Scholarships for associate's children

mbeam

We would like to add this as a benefit but would like to implement some guidelines so it doesn't turn into a negative. Any suggestions on how to design such a program?

Thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate the sound advice given on these forums.

System

I sure wouldn't want to be the person who decides whose kids get scholarships. Everyone whose kid was rejected will hate me for all of eternity. Except for top executives -- they'd just hate me until they force me out of my job. :-S

Objective criteria would help a little. Can you get someone outside of your company to make criteria and choose winners? Maybe give several small scholarships so there are more winners. I'm sure someone has a better answer than me.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com

bhamilton

We give two small scholarships to the two local high schools for graduating seniors. We ask that when possible, the scholarship goes to one of our employee's children. The two local schools do the actual so we are not involved in picking the winner. This way, it keeps it fair and the company is out of the loop.

mbeam

Thanks for the suggestions. We are in a smaller community so going through the local schools is a great idea and will run it past the rest of our exec's.

Boo

We offer a $250 scholarship to any employee's dependent who is a full-time student in college. We do this each year, up to 4 years. The employee only has to provide evidence of full-time enrollment of their dependent (even the definition of "dependent" can be open for interpretation, but we define it as someone they claim as a dependent on their taxes). There is no other criteria or judging involved. It has worked pretty smoothly for us for the last 3 years and seems to very appreciated by the employees.

sonny

I really like that it is available to all. Even with a school administering it, it would seem there would eventually be some hard feelings.

Doug

Our company offers several scholarships at $2,000 each year for two years. The amount is this high as we have a number of employees who are below $12 an hour. They are awarded on financial need (after a minimum academic GPA), then we use activities/accomplishments for ranking. Children of senior managers are not eligible. If we have more applicants than scholarships, we hire a person from the local community college with an admissions background to prioritize the applications. We get very positive feedback and haven't had any complaints.

Don D

I like James' answer, unless of course you could give scholarships to all who want one, even $250, but nothing less.