Scholarship Application Criteria
Only certified teachers without school library media certification may apply. Applicants must be accepted by Mansfield University in the School Library & Information Technologies program in pursuit of a Master of Education degree with school library certification (Graduate Code 331). Candidates will be judged on the degree to which they meet the following criteria and the quality and content of a one to two-page essay. Candidates do not have to meet every criterion.
- Uncertified School Librarian
Preference will be given to teachers who are currently working in a school library, without library certification. Typically, these individuals are placed in the school library because an experienced or certified librarian is unavailable. In many cases, the individual is granted a temporary or emergency waiver to qualify for the position.
- Diversity
One of the objectives of IMLS and the Fulfilling the Promise Scholarship program is to increase the number of ethnic and culturally diverse individuals representing the school library media profession. According to the ALA, whites represented 88 to 92 percent of all graduates of ALA-accredited master’s programs from 1991 to 1998. However, the current K-12 student population in America is far more diverse.
- Male
The library and teaching professions are overwhelmingly white, female. These scholarships also aim to increase the number of male school librarians working with K-12 students.
- Under-served Geographic Communities
Ideally, scholarship recipients will be currently working in an under-served school community. "Under-served," for the purposes of this grant, means poor, small, very rural, or an inner-city environment. Schools may be public, parochial, or private. For applicants not currently working in a school, information relative to the geographic community in which the candidate lives is required. An objective of the scholarship program is to target areas of socio-economic need with limited library or educational services.
- Distance from a Library Science University
A higher ranking is given to applicants who live a long distance (over 50 miles one way) from a degree-granting library science graduate school. The online Mansfield School Library & Information Technologies program was developed to provide certified teachers with a convenient alternative for earning a Master’s degree and school library media specialist certification, particularly for those located at a distance from an existing library education university.
- Principal/Administrator Partnership
Ideally, the successful Fulfilling the Promise applicant will recruit a school building principal or school administrator to participate in the online course, Leveraging School Libraries to Improve Student Learning. This improves the candidate’s chances of receiving a scholarship. The five-week course is offered in the summer, and is completed online by the principal or administrator. The scholarship student does not participate in this course. For a detailed description of the course, go to: http://libweb.mansfield.edu/principals/
Conditions of the Fulfilling the Promise Scholarships
Students who accept a scholarship agree to honor several responsibilities, listed below. For recipients who demonstrate progress and leadership potential scholarships will automatically renew each semester, including summers, until the end of the program (Summer 2014).
Scholastic Responsibilities
- Remain in good academic standing (i.e. maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average each semester and commit no act of plagiarism, cheating or violation academic integrity)
- Take at least one course each semester (unless a “break” is pre-approved by the scholarship director)
Fiscal Responsibilities
- Pay the remaining balance of tuition not covered by the grant, plus Education and Technology fees, prior to registering for a new semester
- Agree not to drop a class without pre-approval from the Scholarship Director. If a class is dropped after the official University drop date, the student will be responsible for paying the appropriate fees and tuition (i.e. no scholarship funds will be used to pay for dropped classes).
- Pay the full cost of any class in which the scholarship student fails to complete.
Details about Mansfield University graduate school policies and fees can be found at: http://graduate-studies.mansfield.edu/
