Challenge
Logan University's manual scholarship administration practices created obstacles for students and staff.
Results
- Automated processes save staff 14 hours per week during peak periods
- Adaptive matching connects students directly with scholarships they qualify for
- Improved transparency strengthens financial aid insights and analytics
With a growing number of students nationwide relying on financial support to make their postsecondary goals come true, Logan University's financial aid team knew it was time to rethink how the institution approached scholarships. Previous processes were time-consuming, inefficient, and difficult to scale.
"Everything from collecting applications, blinding student information, sending out score sheets to the committee, and tallying results was done by hand," said Associate Director of Financial Aid Laurel Miller. "It would take over 50% of my time during our scholarship cycle."
With Scholarship Universe, Ellucian's industry-leading scholarship management tool, Logan's financial aid office discovered an opportunity to modernize the scholarship experience for the entire campus community, automating student matching and streamlining the review process. According to Miller, its intuitive capabilities have also significantly reduced the manual work on her plate.
"It's down to around 15% of my time now," she said. "That's a huge difference from what it used to be."
That means Miller has reclaimed about 14 hours each week during one of the busiest times of the year — time now available to focus on maximizing student support in other ways.
A Collaborative Rollout and Immediate Gains
Logan University is a private university in Chesterfield, Missouri serving about 1,500 students. The school's implementation of Scholarship Universe was structured as a phased rollout, with Miller and Director of Financial Aid Kerry Hallahan leading the way and Ellucian team members supporting the Logan staff through every step.
"They didn't just hand it off and disappear," Hallahan said. "The handoff between each stage of the onboarding process was smooth. And once we were fully onboarded, our contacts stayed responsive and proactive."
The implementation began with internal scholarship matching. According to Hallahan, the system's automated student-matching capabilities have since proven to be one of its most valuable features.
"It pulls in data like program, GPA, courses, and demographics, and directly matches students to eligible scholarships," she said. "It's no longer a guessing game for students. They're only seeing scholarships they qualify for."
Moving forward to implement Scholarship Universe's external scholarship management tools, the financial aid office also began to see an uptick in scholarship money flowing to students from off-campus sources. In a typical academic year, around 25 Logan students now collectively receive between $90,000 and $111,000 in external scholarships.
"We didn't have those numbers before because we weren't tracking them consistently," Hallahan said. "Now, I can run reports anytime."
Miller is also pleased with her office's ability to track student activity and outcomes more easily with Scholarship Universe.
"I was just looking at our dashboard and saw external applications jump from five to 41 in a month," Miller said. "It's nice to have visibility into that."
A Streamlined Experience for the Campus Community
The financial aid team aren't the only members of Logan's campus community benefiting from the newfound capabilities of Scholarship Universe. The digital-first approach also aligns with Logan students' expectations of a modern scholarship platform.
"Students want everything accessible online," Miller said. "Scholarship Universe gives them exactly that. It's easy to use, and they get notified when they're matched with an opportunity."
Students are further spared the task of determining scholarship eligibility, making them more likely to find scholarships that they qualify for.
"Before, they had to dig through our website and figure out which scholarships they could apply for," Miller said. "Now, the system does that for them."
Logan University's professors are also making good use of the technology. When it comes to the scholarship selection process, faculty who serve on scholarship review committees now have an easier time scoring applications.
"Before, they were carrying around stacks of paper with rubrics and essays," Miller said. "Now, they log in, score digitally, and it's all streamlined."
A Partnership that Continues to Unlock Value
One constant throughout Logan's journey with Scholarship Universe has been the strength of the partnership with Ellucian. Hallahan and Miller praised the team's responsiveness and resourcefulness.
"Whether it's links to videos, training guides, or just hopping on a call, the support has been phenomenal," Hallahan said. "I've worked with other systems, and it's not always like this."
They also value the regular updates and product insights they receive from Ellucian.
"The outreach has been incredibly helpful," Hallahan said. "We get timely tips, relevant webinars, and links back to past trainings. That kind of proactive support really makes a difference."
Hallahan and Miller continue to explore ways to make Scholarship Universe work even harder for their institution. Whether it's reducing the risk of AI-generated essay submissions, improving timing for student data uploads, or fine-tuning scholarship cycles to boost application rates, they remain committed to making the most of the platform.
"Scholarship Universe has allowed us to make scholarships fun again," Hallahan said. "It's made the process faster, more accurate, and more accessible."
"We're still finding new ways to use it more efficiently," Miller added. "It's not just meeting our expectations; it's exceeding them."
