• Section 1 - Purpose and Scope
• Application
• Section 2 - Process and Key Controls
• Section 3 - Key Requirements
• Award lifecycle
• Award creation, gift agreement and approval
• Rules
• Rules approval process
• Marketing and application management
• Selection and awarding
• Award Administration
• Award rules
• Amendment of award rules
• Notifications and payments to recipients
• Notations on academic transcripts
• Award value
• Financial
• Scholarships website
• Monitoring of eligibility
• Scholarship Intervention Notice
• Deferral and interruption
• Duration of award
• Requirements of awards
• Requirements for rules
• Review of awards
• Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities
• Scholarships Office
• Award administrators (non-central)
• Advancement and Community Engagement
• Student Enrichment and Success
• Approving Authority
• Recommending Authority
• Selection committee chairs
• Selection committee members
• Selection committee composition
• Recipients
• Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance
• Section 6 - Recording and Reporting
• Section 7 - Appendix
• Definitions and Terms

Section 1 - Purpose and Scope

(1) This Procedure outlines the requirements for managing undergraduate and postgraduate coursework scholarships and prizes (awards) at The University of Queensland (UQ or the University) and supports the Scholarships and Prizes Policy.

(2) This Procedure applies to all UQ staff, recipients, UQ controlled entities, affiliates and volunteers involved in these activities.

(3) This Procedure applies to all coursework undergraduate and postgraduate awards established and administered by UQ, except for awards of qualifications conferred under the Awards Policy, tuition fee discounts, which are addressed in the Student Fees Policy.

Application

(4) To the extent that this Procedure is inconsistent with a UQ policy, the terms of the policy will prevail.

(5) To the extent that this Procedure is inconsistent with the rules of an award, the rules of the award will prevail.

(6) Award rules in existence at the time of introduction of this Procedure will be progressively reviewed with an intent of aligning to this Procedure where possible.

Section 2 - Process and Key Controls

(7) Awards must be established and administered in accordance with the Scholarships and Prizes Policy, this Procedure and its associated guidelines and forms.

(8) Decisions regarding the awarding of scholarships are made at UQ’s discretion in accordance with the scholarship rules.

(9) Student grievances or appeals arising from an action taken under this Procedure will be managed in accordance with the Student Grievance Resolution Policy.

(10) If a recipient fails to comply with the conditions of the award, they may be required to provide an explanation and evidence why their scholarship should not be suspended or terminated in accordance with the relevant award rules and this Procedure.

Section 3 - Key Requirements

(11) UQ will establish rules for the administration of awards.

(12) The Approving Authority will establish guidelines for the preparation, review, submission and approval of award rules.

(13) Award rules may be amended only with approval.

Award lifecycle

Award creation, gift agreement and approval

(14) Awards shall be established that support the University's strategic priorities, subject to the requirements in the following provisions.

(15) The value of a new award will meet the minimum levels specified below:

1. Prize: $1,000 on each occasion the Prize is awarded.
2. Scholarship: $3,000 per student, per year.

(16) The establishment of any philanthropic scholarships will be guided by a Gift Agreement. The values for a named philanthropic gift or endowment must meet the minimum value requirements in accordance with the Naming Policy.

Rules

(17) Every award must have a set of rules with a Recommending Authority listed.

(18) The rules must reflect the donor intent, and requirements of any gift supporting the award and otherwise comply with the requirements of the Policy and this Procedure.

(19) Where an overarching need has been identified, a scholarship scheme comprising multiple individual scholarships may be created with the approval of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).

Rules approval process

(20) The Scholarships Office is responsible for:

1. providing advice where donor intent within a proposed gift agreement is not administrable
2. reviewing proposed new rules
3. consulting with other areas of UQ, affiliates and UQ controlled entities to advise on the drafted rules and proposed administration and recommending proposed rules to the relevant Approving Authority
4. advising administering unit when rules have been approved
5. maintaining a register of approved rules for awards that are published on the Scholarships website.

Marketing and application management

(21) Awards may be made on a competitive basis or awarded automatically based on clearly defined criteria as stated in the approved rules. Where an award is made by application, the application form and process will:

1. be fit for purpose and not unduly onerous
2. be publicly accessible and published in a timely manner to provide prospective applicants sufficient time and opportunity to apply
3. outline all criteria for an applicant to be considered for the award
4. contain an appropriate privacy collection notice and (where applicable) consent notice.

Selection and awarding

(22) Selection of award recipients will be made in accordance with the rules that govern the award and the following principles:

1. selection of an award must include evidence-based selection, no unfair or unnecessary barriers for student access and the consistent application of selection criteria
2. meeting the minimum eligibility requirements allows an applicant to be considered for selection. Not all applicants who meet the minimum eligibility criteria may be selected
3. where the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of available awards, selection will be made on a need or merit basis, as detailed in the award rules
4. an award may not be made in a particular year, if in the opinion of the Recommending Authority, there is no applicant of sufficient merit to warrant the award
5. if an award is made subject to later performance of condition(s), the Approving Authority may approve a list of persons qualified, in order of merit, and determine that the award be made to the person or persons highest on the list
6. if the value of the award is not stated in the rules, it will be equal to the annual income from the fund which supports it
7. if, in the opinion of the Recommending Authority, there are two or more candidates of substantially equal eligibility, an award and its value may be shared equally among them, if the rules allow. Where the award contains an item that cannot practically be split or replicated to be shared equally between all recipients, the Recommending Authority may determine an alternative basis of award to select a single recipient from the applicants of substantially equal merit, and make a recommendation to the relevant Approving Authority for consideration
8. award rules may define whether a recipient can hold multiple similar scholarships. If this occurs, the University will allow the recipient to determine which scholarship(s) they will retain, and which scholarship(s) will be relinquished
9. where an award may have insufficient funding, the Recommending Authority may recommend that it not be awarded
10. a single selection committee may be responsible for the selection of more than one award where the rules of the award allow
11. a preference to exclude donors from selection committees, unless the rules of the award specify.

(23) The Recommending Authority is responsible for providing a recommendation of an award recipient or recipients, in the format prescribed, to the Scholarships Office on each occasion that selection is made.

(24) An award recipient is not confirmed or notified until the relevant Approving Authority has approved the recommendation.

(25) Where a recommendation is not approved by the Approving Authority, it will be referred to the relevant Recommending Authority for clarification, to submit a revised recommendation or to withdraw.

Award Administration

Award rules

(26) An award must be administered strictly in accordance with its rules.

Amendment of award rules

(27) Requests to amend an award must be submitted to the Scholarships Office to be reviewed and submitted to the Approving Authority.

(28) Amendments that are material, that amend the purpose of the award or that may have legal implications due to an underlying trust, will, bequest or gift agreement, should be made in consultation with Legal Services, before submission to the Approving Authority.

Notifications and payments to recipients

(29) All formal notifications and payments to recipients are ordinarily made by the Scholarships Office.

Notations on academic transcripts

(30) Awards may be included on student academic transcripts in accordance with the Academic Records Procedure.

Award value

(31) Payments of awards will be approved by the relevant Approving Authority.

(32) Where the value is a stated amount to be shared between recipients, the value will be shared equally amongst the recipients unless the award rules specify that the Recommending Authority may determine a value for each recipient.

Financial

(33) Financial awards should be managed in accordance with Financial Management of Scholarships Procedure.

Scholarships website

(34) The Scholarships website will be the primary source of promotion for all awards.

(35) The Scholarships Office may approve the publication on the University’s Scholarships website of an award that is not funded by the University, following consideration of:

1. the standing and reputation of the external scholarship awarding body
2. whether the scholarship awarding body is a public entity, not-for-profit, private entity for profit, or a private entity not-for-profit
3. the alignment of the award with the University’s strategy, values and policy
4. any reputational risks.

Monitoring of eligibility

Scholarship Intervention Notice

(36) The recipients of Scholarships are required to meet ongoing eligibility conditions as specified in the rules for the Scholarship.

(37) The Scholarships Office will assess ongoing enrolment and grade eligibility of recipients throughout the year, usually immediately after census and grade release.

(38) In relation to individual scholarships that may have additional ongoing eligibility conditions that must be met, which are unrelated to academic progression, such as those for elite athletes, the recommending authority must notify the Scholarships Office to issue a scholarship intervention notice.

(39) If a recipient of an award fails to meet ongoing eligibility conditions for the award, the recipient will be issued with a Scholarship Intervention Notice, by the Scholarship’s Office to provide explanation, supported by evidence, why the award should not be suspended or terminated.

(40) Where a Scholarship Intervention Notice is issued for a scholarship administered by the Scholarships Office, unless otherwise specified in the rules for that scholarship the Scholarship Intervention Notice, and the recipient’s response will be considered by the University.

(41) Minimum GPA requirements should not be applied to scholarships, designed to support students with financial difficulties.

Deferral and interruption

(42) Where the rules for a Scholarship allow for the award to be deferred or interrupted, the recipient must apply for the deferral or interruption in accordance with the format prescribed in the rules.

(43) The Recommending Authority may place conditions on approval of the deferral or interruption of the award.

(44) The award may be terminated if the recipient fails to:

1. apply for an interruption in a timely manner
2. provide appropriate supporting documentation
3. meet the conditions of the deferral or interruption.

Duration of award

(45) Where an award is held in duration for a specified period, and it is terminated prior to the duration ending, the Scholarships Office will notify the administering unit and Advancement and Community Engagement who may:

1. ask that the Recommending Authority select another recipient for the remaining duration of the scholarship
2. where annually funded by donation, Advancement and Community Engagement will take appropriate action to inform the donor and where applicable, discuss adjusting future payments.

Requirements of awards

(46) If it is determined that an award was made based on incorrect or incomplete information, or a recipient has a finding of misconduct, then the Recommending Authority may:

1. rescind the offer of an award
2. terminate an award
3. withhold any further benefits and require the recipient to repay any award benefits already received.

(47) the Recommending Authority may cancel an award or suspend payment until the requirements specified in the notification of the award are met.

(48) where an award is paid as a lump sum, it must be claimed within 12 months of official notification, unless the relevant Approving Authority determines otherwise. Where it is not claimed within 12 months of official notification, the award will be deemed to have lapsed.

(49) UQ may provide details regarding recipients to the relevant donors and associated partners e.g. residential colleges for the purposes of the relevant award.

(50) Personal information will only be disclosed in accordance with the Privacy Management Policy and Procedure.

(51) Before providing the recipients’ details to a donor (and/or the donor's authorised representative), staff must take reasonable steps to ensure that such information will be held, used and/or disclosed by those parties strictly in accordance with the purposes for which the University has provided the information.

Requirements for rules

(52) Rules for awards must specify any requirements associated with the award that a recipient must meet. These requirements must be made available to applicants and recipients in a timely manner.

(53) Award rules must not include:

1. requirements to undertake or complete any activity that carries a material benefit for the donor or their nominees. For example, an award cannot require the recipient to undertake paid or unpaid work for the University or a donor, except for return of service requirements specified in government funded awards
2. requirements to return or repay any proportion of the award (except as provided for in clause 49 requirements of awards).

Review of awards

(54) Awards will be regularly assessed and improved based on feedback, data, and evaluation to ensure alignment with strategic goals and, when appropriate, relevant gift documentation.

Section 4 - Roles, Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Scholarships Office

(55) The Scholarships Office, Academic Services Division, is responsible for the management of the administration of awards offered to undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students. They will:

1. manage application, selection and award processes of awards
2. monitor the ongoing eligibility of award recipients, including the scholarship invention notice process, and maintaining and updating information in SI-net
3. ensure rules for awards are consistent with relevant University policies and legislation, administrable and appropriate, and support the student experience
4. maintain the rules for awards offered to undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students
5. for awards funded by an endowment fund, return the unspent funds or hold the funds for use in a future year in accordance with Investment Policy
6. ensure official records related to awards are maintained
7. provide written and oral information/advice regarding approved awards and major scholarship schemes to current and prospective students, parents, school contacts, UQ staff and other external clients
8. provide authoritative information/advice regarding awards to current and prospective students, parents, school contacts, staff and other external clients
9. monitor and provide feedback and recommendations based on competitive scholarship offerings across the sector
10. manage payment of awards to students and other authorised persons or entities (e.g. residential colleges)
11. prepare account payments, reconciliations and budget forecasts for awards
12. publish on the Scholarships website accurate information on available awards in a timely manner, including eligibility and selection criteria
13. take all reasonable steps to ensure payments are correct and awards processed in a timely manner
14. provide guidance and endorsement on draft gift agreements as requested by Advancement and Community Engagement
15. provide data analysis and reporting
16. coordinate external prestigious scholarships.

Award administrators (non-central)

(56) The Scholarship administrators (non-central) are responsible for:

1. administering awards (not undertaken by the Scholarships Office)
2. drafting rules
3. project management of application processing, recruitment and selection, recommendation forms, governance/signatory's and finance
4. liaison with Scholarships Office, applicants and recipients
5. promoting scholarship programs and individual scholarships
6. supplying scholarship information to support stewardship and marketing efforts with Advancement and Community Engagement
7. liaison with faculty advancement
8. contributing to data analysis and reporting for awards not managed by the Scholarships Office
9. maintaining accurate, accessible records of all applications
10. donor reporting, if appropriate
11. coordinating pastoral care, mentor program work experience program workshops, luncheons, speaker for recipients, if appropriate.

Advancement and Community Engagement

(57) Advancement and Community Engagement are responsible for:

1. partnering with donors to secure funding for awards ensuring donor intent outlined in gift agreements, and criteria are administrable in partnership with local UQ unit/s as advised by the Scholarships Office and Legal Services
2. flagging any unused funds in endowment review for local unit evaluation and more frequent monitoring for priority funds
3. stewarding donors through donor impact reports, strategic events and bespoke engagement
4. working with recipients to invite them to share their story and send a thank you to the donor
5. proactively managing donor expectations and involvement aligned with the Policy
6. requesting payment from donors in accordance with gift documentation
7. maintaining records of all gift documentation and donor reporting and interactions
8. facilitating and evaluating fund repurposing or amendment requests for existing awards where donor intent is no longer administrable in partnership with Legal Services and local units.

Student Enrichment and Success

(58) Student Enrichment and Success are responsible for delivery of cohort experiences for a range of scholar programs, including the Young Achievers Program (YAP), and financial support to facilitate students’ access to enrichment activities.

Approving Authority

(59) The relevant Approving Authority will ensure that an award is established and administered in accordance with the principles set out in the Scholarships and Prizes Policy and this Procedure.

Recommending Authority

(60) The Recommending Authority, as stated in the rules for an award will:

1. ensure the award is made in accordance with the rules for that award
2. ensure funding is available for an award to be paid before recommending a recipient for the award
3. consider proposed rules for new awards for approval and provide the decision to the Scholarships Office
4. make a recommendation of an award on each occasion it is available in a timely manner
5. monitor the effectiveness and appropriateness of minimum eligibility requirements.

(61) Recommending Authority may:

1. rescind the offer of an award
2. terminate an award
3. withhold any further benefits and require the recipient to repay any award benefits already received.

(62) The Recommending Authority may cancel an award or suspend payment until the requirements specified in the notification of the award are met.

Selection committee chairs

(63) The award selection committee chairs will be responsible for ensuring that the selection process is professional, transparent, timely and in accordance with the Scholarships and Prizes Policy, this Procedure and local guidelines.

Selection committee members

(64) Each selection committee member must fairly and reasonably assess each application according to the award requirements and selection criteria.

(65) If at any point in the process, a member of a selection committee believes that a real or perceived conflict of interest may occur due to a financial, family, personal or other relationship with an applicant for an award, then the committee member should comply with the Conflict of Interest Policy.

Selection committee composition

(66) Each selection committee must:

1. be chaired by the Recommending Authority (or their delegate)
2. have UQ staff comprise the majority of members
3. be composed of members that are appropriate for the context of the award, where reasonably possible.

Recipients

(67) Recipients are expected to:

1. accept the terms and conditions as outlined in the rules of an award
2. provide accurate and timely information as requested
3. be responsible for seeking their own personal tax and Centrelink advice in regards to any payments received
4. provide details of their banking institution in a timely manner to ensure timely disbursement of the award
5. monitor payments and notify UQ if any over or under payments occur, and in the case of an overpayment, advise scholarships@uq.edu.au immediately and undertake to repay the overpaid amount as agreed with UQ.

(68) Recipients are invited to share their story or note of thanks with donors of philanthropically funded scholarships.

Section 5 - Monitoring, Review and Assurance

(69) Compliance with this Procedure is managed by the Academic Registrar. The Academic Registrar will also be responsible for the regular review of this Procedure and its associated documents.

(70) The Scholarships Office will undertake regular reviews of a recipient in receipt of a continuing award to ensure the recipient continues to meet the relevant award rules.

Section 6 - Recording and Reporting

(71) Ad hoc reports required for government reporting and internal analysis and planning will be undertaken by the Scholarships Office.

(72) The Scholarships Office will appropriately manage and protect information gathered on donors and recipients in accordance with the Information Management Policy.

Section 7 - Appendix

Definitions and Terms