Scholarship Policy Update 2021

Sponsors

• Nathan Upchurch
• David Earl

History

Language locks: 6/15/2021

Forum / Slack Announcement: 6/4/2021

Officially Proposed: 6/4/2021

To be voted on: Passed on: 6/22/2021

Background

The aim of this vote is to revise and clarify the language of Scholarship Policy 2019 Vote Proposal passed on 7/30/2019. It also expands scholarship terms, as we have found the current scholarship term length insufficient to allow recipients to get authorized on tools and complete their goals. The selection criteria has also been loosened, to make the application and approval process less cumbersome for applicants, the MMT, and the BOD. This vote does not entail any budgetary increase for the scholarship program.

Vote Language

Consistent with our mission, PS1 offers Scholarships to individuals that might not otherwise be able to participate due to financial constraints, or who seek membership for the purposes of education or community service.

Financial & Logistical Considerations

A distinct budget for scholarships at PS1 shall be created to be voted upon with other budget items for that year’s annual budget. All money that is not used in the scholarship fund will be returned to general PS1 funds to be redistributed in the annual budget vote for the upcoming year.

Scholarships are to occur on a semiannual application cycle for a smooth on-boarding process for scholarship recipients. Scholarships are approved for 6-month cycles with decisions being sent to candidates by the 1st Wednesday of December and June. All scholarships will have an option to renew via reapplication for an additional 6 months totaling a limit of 12 months within two calendar years. Former scholarship recipients may be considered again in the following year, or for the second scholarship term within the same year if there are insufficient applications to saturate the scholarship budget for the upcoming term.

Scholarship selections will be guided by the specifics of the selection criteria that are generally laid out in this document. The selection process may be delegated to other members of PS1 in good standing, provided that scholarship recipients are ultimately reviewed and voted on by the Board of Directors.

The Scholarship budget may also receive additional funding from donors in addition to what is voted upon in the annual budget. Donor funding may be added to the general scholarship pool, or as a separate scholarship designed to support particular applicants (e.g. a scholarship specifically for welders) provided those scholarships fit the goals and objectives of Pumping Station: One and are approved by the Board of Directors. All sponsored scholarship types should be made available for review by the membership, including those that are temporary, although donors and recipients may remain anonymous. Funds provided by donors for the purpose of supporting scholarships will be added to the general pool of Scholarship funding unless otherwise specified.

Terms

“Scholarships per month” refers to a singular instance of waived dues for that month’s membership. When someone receives a scholarship per semiannual term, they are receiving 6-months worth of scholarships to be used within that term. Modifications to an assigned scholarship term should be directed to the scholarship officer.

Limitations

The Board of Directors reserves the right to provide scholarships to the extent the Board or other designated volunteers are currently able to successfully manage and only to those applicants they deem to meet the criteria, regardless of availability. The Board of Directors reserves the right to revoke scholarships if the recipient violates the Membership agreement, does not fulfill the requirements of their scholarship, or does not respond to Board correspondence in a timely fashion regarding pertinent issues pertaining to their scholarship. The Board will work to the best of their ability to address issues for scholarship recipients with clarity and in a timely fashion. Scholarships are not transferable.

Selection Criteria

Successful applicants should meet one the following conditions:

• Applicant can demonstrate financial need
  • This may be demonstrated by checking off a declaration in the scholarship application that PS1 dues would render the applicant unable to join PS1 without a scholarship
• Applicant demonstrates that their PS1 membership will be used for the purposes of education or community service

Results

Passed