Students can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing the University of Calgary Student Awards and Financial Aid department recently introduced 11 new academic awards for undergraduate students.
Included are scholarships and bursaries ranging from $500 to a whole year’s tuition and compulsory fees. The awards, totalling almost $25,000 annually, include a range of faculty-specific and general undergraduate awards.
"Scholarships and bursaries are always available and provide opportunities for students," said Students’ Union Vice-President Academic Demetrios Nicolaides. "Academic awards are always priorities for the General Faculties Council and they are, of course, extremely beneficial to students."
"The creation of an academic award begins with the potential donor contacting a specific faculty or the university directly if they want a general award," explained Student Awards and Financial Aid Associate Director Marty Penninga. "Then we sit down with them and decide the terms of reference; the value and conditions of the award."
From there, an agreement is drawn up and passed on to the Academic Awards Committee, a university committee, for review. If the AAC approves the award, the GFC has the final authority to approve distribution of the award through the Student Awards and Financial Aid office.