/news-archive/tag/jonathan-coleman/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Fri, 06 Aug 2021 19:21:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2021/08/06/new-student-aid-initiatives/ Fri, 06 Aug 2021 19:21:53 +0000 /news/?p=79522 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Provides Half-off Tuition Scholarships]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is implementing several new student aid initiatives to help make college more affordable for students as they and their families are facing unprecedented challenges from the continuing effects of the covid-19 pandemic.聽 The new student aid initiatives include new scholarships for freshmen that cover 50 percent of course tuition and fees, debt relief for students with balances from previous semesters, distribution of federal covid-19 relief funds to students, and the implementation of a new scholarship program. For the first initiative, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is offering first-time freshmen as well as new freshmen with 11 or fewer transfer credit hours a scholarship that covers half of their tuition and fees for the 2021-22 academic year. The scholarship is available to the first 1,000 students and is valued up to $5,000. It is funded through a combination of private and institutional funds. 鈥淐ombined with the recent 11 percent decrease in our institutional net price, the Trojan Strong scholarship provides exceptional opportunity for new freshmen students,鈥� said Dr. Cody Decker, vice chancellor for student affairs and chief data officer. 鈥淲e hope that students and their parents recognize this incredible value and take advantage of this unique opportunity to get a head start on an accessible and world-class education at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥� The scholarship is available to freshmen who are unconditionally admitted to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and enroll in at least 12 credit hours for the fall semester. No additional application is needed. Students who earn a 2.25 GPA or higher during the fall semester may renew the scholarship for the spring semester. Recipients of the Trojan Strong scholarship will participate in student success initiatives that cover academic success, life skills, and financial literacy. Student Debt Relief In the second initiative, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is offering need-based scholarships to provide debt relief for current students with past balances of up to $5,000 so they can continue their education. These scholarships are funded as part of a $25 million donation from an anonymous donor 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock received in 2020. This need-based scholarship is available to part-time and full-time undergraduate students who were enrolled in the spring or summer 2021 semesters. Students eligible for this scholarship were directly contacted by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and asked to complete the scholarship application by Aug. 13. Students who receive a scholarship to pay for a prior balance will meet satisfactory academic progress, participate in a newly developed online financial aid literacy program with information about financial resources and student aid opportunities, and enroll for the fall semester. Distribution of Federal Covid-19 Funds 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has received approximately $10 million in federal covid-19 relief for students through the American Rescue Plan. The funds will be available at the start of the fall term and will be distributed through two ways. The first will provide direct relief for students, while the second will provide emergency grants for students in need. Undergraduate students will receive direct aid through a formula-based approach. Full-time students are expected to receive between $420 and $720 through the direct aid formula. Undergraduate and graduate students who need emergency aid may fill out an application for a grant. Full-time students can expect to receive between $250 and $750 through the application-based aid. New Scholarship System 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has also launched a new scholarship system that automatically matches students with available scholarships inside and outside of the university. ScholarshipUniverse is a one-stop shop for scholarships, including external, institutional, and private scholarships. ScholarshipUniverse is web-based, mobile-friendly, and uses both emails and text messages to communicate with students. 鈥淭his system enables a personalized approach to scholarships,鈥� said Jonathan Coleman, director of financial aid and scholarships at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淚mproving the ability to match students to scholarships will help students move away from the application mindset and ease the burden of submitting multiple scholarship applications.鈥� 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is the first university in Arkansas to implement ScholarshipUniverse, making it one of the first to automatically match students with available outside scholarships. Instead of searching for eligible scholarships, students will answer a series of online questions and complete a scholarship profile. The answers will be used to match students with institutional and external scholarships using a number of criteria, which can include academic merit, program, desired career, and extracurricular interests. Students may contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at financialaid@ualr.edu or 501-916-3035 for more information.]]> /news-archive/2020/12/03/recruiting-efforts/ Thu, 03 Dec 2020 17:34:44 +0000 /news/?p=77962 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock waives application fees to enable more students to apply for college]]> 鈥淎t 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, we are always looking for ways to enhance opportunity for prospective students,鈥� Chancellor Christina Drale said. 鈥淲e are easing some of the financial burden brought on by COVID-19 to help incoming students and their families more easily begin their college careers at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥� 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock will waive the $40 application fee when students apply and use the code Trojan2021 through Dec. 31. “We know that finances are always at the forefront of a student’s educational planning,鈥� said Jonathan Coleman, interim assistant vice chancellor of enrollment management and director of financial aid and scholarships. 鈥淭his is true now more than ever, and we believe in supporting our incoming undergraduate freshmen and transfer students.鈥� 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is also reaching out to students who were admitted to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little last fall but did not enroll, perhaps because of uncertainty. 鈥淭here are many people out there who chose to delay college because of the loss of their job and other uncertainties associated with the pandemic,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淲e’re honoring any original merit scholarships offered this past fall to students who would like to change their entrance term to next spring or fall.鈥� For students who want to get a new start in 2021, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is offering a new need-based scholarship that will help students, especially those with financial burdens brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, pay for out-of-pocket educational expenses. “Occasionally, students have unmet financial needs even after all federal, state, and/or institutional aid has been exhausted for the semester,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淔or the spring 2021 semester, we are excited to offer a new need-based opportunity for students who would like to begin at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. New Year, New Trojan has been designed to help offset the out-of-pocket costs a student might experience their first semester at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥� The New Year, New Trojan Scholarship program is available for incoming freshmen and transfer students arriving in the spring 2021 semester who are eligible for a PELL grant. The scholarship will cover any university charges that are not covered by the student’s federal, state, and/or institutional aid. Eligible charges include tuition, fees, on-campus room, and board, plus a small award to help with books and supplies. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has also modified its admission requirements to underscore the increased difficulty of taking standardized tests during the pandemic. Incoming students now have two options for admissions. High school graduates, with no minimum GPA required, can be admitted with a 19 composite ACT score or a 1010 SAT score. In the second option, incoming students with a minimum high school GPA of 2.25 can be admitted with 15 ACT subscores in English, math, and reading. Freshman merit scholarships, whose amounts are usually based on a combination of ACT scores and high school GPA, are now only based on an incoming student鈥檚 high school GPA if those students have a minimum ACT composite score of 20 or 1030 SAT composite score. These renewable academic merit scholarships can provide between $2,000 and $5,000 a year for tuition and fees and between $1,000 and $5,000 a year for on-campus housing.]]> /news-archive/2020/12/03/care-team/ Thu, 03 Dec 2020 15:35:04 +0000 /news/?p=77857 ... Care Team makes difference in lives of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students in need]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock started the Care Team in January. Led by Heather Reed, director of student retention initiatives, members of the Care Team work closely with students to establish steps to reduce barriers to success. Care Team members take proactive action to support students in their pursuit of academic success, connect individuals to campus and community resources, create a supportive and caring culture for students, and establish best practices and standard protocols of response for academic referrals. 鈥淥ne of the biggest benefits that we鈥檝e seen through the Care Team is the ability to triage student issues, especially in the face of the pandemic,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淲e have a better insight into the challenges students face. We knew students were struggling to find technology in the transition to online classes. Working with university leadership, we were able to purchase laptops and cameras with CARES Act funding and distribute that to the students. We wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do that a year ago. We did all that with the university leadership and Ottenheimer Library. Now, we have an ability to address these needs.鈥� The Care Team is unique in that it provides a centralized point of contact for those who develop a concern about the welfare of a student. The Care Team can refer students to multiple resources across campus that can provide support and assistance needed to stay safe and successful at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. One of the students the Care Team helped during the spring 2020 semester is Nina Scaife, who was facing a tough time after losing her job because of the pandemic while also completing the final semester of her Master of Social Work program. 鈥淚 contacted the Care Team because I was stressed due to needing to supplement my income, and I was worried about how I was going to pay my household bills,鈥� Scaife said. 鈥淚 received a $250 grant from the Care Team. The funds assisted me because I was laid off from my current employer due to Covid-19, so I was able to use those funds to supplement my mortgage payment. If it had not been for those grant funds, it would have been very challenging to support myself during those uncertain times.鈥� Members of the Care Team include Dr. Patti Light, director of campus living; Dr. Mike Kirk, director of counseling and health services; Aresh Assadi, assistant director of counseling services; Dr. Richard Harper, dean of students; Reed Claiborne, director of the Disability Resource Center; Kimberly Bright, director of testing services; Erin Flowers, director of student services in the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; Jonathan Coleman, director of financial aid and scholarships; Dr. Mia Phillips, director of the Multicultural Center; Chicketta Jackson, director of student services for the College of Business, Health, and Human Services; Sarah Haughenbury, director of student services in the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education; and Sam DeVilbiss, director of Trojan Academic Advising and Support Center. 鈥淚’m just so grateful the university has established the Care Team,鈥� Flowers said. 鈥淚 know we are helping our students in tangible ways. Plus, we’re creating a stronger network among the various support offices on campus and learning about all of the amazing work these offices do. Being part of the Care Team gets at the heart of why I work in higher education and I know that is true for the other Care Team members.鈥� On April 1, Adrienne Gill, a senior criminal justice major, lost her job along with millions of other Americans facing hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gill was taking two classes during the spring 2020 semester and paying for it herself since she鈥檚 reached the limit for financial aid. 鈥淚 received an email from the Care Team about two weeks after the loss of my job,鈥� Gill said. 鈥淚n the email, they stated they had received some funding to help students in need during this time. I was on a payment plan as normal, but I wasn’t able to clear my balance after the semester because I just did not have the money.鈥� With the assistance she received, Gill was able clear her school balance, pay household bills, and buy food for her children. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 getting any assistance from the state or anything,鈥� Gill said. 鈥淚 only worked, so when I lost my job it was pretty devastating. This was pretty much the only help that I had received during that time except when we got the stimulus check from the U.S. government. I was so grateful when the Care Team accepted my application and cleared the reminder of my balance, so I could continue my efforts to graduate.鈥� A majority of the students the Care Team assists are facing issues related to the pandemic. The Care Team resolved 443 unique student cases over the spring 2020 semester and anticipate even more during the fall semester. The Care Team had received nearly 700 referrals from students and employees by November. 鈥淢ore than 320 unique students requested some type of support in the first three weeks of the semester alone,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淒ealing with the Covid has been the No. 1 issue we hear about,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淪tudents need help if they or an immediate family member gets Covid-19 or if they have to quarantine. At the beginning of the pandemic, we had a lot of requests dealing with access to technology as all classes went online. Now, we are dealing with issues of study skills, classroom engagement, and mental health.鈥� The Care Team also receives requests from students who need help after losing a family member. 鈥淚 remember a student who experienced a death in the family,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淯sually students who contact us have lost somebody in their immediate family. This young woman lost a sibling, and she became the sole provider for her parents. She wasn鈥檛 working, and now had to balance finding a job with school, grieving, and food insecurity. We worked with her, and she withdrew from one class to give herself more time to focus on her family. We were also able to award her some CARES Act money to help with food and her other expenses.鈥� Care Team members have weekly meetings to discuss responsibilities, how to get in touch with students, success stories, and best practices. Students and employees who have submitted requests are asked to provide feedback so the team can continue to improve. After receiving assistance from the Care Team, Scaife graduated in May and now works with foster and adoptive children and their families as a LifeBASE teen coach at Immerse Arkansas. She鈥檚 hopeful that the Care Team can provide much-needed support for students who need aid. 鈥淢y heart goes out to those students, especially those who were downtrodden and struggling before the pandemic,鈥� Scaife said. 鈥淭he funds should be available for each student so that they can establish themselves and not have to worry about meeting their basic needs. Each student has the right to have food security, adequate and stable shelter, and a peace of mind while pursuing a degree or continuing their educational goals.鈥� Students who need assistance can contact the Care Team by filling out , while faculty and staff who are concerned about a student can fill out .]]> /news-archive/2020/08/04/unprecedented-scholarships-interest-fall-2020/ Tue, 04 Aug 2020 22:21:05 +0000 /news/?p=77295 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Sees Unprecedented Interest in Scholarships for Fall 2020]]> Due to an unprecedented demand in scholarships, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock announced the merit-based scholarship deadline has been extended for new students to Aug. 17. As of the original Aug. 1 deadline, a record-breaking number of more than 1,900 applications were received. These scholarships are made possible in part by the recent largest-ever anonymous donation to help students achieve a world-class education at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淒ue to the overwhelming demand for scholarships, we are excited to extend the deadline to accommodate first-time and transfer students,鈥� said 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale. 鈥淚n this economic downturn, many are still deciding if they can go to school, and this extension will increase this opportunity. Our transformational strategy and tremendous community support allow us to provide much-needed support to students.鈥� Both transfer and first-time students applying for merit-based scholarships are eligible for this deadline extension as the university prepares its online and in-person classes for the Fall 2020 semester. 鈥�We are eager to award the scholarships and by extending our deadline we continue to create opportunities for student success,鈥� said Jonathan Coleman, director of financial aid and scholarships at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淭he response has been very clear. Scholarships are more important than ever.鈥� New and transfer students will be considered for scholarships by simply applying for admission. No further forms are needed. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock will begin awarding scholarships following the extended deadline as students gear up to get back to learning.聽 鈥淗istorical trends show an increase in demand for higher education during economic downturns such as this,鈥� said Dr. Michael Pakko, chief economist and state economic forecaster at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淭hat interest is clearly translating to a need for scholarships and increased applications. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is uniquely positioned to offer exactly what is needed at this time.鈥� To learn more about the resources available and how the university supports student success, visit 糖心Vlog传媒LR.edu/scholarships/.]]>