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Scholarships

The Scholarships module lets you define scholarship programs, award them to individual students, and manage student applications. Scholarship awards are linked directly to the student's invoice, reducing the amount they owe.

Navigation: Finance → Scholarships

Scholarship workflow​

  1. Create a scholarship program — define eligibility criteria, funding amount, and the number of awards available
  2. Students apply — either through the system or manually entered by staff
  3. Review applications — approve or reject based on criteria
  4. Award is created — the approved amount is applied as a fee adjustment against the student's invoice

Scholarship programs​

Navigation: Finance → Scholarships → Programs

A scholarship program is the template that defines the scholarship offering.

Scholarship Programs page showing list with program name, funding amount, awards granted, status, and funding source

Creating a program​

  1. Click + New program
  2. Fill in:

Scholarship Programs — create new program dialog

FieldDescription
Program namee.g., "Head's Academic Excellence Award", "Government Bursary Scheme"
DescriptionWhat the scholarship is for and who is eligible
Funding sourceInternal (school funds), Government, Donor, NGO
Award amountFixed amount (e.g., $300) or percentage of tuition (e.g., 50%)
Award typeFull scholarship, Partial bursary, Exam fee waiver
Applies to feesWhich fee(s) the award covers (Tuition, Exam fees, etc.)
Available awardsMaximum number of students who can receive this award
Eligibility criteriaFree text description (e.g., "Academic average above 85%, financial need demonstrated")
Academic yearThe year this program is active
Application deadlineLast date to apply
StatusDraft, Active, Closed
  1. Click Save program

Editing a program​

  1. Click on the program name or ⋮ menu → Edit
  2. Make changes
  3. Click Save
note

Changing the award amount on a program does not retroactively change awards already granted. New awards created after the change will use the updated amount.

Scholarship awards​

Navigation: Finance → Scholarships → Awards

An award is the actual scholarship granted to a specific student. It links a student to a program and specifies the exact amount to be applied.

Scholarship Awards page showing awarded students with program, amount, academic year, and applied-to-invoice status

Granting an award manually​

  1. Click + New award
  2. Select:
    • Student — the recipient
    • Program — which scholarship program this is from
    • Award amount — pre-filled from the program but can be adjusted per student
    • Academic year and term — when the award applies
    • Fee to offset — the invoice or fee this award reduces
  3. Click Grant award

Grant scholarship award dialog showing student, program, amount, and fee selection fields

The student's outstanding invoice balance is automatically reduced by the award amount.

Award statuses​

StatusMeaning
PendingAward created but not yet confirmed
ActiveAward confirmed and applied to the student's account
AppliedThe award has been offset against an invoice
RevokedAward cancelled; invoice balance is reinstated

Revoking an award​

  1. Open the award record
  2. Click ⋮ menu → Revoke
  3. Enter a reason (e.g., "Student withdrew from school", "Criteria no longer met")
  4. Confirm

The invoice balance is restored to the original amount.

Scholarship applications​

Navigation: Finance → Scholarships → Applications

Applications allow students or guardians to formally request a scholarship through the system. Finance staff then review and approve or reject them.

Scholarship Applications page showing applicants with program applied, submission date, and pending/approved/rejected status

Receiving an application​

Applications can arrive via:

  • System submission — student or guardian applies online through the parent portal
  • Manual entry — a staff member enters the application on behalf of the student

To enter an application manually:

  1. Click + New application
  2. Select the student and the program
  3. Enter any supporting notes
  4. Set status to Pending
  5. Click Save

Reviewing an application​

  1. Click on the application row to open the detail
  2. Review the student's information and any attached documents
  3. Choose one of:
    • Approve — creates an award automatically for the approved amount
    • Reject — marks the application as rejected with a reason
    • Request more information — returns the application to the applicant

Scholarship application detail showing applicant, program, supporting documents, and approve/reject action buttons

After approval​

When an application is approved:

  1. An award record is created automatically
  2. The award is applied to the student's invoice
  3. The student/guardian receives a notification (if configured in Communications)

Scholarship reporting​

To see how your scholarship budget is being used:

  1. Go to Finance → Scholarships → Programs
  2. Click on a program to see:
    • Total budget allocated
    • Number of awards granted
    • Total amount disbursed
    • Remaining awards available
  3. Export the awards list as CSV for financial reporting

Common scholarship types in Zimbabwean schools​

TypeDescription
Academic meritTop students by grade average
Financial needStudents from low-income families
Government bursaryCALA / BEAM programme beneficiaries
Sports scholarshipExceptional athletes
Staff children discountReduced fees for children of school staff
Sibling discountReduction when two or more siblings are enrolled
Founders' scholarshipHistorical donor-funded awards