We recommend that someone from the Financial Aid office conduct future surveys
and interviews with students in the other identified groups to determine their various reasons
“why” for participating or not participating in the scholarships process.

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Recommendations

CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION

We recommend that someone from the Financial Aid office contact students who were willing
to participate in interviews and focus groups to invite them for a conversation. If possible, we
recommend sending the communication(s) from the official Financial Aid email account
rather than a faculty/staff/personal account tied to someone’s name. Our recommendation is
that the account that sends surveys should be the account to follow-up on that survey.

PROGRAMMING

Financial Aid and Scholarships can support student financial literacy through programming
on financial aid options, including internal and external scholarships. This may look like
when students receive financial aid forms that there is also an announcement of any
upcoming events or programs (Danes & Hira, 1987). In November 2019, scholarship staff
initiated two programs to educate students about scholarships opportunities. These were not
well attended, with 17 students at the first program and only 5 students at the second (see
Appendix H).

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FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

References

Danes, S. M., & Hira, T. K. (1987). Money management knowledge of college students.
aaaaaaJournal of Student Financial Aid, 17(1), 1.
Higher Education Student Affairs Program. (2020). Retrieved November 04, 2020, from
https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/ceap/humanserv/hesa/
Schuh, J. H., Biddix, J. P., Dean, L. A., & Kinzie, J. (2016). Assessment in student affairs.
Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand.

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Appendices
A P P E N D I X A : Scholarship Project Proposal

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X B :WCU Assessment Plan AY2018-2019-Scholarships

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X C : Survey sent Fall 2020 to Undergraduate Students Who Started the 2019-2020 WCU
Scholarship Application but Did Not Complete It

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X D : Survey Designed for Students who Completed the WCU Scholarship Application Freshman
Year, But Not Sophomore/Junior/Senior Years

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Appendices
A P P E N D I X E : Survey Designed for Students who Completed the WCU Scholarship Application Multiple
Years/Every Year Enrolled

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Appendices
A P P E N D I X F : Survey Designed for Students who Did Not Attempt WCU’s Scholarship Application at All

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X G :Survey Designed for Students who Brought in External Scholarship Funds

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Appendices
A P P E N D I X H :2019-20 CIR University Scholarships

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 FINANCIAL AID FALL 2020

Appendices
A P P E N D I X H :2019-20 CIR University Scholarships

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