University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service student Quiana Brown of New Orleans, La. spent the last six months collecting data on award recipients of the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF).
Quiana interviewed students at both 4-year and 2-year colleges who were awarded the discretionary scholastic funds, surveyed supporting staff at those collegiate institutions, and conducted informational meetings with the administrative staff at ASPSF.
The data collected looked at process barriers among single parent scholarship recipients in the state to learn more about the effective techniques that could be best implemented so that this unique population could be adequately served. Brown conducted this research as part of her final community capstone project with ASPSF whose mission is to “enable single parents to attain self-sufficiency through post-secondary education”. The organization, which has 62 affiliates, provides scholarships in all 75 Arkansas counties each year.
As a result of the information collected several themes emerged including recommendations for a more streamlined process, increased collaboration, additional support services, and the creation of new partnerships. This is information that the organization will be able to use as it continues to grow its operational strategic plan and gear up for its future years in public service.
“The outcome of this work will help us refine our processes, removing any existing barriers which will, in turn, allow more single parent students to apply and more scholarships to be awarded each year,” said Ruthanne Hill, Executive Director of the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund.
The Clinton School student will present the results of her efforts at the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund Leadership Committee meeting on May 20, 2015.
About the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF)
Established in 1990, ASPSF is a non-profit organization which assists low-income single parents in completing their post-secondary education through discretionary community based scholarship funds so that they are better prepared for skilled employment and more able to obtain self-sufficiency. To achieve this goal ASPSF has affiliate organizations representing every county in Arkansas and since 1990 has awarded more than $20 million dollars to deserving recipients. Affiliate Follow-up Reports for 2013 revealed that ASPSF recipients had an 86% graduation and retention rate, meaning that 86% of all scholarship recipients that school year either graduated or pre-registered for the next school term.
More information about the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund is available at www.aspsf.org
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