The following policies apply to all scholarships awarded by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and its schools, colleges, departments, and areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What students submit in the Panther Scholarship Portal must be authentic, accurate, and written by the student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students who violate this policy may be reported to the Dean of Students Office for non-academic misconduct<\/a>. If the student has been selected to receive a scholarship and is later found to have violated this policy, the scholarship may be rescinded at the sole discretion of the awarding unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To have scholarship funds disbursed to a student’s account for a given term, a scholarship recipient must be enrolled in classes at 51ÁÔÆæ in that term. Disbursement must occur within the semester of enrollment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most scholarships have minimum criteria stated in the offer email or the award description in the Panther Scholarship Portal. The most common include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recipients are required to satisfy the eligibility criteria at both the time of recipient selection and throughout the duration of the award period. Recipients who do not satisfy the eligibility criteria for the duration of the award period may have their scholarship adjusted or rescinded in the affected terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graduating Students:<\/span> By default, students who have been awarded a scholarship for the full academic year and who will graduate at the conclusion of the fall term will have the spring portion of their scholarship cancelled. In rare circumstances, fall graduates may be permitted, at the sole discretion of the awarding unit, to receive the amount initially awarded for the full academic year in the fall term alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Full-time enrollment<\/span> in fall\/spring terms is defined as 12 or more credits for undergraduate\/associate students. The definition for graduate students varies by school\/college\/program and student status (e.g., dissertator).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students are eligible to receive scholarships that require full-time enrollment if they are considered full-time for financial aid purposes at 51ÁÔÆæ. Examples include participation in 51ÁÔÆæ cooperative programs (where a student enrolls in fewer than 12 credits) and consortium agreements (where a student takes a single class at another Title IV eligible institution of higher education while concurrently enrolled at 51ÁÔÆæ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part-time enrollment<\/span> is defined as fewer than 12 credits for undergraduate\/associate students. The definition for graduate students varies by school\/college\/program and student status (e.g., dissertator).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Official enrollment for each term occurs at 11:59 PM on the tenth day of classes (“census date”). Students who do not satisfy enrollment requirements as of the census date will have their scholarships rescinded. If it becomes necessary for a scholarship recipient to drop below full-time status or fully withdraw after the census date, the scholarship may be rescinded. Please see the Rescission and Cancellation Policy<\/a> for additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a scholarship rescinded due to not satisfying enrollment requirements constitutes a break in continuous scholarship eligibility; the current and all subsequent terms of the affected scholarship(s) will be cancelled and ineligible for reinstatement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a scholarship rescinded or cancelled means the student may not receive the scholarship in future terms and is ineligible for renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The university determines the 60% point of the term in accordance with regulations established by the Federal Student Aid Office of the US Department of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having an award rescinded\/cancelled will likely result in a balance due on the student\u2019s PAWS account; the student is responsible for paying any resulting balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a scholarship rescinded constitutes a break in continuous scholarship eligibility; the current and all subsequent terms of the affected scholarship(s) will be cancelled and ineligible for reinstatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While rare, exceptions to the Rescission and Cancellation Policy may be granted for the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For scholarship purposes, “having need” is a general concept that is answered as “yes” or “no” based on the results of the FAFSA or 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s non-FAFSA Need Worksheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For eligible domestic students, 51ÁÔÆæ determines whether an applicant has financial need at the time of scholarship awarding based on results from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For international, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and other ineligible non-citizen students, applicants may complete and submit 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s non-FAFSA Need Worksheet when they submit the Panther Scholarship Portal General Application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All scholarship offers are subject to available funding; offer values may vary due to the amount of funding or the number of eligible applicants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scholarships may be taxable as determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)<\/a>. Additional information may be found on 51ÁÔÆæ’s Tax Information page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. tax regulations determine whether a scholarship payment to an individual who is considered a non-citizen must be taxed as income. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) refers to these individuals as non-resident aliens<\/em>, resident aliens<\/em>, and non-immigrant aliens<\/em>. Not all individuals referred to as “international students” are considered non-citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When an international student must be paid via payroll, the recipient will be notified via email from the awarding unit about the process and the subsequent correspondence they will receive with instructions. Due to the tax treaty between the U.S. and the student’s home country, the recipient may not receive the full amount of their scholarship because it has been taxed as income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students who neglect to follow the instructions distributed to them via email may 1) have their scholarship payment taxed at the maximum rate, or 2) have their scholarship cancelled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of issuing paper checks, the Universities of Wisconsin require one of two options for payment: 1) ACH\/direct deposit, or 2) a US Bank Focus Pay Card. Students who do not enroll in direct deposit will receive their payment via a Focus Pay Card mailed to the mailing address on file in PAWS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the timing of awards being added, it is possible for a non-citizen whose scholarship payment was previously disbursed via PAWS to later have an additional form of aid added that brings their total support\/aid above the charged tuition and fees. When this occurs, any awards previously disbursed via PAWS must be unpaid and rerouted through the payroll process to ensure the university remains compliant with IRS regulations. This action will likely result in a balance due on the student’s PAWS account; once the student receives the funds via payroll, they may use them to pay their balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A private scholarship is a form of gift aid awarded to students by external organizations, such as community nonprofits or local businesses. Private scholarships are considered financial aid according to federal law and must be reported to 51ÁÔÆæ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When private scholarship funds are received, 51ÁÔÆæ will add them for disbursement according to donor instruction (e.g., for a specific term or split between fall and spring terms). If no donor instructions are provided, the 51ÁÔÆæ Office of Student Scholarships determines how the scholarship is applied to the student account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because free and need-based sources of financial aid cannot exceed a student\u2019s financial need, if a student’s current financial aid offer satisfies their full financial need and a new private scholarship is reported, other financial aid must be reduced to make room for the additional funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a student fails to enroll or withdraws from a term in which a private scholarship has been applied to their account, 51ÁÔÆæ will issue a refund to the private scholarship provider no later than 90 days from the university’s census date or the student’s date of withdrawal — whichever is later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional information may be found on the Private Scholarships webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When paying a student, it is important to ensure the payment is classified correctly to comply with federal and state regulations, 51ÁÔÆæ policies, and donor intent (when applicable). 51ÁÔÆæ makes every effort to maximize a student\u2019s funding opportunities, and, in most cases, it will be easy to provide financial support to students. There will be situations, however, when a department wants to provide funds or cover expenses, but doing so will necessitate the reduction of another resource due to limitations prescribed in regulations for federal aid recipients. 51ÁÔÆæ strives to comply with the intent of donors when administering funds to students. However, donor intent, no matter how specific or strongly worded, may not supersede the university\u2019s obligation to comply with federal and state financial aid rules and IRS or other regulations. When requirements conflict with each other, the most stringent of applicable rules prevails, regardless of the funding source for payments to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 51ÁÔÆæ, the most common ways to provide funds to students are as follows. It is important to understand which method is correct for each set of circumstances to facilitate accurate treatment and reporting for both the student and the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is inappropriate to circumvent these systems to provide compensation or other funding through other means, such as a departmental bill-to request, a Payment to Individual Report (PIR), spend authorization\/travel expense (reimbursement), or a gift card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of institutional funds made available to students should be awarded in the Student Information System (SIS). This facilitates proper internal and external reporting and ensures compliance with IRS rules and the requirement that any educational benefits paid to a student, regardless of the source, be considered in the determination of eligibility for federal financial aid. “Financial aid” includes student loans. All students, regardless of whether they are eligible for or receive federal financial aid, have scholarships of any form recorded in the SIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Institutional\/department funds for students that are not wages and not loans are considered scholarships or fellowships and must be awarded or accounted for in the SIS. This includes rare instances where a university department is directly billed for a benefit the student receives (e.g., international student health insurance). See the Definitions Policy<\/a> below for additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a scholarship payment is disbursed via the SIS, the funds are applied to the student’s account, paying any current or outstanding balance for the applicable award period\/term(s). Excess funds are issued to the student via a refund<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 51ÁÔÆæ, regardless of the award name, departmental aid is awarded via the Panther Scholarship Portal, which syncs to the SIS. The Portal is 51ÁÔÆæ’s universal system for student financial awards issued by the university (as opposed to the federal\/state government). This includes scholarships, fellowships, stipends, retention grants, emergency grants, CGSAs, travel awards, housing awards, etc. See the Definitions Policy<\/a> below for additional information. Utilizing the Portal creates a cohesive, consistent experience for students and ensures the appropriate workflow and data points are captured in the process of offers, acceptances, approvals, and disbursements. The Portal ultimately syncs data to the SIS for disbursement. Read more about the benefits of the Panther Scholarship Portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Official offers of scholarships and other awards that fall under this umbrella term must occur via the Panther Scholarship Portal. Admission letters or other communications that reference a scholarship offer should indicate that the official offer is forthcoming from the Panther Scholarship Portal. Departments are required to use the Panther Scholarship Portal for all scholarship activities, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Departments must use the standard post-acceptance (thank you message) and renewal questions outlined by OSS to enable University Advancement to provide consistent baseline stewardship services to donors for all awarding units. Departments should not collect additional thank you notes\/cards outside the Portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only exception to Portal use is payments related to employment, including teaching, research, and project assistantships (TA\/RA\/PA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 51ÁÔÆæ, a financial payment to a student is defined as a scholarship <\/strong>if the following are true: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The funding source and name of the award have no bearing on whether it is considered a scholarship. Whether the payment is made to the student directly or paid on a student’s behalf by a university entity has no bearing on whether it is considered a scholarship. The determination of whether the payment is considered a scholarship rests with the Office of Student Scholarships. All students, regardless of whether they are eligible for or receive federal financial aid, have scholarships of any form recorded in the SIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: The following are not considered scholarships and are processed separately from these policies by the Office of Financial Aid Administration.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional definitions used in awarding scholarships and throughout these policies are included below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal regulations under the Higher Education Act of 1965 require institutions to monitor and limit total financial resources awarded to students receiving federal financial aid (including grants, need-based employment, and loans).<\/p>\n\n\n\n All students, regardless of whether they are eligible for or receive federal financial aid, have scholarships of any form recorded in the SIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See the Departmental Aid section of the Definitions Policy<\/a> above. All students, regardless of whether they are eligible for or receive federal financial aid, have scholarships of any form recorded in the SIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In most cases, when a philanthropic agreement creates a 51ÁÔÆæ Foundation or UW Office of Trust Funds account to award student financial aid (i.e., scholarships; see Definitions Policy<\/a> above), the fund\/awarding authority shall be assigned to the Office of Student Scholarships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the awarding department\u2019s responsibility to monitor expenditures from their accounts, including funds awarded, disbursed, adjusted, or cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To have scholarship funds disbursed to a student’s account for a given term, a scholarship recipient must be enrolled in classes at 51ÁÔÆæ in that term. Disbursement must occur within the semester of enrollment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not appropriate to pay a student with a scholarship if the recipient is required to perform a service that benefits the university. If the student is working in any capacity for a specified number of hours with campus supervision, scheduling, or oversight, this is employment, and compensation should be made in the form of wages and taxed as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scholarships may be awarded to support students\u2019 engagement in experiential learning, such as internships, especially when those experiences are unpaid or when those without financial support would not otherwise be able to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most prizes awarded to students for winning a contest or drawing are scholarships and must be processed as such. The determination of whether the prize payment is considered a scholarship rests with the Office of Student Scholarships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winnings must be considered as a scholarship or fellowship if any of the following conditions apply: <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the prize awarded can be used for educational purposes or to pay for expenses included in the student\u2019s cost of attendance, the value of the item must be recorded as a scholarship in the SIS. Awarding gift cards as prizes to circumvent the recording of winnings in the SIS is prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Items that cannot be used for educational purposes are not recorded in the SIS, but value limits must be in accordance with Universities of Wisconsin policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are awarding prizes to students for contests or drawings and none of the conditions listed above apply, the prize is not treated as a scholarship. The prize is includable as taxable income to the winner under IRS regulations, even if the winner is a student. Consult your divisional finance officer regarding how to pay the student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether a gift card or equivalent (e.g., voucher, textbook\/supplies purchase, covering expenses, etc.) must be counted as a resource and recorded in the SIS as part of the student’s financial aid award is determined by federal regulation. Awarding gift cards or equivalents to circumvent any other policies outlined here is prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A gift card or equivalent is considered a scholarship and must be recorded in the SIS when it is issued on a per-student basis, and the issuing department knows the individual recipient(s) of the benefit. In almost all cases, 51ÁÔÆæ considers a gift card or equivalent to be a source of other financial assistance, and 51ÁÔÆæ’s scholarship policies apply. The recipient(s) must be reported to the Office of Student Scholarships by the issuing department. The use of gift cards or equivalents must not circumvent the How to Pay a Student Policy<\/a>. The Prizes Policy<\/a> also applies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gift cards or equivalents may not be used to issue emergency funding to a student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A gift card or equivalent is not<\/span> considered a scholarship when the issuing department does not track who is receiving it. For example, gift cards are made available en masse<\/em> in a reception area, and any student may freely take a gift card without the department knowing exactly which students received a card and which students did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The determination of whether a gift card or equivalent is considered a scholarship and must be recorded in the SIS rests with the Office of Student Scholarships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The purpose of a student\u2019s travel, as well as the primary beneficiary, determines how funds should be provided and accounted for. The determination of whether a student travel award\/payment is considered a scholarship rests with the Office of Student Scholarships. See the examples box below for reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the student<\/span> is the primary beneficiary of the travel, meaning the award is related to a student’s academic program, research, professional development, or personal enrichment that does not have a university business (work-related) purpose, the award is a scholarship, and these policies apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEligibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Enrollment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Rescission and Cancellation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Exceptions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Determining Need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Funding Availability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Taxable Income<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
International Student Payments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Private\/External Scholarships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Policies for Departments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Pay a Student<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Panther Scholarship Portal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Definitions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Federal Aid and Award Limitations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Departmental Funds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fund\/Awarding Authority<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Responsibilities<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Timing and the Order of Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Expectation of University Service for an Award<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Experiential Learning and Internship Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Prizes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Gift Cards or Equivalents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Travel Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Student Benefit<\/h4>\n\n\n\n