Financial Policies

FN09 Scholarships

Policy Status: 

Under Review

Subject Matter Expert: 

Director - Student Financial Services , 814 865 6528, dvt2@psu.edu

Policy Steward: 

Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance

NOTE: The implementation of SIMBA requires the evaluation of all University Financial Policies and Guidelines.  After consultation with key constituencies, work will be underway to update, consolidate, and improve our policies to better serve you. Please be aware that due to volume, all policies may not be updated to reflect changes which have been communicated; however, policies will be updated with appropriate and applicable effective dates. Thank you for your patience as we work through this process.

Contents

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to provide for the coordinated awarding and/or processing and/or disbursement of all 1) University Scholarship/Award, 2) Institutional Grant, and 3) Outside Scholarship funds managed and awarded by campuses, colleges, and administrative units.

This policy does not address the awarding process or disbursement of federal and state funds, which are subject to their own rules and regulations.

Awarding and processing of "fellowships" are handled through a separate process than that of scholarships. Refer to Policy FN15 for information on fellowships.

DEFINITIONS:

1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH)

University Scholarships/Awards (USCH) are awarded to students by campus, college, and administrative unit scholarship/award committees. Qualified recipients are selected from a pool of students who meet particular scholarship/award criteria. The primary characteristic of a University scholarship/award lies in the individual selection of qualified students from a larger eligible student pool. University scholarship/award sources fall into one of three categories: a) ENDOWED University scholarship/award sources established primarily by private donors; b) ANNUALLY FUNDED University scholarship/award sources established by private donors; c) INSTITUTIONAL University scholarship/award sources established by campuses, colleges, or administrative units of the University for the purpose of making scholarships/awards.

a) ENDOWED

Endowed University scholarships/awards are established with cash gifts or the fair market value of securities which are used to buy units in the University investment pool. Annual spending is determined by the number of units and spending per unit. Endowed University scholarship/award sources are established and monitored by the University according to the official guidelines and are reported to the Board of Trustees (See FN15 for the policy on establishing such scholarships/awards.). Funds for this purpose are received, deposited, and processed according to Policy FN03 and Financial Guideline No. 1 (FNG01). Endowed University scholarship/award sources are assigned endowment accounts.

The University has established different types of endowed University scholarships/awards. Any exceptions to the specific criteria for each type of scholarship must be approved by the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations:

Academic Excellence Scholarships are University scholarships designed for the recruitment of high caliber students for the Schreyer Honors College. A freshman student accepted into the Schreyer Honors College automatically receives the Academic Excellence Scholarship. This scholarship is a four-year award, provided recipients continue to meet the required Honors College program requirements. New scholarship support for Schreyer Honors Students is established as Honors Scholarships (see below).

Alumni Association Chapter Scholarships are University scholarships designed to recognize and support students from an Alumni Association Chapter’s geographic region. Chapters raise funds that create endowed or annually funded University scholarships. The minimum endowment level for an Alumni Association Chapter Scholarship is $50,000.

Athletic Scholarships are University scholarships designed to provide recognition and financial assistance to undergraduate students who are outstanding NCAA Division I student-athletes. The minimum endowment level for an Athletic Scholarship is $50,000. The Athletic Department also offers a donor the opportunity to endow a position in a sport (i.e., quarterback, forward). The minimum endowment level for a position Athletic Scholarship is $300,000.

NOTE: ‘Athletic Grant-in-Aid’ is a term used by the NCAA to refer to a student’s athletic scholarship(s). At Penn State, athletes are awarded private donor endowed or annually funded scholarships that provide their ‘Athletic Grant-in-Aid.’

Awards are designed to provide recognition to students who exemplify a singular accomplishment that all students have the opportunity to achieve (i.e., acceptance into a major, academic merit, exceptional leadership). Award guideline criteria cannot and do not include preferences or eligibility requirements that are outside a student’s control (i.e., diversity factors, gender, financial need). The minimum endowment level for an Award is $20,000.

Destiny Scholarships are University Scholarships designed for first generation students who are often unfamiliar with the financial aid process and who show academic promise but are historically less likely to enter college and graduate with a college degree without significant financial assistance. The minimum endowment level for a Destiny Scholarship is $50,000.

Enrichment Scholarships are University scholarships designed, to the extent permitted by law, to promote a diverse and supportive environment for all individuals within the student body, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or other personal characteristics. Enrichment Scholarships demonstrate a donor’s and the University’s commitment to diversity and the belief that a diverse student body and faculty enhance the rigor, quality, and energy of the educational experience. The minimum endowment level for an Enrichment Scholarship is $50,000.

Undergraduate Scholarships are University scholarships designed according to a donor’s interests and/or preference(s) for a particular campus, college, geographic area, academic merit, financial need, or any number of other eligibility specifications consistent with University policy. Each Undergraduate Scholarship has a specific and formal name chosen by the donor, distinguishing the scholarship’s purpose. The minimum endowment level for an Undergraduate Scholarship is $50,000. Undergraduate scholarships designed for program support as well as student scholarship support (hybrid) will have a minimum endowment level of $50,000.

Graduate Scholarships are University scholarships designed according to a donor’s interests and/or preference(s) for a particular campus, college, geographic area, academic merit, financial need, or any number of other eligibility specifications consistent with University policy. Each Graduate Scholarship has a specific and formal name chosen by the donor, distinguishing the scholarship’s purpose. The minimum endowment level for a Graduate Scholarship is $250,000.

  • Scholarships that are designed to support both Graduate and Undergraduate students must have a minimum endowment level of $250,000.

"Combination" Scholarships are those scholarships available for both graduate and undergraduate students. They are University scholarships designed according to a donor’s interests and/or preference(s) for a particular campus, college, geographic area, academic merit, financial need, or any number of other eligibility specifications consistent with University policy. Each Scholarship has a specific and formal name chosen by the donor, distinguishing the scholarship’s purpose. The minimum endowment level for a Combination Scholarship is $250,000.

Honors Scholarships are University Scholarships that are unique to the Schreyer Honors College, developed by the Honors College alone or developed by academic colleges in partnership with the Schreyer Honors College to recruit and/or to recognize the academic merit and academic achievements of high caliber students enrolling or enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College. If the endowment is created as a partnership between an academic college and the Honors College, the college and Honors awarding units consult with one another to select recipients. The minimum endowment level for an Honors Scholarship is $50,000.

Renaissance Scholarships are University scholarships designed for top students who have the greatest financial need. These scholarships are four-year awards, provided recipients continue to meet the academic merit and financial need requirements of the program. Renaissance Scholarships are equitably awarded across all undergraduate campuses. The program is under the oversight of the Renaissance Fund Board. The minimum endowment level for a Renaissance Scholarship is $30,000.

Trustee Scholarships are University scholarships designed to provide financial assistance to undergraduate students who demonstrate the greatest financial need. High academic achievement is not a requirement. Donors may specify a campus or a college and one eligibility preference. The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program uses University funds in perpetuity to increase the impact of private philanthropy. A donor completes a pledge form and signs scholarship guidelines. The University “matches” these gifts by agreeing to add to the donor’s endowment spending account on an annual basis an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the donor’s pledged amount so that the match and the endowment earnings can be awarded in the donor’s name. This match will continue in perpetuity. Subsequent gifts to the endowment will also be matched in this manner until such time as the University’s matching funds are fully committed. The campus, college, or administrative unit assigned to the management of the endowment chooses recipients from a pool of qualified students identified by the Office of Student Aid. The minimum endowment level for a Trustee Scholarship is $100,000.

NOTE: Scholarships solely designed to support students pursuing J.D. or M.D. degrees have a minimum endowment level of $50,000, as opposed to a minimum endowment level of $250,000 for Graduate Scholarships.

b) ANNUALLY FUNDED

Private donor annually funded University scholarship/award sources are established with monetary gifts contributed annually for a period of at least five years. Like endowed scholarship/award sources, annually funded University scholarship/award sources are established and monitored by the University according to the donor's guidelines and are reported to the Board of Trustees (See FN15 for the policy on establishing such scholarships.). Funds for this purpose are received, deposited, and processed according to Policy FN03 and Financial Guideline No. 1 (FNG01). Annually funded University scholarship/award sources are assigned annually funded accounts.

The Office of University Development has established different types of private donor annually funded scholarships/awards that correspond in gift commitments to the Alumni Association, Award, Destiny, Enrichment, General, and Honors Scholarship endowment levels noted above. A donor must contribute at least 5% of the minimum endowment level of any one of these endowment types and make a commitment to contribute that 5% annual amount for at least five years.

c) INSTITUTIONAL

Institutional University scholarship/award sources are established with monies allocated by a campus, college, or administrative unit of the University for the purpose of making scholarships/awards and can include general fund sources (permanent or temporary). These University scholarship/award sources must have established criteria that have been developed by the campus, college, or administrative area allocating the funds and approved by the Provost or his/her designee. These criteria are not subject to approval by the Board of Trustees.

Institutional scholarships managed by the colleges and campuses using general fund sources must be accounted for through 06-088-NN XX.

These scholarships will post initially to the Internal Scholarship account – 06-090-NN XX 19800 with an assigned source code of IGFXX and then will be journal vouchered by the Financial Officer or delegate to the 06-088 –NN XX 10010 account using object code 0420.

Annual reporting on Institutional Support awards for each campus, college and administrative area is required to assure appropriate accountability for the use of general fund sources. The Budget Executive will submit the report to the Provost Office as requested.

Institutional University scholarship/award sources include, but are not limited to, the Internal Scholarship (INTXX or IGFXX) sources created for each campus, college, and administrative unit and awarded by these units; the University Trustee Scholarship and the Bunton-Waller Scholarship, awarded by the Office of Student Aid; the Chancellor’s Award, awarded by the Undergraduate Office of Admissions and select campuses; the Chancellor’s Scholarship-Behrend; the World Campus Scholarship.

2) INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS (GRNT)

Institutional Grant funds are allocated annually by the University’s central administration and provide financial support to eligible students. For some Institutional Grant funds, an entire cohort of eligible students is identified, and all eligible students are awarded. For other Institutional Grant funds, an entire cohort of eligible students is identified, and grants are awarded until funds are exhausted.

Institutional Grants include, but are not limited to, the Penn State Tuition Grant, Resident Assistant Housing Grant, professional development grant, and tuition waivers.

3) OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS (OSCH)

Outside Scholarships are funded by a third-party sponsor. A third-party sponsor is an entity that has agreed to pay all or a specified portion of a student or a group of students’ tuition, fees, books and other charges. Penn State requires a sponsor to provide an official document guaranteeing payment (i.e., letter, agreement, contract, certification, application). Some sponsors are invoiced directly for the charges they have agreed to pay; however, most sponsors do not require an invoice. The liability for payment of tuition and fees ultimately lies with the student if a sponsor fails to pay all amounts as agreed. Funds for outside scholarships may be received by Student Financial Services, World Campus, the Office of International Programs, and campuses. Funds are deposited and processed according to Policy FN03 and Financial Guideline No. 1 (FNG01).

Outside third-party sponsors may include, but are not limited to, corporations, employers, school districts, trade unions, foundations, tribes, clubs, charitable organizations, and foreign governments.

NOTE: For all Endowed, Annually Funded, and Institutional University scholarship/award sources, as well as all Institutional Grant and Outside Scholarship sources, Student Financial Services assigns source coding that identifies the origin, purpose, and/or management of these funds.

Student Financial Services and the Office of Student Aid have created a definition grid that serves as the official guide for defining and coding sources in the Student Financial System. Student Financial Services is charged with accurately defining and coding accounts.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY:

1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH)

Student eligibility for a) Endowed and b) Annually Funded University scholarships/awards established by private donors is determined per the guidelines approved by both the donor and the University Board of Trustees. In contrast, student eligibility for c) Institutional University scholarships/awards established by campuses, colleges, or administrative units is determined per the guideline criteria developed and agreed upon by the campus, the college, or the administrative unit allocating the funds.

*Unless University Scholarship/Award guidelines specify otherwise, a scholarship/award recipient must be a degree-seeking Penn State student.

An undergraduate scholarship/award recipient must be enrolled in Penn State course credits during the awarded semester when the University scholarship/award guideline agreement specifies enrollment. Although the focus of awarding should be to award University scholarships/awards to students enrolled in course credits during the awarded semester, students who are not enrolled may be awarded a University scholarship/award where the guideline agreement has no enrollment requirement. In those cases it is imperative for awarding staff to ensure that recipients are in good academic standing with the University and intend to continue their education at their Penn State campus and/or college of enrollment.

For graduate-level scholarship/award eligibility, eligible recipients must be degree-seeking students enrolled in the Graduate School and registered for Penn State course credits or actively engaged in research/scholarship during the awarded semester. Guideline agreements that do not require an enrollment status should include the verbiage “. . . regardless of enrollment status, so long as the recipient is in good academic standing and intends to continue their education at the . . . Campus or in the College of . . . at the Pennsylvania State University.

The University’s corresponding definitions of enrolled full-time, enrolled half-time, or enrolled part-time are the following:

Undergraduate Students

  1. All calculations apply to fall, spring, and summer
  2. Full-time – 12 or more enrolled credits
  3. Half-time – 6 to 11.5 enrolled credits
  4. Part-time – less than 6 enrolled credits

For scholarship/award eligibility, undergraduate students on co-op or internship are not considered full-time unless they are enrolled in 12 or more credits.

For scholarship/award eligibility, students approved for concurrent enrollment in the undergraduate/graduate integrated program are identified and reported as undergraduate students. Therefore, their enrolled credits are defined at the undergraduate level.

Graduate Students

  1. All calculations apply to fall, spring, and summer. It is recognized that graduate students may be fully engaged in their programs and working toward degree completion in accordance with published programmatic requirements but not registered for credit. Scholarship awarding during such periods of non-registration requires confirmation of current, active engagement in research/scholarship and academic progress.  Confirmation will be entered by the awarding unit in eSteward and confirmed by the Graduate School.
  2. Full-time – 9 or more enrolled credits
  3. Half-time – 5 to 8.5 enrolled credits
  4. Part-time – less than 5 enrolled credits

For scholarship/award eligibility, graduate students enrolled in Ph.D. dissertation 601 or 611 are considered full-time or half-time respectively.

Study Abroad Students

  1. All calculations apply to fall, spring, and summer

For scholarship/award eligibility, students participating in a Penn State study abroad program are enrolled in credits. Depending on their level of enrollment (undergraduate/graduate) and their number of enrolled credits, students are considered full-time, half-time, or part-time.

For scholarship/award eligibility, students participating in a non-Penn State study abroad program have no enrolled credits and therefore, no Penn State enrollment status.

The University expects University-managed scholarships to be awarded to students participating in Penn State programs.

Law Students

  1. All calculations apply to fall, spring, and summer
  2. Full-time – 12 or more enrolled credits
  3. Half-time – 6 to 11.5 enrolled credits
  4. Part-time – less than 6 enrolled credits

For scholarship/award eligibility, law students enrolled in a J.D./Ph.D. program taking dissertation 601 are considered full-time.

For scholarship/award eligibility, students approved for joint-degree enrollment in a law/graduate program are identified and reported as either law or graduate depending on their current year curriculum. Therefore, their enrolled credits are calculated at the level of their enrollment in a given year (J.D. – FT at 12 credits; Ph.D. – FT at 9 credits).

Medical Students

  1. All calculations apply to fall, spring, and summer
  2. Full-time – 1 or more enrolled credits

For scholarship/award eligibility, medical students enrolled in an M.D./Ph.D. program taking dissertation 601 are considered full-time.

*If University Scholarship or Institutional Scholarship/Award guidelines specify demonstrated, proven or documented financial need, a scholarship/award recipient must demonstrate financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

*University employees receiving educational privileges are not eligible for University scholarships/awards, with the exception of endowed/annually funded sources specifically established for the benefit of employees. See HR36 Tuition Discount for Full-time Employees, Retirees, and those with Emeritus Status and HR38 University Courses for Training Faculty and Staff for details.

2) INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS (GRNT)

Student eligibility for Institutional Grants is determined by the Office of Student Aid and the Office of the Bursar in consultation with central administration.

3) OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS (OSCH)

Student eligibility for Outside Scholarships is determined by the sponsor, per the instructions specified in the documentation provided by the sponsor.

OVER AWARDS:

All scholarships/awards and grants issued to a student via eSteward or the Student Financial System must be validated through the Student Financial System, as awards are subject to review by the Office of Student Aid to determine the cause and resolution of over award situations involving federal and state financial aid. Adjustments to financial aid must be resolved when financial aid is in excess of financial need, the cost of attendance, gift-aid budget allowances, etc. Beyond promoting general accountability, over award resolution is necessary to substantiate compliance with federal and/or state aid programs, as required by the appropriate federal or state agency.

Prior to the disbursement of any refund, a student's account must be checked for an over award situation. Even if it is subsequently discovered that an over award situation was not corrected properly or if the over award was not determined in time to correct a late award, regardless of when aid was received, a student recipient is required to make immediate repayment.

SELECTION/AWARDING:

Scholarship/award committees at each campus and in each college and administrative unit must follow established, written procedures which they have developed and which specify standards they are using when selecting eligible recipients and awarding scholarships/awards.

eSteward and the Student Financial System provide the platform for the coordination, validation, and entry of scholarships/awards onto student accounts. eSteward "eligible-student" searches, based on individual scholarship/award guideline criteria, provide the starting point for identifying qualified recipients. eSteward and the Student Financial System provide the ability to post and monitor scholarships/awards and recipients. Appropriate award letters that define the terms of scholarships/awards should be prepared and distributed after final Student Financial System validation.

NOTE: IRS regulations prohibit a donor from selecting scholarship/award recipients for University scholarships/awards. To make a charitable donation, donors must give up all rights to the property or cash given. Retaining the right to appoint gift usage is inconsistent with this principal. In order to receive a charitable contribution, a donor's gift must be out of "detached and disinterested" generosity. Retaining a right to select who uses the gift funds may indicate that there is a personal benefit in making the gift which would be inconsistent with a charitable donation.

EXCEPTIONS: Any exceptions to the awarding of scholarships/awards beyond the parameters specified in this policy must be articulated and discussed with a unit’s Stewardship Coordinator, the Director of Stewardship, Student Financial Services, and if need be, the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations.

TIMING OF AWARDS:

Awarding of University scholarships/awards and grants can begin as soon as the upcoming fiscal year Available Spending is populated in the Student Financial System and eSteward. Awarding units are expected to coordinate first-year and continuing student awarding with the Office of Student Aid’s financial aid awarding in March for first-year students and in June for continuing students. The appropriate unit staff member(s) shall monitor accounts throughout the year so that unspent and newly available monies may be identified and subsequently awarded in a timely manner. If available monies remain unspent at fiscal year-end, the appropriate unit staff member(s) shall determine why monies were unspent and what plans are in place to ensure future expenditures.

1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH)

a) ENDOWED: In February of each year, Student Financial Services estimates the available spending for endowed University scholarship/award sources for the following academic year. For a given endowed scholarship, the available spending may increase throughout the year as additional gifts are received. The available spending can be viewed on the Student Financial System screen AFWB, in eSteward, in EASIS, and on Student Aid Fund Balance Reports.

b) ANNUALLY FUNDED: In February of each year, Student Financial Services populates the available spending for annually funded University scholarship/award sources for the following academic year. Because gift amounts for Annually Funded University scholarships may vary from year to year, the available spending on the Student Financial System screen AFWB displays “99999999” for all annually funded sources. It is the awarding unit’s responsibility to monitor annually funded sources so that budgets are not overspent at the fiscal year’s end. eSteward displays the actual IBIS account balance to assist awarding units as they monitor annually funded account balances. Awarding units must communicate with donors in order to identify how much gift money their annually funded sources can expect to receive each year.

EXCEPTION: Please see the "Processing Scholarship/Award/Grant Monies" section for the exception related to awarding new annually funded or early activated accounts that are not yet funded due to 90-day gift holding.

c) INSTITUTIONAL: At an awarding unit’s request, Student Financial Services populates the available spending on the Student Financial System screen AFWB. Due to the limited duration of these aid sources and the varying amounts of monies available to award, awarding units must provide annually to Student Financial Services the amounts available to award for each of their institutional scholarship/award sources.

EXCEPTION: For Internal (INTXX or IGFXX) scholarship/award sources, in February of each year, Student Financial Services populates the available spending on the Student Financial System screen AFWB with “999999999” for all Internal scholarship/award sources (INTXX or IGFXX). Populating AFWB in this manner allows awarding units to post awards from Internal sources (INTXX or IGFXX) before the supporting funds have been transferred into the corresponding IBIS accounts. It is the awarding unit’s responsibility to monitor their Internal scholarship/award source (INTXX or IGFXX) and to make sure that the corresponding IBIS account ends the fiscal year with a zero balance. eSteward displays the actual IBIS account balance to assist awarding units as they monitor Internal (INTXX or IGFXX) scholarship/award account balances.

2) INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS (GRNT)

At an awarding unit’s request, Student Financial Services or the Office of the Bursar populates the Amount Available on Student Financial System screen AFWB for all Institutional grants. Due to the limited duration of these aid sources and the varying amount of monies available to award, awarding units must provide annually to Student Financial Services or the Office of the Bursar the available spending for each of their Institutional grants.

3) OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS (OSCH)

Outside scholarships are awarded as documentation and/or checks are received by Student Financial Services, World Campus, the Office of International Programs, and individual campuses.

SCHOLARSHIP/AWARD/GRANT CONTRIBUTIONS:

It is imperative that contributions received for scholarships/awards are deposited and recorded as quickly as possible upon receipt, in accordance with Policy FN03 Substantiation, Disclosure, and Accountability for the Receipt of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources and Procedure CR2021 Accountability of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources. Recorded contributions are subsequently transferred to the appropriate and unique scholarship/award account in the administrative area responsible for processing the student scholarships/awards.

1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH)

Student Financial Services and the Office of the Bursar are responsible for creating unique accounts for each campus, college, and administrative unit’s University scholarship/award sources, to which scholarship/award contributions are designated before they are awarded and disbursed.

a) CASH or CHECKS: Any cash or checks received for scholarships/awards should be taken to the appropriate administrative unit office for preparation of a Gift Reporting and Transmittal (GRT) Form AND Report of Cash Receipts, in accordance with Policy FN03 Substantiation, Disclosure, and Accountability for the Receipt of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources and and Procedure CR2021 Accountability of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources.

b) SECURITIES: Most securities are received via wire transfer; however, any paper stock certificates/securities that are received must be carried to the Office of Gift Acceptance immediately upon receipt, with a completed Gift Reporting and Transmittal (GRT) form. The Office of Gift Acceptance will subsequently initiate the acknowledgment of receipt of the securities. The Office of Gift Acceptance will transmit the actual securities, GRT and all support documents to the Office of Investment Management, per and Procedure CR2021 Accountability of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources.

At other campuses where hand-carrying is not possible, this material must be forwarded to the Office of Gift Acceptance via Registered U. S. Mail. The Office of Gift Acceptance will subsequently transmit these materials to the Office of Investment Management.

2) INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS (GRNT)

Student Financial Services and the Office of the Bursar are responsible for creating unique accounts for each campus, college, and administrative unit’s institutional grant sources, to which grant contributions are designated before they are awarded and disbursed.

3) OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS (OSCH)

With the exception of World Campus and the Office of International Programs, all funds and supporting documents received at University Park must be forwarded, upon receipt, to Student Financial Services for Report of Cash Receipts (ROCR) preparation and deposit to the appropriate University depository account. At campuses other than University Park, processing must be conducted in accordance with Policy FN03 Substantiation, Disclosure, and Accountability for the Receipt of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources and and Procedure CR2021 Accountability of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources.

PROCESSING SCHOLARSHIP/AWARD/GRANT MONIES:

1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH)

Student Financial Services and the Office of the Bursar are responsible for creating unique source codes for each campus, college, and administrative unit’s University scholarship/award source accounts, from which scholarships/awards are awarded and disbursed.

The awarding unit posts a scholarship/award to the account of the selected student via on-line entry to the appropriate Student Financial System or eSteward screen. In the case of travel awards or research expenditures, see policy FN10.

Scholarships/awards must be posted to the unique source code created for the specific scholarship/award source account from which the scholarships/awards are disbursed.

For endowed/non-endowed scholarship/award sources used for student travel and research expenditures- See policy FN10 Other Business Expenses and Activities for details.

EXCEPTION- New Annually Funded /Early Activated Accounts: For new annually funded or early activated accounts that are not yet funded due to 90-day gift holding, awards may be made from another account in advance of receiving the held gifts. The following stipulations apply to this processing exception:

  1. Executed guidelines must already exist for the new account.
  2. Unit awarding staff must take necessary steps to ensure that students awarded via the alternate account meet the awarding criteria of the new account.
  3. The unit must follow proper procedure to replace student awards with the correct new account source code once held gift money becomes available for expenditure.

EXCEPTION- Internal Scholarships: A campus, college, or administrative unit completes a Scholarship Award Form for each scholarship/award awarded from their Internal scholarship source (INTXX). The completed Scholarship Award Form is approved by the appropriate unit official. Upon approval, the original copy of the Scholarship Award Form is forwarded to the authorized Student Financial System entry person in the awarding unit who posts the scholarship/award in Student Financial System or eSteward. A copy of the Scholarship Award Form is sent to the awarding unit’s Finance Office. The Finance Office processes a JVDP to transfer expenses charged to an INTXX or IGFXX account to the appropriate campus, college, or administrative unit account supporting the award. If the award source is from sponsored grants, contracts or cooperative agreements, the transfer must be in compliance with the sponsors requirements and regulations and for federal funding where the sponsor does not have requirements and regulations must comply with the Uniform Guidance – 2 CFR Part 200.

INTXX is the source code for internal scholarships and cannot be made from general fund monies. General funds may also not be transferred into the 06-090-NN XX 19800 account.

IGFXX is the source code to be used for institutional scholarships from general funds which are authorized by the Provost’s Office. IGFXX institutional scholarships initially post to the internal scholarship account 06-090-NN XX 19800), but then are transferred to the unit’s 06-088-NN XX 10010 account using object code 0420.

NOTE: The 0420 object code is ONLY intended for scholarships/awards posted via the Student Financial System or eSteward and processed through the Student Financial System. The 0420 object code is NOT to be used to transfer funds between accounts or to post scholarships/awards via IBIS. The ONLY exception to this restriction is for the transfer of scholarships/award expenses from 06-090-NN XX 19800 to 06-088-NN XX 10010 or to sponsored awards where an income object code cannot be used.

NOTE: IRS mandates require that scholarships/awards cannot be awarded in exchange for services rendered.

2) INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS (GRNT)

Student Financial Services and the Office of the Bursar are responsible for creating unique account/source codes for all Institutional Grant sources from which grants are awarded and disbursed.

The awarding unit posts a grant to the account of the selected student via on-line entry to the appropriate Student Financial System or eSteward screen.

3) OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS (OSCH)

Student Financial Services and the Office of the Bursar are responsible for creating unique account/source codes for all Outside scholarship sources from which scholarships are awarded and disbursed.

Entry to the Student Financial System for Outside scholarship awards is done by Student Financial Services, World Campus, the Office of International Programs, and individual campuses.

DISBURSEMENT TO STUDENTS:

Student Financial Services and the Office of the Bursar are responsible for disbursing financial aid into student accounts. Both awarding and disbursement of all scholarships/awards and grants should be completed within the fiscal year of the scholarship/award. The University fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

A credit balance in a student's account resulting from a scholarship/award or grant is refunded to the student. Refer to the Office of the Bursar website for refunding information. Students who have signed up for Rapid Refund have refunds electronically deposited into their designated bank accounts. Students who have not signed up for Rapid Refund have refunds mailed to their home or local addresses.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Campuses, Colleges, and Administrative Units -

  • For posting all scholarships/awards/grants issued to the accounts of selected students using the designated source codes for the appropriate budgets.
  • For posting all scholarships/awards/grants issued to the accounts of selected students, using the appropriate Student Financial System and eSteward procedures.
  • For monitoring available scholarships in eSteward to ensure that all awardable scholarships are awarded.
  • For creating scholarship guidelines for IGFXX allocated funds and submitting them for approval by the Provost prior to awarding.
  • For annual reporting on the use of general funds for scholarship awards (IGFXX) to the Office of the Provost.

Scholarship Committee -

  • For organizing and monitoring the selection of scholarship/award recipients in accordance with specific University scholarship/award guidelines as approved by the donors and the Board of Trustees (Endowments and Annually Funded University scholarships/awards) or as approved by a campus, college or administrative unit (Institutional University scholarships/awards).
  • For utilizing and verifying student eligibility provided by eSteward and Student Financial System data.
  • For sending recipient award letters that define the terms of the scholarship/award.

Bursar -

  • For maintaining student accounts.
  • For refunding scholarship/award and grant monies to students after University charges have been satisfied.

Financial Officers -

  • For overseeing Internal scholarship/award budgets (INTXX or IGFXX).
  • For processing JVDPs to transfer expenses for unit’s Internal scholarships/award sources (INTXX or IGFXX) to the appropriate unit budgets intended to finance the awards.
  • For verifying that general funds are not transferred into awarding units’ Internal scholarship/award accounts (INTXX or IGFXX) and that Internal scholarships/awards are not awarded from general fund monies.
  • For verifying that units’ Internal scholarship/award accounts (INTXX or IGFXX) have a $0 balance at the end of the fiscal year.
  • For verifying that the 0420 object code is not used in their unit to transfer funds or post scholarships/awards via IBIS.

Office of Donor Relations, Stewardship Team

  • For monitoring the accuracy of eSteward available spending and recipient data.
  • For partnering with unit stewardship contacts to ensure eSteward security and appropriate eSteward user access.
  • For partnering with all campuses, colleges, and administrative units to facilitate a coordinated and effective awarding and stewardship effort.
  • For partnering with the Office of Student Aid and the campuses, colleges, and administrative units to determine training needs and to develop training programs.
  • For partnering with the Office of Student Aid to ensure that eSteward guideline criteria strings are created and maintained accurately for all scholarship/award sources in eSteward.

Office of Gift Acceptance -

  • Responsible for the origination of all University Endowed and Non-Endowment Fund guidelines.
  • Preparation of the Summary of all New and Revised University Endowed and Non-Endowed funds for inclusion on the agenda of each Board of Trustee meeting.

Office of Investment Management -

  • Responsible for calculating the spending rates and providing them to the Office of Loans & Scholarships so that EASIS, Student Financial System, and eSteward can be updated.

Office of Student Aid -

  • For providing the oversight and resolution of over award situations.
  • For monitoring the security of and authorized access to Student Financial System data.
  • For ensuring the security of and accuracy of eLion Student Aid Summary data.
  • For reviewing and approving all University Endowed and Non-Endowed guidelines to confirm whether or not scholarship eligibility criteria can be identified/determined and whether or not a viable, eligible student population exists.
  • For facilitating a coordinated awarding effort across the University.
  • For creating and maintaining eSteward scholarship guideline criteria strings.
  • For partnering with the Office of Donor Relations, Stewardship Team to monitor eSteward access and provide training

Student Financial Services -

  • Responsible for reviewing and approving all University Endowed and Non-Endowment guidelines on behalf of the Office of Budget and Finance, to determine conformance with the federal and state tax and student financial aid regulations as well as University policies.
  • For reporting estimated funds available to award for Endowed and Annually Funded scholarships/awards, including carry-over balances, to the appropriate awarding units.
  • For populating Amount Available to award in the Student Financial System for all University scholarship/award sources: Endowed, Annually Funded, and Institutional.
  • For populating Amount Available to award in the Student Financial System for all Institutional Grants.
  • For establishing disbursement controls for all scholarships/awards awarded.
  • For disbursing University Scholarships/Awards, Institutional Grants, and Outside Scholarships to student accounts.
  • For reporting recipients and year-end financial data to the Office of Donor Relations to be used in fiscal year-end donor reports.
  • For returning unused Outside Scholarship monies to the appropriate awarding sponsors.
  • For reporting year-end financial data to the Office of Financial Reporting.
  • For creating source codes.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

For questions, additional detail, or to request changes to this policy, please contact the Office of Budget and Finance.

CROSS REFERENCES:

Other Policies may apply, especially:

FN03 Substantiation, Disclosure, and Accountability for the Receipt of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources

Policy FN10 Other Business Expenses and Activities

Policy FN15 Establishing or Accepting Funds Endowed or Named Annually Funded Accounts (formerly called Establishing or Accepting Funds for Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships, and Grants-In-Aid)

Office of the Bursar website

Uniform Guidance - 2 CFR Part 200

Procedure CR2021Accountability of Contributions from Non-Governmental Sources

Gift Reporting and Transmittal Form

Scholarship Award Form

Most recent changes:

  • July 1, 2023 - Editorial changes.  Changed all references to the Office of Gift Planning to the Office of Gift Acceptance, as approved by the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business.

Revision History (and effective dates):

  • February 1, 2023 - Editorial changes.  Changed all references to the Associate Vice President for Finance to the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance, per the directive of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business.
  • January 5, 2023 - Editorial changes.  Changed all references to the Office of the Corporate Controller to the Office of Budget and Finance, per the directive of the Associate Vice President for Finance
  • August 18, 2022 - Editorial change to update Subject Matter Expert and change "Associate Vice President for Finance and Corporate Controller" to "Associate Vice President for Finance"
  • September 1, 2020 - Editorial change to update hyperlink to GTR form
  • November 8, 2018 - Subject Matter Expert added.
  • September 20, 2018 - Editorial changes to update GURU hyperlinks from html formatting to cfm format.
  • September 13, 2018 - Editorial changes to update the Cross References section and to remove redundant Date Approved, Date Published, and Effective Date information.
  • February 1, 2017 - Editorial changes have been made to the policy, changing references of Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations TO Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations.
  • March 30, 2016 -Changes have been made throughout the policy to reflect current operations. Edits have been made in the DEFINITIONS section to reflect: a change from General Scholarships to Undergraduate Scholarships (including revisions to the definition/requirements); A definition and requirements for Graduate Scholarships has been added, with the minimum endowment funding levels for this scholarship has been increased from $50,000 to $250,000; "Combination" Scholarships have also been defined. Lastly, minimum endowment levels for scholarships solely designed to support students pursuing J.D. or M.D. degrees have also been clarified. Edits have also been made in the STUDENT ELIGIBILTY section (paragraph 3) to clarify enrollment and awarding requirements.
  • November 6, 2014 - Editorial change in the DEFINITIONS section. For "Endowed" University scholarships/awards, the minimum endowment level for a Trustee Scholarship has been increased from $50,000 to $100,000.
  • October 14, 2014 - Editorial change in the PROCESSING SCHOLARSHIP/AWARD/GRANT MONIES section, EXCEPTION-Internal Scholarship vebiage, to clarify compliance guidelines.
  • August 12, 2014 - Updates to the STUDENT ELIGIBILITY and PROCESSING SCHOLARSHIP/AWARD/GRANT MONIES sections to clarify current processes.
  • June 30, 2014 - Updates to the STUDENT ELIGIBILITY, PROCESSING SCHOLARSHIP/AWARD/GRANT MONIES and RESPONSIBILITIES sections to reflect current processes and regulations.
  • September 25, 2013 - Editorial changes. Addition of policy steward information, in the event that there are questions or requests for changes to the policy.
  • August 9, 2013 -Editorial changes made throughout the policy, to reflect a department name change. References to the Office of Student Loans and Scholarships have been changed to Student Financial Services.
  • May 22, 2013- Editorial change in the CROSS REFERENCES section; addition of new Guideline FNG07, Endowment Spending Stewardship.
  • June 15, 2011 - Major revisions in the STUDENT ELIGIBILITY section under "1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH)." New language has been added to establish the University's definitions of full-time, half-time, and part-time enrollment as they pertain to scholarship guidelines and the awarding of scholarships to undergrads, study abroad students, grads, Law, and Medical students.
  • September 20, 2010 - Editorial clarification to bolded statement 3, in the STUDENT ELIGIBILITY section under "1) UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS/AWARDS (USCH), distinguishing University Scholarship from Institutional Scholarship/Award, per differences in financial need components for these award types.
  • August 20, 2010 - Editorial clarification in "Student Eligibility" section, with regard to University or Institutional Scholarship guidelines and demonstration of financial need via FAFSA. Additional offices added to the "Responsibilities" section (Office of Investment Management, Office of Gift Planning), and additional responsibilities added for the Office of Student Loans and Scholarships. Athletic Scholarship criteria edited in "Definitions" section ($600,000 required funding level has been removed, per discussion/agreement between the Office of Gift Planning and the Corporate Controller's Office).
  • February 23, 2009 - Major changes to the entire policy to reflect accurate scholarship definitions, and to update the process/disbursement information per current operations.
  • March 30, 2005 - Addition of "Approval of Exceptions" verbiage within SELECTION/AWARDING to authorize the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations to approve exceptions, if necessary, per the recommendation of Dr. Spanier/President's Council.
  • March 24, 2005 - Revised the "payments to students" within DISBURSEMENTS TO STUDENTS to reflect current reimbursement operations.
  • March 10, 2005 - Expanded, in the "Definitions" section, the types of UNIVERSITY Scholarships available. Editorial changes made to the "Processing of Award Monies" section, adding proper links and proper titles for the forms mentioned.
  • February 18, 2005 - Editorial change to eliminate "General Forms Usage Guide" and correct links.
  • October 16, 2002 - Removed the requirement that the awardee must be a U. S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
  • October 12, 1993 - Added the provision that the awardee must be a U. S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, and a degree-seeking Penn State student.
  • December 3, 1991 - New Policy.

Date Approved: 

March 23, 2016

Date Published: 

March 30, 2016

Effective Date: 

March 30, 2016