With around 2,200 students and more than 100 named fellowships—many with preferences related to academic major, hometown, ethnicity, or other criteria—matching students with fellowships is a comprehensive process. Students are matched either by their program coordinator or the director of financial aid, depending on whether the fellowship is designated to a specific program.
Students are matched to fellowships throughout the year. However, most students are informed of this honor at the beginning of the academic year (August/September). The person naming the fellowship attempts to match students who have qualified for a certain amount of aid to funds with that amount of aid available. For funds with preferences, multiple factors are considered, including whether the fellowship was assigned last year to a student who is eligible again this year and how the student is performing (or, in the case of an incoming student, how the student is expected to perform).
At the time most students are notified about their financial aid packages they learn the amount of their fellowship award, but the specific fund with which they will be matched may not yet have been determined. This is because it is a relatively fast process to calculate the amount each student needs and allocate that amount from the total pool of funding available. It takes longer to match each student with a specific fellowship fund. During the academic year, as students are matched with fellowships, we inform them about the fellowship they received.
Stewardship reporting letters are sent out on a rolling basis, with most endowed fellowship reports being sent in the fall semester. This allows time for the students to be matched with funds. Many prepare thank-you messages which are then forwarded to donors. If a student does not write a note, CGU sends the donor a report identifying a student recipient and, in the case of an endowed fellowship, information on the endowment’s performance.
Whenever possible, we try to continue a student’s association with the same fellowship from year to year. Students must continue to meet the criteria of the fellowship and be in good standing with the university in order to remain eligible. Because of the specifications of some fellowships, however, they may go to a new student each year.
If no student meets the criteria for a specific fellowship, we may wait to award the fund, in case a student who fits the preference becomes eligible. By the end of the year, if no student has met the criteria, we will inform the donor of why this was the case.
In the case of an endowed fellowship, it is often awarded in the academic year following the year the pledge was completed so that the endowment has time to grow. However, please note that the first fellowship award depends on the timing of the gift.
An annual fellowship is generally awarded during the same academic year it was given but may also depend on the timing of the gift.
Donors cannot select the recipients of their fellowships. Instead, qualified CGU staff choose the recipients based on the criteria set forth by the donor.
Each year, CGU holds an annual fellowship luncheon in the spring. During this event, we make every effort to seat fellowship donors and their recipients at the same table. If this is not possible, you will be provided with an opportunity during the event to meet other student(s) who benefited from a named fellowship. Other opportunities to meet with the recipient(s) can usually be arranged upon request.
There are two types of fellowships: endowed and annual. An endowed fellowship lives on in perpetuity as part of CGU’s endowment, and the growth and earnings on that fund are awarded to a student(s) based on the payout formula determined by the CGU Board of Trustees (currently 5 percent). An annual fellowship is one that can be given on a yearly basis to support a student or students. Both types are governed by criteria established by the donor. For example, we have fellowships that support female management students or African American students studying English.
There are minimum amounts required to establish either an endowed fellowship or an annual fellowship. If you would like to learn more, please contact the Office of Planned Giving at 909-607-9224 or plannedgiving@cgu.edu.
We will be glad to assist you in developing fellowship criteria or in setting up any other aspects of fellowships. Please contact the Office of Planned Giving at 909-607-9224 or plannedgiving@cgu.edu for assistance.