Money left untouched – that’s the unlikely issue Laurier Brantford faced, when it came to their scholarship roster; a real problem, which ultimately led to change. With the old way, students were forced to apply individually to each scholarship, which made the procedure both lengthy, and tedious. The new process, ushered in this past year, involves students submitting an applicable faculty profile. Now, the Student Awards Office automatically considers applicants for all relevant scholarships based on their program, year of study, financial need, and their volunteer experience.

“A lot of the funding was going unused,” says Shannon Wilson, an advisor with Service Laurier Brantford.

A fact that was turning into a bigger, and bigger issue, as donors began commenting on this to university officials. Something, that with the old system, was almost unavoidable.

“We can’t make them apply,” explains Wilson, recounting the conversations she was relayed between local contributors and those at Service Laurier.

The new process, therefore, is designed to be more user friendly, for applicants, as well as the Student Awards Office. It will hopefully encourage students who previously didn’t want to apply, to apply. It will also streamline the work for the university, leading to less paperwork, and hopefully, less wasted funds.

The process also allows students to be eligible for scholarships they haven’t even considered. Previously university goers painstakingly chose their awards, and wrote redundant, mail in applications, sometimes pages and pages in length. On the other end of the spectrum, workers at Laurier had to sift through these monologues, and pick out the ones that fit best. This revolutionary blank form, due on October 11 at 11:59 p.m. represents a new, accessible, and higher tech experience for Laurier Brantford.