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1. «Organization» Student Affairs Marketing
1303 E. University Blvd «Address», «Address» «Address» T 520-621-1575 F «Phone» «Email»
Scholarship Universe
Requirements Document V. 11/04/13
Student Affairs Marketing | Student Affairs Systems Group | Scholarship Universe
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3. «Organization»
Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 1
Part I: Application Overview
Objectives
Background
Scholarship Universe (SU) is a scholarship matching service primarily used by University of Ar-
izona Students. It prompts students to answer a series of a questions, the answers to which are
used in matching the student to scholarships for which they are eligible. Scholarship Universe
was created in 2010 thanks to a grant from the Student Services Fee Board. Since its initial
launch, it has gone through many revisions, including Phase II which add the Scholarship Uni-
verse Departmental App (SUDA). SUDA allows UA departments to administer their scholar-
ships through SU and allows students to apply for UA scholarships through SU as well.
Issues
The central issue facing the Scholarship Universe site is its inconsistency with University of Ari-
zona branding. However, given that considerable time and resources have been devoted to estab-
lishing the current brand and logo of Scholarship Universe, and that they have successfully reso-
nated with students, the SU brand and logo should not be abandoned. Therefore, the challenge
will be to update the SU site to better reflect the UA brand, while still preserving the uniqueness
of the SU logo and brand.
Another set of issues are the design and layout of the SU landing page and site in general. When
it was initially developed, mobile platforms were still an emerging technology and it was not
known, at the time, the extent to which they would be utilized now. Additionally, wide screen
displays were not as prevalent as they are today. As a result, the static design of the site does not
work very well on mobile devices nor does it take advantage of the additional space on wide-
screen monitors. We do not have the resources to manage multiple content platforms – so devel-
oping a separate site or app for iOS, Android, and widescreen displays is not an option.
Our current landing page also poses a problem to some of our users: given that the vast majority
of the Scholarship Universe site is only accessible to UA students with a valid NetID, the landing
page is a dead end for anyone who is not a UA Student. There are other users besides students
which need to be accommodated and they need a clearly identifiable place to go to find the in-
formation they’re looking for.
Finally, little consideration was taken in terms of assessment when the site was initially created.
Consequently, it is very difficult to measure SU’s impact and evaluate our performance.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 2
Solution
The goal for Scholarship Universe is to redesign the website for better UA branding consistency,
mobile compatibility, assessment capacity, and a more open general layout. Objectives towards
this goal include:
Redesign Website Front End
The new design will better incorporate UA branding while maintaining the current Schol-
arship Universe brand and logo.
Develop a Responsive Design for the Landing Page and site
The adoption of a responsive design will allow SU to display and perform optimally
across a multitude of devices and screen resolutions, while eliminating the need to man-
age a separate content platform for each type of device. The responsive design will im-
prove user accessibility and efficiently display information regardless of screen resolu-
tion.
Improve Access for Non-UA Students
The new Landing Page will provide clear places to go for non-UA students. This will
likely require the creation of several new pages for each distinct non-student user group
(detailed below). In addition we want to add a search function to the landing page, where
anyone could search and see limited information on UA Scholarships only.
Incorporate Assessment Tools
Throughout the redesign process, we want to incorporate assessment tools and make it
easier to track usage statistics in Google Analytics. The exact details of what will be
added will depend on our Assessment Plan which is currently being developed.
Add Donor Profiles
To assist university development officers in particular, we want the ability to add donor
profiles to SU. These profiles would be visible on the landing page without having to log
in. They would perhaps include a photo of the donor, a brief bio, and information about
why they created their scholarship.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 3
Business Process
Current
Scholarship Universe is currently used to match students to scholarships and allows students to
apply for certain UA Scholarships. The primary users of SU are University of Arizona students.
Scholarship Matching
Students answer a series of questions to complete their profile. Their profile is then used
to match them to scholarships for which they are eligible.
Applying for UA Scholarships
Students can apply for certain University of Arizona scholarships through Scholarship
Universe. During this process they can upload documents to SU as well as request a con-
fidential letter of recommendation (if required) from an outside source.
Proposed
After the redesign, Scholarship Universe will maintain the current processes above and will add
the following:
Non-UA Student Scholarship Searching
Functionality will be added to allow non-UA students to search through available (or po-
tentially available) UA Scholarships and view limited information about those scholar-
ships. These users will not be able to actually apply for the UA Scholarships nor will
they be able to view external scholarships. They may also be able to search for external
scholarships but would only see the scholarship name and blurb.
Non-UA Student login
There is demand for non-UA students to be able to log into SU and view select infor-
mation – primarily about UA Scholarships. The two primary user groups we’re con-
cerned with are potential UA students and high school counselors. Either group would be
able to use their Facebook or Google (or similar login authentication) to access the site.
If possible, we’d like to be able to collect certain demographic information from these
users via their authentication account for assessment and reporting purposes.
Public Facing UA Scholarships
We have discussed the possibility of making UA Scholarships in SU viewable by the
public. This would primarily add a benefit to those administering their scholarships
through SU, in that they’d be able to share and publicize their scholarships more easily.
In addition it would enable the scholarships to be promoted and linked to directly on var-
ious social media platforms.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 4
User Segments
Scholarship Universe is primarily intended for University of Arizona Students, as such they are
the primary user group we are concerned with. At present, UA students are also the only ones
who can access site content beyond the login wall.
However, there are other types of users who may visit SU. This may include parents, prospec-
tive students, donors, scholarship administrators, university administrators, and the general pub-
lic. Each type of user is looking for slightly different information – but the landing page needs to
accommodate all of the above user types.
UA Students: as our primary user group, they will be on our site to look for external scholar-
ships and to apply for UA scholarships
Prospective Students: they will be in the process of applying to UA or perhaps just thinking
about it. They’ll need information on what SU is and what it could offer them if they become a
UA Student.
Parents: they may be parents of actual students or prospective students, regardless they will be
unable to access the scholarships themselves, so they need to understand who can use the site,
what it has to offer, and perhaps be directed to other UA resources they can access.
Donors: they will primarily be coming to SU because they either want to make sure their schol-
arship is in the system or they want us to add their scholarship to the system. Donors need a
clear place to go from the splash page and clear instructions on submitting a scholarship for in-
clusion in our system. This group is also likely to be the least tech savvy.
Scholarship Administrators: like donors, they’ll primarily be looking to add their scholarship
to SU or confirm that it’s in the system.
University Administrators: they may be from UA or another school. If they’re from UA,
they’re likely visiting the site because their department is using SU and they need to administer
their scholarship. They need a clear place to go where they can log in to start their work. Non-
UA university administrators will likely be visiting SU to find out more about SU, as such they
should be able to easily navigate to an overview of the key features of SU and be directed to an
interested party form/survey.
General Public: for someone who doesn’t fall into one of the above groups, we can include
them here. This group should be able to easily understand what SU is and who can use it.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 5
User Roles and Responsibilities
Requires a conversation with SASG
Internal Users
Administrators
o Can create, edit, and manage scholarship listings.
o Can add additional admins and revoke user privileges.
o Can view and generate reports.
o Can view and edit questions/comments submitted through SU.
Content Manager (will be added)
o Can create, edit, and manage scholarship listings.
o Can view and generate reports.
o Can view and edit questions/comments submitted through SU.
External Users
Student User
o Can log into SU with NetID.
o Can view and search through eligible scholarships.
o Can apply for UA Scholarships.
Potential (Future) Student
o Can login via 3rd
party credential, but has limited access.
o Cannot view full information on external scholarships.
o Can search and see limited information on UA scholarships.
High School Counselor
o Same as Potential (Future) Student.
Parent of Current or Future Student
o Can view summary of what SU is, what it does, and who can use it.
o Can access limited resources relating to searching / applying for scholarships.
Donor
o Can search and see external scholarship names and blurbs.
o Can potentially edit and manage their donor profile.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 6
Production Rollout Considerations
The Scholarship Universe website will be upgraded in three major stages:
Stage 1: Design/Develop Responsive Landing Page (Spring 2014)
Stage 2: Design/Develop Additional/New Features (Spring-Summer 2014)
Stage 3: Design/Develop for Remainder of Site (Summer-Fall 2014)
Interactions with Other Systems
Other Systems
Scholarship Universe currently interacts with UAccess in several ways. It's used for login and
authentication purposes for students with a NetID. It also serves as the login authenticator for
administrators and those using SUDA. Finally it pulls student data and associates it with a stu-
dent’s application for a UA Scholarship in SUDA.
This requires a conversation with SASG.
Replacement of Legacy Systems
The website is currently based on a Telerik system, but it may be preferable to switch to a differ-
ent system.
Requires a conversation with SASG.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 7
Terminology
Term Definition
Attribute Each scholarship will have 1 or more attributes associated with it. Each attribute rep-
resents a specific eligibility criterion. Attributes are the questions students respond to
when creating their Student Profile.
AES (Automated Email
System)
Currently in development, the AES will allow us to send out various automated email
alerts to SU users as well as managed campaigns to specific user segments and/or
groups.
External Scholarship A scholarship which is funded and administered by a 3rd
party not directly affiliated
with the University of Arizona
Departmental
Scholarship
Another name for a UA Scholarship.
Matching Logic 1 or more attributes which match a scholarship’s eligibility requirements with stu-
dents’ answers.
Scholarship Blurb A brief (no more than 1-2 sentences or 50 words) description of a scholarship.
Scholarship
Description
A full description of the scholarship (no more than a paragraph or 350 words).
Student Profile A student profile is comprised of all the answers students gave to the questions
they’re asked. These answers are what are used to match students to scholarships.
SUDA Scholarship Universe Departmental Application – used to administer the application
process for UA Scholarships
UA Scholarship
(internal)
A scholarship which is administered through an official University of Arizona
organization and generally only available to UA Students.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 8
Part II: Functional Requirements
Statement of Functionality
Below is a precise documentation of proposed functionality. The redesigned Scholarship Uni-
verse website will include all functions listed here, and will not include anything not listed:
Secure Login
o Students and Admins can use their NetID as their login credentials.
o Non-UA students will be able to use their Facebook, Google, or similar creden-
tials as a limited login.
Scholarship Matching
o Students are asked eligibility questions based upon the available scholarships
and/or prior answers.
o A profile is created for the student containing their responses to eligibility ques-
tions.
o Students are matched to scholarships based on their profile answers.
Scholarship Tracking / Management
o Students can flag scholarships as ‘Interested’, ‘Applied’, ‘Uninterested’ and
‘Awarded’.
o Future functionality may include automatic flagging of scholarships: when a stu-
dent applies for a UA Scholarship through SU, it should indicate ‘Applied’ and
perhaps when a student clicks on a link to an external scholarship it would be
flagged as ‘Interested’.
Document Management
o Students can upload documents to their document locker in SU.
o Students can modify or delete the contents of their document locker.
o Students can attach these documents to applications for UA Scholarships.
Tools Section
o The tools section provides links to various external resources related to student
success.
o Students can rate these resources from 1 to 5 stars, where 5 stars represent the
highest rated resources.
o The ‘Searching’ section currently lists other scholarship search sites, but this
should be combined with tools section more broadly.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 9
User Feedback / Error Reporting
o Students can use a form on the SU site to submit errors they encounter or provide
feedback.
Apply for UA Scholarships
o Students can apply for UA Scholarships through Scholarship Universe.
o They can associate documents from their doc locker with an application.
o They can associate a received confidential letter of recommendation with an ap-
plication
o When students apply, they are also automatically applied to any scholarships shar-
ing the same eligibility requirements and application.
Request Confidential Letter of Recommendation
o Students can request a Confidential Letter of Recommendation from a 3rd
party.
o Students can customize the automatic email that will be sent to the letter writer,
and view the content of the email before it’s sent.
o 3rd
Parties can: accept the request and submit their letter; decline and select a rea-
son for doing so; or decline and give no reason. Students are notified of the re-
sponse.
o Letters submitted by 3rd
parties can be managed by students (i.e. they can delete it
or associate it with a scholarship) however they cannot be viewed by students.
Administrative Application Compatibility
o Admins can use the SU Admin App to create and manage the scholarships in SU.
o Admins can pull various reports about usage from the SU Admin App.
o Admins can manage all other essential features via the Admin App.
Assessment
o Appropriate tags and code will be included so Google analytics will be able to
track site usage more effectively. This should include tracking views on individ-
ual scholarships, when a student clicks on the apply button to go an external
scholarship site, tracking traffic flow to identify bottlenecks and high bounce
rates, and others TBD.
o Survey tools will garner random user feedback after specific actions are taken on
the site (such as completing a profile, viewing a scholarship, clicking on a link to
an external scholarship, applying for a UA scholarship, etc.).
Communication
o Admins will be able to modify, create, and manage campaigns and automated
emails through the Automated Email System (AES) which is currently in devel-
opment.
o Students will be able to adjust the frequency with which they receive automated
messages from the AES, opt-out of AES notifications, or opt-out of receiving any
emails from SU.
UA Scholarship Search (landing page)
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 10
o Non-UA users can search through all reoccurring UA Scholarships and see basic
info such as a scholarship description and general eligibility requirements.
External Search (landing page)
o Non-UA users can search through all reoccurring External Scholarships but can
only see the ‘Scholarship Blurb’ field and perhaps the last year which the scholar-
ship was offered.
Donor Profiles
o Displays info about a donor on the landing page and rotates profiles displayed
amongst those available.
o Admins can create, modify, and remove donor profiles.
o Profiles will include information about the donor, why they made the scholarship
possible, and if possible a photo of the donor.
o These profiles would also link to their related scholarships in SU.
o These profiles may or may not be linked to active scholarships – i.e. profiles asso-
ciated with active scholarships would appear first on the landing page.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 11
Scope
Scholarship Universe will be upgraded in three major stages:
(Note: the order of work reflects more of our internal priorities rather than a realistic working
timeline and as such is subject to discussion and change.)
Stage 1: Design/Develop Responsive Landing Page (Spring 2014)
o Identify and prioritize individual content elements from the current site
and incorporate new content elements.
o Determine functional break points for individual content elements.
o Incorporate UA Brand into the look and feel of SU.
o Add new content areas for non-UA student users (i.e. potential stu-
dents, parents, donors, etc.).
Stage 2: Design/Develop Additional/New Features (Spring-Summer 2014)
o Add new search function to landing page.
o Add non-UA student login for potential students and high school counselors.
o Add donor profiles and any related management tools.
o Incorporate assessment tools and update google analytics tags across the site to
enhance tracking and reporting.
Stage 3: Design/Develop for Remainder of Site (Summer-Fall 2014)
o Carry over updated look and feel to remainder of the SU site.
o Incorporate responsive design to site interior.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 12
Usability
Specific usability requirements include:
Understandability
o Any user who arrives at our landing page will intuitively understand
where to click / go to get the information they’re looking for.
o More information
Operability
o The website will take better advantage of wider desktop and laptop computer
screens after Stage 3.
o Scholarship Universe will be mobile friendly and accessible on mobile devices af-
ter Stage 3.
o More information
Look & Feel
o Scholarship Universe website will be rebranded to more of a red and
blue visual scheme, to maintain better consistency with the University
of Arizona brand. This would preferably continue the current realistic
universe/space theme.
o Website will take better advantage of screen real estate rather than
locking activity in a center control panel.
o More information
Concurrency
This is an SASG conversation.
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Scholarship Universe | Requirements Document 13
Part III: Appendices
Appendix I: Requests for Enhancements
Changes requested for site requirements:
Date Enhancement Requester Notes Priority Status
