How to Collect Meaningful Feedback After Your Scholarship Cycle Ends
Your scholarship cycle isn’t complete without learning what worked.
The end of a scholarship cycle is the perfect time to pause and ask an essential question: What did we learn?
Too often, scholarship teams rush from awarding to the next task on their calendars, missing the chance to gather critical feedback that could transform next year’s process.
Whether it’s input from applicants, reviewers, or internal staff, structured feedback helps you improve user experience, reduce friction, and make data-informed changes to your workflows. According to a 2023 survey by Ruffalo Noel Levitz, 59% of higher ed leaders say improving internal processes is a top post-cycle priority—but only 23% gather formal feedback.
This post offers practical strategies for collecting meaningful scholarship cycle feedback that’s easy to execute and truly actionable.
Ask Applicants About Their Experience
Your students are your best source of insight. They’ve just gone through your application process—successfully or not—and can speak to what worked, what was confusing, and what prevented them from completing the process.
How to do it:
- Send a short, anonymous survey to all applicants (and incomplete applicants if possible)
- Ask about ease of use, clarity of instructions, time required, and overall satisfaction
- Include open-ended prompts like: “What was the most confusing part of this process?” or “What would have helped you feel more confident?”
Tools you can use: Google Forms, Qualtrics, or built-in survey tools in platforms like AwardSpring
Why it matters: Small barriers (unclear instructions, too many document uploads) can stop students from finishing their applications. Now’s your chance to find and fix them.
Debrief with Reviewers (They’ll Appreciate It)
Your reviewers are on the front lines of awarding. They see where rubrics break down, where systems lag, and where confusion creeps in. But they rarely get asked how it went.
How to gather feedback:
- Send a 5-question survey post-cycle
- Host a 30-minute optional debrief session via Zoom
- Ask reviewers to rank their experience from 1–10 and explain their scores
Key questions to include:
- Was the review process intuitive and efficient?
- Were the instructions and rubrics clear?
- What would have made your experience better?
Be sure to thank them and report back on what you heard—transparency builds trust and future participation.
Why it matters: Engaged reviewers are more likely to return next year—and to advocate for your program to others.
Collect Internal Team Insights (While It’s Still Fresh)
From financial aid officers to advancement staff and IT support, your internal team experienced this cycle from every angle. Don’t let institutional memory walk out the door.
Try this approach:
- Host a quick team debrief (virtual or in-person) within two weeks of awarding
- Use a “Start/Stop/Continue” format:
- What should we start doing next year?
- What should we stop doing that didn’t work?
- What should we continue that was effective?
- Document everything in a shared folder or knowledge base for future planning
This can also inform your team’s post-cycle reporting or wrap-up presentation to leadership.
Why it matters: Internal feedback prevents burnout, improves team alignment, and ensures smoother onboarding for new team members next year.
Use Feedback to Improve Your Technology & Process
Once you’ve collected feedback, it’s time to act on it.
Look for recurring patterns:
- “Too many logins” → Consider SSO or a centralized portal
- “I wasn’t sure what I qualified for” → Implement auto-matching
- “It took forever to find the right scholarship” → Improve filtering or student communications
Platforms like AwardSpring allow you to automate many of these fixes. You can centralize applications, reduce data entry, and streamline reviewer workflows—all based on the feedback you’ve gathered.
Why it matters: Feedback isn’t just a feel-good gesture—it’s the foundation for smarter, more efficient systems.
Close the Loop: Show What You’re Doing with the Feedback
Feedback fatigue is real—especially in higher ed. One of the biggest reasons people stop responding is that they never hear what happened after they spoke up.
Make it a habit to report back with a “You said, we did” summary to:
- Students (in a follow-up email or on your scholarship landing page)
- Reviewers (via thank-you emails or internal newsletters)
- Internal stakeholders (in end-of-year recaps or presentations)
Example:
You said: The application asked for too many documents.
We did: Next year, we’ll only require one academic transcript and one recommendation letter.
Why it matters: Transparency builds a culture of trust and improvement—and encourages future feedback.
Final Thoughts: Feedback Is Your Scholarship Program’s Superpower
You’ve just run an entire scholarship cycle—now give yourself the gift of clarity. A few simple surveys and short debriefs can lead to major improvements in your next season.
By listening to students, reviewers, and internal teams, you ensure your scholarship program evolves in ways that are practical, equitable, and sustainable.
AwardSpring makes post-cycle evaluation easier by helping you track completion rates, reviewer activity, and student engagement—all in one place. Ready to turn feedback into your competitive advantage?
See How AwardSpring Helps You Improve Every Scholarship Cycle
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