Please note: This page is intended for use by faculty, staff, or administrators who are interested in establishing a UCorp account dedicated to student support or making an award to a student. It is not intended for use by individual students seeking financial support.
Financial support can be offered to SFSU’s students in a number of different ways. The Financial Aid Office can provide financial aid counseling to students who are looking for financial support while attending school. UCorp’s primary role is to provide the Financial Aid Office with scholarship funds when directed to do so by a donor. Requests for UCorp-funded scholarships are made through UCorp. Disbursement of the funds is coordinated and recorded by UCorp and the Financial Aid Office, with Fiscal Affairs being responsible for issuing the payments to the students.
UCorp Projects or Programs sometimes issue financial support directly to students in the form of stipends or prizes; those circumstances are outlined below.
Scholarships
UCorp scholarships are funded by individual donors, foundations, corporations, transfers from another UCorp account, or by earnings transferred from an SF State Foundation endowment. UCorp follows all applicable federal and state laws and regulations in the administration and award of scholarships. We also are committed to ensuring that the donor’s intent is met in administering the funds. For purposes of administering scholarships, the University Corporation shall define the term “underrepresented” as students who are economically disadvantaged, or who qualify for Federal financial assistance.
Scholarship accounts may be established for a college or department, or for stand-alone named scholarships. College or departmental scholarships are established for processing small dollar or one-time only scholarships. Stand-alone named scholarship accounts honoring and individual, family, or other entity are established when it is expected that the scholarship will be awarded over many semesters.
Scholarship selection must take place by a committee of at least three individuals. Donors may serve on scholarship committees, but may not have a majority vote. Compliance with the selection process is certified on each Scholarship Request Form.
If the Project Director changes during the 3-year term of the SPA, an updated SPA and Delegation of Signature Authority must be submitted and processed by UCorp prior to any subsequent awards being made. If the standard process could cause an undue hardship to a student, the supervising VP can sign the Scholarship Request Form as an alternative to the standard process.
To ensure that each donor’s intent is honored, scholarship accounts must be spent down to a balance of $10 or less. Balances less than $10 may be moved to another scholarship account, and then inactivated.
UCorp assesses no fees on accounts dedicated solely to student scholarships or stipends.
How to Establish a Scholarship Account
Complete a Special Project Agreement, have it signed by the Project Director and the Dean/AVP, and forward it to UCorp in ADM-361 for processing. Once all the remaining signatures have been obtained, the Project Director will be notified by email that the account has been established. The process generally takes about 3 – 4 weeks.
Information regarding UCorp’s Special Project Agreement can be found at http://ucorp.sfsu.edu/SPA.
In addition, the Project Director will need to complete a Scholarship Agreement, obtained from and submitted to Financial Aid, so they can document the terms of the scholarship and ensure its compliance with California State University policy and California law. The Scholarship Agreement is not kept on file at UCorp, but it must be in place with Financial Aid before a scholarship can be awarded. For more information, go to http://financialaid.sfsu.edu/.
How to Request a Scholarship
Complete the form found at /default/files/documents/scholarship-award-request-oct19.pdf and submit it to UCorp in ADM-361 for processing.
Student Stipends
UCorp defines student stipends as financial aid issued directly to students by UCorp’s offices rather than Fiscal Affairs. As such, each student stipend is also recorded by the Financial Aid Office and becomes part of the student’s financial aid profile.
Stipends can be awarded on a non-competitive basis to an entire group of students, such as all students attending a conference or completing a course. Stipends can also be awarded on a competitive basis like scholarships. In those cases, a committee of at least three individuals need to select stipend recipients.
Stipends may be awarded for participation in a class or an outside volunteer program. Stipends should not, however, be a substitute for wages so may NOT be awarded for work that benefits SFSU, UCorp, or any of its programs. For example, stipends should not be awarded for research assistance or tutoring; instead, wages should be paid. Stipends cannot be withheld for non-performance of work.
UCorp assesses no fees on accounts used solely stipends or scholarships.
Stipends in Lieu of Scholarships
Non-enrolled students working on their final research projects are eligible for financial aid, but Campus Solutions does not allow for the disbursement of scholarships to non-enrolled students. In those situations, stipends can be issued in lieu of scholarships.
How to Request a Stipend
Complete the form found at http://ucorp.sfsu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/stipend-appointment.pdf and submit it to UCorp in ADM-361 for processing. If the student is a new vendor at UCorp, a W-9 form must accompany the request.
Prizes
Prizes are another category of student support UCorp provides. Prizes are generally awarded for outstanding academic achievement or for winning a competition.
Prizes must be reviewed and approved by the Financial Aid Office prior to distribution by UCorp. If a student receiving federal financial aid in the form of grants, work-study, or loans receives funding that would cause their total aid from all sources to exceed the cost of attendance, then adjustments must be made. If the student is not receiving federal financial aid, then s/he may receive the prize, no matter what the other sources of income for the student might be.
How to Award a Prize
Complete the form found at http://ucorp.sfsu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/award-prize-request-form.pdf and submit it to UCorp in ADM-361 for processing. If the student is a new vendor at UCorp, a W-9 form must accompany the request.