Methods to improve the quality of the Robert C. Byrd Scholarship Application in New York State

Dongxiao LiuSpring 2010

Overview

• Background

• Problem Statement

• Literature Review

• Data Collection and Data Analysis

• Findings and Recommendations

• Conclusion

Background

• New York State Education Department Pre—Collegiate Preparation Programs and Scholarship Unit

• Robert C. Byrd Scholarship

Problem Statement

Errors

Problem Statement

Errors Statistics

• A total of 4,609 errors recorded from 2004 to 2009

• Applications with errors have gradually increased since 2006

• 1033 applications with error in 2009

Literature Review

• Communication Model of Intergovernmental Policy Implementation

• Policy Implementation and Cognition

• The Role of Technology in Data Management

Data Collection and Data Analysis

Interview Counselors

Interview Supervisors Survey

• Triangulation

• Inductive reasoning • Thematic Analysis

findings

Findings

• Finding 1 Local educational agencies feel that the content of information in the scholarship bulletin needs to be improved

• Finding 2 School administrators/Staff members need extra assistance during the application process.

Findings

• Finding 3 School counselors are confident of filling out the Byrd Scholarship application accurately.

• Finding 4 Most of the school counselors accept the original wording and phrasing in the scholarship information bulletin, but they believe that different people may prefer different formats of content.

Recommendation #1

• Redesign the information bulletin (incorporate sample application forms, etc.)

Findings

• Finding 5 State Scholarship program supervisors value communication with schools and believe a good relationship with schools will help to improve the quality of the scholarship application.

• Finding 6 Most of the organizations use technology to maintain the accuracy of the completed scholarship applications; others have or will considered using technology.

Recommendation # 2

• Implement an online scholarship application and perfect the scholarship website

Recommendation # 3

• Establish a wiki database for communication use between the scholarship program staff and school staff

Recommendation #4.5

• Recommendation #4

• Add more communication and notification to the scholarship application process

Recommendation #5

• Increase the advertisement efforts of the Byrd Scholarship by using volunteer resources

Thank You!

Dongxiao LiuSpring 2010