UA Student Winners Cash in DegreeWorks Book Scholarships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Five University of Alabama students each received a $300 book scholarship for the fall semester as winners of a competition testing their knowledge of campus and by using UA’s DegreeWorks and Student Educational Planner.

UA students who received the book scholarships include: Leah Tucker of Hoover, James Watson of Birmingham, Marie Bridges of Mobile, Samuel Dotson of Concord, N.C., and Joseph Murray of Camp Hill, Pa. Each student is awarded the money upon checkout at the Supe Store.

Murray says the book scholarship means a great deal to him and his family. “The book scholarship is a great opportunity to alleviate some of the financial obligations of attending a top-rate school, especially with the economy the way it is,” he says.

During the spring semester, a competition sponsored by the Office of the Provost was designed to promote DegreeWorks and the Student Educational Planner, said Michael George, UA registrar.

The competition required eligible students to correctly answer a trivia question. The first five students to correctly answer the question won a $300 book scholarship.

A total of 1,120 students made themselves eligible for the competition. To be eligible, students must have been an undergraduate student enrolled for spring semester 2010, they must have had 90 or less earned hours as of the first day of that semester, and as of April 12, they must have had an active student educational plan for a minimum of three future contiguous semesters.

George says that using DegreeWorks will help benefit both students and the University.

“As more and more of our students use DegreeWorks and activate their Student Educational Planner, the University will be able to mine what courses students need in order to graduate vs. when they want or need to take them,” he says.

“This data will provide the University, for the first time, with the capability to forecast need for specific courses which will enable the respective college/schools/departments to better predict future course offerings and the resources needed to deliver them.”