last modified:2009-10-01 10:46:41
Student Fee Study Abroad Scholarship
| SFSA Scholarship Committee | Meeting Minutes |
Background and Enactment
The Presidential Task Force on Internationalization (May 2006) created a goal of doubling the number of University of Utah students studying abroad to 1000 per year. The resulting recommendation was to increase funding for study abroad scholarships.
A Study Abroad Survey conducted in August 2007 showed that there is a high level of interest from students to study abroad, and that the primary barrier to study abroad was the lack of financial resources.
The 2007-08 ASUU administration, as well as the student body, approved a $3 per semester, per student Study Abroad Fee to generate funding. The Board of Regents approved this fee in March 2008.
University of Utah will contribute $1 for every $3 contributed by students to create an endowment to help support the Student Fee Study Abroad Scholarship fund.
Collection of fees began in Summer 2008, to be phased in:
2008-09: freshmen, sophomores, graduate students pay fee
2009-10: juniors begin paying fee
2010-11: seniors begin paying fee (fee becomes universal to student body)
The Study Commitee, which consisted of students, faculty, and administrators, convened in Spring 2008. The Study Committee recommended the establishment of a permanent committee. See SFSA Scholarship Committee.
Scholarship Amounts
| LENGTH OF PROGRAM | AWARD AMOUNT |
| less than or equal to 3 weeks (short term) | $1000 |
| greater than 3 weeks (short term) | $1500 |
| semester length | $2000 |
| academic year length | $2500 |
Scholarship Eligibility Criteria
- Student must be matriculated (degree-seeking at the University of Utah)
- Must be accepted into a University of Utah-approved study abroad program (individual programs may have specific requirements)
- Students who choose independent (non U-approved) study abroad programs may be eligible, but must discuss the program with a study abroad advisor. The program will then go through the SFSA Scholarship Committee for eligiblity validation.
- Eligibility in relation to other scholarships
a) If a student gets one of the study abroad scholarships from any of the matching funds sources (e.g., UGS, Languages and Lit, etc.), then their eligibility for the student fee scholarship will be limited to the difference from the student fee amount for that length of program.
b) Example: a student gets a study abroad scholarship from the UGS funds for $1000 and is going on a program of greater than 3 week length—if this student is selected by the random procedure for the student-fee scholarship, they will receive $500 ($1500 is the amount for a greater than 3 week program, minus $1000 = $500)
c) This applies only for study abroad scholarships from matching funds. Any other scholarships for tuition, etc. do not count.
d) Example: A student has a $3,000 scholarship from any source other than study abroad matching funds and is selected for a $1500 student fee scholarship for a program of greater than 3 week length. The student gets the full $1500 student fee scholarship.
e) The reason for this is that the student fee and matching funds should go to as many students as possible to help with study abroad. As we are only talking about money that students and other sources have committed for study abroad, all other scholarships are outside of our purview.
Application Process
- Students apply for the SFSA Scholarship at the same time they apply for a study abroad program
- See Fall 2009 application as example
- Downloadable application on Study Abroad website
Selection Criteria
- Committee will determine funds allotment for each semester based on projection of available annual funds and predetermined allocation period percentage
- Random selection procedure numerically orders applications from top to bottom, run by the SFSA Scholarship Committee
- Resulting ranking list is presented to study abroad advisors to allocate monies depending on length of program, until allotment is depleted
Notification and Disbursement
- Study Abroad Office notifies recipients of scholarship award
- Students must sign agreement stating that award will be forfeited if study abroad program is not successfully completed (eg. must pass all courses)
- Funds are disbursed through the Study Abroad Office