Scholarship recipient selection for higher education with AHP, SAW and TOPSIS

Abstract

Higher education students need financial support from various sources to meet their needs throughout their education life. Besides non-profit organizations and governmental authorities, public charities also provide scholarship to these students who have financial difficulties. These institutions provide scholarship to a number of students chosen from a pool of applicants based on various criteria. This study develops a model for selecting the most suitable higher-education students among the ones applying for a scholarship at a public charity organization. The organization takes applications on an annual basis. A total of eight selection criteria are determined based on literature review and expert opinions. Multi criteria decision making methods of AHP, SAW and TOPSIS are employed together to identify scholarship recipients. AHP is used to weigh the selection criteria. Ranking of applicants is achieved by SAW and TOPSIS. The opinions of the members of the organization’s board of directors are used throughout the study. The proposed model provides a means for a time-efficient and more objective selection of scholarship recipients.