1

UMBC Scholarships Department Scholarships Administrator Training Manual For UMBC faculty and staff requesting to award department scholarships to degree-seeking

students for the current semester’s enrollment at UMBC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title Page Number

1. Checking Eligibility 2 - 4

a. Submitting the Candidate Eligibility Form 2

b. Entering Scholarship Details 3

c. Why is Financial NeedImportant? 3

d. Entering Top Candidates 4

e. Successful Submission 4

f. Understanding Submission Results 5

2. Requesting Disbursements 6 - 7

a. Submitting the Award & Disbursement Request Form 6

b. Pending/Incomplete Disbursements 8

c. Submitting the USM Foundation Disbursement Form 8

3. Authorizing Disbursements 9

4. Deadlines 9

5. Department Award with 10+ Recipients 10

6. Frequently Asked Questions 10-11

7. Department IDS 12-13

8. Index 13 -15

2

1. Checking Eligibility If Departments have multiple candidates or need more information in determining if a student is

eligible to receive a scholarship, they should submit the Candidate Eligibility Form prior to

submitting a disbursementrequest.

1a. Submitting the Candidate Eligibility Form:

• Departments should complete one Candidate Eligibility Form per scholarship. Multiple students can be submitted perscholarship.

• The review will determine if the student demonstrates financial need as determined by the FAFSA, and if the student is eligible to collect additional scholarship funding.

• Submitting the eligibility form is not a request for posting of funds to the student’s account. This form is intended as a reference only.

https://scholarships.umbc.edu/departmentawarding/

3

1b. Entering Scholarship Details:

The Department is required to list out all details of the scholarship. The form must be

completed in full to be reviewed by OFAS.

• A contact person and their email address must be listed in case more information is needed.

• The maximum dollar amount per award must also be listed, to determine if each individual student is eligible for that award amount.

• Departments should complete one Candidate

1c. Why is Financial Need Important?

• Financial need is determined by the Department of Education when a student submits a

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application. If a student is receiving

financial need grants and scholarships, your department award may negatively effect what

the student may continue to receive and/or have to return.

• The requesting Department must indicate whether financial need is a factor (important) or not to consider when checking for award eligibility.

• Need will be determined by the student’s FAFSA, and will be reported as: o “High,” – eligible for federal pell grant and strong need. o “Moderate Need,” - above eligibility for federal pell grant, however still

declared needy.

4

o “Low Need” – Out of range for federal pell grant and low free aid funds o “No Need” – Out of federal pell grant range and abovecost of attendance o “No FAFSA” – No FAFSA on file for student; unable to determine financial need

1d. Entering Top Candidates:

• Additional students can be added by clicking on the + button.

Once the Department has entered all candidates, the form can then be submitted.

• The form can be submitted by clicking the Submit button.

• The form can be cleared by clicking the Reset button.

1e. Successful Submission:

The Submit button must be selected to send the form to UMBC SCHOLARSHIPS for review.

Upon successful submission a confirmation screen will be displayed.

*An email response will be sent to the contact person listed within 5 business days.

• Return Address: finaid-do-not-reply

• Email Subject: Department Scholarship Candidate Eligibility

5

1f. Submission Results:

The results from the UMBC SCHOLARSHIPS for review your request and determine the

candidate(s)’ financial need (if requested) and if they are eligible to receive the award.

● Requests will ask if student is eligible to collect additional scholarship

▪ Yes = award will have no impact on other aid, or only loans will be impacted

(can provide additional comments by double-clicking into the body of the

email)

▪ No = student is not eligible to collect additional scholarship due to COA or need

(provide comments by double-clicking into the body of the email)

6

2. Requesting Disbursements

Once departments select an eligible student candidate to receive the award, they must submit the

Award & Disbursement Request Form.

2a. Submitting the Award & Disbursement Request Form:

• Departments should complete one Award & Disbursement Request Form per student. If there are multiple awards, one form must be completed for eachstudent.

• The Award & Disbursement Request Form should be completed for all funding sources, including the USM Foundation (excluding GAANN).

- If funding is from the USM Foundation, the USM Foundation Disbursement Request

Form must be completed in addition to the electronic request form. Please see step

2b for more information.

https://scholarships.umbc.edu/departmentawarding/

7

• The Department is required to list out all details of the award. The form must be completed in full to be reviewed by OFAS.

- The Dept. Authorizer name and email must be entered. The disbursement request must be

electronically approved by the Dept. Authorizer before it can be processed by UMBC

SCHOLARSHIPS. Please see step 3 for more information.

8

2b. Pending/Incomplete Requests:

• Department Requesters should make their department approvers aware that the Award &

Disbursement Requests have been submitted and follow-up with them directly. Many

requests for approvers get lost or misplaced in their e-mail box and are not processed to

student accounts.

• Pending Requests are visible only through the UMBC Scholarships access, however, we review this queue monthly to reach out via e-mail to departments regarding these incomplete

statuses to be resolved immediately.

Note: These delays may cause student account balance late fees, or a change in award

eligibility.

2c. Submitting the USM Foundation Disbursement Form:

• Departments should complete one USM Foundation Disbursement Request Form per student, in addition to completing the electronic request form.

- Please include the Department, student’s name, campus ID, and the award

semester/year in the business purposes section of the form.

- The original USM Foundation Disbursement Request Form must be submitted via

campus mail to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships.

• The electronic request form will not be processed until the original USM Foundation Disbursement Request Form is received, and vice versa.

• UMBC SCHOLARSHIPS will forward the signed and verified forms to the USM Foundation for processing. The Foundation will forward a check for the scholarship funds directly to the department.

9

3. Authorizing Disbursements

Once departments submit the Award & Disbursement Request Form, an email authorization will be

sent to the listed department authorizer for final approval.

• The authorizer will be sent an email notification containing a link to submit the approval for the requested disbursement.

- Return Address: finaid-do-not-reply

- Email Subject: Department Scholarship Award and Disbursement Authorization

• The department authorizer can approve or deny the request.

- If approved, the form will be processed by UMBC SCHOLARSHIPS within 5 to 7

business days. A confirmation email will be sent to the contact person listed once

completed.

- If denied, the form will not be processed by UMBC SCHOLARSHIPS, and an email

notification will be sent to the contact person listed.

4. Deadlines

Department scholarship requests must be submitted by the appropriate deadlines for each

semester to be processed by UMBC Scholarships.

• Requests should be submitted approximately a month before student bills are due.

• The student is responsible for any balance not covered by the award and any late fees assessed to theiraccount.

• Departments should visit http://sbs.umbc.edu/ for more information about billing dates.

o Fall semester deadline: last day of classes in fall semester o Spring semester deadline: last day of classes in spring semester o Summer semester deadline: last day of classes in summer session 2 o End of the year close date is June 30th. We cannot re-open after this date.

10

5. Department Award Requests for 10+ Students Departments requesting a Department Scholarship for 10 or more students at one time, may

submit a request using a master spreadsheet in Excel (xls) using the Scholarship Request

Form online. A template with the format of the Spreadsheet is attached below. These

requests must be for only one department ID (see below) at a time.

6. Item Type Request/Fund Changes

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships have access to only post and disburse funds from department accounts with a 5145 Project/Group ID.

Departments are responsible for making the reallocation or JE requests to ensure the funds are distributed from their fund accounts accurately.

Due to the limited staffing and resources within the Scholarships Unit, we are unable to assist in departments’ quarterly, monthly or annual reconciliations.

7. Request New Item Type w/new Fund or Chart String

The request for departments to request a new item type and name is an online submission that is processed through IT and Student Business Services. This request may take 5-10 business days, depending upon the time of the year. Ideally, all requests should be submitted at least 30 days before bills are due. Please refer to the Section 4. For priority deadline schedule.

Link to New Item Type Request: https://www.umbc.edu/go/768 See paper version in Article 2, pg. 15

8. FAQs Department scholarship requests must be submitted by the appropriate deadlines for each

semester to be processed by UMBC Scholarships.

• What are disbursements? Aid disbursements are funds that are officially applied to students’ account through our

partnership with Student Business Services. While our office places awards on student

accounts, they will only appear as “Pending Aid” until the disbursement system process is

ran by SBS.

11

• When are disbursements? Disbursements are processed weekly every Tuesday morning approximately 7:00 – 10:00

AM EST. Therefore, the ideal deadline for new department award submissions is Friday

by 12:00 PM.

• USM Form Pick-Up Dates? The university picks up USM Reimbursement Formsevery Wednesday and Friday

mornings by inter-office campus mail. It is delivered within the USM mail drop.

• Chart String and DepartmentIDs Information on the departments already assigned to a chart string is in section 7. If your

chart string has not been assigned, you must request a OFAS Item Type Set-Up Form for its

creation. Note. Set-up may take up to 3 weeks.

12

• Holds – Refund, Disbursement,Scholarship

Refund holds may only be requested and approved by a representative from SBS. Our

office and staff do not have access to administer these requests, therefore, if you are need

of this feature, it is the department administrators’ responsibility to contact SBS directly.

• Financial Need Eligibility? Financial need is important when awarding students and timing is essential. Utilize the

Candidate Eligibility Form if you are questioning a candidate’s status. The ideal time

frame to award students is in the beginning of the academic year.

• Do I need to submit Candidate Eligibility Form? Again, this form is not required, however, highly recommended for allawards; especially if

you are submitting your request mid-semester or mid-year.

• What about Winter Semester? Wintertermisnotasemesterweadminister,therefore,youwillneedtocontactSBSto

administer an award for this term. Information is available at:

https://scholarships.umbc.edu/departmentscholarships/ This is the same for non-

degree seeking students.

• Semester Timeline

July 27 – Deadline to have all department/scholars program awards posted to student accounts

August 1 – Fall Bills Issued to ALL students

August 20 – Bill Due Date

August 25– 1st Late Fee Assessed

Day 11 of Semester – Final Fall/Spring semester Enrollment

13

9. Departments with OFAS Award IDs

Departments should be using their Dept ID in the Award & Disbursement Request Form when

requesting a new department award for a student.

Department Fund Dept ID Prog FIN Account Project/Group UMBC ANCS Dept Award 1113 10012 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Alex Brown Center Dept 1113 10717 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Athletic Dept Award 1113 10445 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Biology Dept Award 1113 10423 171 7129900 5145 UMBC CASPR Dept Award 1113 10338 171 7129900 5145 UMBC CAST Dept Award 1113 10622 171 7129900 5145 UMBC COEIT Dept Award 1113 10144 171 7129900 5145 UMBC CSEE Dept Award 1113 10463 171 7129900 5145 UMBC CUERE Dept Award 1113 10337 171 7129900 5145 UMBC CUERE Summer Award 1113 10337 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Chem Engr Dept Award 1113 10145 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Chemistry Dept Award 1113 10424 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Civil Engr Dept Award 1113 10142 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Club Waiver 1113 10445 171 7120420 CV350320 UMBC Cyber Award 1111 10602 171 7120420

UMBC DPS Dept Award 1113 10589 12 7129900 1217 UMBC Dance Dept Award 1113 10021 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Economics Dept Award 1113 10492 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Education Dept Award 1113 10425 171 7129900 5145 UMBC English Dept Scholarship 1113 10013 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Environ Safety Dept Award 1113 10287 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Erickson Dept Award 1113 10585 171 7129900 5145 UMBC GRAD School Summer Awd 1113 10458 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Geography Dept Award 1113 10333 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Gerontology Dept Award 1113 10495 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Graduate School Dept Awd 1113 10458 171 7129900 5145 UMBC HAPP Dept Award 1113 10494 171 7129900 5145 UMBC History Dept Award 1113 10501 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Honors College Dept Award 1111 10132 11 7029900

UMBC IS Dept Award 1113 10496 171 7129900 5145 UMBC IT Admin Dept Award 1113 10427 171 7129900 5145 UMBC IT Dept Award 1113 10419 171 7129900 5145 UMBC IT Dept Award 1113 10119 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Information Systems Awd 1113 10496 22 7129900 CV390198 UMBC Inter Science Dept Award 1113 10211 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Inter Studies Dept Award 1113 10097 11 7129900 5145 UMBC Internl Ed Srv Dept Award 1113 10216 171 7129900 5145 UMBC JCET Dept Award 1113 10139 171 7129900 5145 UMBC LLC Dept Award 1113 10584 171 7129900 5145 UMBC MIPAR Dept Award 1113 10136 171 7129900 5145 UMBC MLL Dept Award 1113 10331 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Marine Biotechnology Dept 1113 10422 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Math Dept Award 1113 10034 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Mech Engr Dept Award 1113 10200 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Mey Grad Dept Award 1113 10424 171 7129900 5145

14

UMBC Meyerhoff Dept Award 1113 10252 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Music Dept Award 1113 10026 171 7129900 5145 UMBC OIA Dept Award 1113 10372 171 7129900 5145 UMBC OUE Dept Award 1113 10434 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Off Camp Std Ser Dept 1113 10407 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Physics Dept Award 1113 10035 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Poli Sci Dept Award 1113 10088 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Prof Studies Dept Shady 1113 10439 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Psychology Dept Award 1113 10090 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Res Life Dept Award 1113 10535 171 7129900 5145 UMBC STEM Dept Award 1113 10563 171 7129900 5145 Shady Grove TLST Award 1111 10439 11 7129900 TLSTUGRD UMBC Shriver Center Dept Award 1113 10237 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Social Work Dept Award 1113 10113 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Socy/Anth Dept Award 1113 10494 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Std Affairs Dept Award 1113 10594 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Std Sup Serv Dept Award 1113 10573 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Theater Dept Award 1113 10023 171 7129900 5145 UMBC Visual Art Dept Scholarsh 1113 10022 171 7129900 5145

10. Index

Article 1. Mass Departmental Scholarship Spreadsheet Template

15

Article 2. OFAS Item Type Set-Up Request Form

16

Article 3. Sample Department Award Notification

17

The New Scholarship Retriever will be rolled out to all departments to utilize effective 2020-2021 academic year.

www.scholarships.umbc.ed/retriever