Students studying in online degree programs at the University of Arkansas must apply by Feb. 15 to be considered for the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship to be awarded in fall 2022.

The Global Campus asks faculty, advisors, administrators and friends to share this scholarship deadline with students in online programs.

Up to 25 U of A students in undergraduate or graduate online degree programs can benefit from scholarships of $2,000 per student. Students can apply for funding for more than 40 degree programs offered by the academic colleges and featured on the University of Arkansas ONLINE.

The scholarship committee will give preference to scholarship candidates who demonstrate financial need, academic merit or significant community service. Preference also will be given to Arkansas residents and first-generation higher education students. For scholarship purposes, a student will be defined as a first-generation student if neither parent earned a higher education degree.

The U of A Academic Scholarship Office will announce the awards about 60 days after the Feb. 15 deadline. Scholarships will apply to tuition and fees for the 2022-2023 academic year.

"The W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship helps online students overcome one of the major barriers to higher education — cost," said Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education and head of the Global Campus. "Now in its fifth year, the scholarship will benefit as many as 25 U of A students, which is five times the original number of recipients."

The Global Campus awarded scholarships to four students in 2018, seven students in 2019, 22 students in 2020, and 25 students in 2021. It honors the memory of William E. Manning, a passionate U of A educator who joined the Global Campus in 1975 and died in 1993. Manning, who was 51, was director of credit studies, an office that now facilitates U of A Self-Paced Online Courses.

"I'm very grateful for the scholarship and feel very honored," said undergraduate student Madeline McCulloch from Little Rock, a 2021-2022 scholarship recipient. "The biggest thing it does is relieve some stress, especially during COVID-19. It was a great validation. This scholarship really helped put things into perspective. It makes the last run I have to graduation a lot easier and smoother and relieves some stress so I can focus on studying."

The work Manning and others did in the 1980s and 1990s set the foundation for what has become the Global Campus, a service unit dedicated to helping academic colleges develop and deliver high-quality online education and workforce development programs. The Global Campus provides instructional design services, technology services, media services and assistance with marketing, recruiting and strategic academic development.

"I'm very thankful to be a recipient, and I couldn't be more ecstatic," said graduate student William Chambers from Alexandria, Virginia, another 2021-22 scholarship recipient. "It is definitely going to help me accomplish my goals because it covers about two classes. This means I am paying less out of pocket, but I can also complete the program faster now, knowing that I do not have to spread classes out across additional semesters to account for costs."

Scholarship candidates must be enrolled in online degree programs from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences; the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; the Sam M. Walton College of Business; the College of Education and Health Professions; the College of Engineering; or the School of Law.

Gifts can be made to the Manning Scholarship fund through the U of A's Online Giving site.