Situation: In 2003 and again in 2004, SMS approached a health care supply corporation in the top half of the Fortune 100. The subject of scholarship programs for employees' children was not new to them, since they had a modest program that rewarded a handful of the most elite academic performers. There was, however, a growing unease, fueled by the realization that these awards were not as meaningful as possible, and that they missed their target of more mainstream students and families.

Implementation: In 2005 the timing was right for the corporation to expand their scholarship initiatives. SMS, using our 30 years of specialized experience, recommended balanced evaluation criteria, a web-based application and a program design that engaged more diverse students and families. We developed features to provide for the selection of students who have not only the academics, but also have the leadership experience and life skills that identify them as our future leaders.

Results: In the spring of 2006 the first awards were announced. Feedback from families and students has been outstanding. The company has helped some students for whom the door to postsecondary education had been closed; for others, it provided the ability to pursue the college of their choice, rather than the most affordable option. In short, it has allowed more students more financial flexibility to pursue their dreams.

In the next program year we will have processed more than 1,000 applications and will offer meaningful awards to more than 250 students. Our goal is also to extend the program to students outside North America for the 2008 award cycle.

Situation: A large manufacturer administered their children of employees’ scholarship program in-house. As years passed, senior management became more and more involved in the selection process. They felt that in order for the program to appear fair, they had to select students by quotas of regions, divisions, and types of schools, rather than select the most qualified students. As the program's quotas, tiebreakers and administration became more involved, they realized their management team could no longer afford to take on the increasingly heavy burden. They needed assistance from an outside administrator.

Implementation and Results: An SMS representative met with their team to discuss the program, suggesting several areas of improvement to simplify the process, while keeping selections objective and fair. Initially, the company felt that they had modified their program to make it as fair as possible and were not interested in changing. Still, SMS took over administration of the program, and has made recommendations over the years for improving the program without compromising its integrity and objectivity. Even when suggestions have been met with skepticism, the skill and experience of SMS's program managers have convinced senior management that we can make the needed changes to the program in order to bring fairness and order to it, all the while respecting the needs of the corporation.

Education Assistance Programs

Following is a case study on education assistance management services. Click here for full details on all of our education assistance administrative services.

Situation: In 1997, a large automobile manufacturing company wanted to initiate a program for all employees’ children to receive college assistance, and turned to SMS for our management expertise in custom programs. Linked databases were developed to verify employee eligibility, report payments via a third-party data administrator and report taxable income (in a flexible way depending on whether the employee was active, retired or deceased). Payments were processed as a reimbursement to the employee or prepayment to the school.

Implementation: SMS developed an implementation plan to include: programming system requirements, hiring six additional staff members, writing all promotional materials, developing the application and creating online and offline procedures specific to the program.

Results: The program was implemented in a three-month time frame. Over $8 million dollars were distributed in the first three months of the program. In its first year, SMS processed a total of 20,565 applications; ten years later, we continue to administer the program, continually developing new technology to improve it.

Tuition Assistance Programs