New office to streamline scholarship management

Scholarships help to ease the financial burdens associated with college, and, sometimes, they enable students to better focus on their studies.

The UNC Charlotte Scholarship Office, under the direction of Mark Walter, is a new campus resource that will guide and support all colleges and departments that award endowed and annual scholarships.

“Strategic administration of scholarship funds has become an increasing priority for colleges and universities. I’m looking forward to working with all campus partners to establish this new office that will support colleges in their administration of scholarships and ultimately help meet the needs of our students,” said Walter, who joined the University from the New York Governor’s Office, where he managed that state’s portfolio of civic engagement and service funding for roughly six years.

Prior to Walter’s hiring, the chancellor and provost established a committee to review the existing scholarship process and make recommendations for improvement. The findings revealed a lack of ownership of the scholarship management process, which requires substantial staff resources, communication and coordination across divisions. These challenges made it difficult to award scholarships in a timely and efficient manner.

Walter said his initial time on campus has been spent meeting with faculty and staff who administer scholarships to identify best practices that can be replicated or where shortfalls exist. He and his staff have conducted an “incredible amount” of research, reviewing files for every scholarship fund created since the University was established.

“In the coming weeks, our office will work with each scholarship administrator to review the central scholarship database we’ve built. Ultimately, our main objectives are to ensure each college or department is aware of the scholarships they have to award and that each award is being administered as the donor intended,” stated Walter.

In summer 2015, the University Scholarship Office will roll out a central scholarship management system. It will match students with scholarship opportunities and streamline how applications are received and scholarships awarded.

“The University scholarship system will aggregate information from several existing applications into a single, user-friendly site,” Walter said. “This new campus resource will serve as the central point of scholarship information for students and parents, as well as faculty and staff members.”

Moving forward, Walter says the University Scholarship Office will work with colleges and departments to look more strategically at how scholarships are awarded, which will help meet undergraduate and graduate enrollment goals.

“Paying for a college education can be extremely challenging. I believe we have a responsibility to every current and potential UNC Charlotte student to be thoughtful about how we utilize our resources and help them achieve their academic goals.”

A graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego, Walter completed a Master of Public Administration from Marist College. He has held senior positions in the area of fund development, contract management and program administration with several national philanthropic organizations.