Institutional Scholarships – Is It Time For A Change? Sally Crow Schuman – University of Wyoming and Pam Palermo – Eastern Wyoming College

Decreased spending of allocated funds for scholarships and activity grants, Decreased acceptance of scholarships offered to students, and Inefficient use of time and institutional resources. Eastern Wyoming College was experiencing the following symptoms:

University of Wyoming Experienced a perception that funds weren’t being spent President challenged Financial Aid to award scholarships more effectively Pressures from Enrollment Management

All of those symptoms were misaligned with the priorities of the Board of Trustees.

Competitive Environment Seven community colleges, One 4-year, and One private vocational college

Purpose of this Action Research To determine an appropriate intervention to alleviate the decline in spending allocated funds, and To determine if the current scholarship budget and awards were meeting the priorities of recruitment, retention, and enrollment as established by the EWC Board of Trustees.

Action Research Model Recognize the problem Diagnose the situation Involve members, gather data, confirm the problem, gain ownership Involved members select the solution Plan intervention and implement Evaluate the change Pearce, Robinson, and Sandberg’s Six-Step Model (1989).

Action Research Definition: Action research is a cyclical, continuous process. The process involves diagnosis, change, and research of a situation leading to organizational change. “The results of diagnosis produce ideas for changes, the changes are introduced into the same system, and their effects are noted through further research and diagnosis” (Cummings & Worley, 2005, p. 661).

Why Action Research? Collaborative Data Collection Literature Review Cyclical Process

History of the Problem - UW Awarding was happening all over campus A lot of money Silo approach to awarding funds Cumbersome application processes Unspent funds due to restrictions beyond donors original intent

History of the Problem - EWC Three committees ◦ Scholarship Selection Committee ◦ Scholarship Policy Committee ◦ Financial Aid Policy Committee Inefficient use of scholarship funds ◦ Delayed awarding ◦ Unused awards Lack of formal policies and procedures

“ Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. A friend of mine, the founder of a company that grew to a billion dollars in annual revenue, best expressed the power of teamwork when he once told me, ‘If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.’” (Lencioni, 2002 p. vii).

Key Elements for Success Develop and build teams with the appropriate participants Develop trust Reduce the fear of conflict Develop commitment Develop accountability Develop attention to results Develop the ability to communicate Develop, monitor, and maintain appropriate goals

DEVELOP AND BUILD TEAMS WITH THE APPROPRIATE PARTICIPANTS You are an important member of this team You were selected because of your unique talents and skills We all have something important to contribute to this team We all have something that we can learn from each other

Members of Trusting Teams… Admit weaknesses and mistakes Ask for help Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion Take risks in offering feedback and assistance

Members of Trusting Teams… Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics Offer and accept apologies without hesitation Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group

Teams that fear conflict… Have boring meetings Create environments where back channel politics and personal attacks thrive Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success Fail to tap into all the opinions and perspectives of team members Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal risk management

Teams that engage in conflict… Have lively, interesting meetings Extract and exploit the ideas of team members Solve real problems quickly Minimize politics Put critical topics on the table for discussion

A team that fails to commit… Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities Watches windows of opportunities close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay Breeds lack of confidence and fear of failure Revisits discussions and decisions again and again Encourages second-guessing among team members

A team that commits… Creates clarity around direction and priorities Aligns the entire team around common objectives Develops an ability to learn from mistakes Moves forward without hesitation Changes direction without hesitation or guilt

A team that holds one another accountable… Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve Identifies potential problems quickly by questioning one another’s approaches without hesitation Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards

A team that focuses on collective results… Retains achievement-oriented members Minimizes individualistic behavior Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely Benefits from individuals who subjugate their own goals/interests for the good of the team Avoids distractions

Communication Verbal and Written Maintain open lines of communication between all team members utilizing all resources

Develop, Monitor, and Maintain Goals Committee’s goals Departmental goals Institutional goals

Processes for Action Research Literature Review Interviews Questionnaire Historical Data Collection

Data-Gathering Methods Interviews Questionnaire Secondary Data Be prepared to discuss your results!

Action Plans Selected Streamline Committees Revision of Academic Progress Policies Redistribution of Scholarship Funds Create Policies and Procedures Communication

References Lencioni, P. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Company. McFadzean, E., O’Loughlin, A., (2000). Five strategies for improving group effectiveness. Strategic Change (Mar-Apr 2000, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p103, 11p). Database: Wiley InterScience. bin/jissue/ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi- bin/jissue/ Pearce, J.A., II, Robinson, R.B., Jr., & Sandberg, M.E. (1989). Change and organization development. In J.A. Pearce & R.B. Robinson, Jr. (Eds.), Management (pp ). Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2005). Organization development and change (8 th ed.). South-Western (Thomson Learning).

THANK You! Sally Crow Schuman Associate Director Student Financial Aid & Scholarship Administration University of Wyoming Dept East University Laramie, WY (307) FAX (307) Pamela B. Palermo Director of Financial Aid Eastern Wyoming College 3200 West C Street Torrington, WY (fax)