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Health Policy Awards for Student Scholarship

Policies and Application Procedures

Purpose of the Health Policy Awards for Student Scholarship

An important objective of the Schroeder Center for Health Policy is to support and expand health policy research at the College of William & Mary. The Health Policy Award for Student Scholarship builds on existing efforts to increase health policy research at the College by focusing support to undergraduate and graduate students.

The Health Policy Award for Student Scholarship is designed to encourage students to write about health policy topics of interest to them. The writing is intended to replicate the type of work health policy analysts conduct as they analyze and evaluate available information and make critical policy recommendations.

The Schroeder Center for Health Policy uses the following definition of “health policy” to both guide its own work and to grant research and scholarship awards: Health policy research and analysis is the study of national, state, and/or local government policies or programs that aim to promote the health of people, improve access to healthcare, and increase the quality, equity, and efficiency of care delivery. The Schroeder Center recognizes the important contributions and perspectives that various academic disciplines bring to the study of health policy issues. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Scholar in Health Policy Research program provides examples of the ways in which certain disciplines approach health policy issues (see http://healthpolicyscholars.org/disciplines-program).

Award Amounts

The Schroeder Center for Health Policy intends to award at least three Health Policy Awards for Student Scholarship. First, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive $250, $150, and $50 awards, respectively.

Eligibility

All currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students at William & Mary are eligible to apply.

Application Materials

Each applicant is required to submit the following by the application due date:

1) Completed application form

2) Two hard copies of a policy briefing memo, between 750 – 1,000 words, to a U.S. Senator (see table below for guidelines). No e-mail submissions are permitted. The memo should be double-spaced in 12-point font using a minimum of one-inch margins. Each page should be numbered. References should be included when appropriate, and a standard form of citation, preferably either APA, MLA, or Chicago, should be used. In calculating total word count, references are not included but explanatory footnotes are included. All memos must be original work, but may be informed by an assignment for a current or past course. Memos must be authored by only one student, and each student may submit only one memo. Failure to follow these and/or any other requirements may result in the Schroeder Center not considering a submitted memo.

Guidelines: Policy Briefing Memo to a U.S. Senator

You were recently hired as a legislative aide/policy staff member to a U.S. Senator. You are responsible for advising the Senator on any and all health-related issues. The Senator will rely on your analysis of health policy issues and your development of policy ideas as he/she drafts legislation and votes on the Senate floor and/or in a health-related committee.

You must select one current U.S. Senator and ONE health policy issue. Your Senator does not have to be on a health-related committee. You will write a memo between 750 and 1,000 words briefing your chosen Senator on your selected health policy issue.

Your memo will begin with the following heading:

TO: Senator (Last Name) from (State)

FROM: (Your Name)

POLICY ISSUE: (Your Topic)

Your memo should be clear about why your U.S. Senator should care about your health policy topic. At a minimum, your memo should:

Describe the issue including the challenges faced by current policy or lack thereof;

Identify and evaluate a proposed policy solution;

Describe major obstacles to implementing the new policy solution and how they can be addressed; and

Make recommendations for either action or inaction on the issue. If your recommendation includes your Senator taking an action, please be clear about the nature of that action (i.e., voting a particular way on a bill, introducing new legislation and describing the particulars of the proposed legislation, etc.).

Deadline

The Schroeder Center will accept applications at any time, but the deadline for submission is Friday, April 12, 2013 by 3:30 p.m. All application materials should be submitted to Schroeder Center staff: Kelly Metcalf-Meese in Morton 103-A or Elizabeth Vestal in Morton 103-B. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Determination of Awards

Applications for all students will be considered in one pool. Awards will be determined by Schroeder Center for Health Policy staff on the following criteria:

Clarity of the description of the selected policy issue
Ability to accurately and thoroughly research and analyze the issue
Ability to make informed, critical decisions
Quality of writing

Announcement of Winners

Award winners will be notified by the end of the semester. At its discretion, the Schroeder Center for Health Policy has permission to publish author names, memo titles, and memo content of winners and non-winners in any and all of the Schroeder Center’s communications (e.g., newsletters, website, etc.).

For More Information

If you should have any questions about the Schroeder Center’s Health Policy Award for Student Scholarship, please contact Kelly Metcalf-Meese at klmetcalfmeese@wm.edu.