Grants and Scholarships Program

The overall Goal is to strengthen records and information management through development of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of selected practitioners in the field. Scholarships were first offered in 2006. Click Scholarships Awarded to read about past scholarship recipients.

The Objectives of the program are to:

Enhance the capacity of individuals to deal effectively with records and information management issues through support for educational offerings that significantly expand their knowledge and understanding of issues and practices.
Strengthen the capacity of individuals to pursue successful careers in this field through effective program leadership and contributing to professional associations.
Gather and analyze information about the interests and development needs of practitioners in the field.

Program Structure

Academic Tier: Graduate; 4 year; 2 year
Continuing Education: Conferences; Seminars/Workshops; Home Study Courses;
Non-credit classes (CEU or Audit)
Certification: Exam funding

Program Funding

Overall funding available shall be determined on an annual basis. The ARMA
Educational Foundation Board of Trustees reserves the right not to offer grants if funding is not available.

The Foundation encourages endowed scholarships supported by gifts from individuals and organizations. Interested donors should contact the Foundation Administrator for more information.

Mavis Eppes, FAI Excellence in Records Management scholarship. Funding for this award is provided in recognition of Mavis Eppes, a distinquished legal records administrator and founding trustee. Preference is given to a candidate intending on a career in legal records management.

Eligibility of Educational Opportunities

The types of course(s) that qualify for funding include, but are not limited to:
Records Management; and Records Technologies, Archival Administration; Document Imaging; Human Resources; Information Management; Information Resource; Knowledge Management; Library Science; Medical Records; Micrographics; Office Management; and Organization of Information.

Award Priorities

EARLY CAREER ENHANCEMENT – People in the early stages of their careers who can demonstrate that a particular educational offering will significantly increase their ability to deal with a specific job assignment, address a problem, or advance in the field.

STRENGTHENING A CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH SIGNIFICANT ISSUES – People at any stage of their careers, who can demonstrate that a specific educational offering will enable them to handle an issue of significance to the field; supervise, train, or develop others (e.g., staff they supervise) in a significant issue; or contribute to the profession’s efforts to deal with a significant issue.

COMMITMENT TO THE FIELD – People who show commitment to the field, through what they have done on the job and professionally and what they indicate they are interested in doing.

PART OF A DEVELOPMENT PLAN – Education offerings that clearly fit in with the applicant’s past work and career plans.

QUALITY EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS – Educational offerings where the sponsoring institution is clearly competent to offer the course or other opportunity; presenters are clearly qualified through training or experience to teach or present; content (what will be covered) is clear; and, outcomes are clear, either from the course description or what the applicant provides.

COST EFFECTIVENESS – Educational offerings where the applicant can make the case that the offering is cost-effective, i.e. that the quality and expected outcomes are worth the investment of funds.

Application Components

Completed application form. Click AIEF Scholarship Application Form
Current resume
Three letters of recommendation, professional references (family excluded)
An essay describing your career ambitions, their impact on the records and information management profession, and how this educational offering fits into your career ambitions.
Statement of financial need

Promoting the Program

In order to reach potential candidates, scholarship announcements are distributed to the following organizations: ARMA International Membership; Society of American Archivists Membership; Special Library Association’s Membership; AIIM Members; Canadian Archivists Association Membership; Canadian Information & Image Management Membership; American Health Information Management Association Membership; International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials & Treasurers Membership; Australian Records Management Association Membership; Professional Records and Information Services Management International Membership; and other related professional groups through CIMA (Collaborative of Information Management Associations) NAGARA, Municipal Clerks, IFMA, etc.