Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To enable a student or a person planning to enter a school to make a study plan in a wider economical scope by outputting information on a scholarship in a narrow sense relating to an offer of support of school expenses and information on a scholarship in a broad sense relating to an offer of support including expenses other than the school expenses together.SOLUTION: In response to a request from a user who wishes to learn at a predetermined educational institution, the output device 34 in the CPU11 of the management server 1 outputs, to the user terminal 3, information on a scholarship in a narrow sense relating to an offer of support for academic expenses for the educational institution and information on a scholarship in a broad sense relating to an offer of support including expenses other than the academic expenses to be borne by the user for the educational institution.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] A technology has been proposed that processes a variety of complex processes online in one go, such as searching for information about scholarships, applying for scholarships, reviewing and evaluating applications, selecting scholarship recipients, providing scholarships, and filing tax returns (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6592604 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] No mechanism has been proposed that would enable the combined output of information on scholarships in the narrow sense, which refers to offers of financial assistance for tuition fees, and information on scholarships in the broad sense, which refers to offers of financial assistance that include expenses other than tuition fees.

[0005] The present invention was made in light of this situation, and aims to enable students and prospective students to make study plans with a broader economic scope by making it possible to output both information about scholarships in the narrow sense that relates to offers of support for tuition fees and information about scholarships in the broad sense that relates to offers of support that include expenses other than tuition fees. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention is to This information processing system is equipped with a scholarship information output means that, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, outputs both information regarding scholarships in the narrow sense, which is an offer of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information regarding scholarships in the broad sense, which is an offer of support that includes expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution.

[0007] An information processing method and a program corresponding to the information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention are also provided as an information processing method and a program corresponding to the information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to output both information on scholarships in the narrow sense, which is related to offers of support for tuition fees, and information on scholarships in the broad sense, which is related to offers of support that include expenses other than tuition fees, thereby enabling students and prospective students to make study plans with a broader economic scope. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a management server that constitutes the information processing system of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of each of a management server, a support requester terminal, and a user terminal that constitute the information processing system of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow of a management server. [Figure 5] This is an image diagram showing an overview of this service. [Figure 6] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing specific examples of various types of information output to a user terminal as recommendation information. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] <Information Processing System S> Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system S according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system S is an information processing system that provides a matching service between users (e.g., students, prospective students, etc.) who wish to study at a specified educational institution (university, vocational school, etc.) and persons who have offered support for tuition fees at the specified educational institution or support including expenses other than tuition fees (hereinafter referred to as "support applicants"). A "specified educational institution" is, for example, a university, vocational school, etc. Furthermore, a "user" is, for example, a student attending a specified educational institution or a prospective student, etc. Hereinafter, the matching service provided by the information processing system S is referred to as "this service."

[0011] The information processing system S is configured by connecting a management server 1, support requester terminals 2-1 to 2-n (n is an integer value of 1 or greater), and user terminals 3-1 to 3-m (m is an integer value of 1 or greater) via a network N. The network N is, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Hereinafter, when there is no need to explain each of the support requester terminals 2-1 to 2-n individually, they will be collectively referred to as the "support requester terminal 2." Furthermore, when there is no need to explain each of the user terminals 3-1 to 3-m individually, they will be collectively referred to as the "user terminal 3."

[0012] (Management Server 1) The management server 1 is an information processing device that serves as a server that manages the entire information processing system S. The management server 1 is managed by the provider of this service. The management server 1 is capable of executing predetermined application programs that make the information processing system S available. The management server 1 is capable of acquiring various types of information transmitted from the support requester terminal 2, the user terminal 3, and external sources, and performing various types of processing. The management server 1 is also capable of transmitting various types of information to the support requester terminal 2, the user terminal 3, and external sources, and performing various types of processing.

[0013] For example, the management server 1 accepts information about scholarships in the narrow sense, which relates to an applicant's offer of support for only tuition fees at a specified educational institution (hereinafter referred to as "narrowly defined scholarship information"). The management server 1 also accepts information about scholarships in the broad sense, which relates to an applicant's offer of support for not only tuition fees at a specified educational institution, but also expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the specified educational institution (for example, the provision of book costs, research expenses, travel expenses for studying abroad, etc.) (hereinafter referred to as "broadly defined scholarship information").

[0014] "Expenses other than tuition fees" that are eligible for scholarships in the broad sense include, for example, the cost of purchasing books, research expenses, and travel expenses for studying abroad. Furthermore, for example, if a user's family circumstances qualify for a tuition fee reduction or exemption from a designated educational institution, the user's living expenses may also be eligible for scholarships in the broad sense. Both scholarship information in the narrow sense and scholarship information in the broad sense are information transmitted from the support applicant terminal 2 to the management server 1.

[0015] The management server 1 also accepts information about the user (hereinafter referred to as "user information") provided when the user who uses this service registers as a member. The user information includes the user's personal information. The user's personal information may include, for example, the user's name, address, age, gender, the educational institution the user is attending (or plans to attend), family circumstances, physical circumstances, income (or parental income), etc. The user's personal information may also include information such as the qualifications the user wants to obtain, the job the user wants to pursue (company, etc.), the dreams the user wants to realize, and the country or region in which the user wants to study.

[0016] The management server 1 outputs the received narrowly defined scholarship information and broadly defined scholarship information together to the user terminal 3. Specifically, the management server 1 outputs the narrowly defined scholarship information and broadly defined scholarship information together on a predetermined platform (hereinafter referred to as "this platform") that makes this service available. This allows users to access both narrow and broad scholarship information from this platform, allowing them to plan their studies with a broader economic scope.

[0017] The management server 1 can accept the designation of a specific educational institution when accepting both narrowly defined scholarship information and broadly defined scholarship information. Specifically, the management server 1 accepts information regarding the designation of a specific educational institution (hereinafter referred to as "designated educational institution information") transmitted from the support applicant terminal 2. This allows the support applicant, when providing narrowly defined scholarship information or broadly defined scholarship information, to specify the educational institution that the user is currently attending or plans to attend as a condition for the user to be eligible for the scholarship (hereinafter referred to as the "grant recipient").

[0018] Specifically, for example, it is possible to specify that scholarship recipients be limited to "students attending or planning to enroll at X University." Furthermore, if the applicant is a company, it is also possible to specify educational institutions for the purpose of promoting its own business. For example, if the applicant is a company engaged in real estate rental, the educational institution designation information could specify "students attending or planning to enroll at X University" and "use the company's rental real estate." In this case, it would be easier to recommend the use of this service to "X University" as a designated educational institution. As a result, providers of this service can promote their sales activities toward educational institutions.

[0019] The management server 1 can output information about scholarships in a broad sense in response to the user passing the selection process for a scholarship recipient in a narrow sense. For example, the management server 1 can output information about scholarships in a broad sense on the condition that the user passes the selection process for a scholarship recipient in a narrow sense. This allows the applicant to estimate the user's potential based on whether or not the user has passed the selection process for a narrow-sense scholarship, and then make an offer for a broad-sense scholarship. As a result, the user can enjoy the benefit of making it easier for them to pass the selection process for a broad-sense scholarship by making an effort to pass the selection process for a narrow-sense scholarship.

[0020] In response to a user passing the selection process for a scholarship in the narrow sense or a scholarship in the broad sense, the management server 1 can output information relating to a predetermined advertisement (hereinafter referred to as "advertising information") to the user terminal 3. "Advertising information" is, for example, information such as a banner advertisement that is output together with scholarship information in the narrow sense or scholarship information in the broad sense on a predetermined platform (hereinafter referred to as "this platform") that makes this service available. This allows the advertiser to have its advertisements viewed by high-potential users who have passed the scholarship recipient examination. In this case, for example, the advertisement posting cost for outputting an advertisement to the user terminal 3 of a user who has become a scholarship recipient may be higher than the advertisement posting cost for outputting an advertisement to the user terminal 3 of a user who has not become a scholarship recipient.

[0021] The management server 1 can output broad scholarship information in response to a user's registration of their personal information. For example, when a user registers as a member of this service, their personal information is registered, and then when an operation to log in to this platform is performed, broad scholarship information may be output from the user terminal 3. This allows scholarship information in a broad sense to be used as an incentive for member registration, which involves providing personal information.

[0022] The management server 1 can calculate and output the amounts of the narrow-sense scholarship and broad-sense scholarship to be paid to the recipient user based on the narrow-sense scholarship information, broad-sense scholarship information, and user information. For example, as described above, assume that a tuition reduction or exemption is applied by a designated educational institution due to the user's family circumstances, making the user's living expenses eligible for the broad-sense scholarship. In this case, the management server 1 calculates and outputs the fact that the narrow-sense scholarship will not be paid (i.e., the amount of the narrow-sense scholarship is "0") and the amount equivalent to living expenses as a broad-sense scholarship. Furthermore, the management server 1 can manage tasks related to the payment and repayment of the broad-sense scholarship. This allows, for example, management of whether the user has passed the selection process for the narrow-sense scholarship. The management server 1 can also online various documents sent by designated educational institutions to the user (or their guardian).

[0023] The management server 1 can also provide the user with recommendation information about scholarships that may be eligible for payment, based on the narrowly defined scholarship information, the broadly defined scholarship information, and user information. The management server 1 can also link with a household account book application program that the user uses separately. The management server 1 can also have functions such as a function for authenticating the user, a function for automatically uploading images of documents captured by the camera of the user terminal 3, and a function for linking with a predetermined payment system.

[0024] (Support applicant terminal 2) The support requester terminal 2 is an information processing device operated by a support requester who uses this service. The support requester terminal 2 is configured, for example, as a smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc. The support requester terminal 2 is capable of executing a predetermined application program that enables use of the information processing system S.

[0025] The support requester terminal 2 is capable of performing various processes based on various information transmitted from the management server 1 and external parties, and various information input by the support requester. The support requester terminal 2 is also capable of transmitting various information to both the management server 1 and external parties. For example, the support requester terminal 2 transmits educational institution designation information input by the support requester via this platform to the management server 1.

[0026] Also, for example, the support applicant terminal 2 transmits scholarship information in the narrow sense input by the support applicant via the platform to the management server 1. Also, for example, the support applicant terminal 2 transmits scholarship information in the broad sense input by the support applicant via the platform to the management server 1. Also, for example, the support applicant terminal 2 transmits advertising information created by the support applicant to the management server 1. Also, for example, the support applicant terminal 2 acquires various types of information transmitted from the management server 1 and displays it on a display or the like.

[0027] (User terminal 3) The user terminal 3 is an information processing device operated by a user who uses this service. The user terminal 3 is configured, for example, as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. The user terminal 3 is capable of executing a predetermined application program that enables use of the information processing system S.

[0028] The user terminal 3 is capable of performing various processes based on various information transmitted from the management server 1 and from the outside, and various information input by user operation. The user terminal 3 is also capable of transmitting various information to the management server 1 and from the outside. For example, the user terminal 3 transmits to the management server 1 user information, such as personal information required when registering as a member for the service, input by the user, and information for logging in to the platform after member registration (hereinafter referred to as "login information"). Login information includes, for example, an ID and a password.

[0029] Furthermore, for example, the user terminal 3 acquires the narrowly defined scholarship information, the broadly defined scholarship information, the educational institution designated information, and the advertising information transmitted from the management server 1 via this platform and displays them on a display, etc. Specific examples of the narrowly defined scholarship information, the broadly defined scholarship information, the educational institution designated information, and the advertising information displayed on the display of the user terminal 3 will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0030] The above-described processing by each of the management server 1, the support requester terminal 2, and the user terminal 3 that constitute the information processing system S is one example. In addition, since it is sufficient for the information processing system S as a whole to have the function of realizing the above-described processing, some or all of the functions of realizing the above-described processing may be shared or cooperated within the information processing system S.

[0031] For example, some or all of the functions of the management server 1 may be functions of other information processing devices in the information processing system S. Also, some or all of the functions of other information processing devices in the information processing system S may be functions of the management server 1. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the management server 1 may be transferred to other servers (not shown). This promotes processing in the information processing system S as a whole and also makes it possible for processes to complement each other.

[0032] <Hardware configuration> (Hardware configuration of Management Server 1) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the management server 1 that constitutes the information processing system S of FIG. The management server 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, an output unit 16, an input unit 17, a memory unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20.

[0033] The CPU 11 executes various processes in accordance with programs recorded in the ROM 12 or programs loaded from the storage unit 18 into the RAM 13. The RAM 13 also stores data and the like required for the CPU 11 to execute various processes. The CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13 are interconnected via a bus 14. An input / output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14.

[0034] The input / output interface 15 is connected to an output unit 16, an input unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20. The output unit 16 is composed of a display, a speaker, etc., and outputs various types of information as images and sounds. The input unit 17 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and accepts input of various types of information. The storage unit 18 is composed of a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), etc., and stores various types of data. The communication unit 19 communicates with other devices via the above-mentioned network N, which is composed of the Internet, etc.

[0035] Removable media 21, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory, is appropriately attached to the drive 20. Programs read from the removable media 21 by the drive 20 are installed in the storage unit 18 as needed. The removable media 21 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 18 in the same way as the storage unit 18.

[0036] (Hardware configuration of support requester terminal 2 and user terminal 3) Although not shown, the support requester terminal 2 and the user terminal 3 have the same hardware configuration as the management server 1 shown in Fig. 2. That is, the support requester terminal 2 and the user terminal 3 each have a CPU, ROM, RAM, bus, input / output interface, output unit, input unit, memory unit, communication unit, drive, and removable media, which correspond to the CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, bus 14, input / output interface 15, output unit 16, input unit 17, memory unit 18, communication unit 19, drive 20, and removable media 21, respectively, in Fig. 2.

[0037] <Functional configuration> (Management Server 1 Functional Configuration) FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of each of the management server 1, the support requester terminal 2, and the user terminal 3 that constitute the information processing system S of FIG. When the CPU 11 of the management server 1 operates, an acquisition unit 31, a reception unit 32 as a scholarship information reception means in a broad sense, a scholarship information reception means in a narrow sense, and an advertising information reception means, a management unit 33, an output control unit 34 as a scholarship information output means and an advertising information output means, and a transmission control unit 35 function.

[0038] Various databases are also provided in the storage unit 18 of the management server 1. For example, a narrow-sense scholarship DB 41 that stores narrow-sense scholarship information, a broad-sense scholarship DB 42 that stores broad-sense scholarship information, an educational institution designation DB 43 that stores educational institution designation information, an advertising DB 44 that stores advertising information, and a user DB 45 that stores user information are also provided.

[0039] The acquisition unit 31 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquisition unit 31 acquires information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designation information, and advertisement information transmitted from the support applicant terminal 2. Also, for example, the acquisition unit 31 acquires information such as user information transmitted from the user terminal 3.

[0040] The receiving unit 32 receives various types of acquired information. For example, the receiving unit 32 receives acquired scholarship information in a narrow sense. Also, for example, the receiving unit 32 receives acquired scholarship information in a broad sense. Also, for example, the receiving unit 32 receives acquired educational institution designation information. Also, for example, the receiving unit 32 receives acquired advertising information. Also, for example, the receiving unit 32 receives acquired user information.

[0041] The management unit 33 stores and manages the various types of received information in each of the various databases in the storage unit 18. For example, the management unit 33 stores and manages the received narrow-sense scholarship information in a narrow-sense scholarship DB 41. Also, for example, the management unit 33 stores and manages the received broad-sense scholarship information in a broad-sense scholarship DB 42. Also, for example, the management unit 33 stores and manages the received educational institution designation information in an educational institution designation DB 43. Also, for example, the management unit 33 stores and manages the received advertising information in an advertising DB 44. Also, for example, the management unit 33 stores and manages the received user information in a user DB 45.

[0042] The output control unit 34 controls the output of various types of information to the support applicant terminal 2 and the user terminal 3. For example, the output control unit 34 controls the output of a user interface including information (e.g., an input form) for inputting information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designated information, and advertising information to the support applicant terminal 2. Furthermore, for example, the output control unit 34 controls the output of a user interface including information for inputting information such as user information to the user terminal 3.

[0043] The transmission control unit 35 controls the transmission of various types of information via the communication unit 19. Specifically, the transmission control unit 35 controls the transmission of various types of information to the support applicant terminal 2, the user terminal 3, and the outside. For example, the transmission control unit 35 controls the transmission of information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designated information, and advertising information to the user terminal 3.

[0044] (Functional configuration of support applicant terminal 2) In the CPU of the support requester terminal 2, an acquisition unit 51, a display control unit 52, and a transmission control unit 53 function when the support requester terminal 2 is operating.

[0045] The acquisition unit 51 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquisition unit 51 acquires various types of information transmitted from the management server 1 and externally to the support applicant terminal 2. The acquisition unit 51 also acquires information input by the input unit. Examples of information input by the input unit include scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution-designated information, and advertising information.

[0046] The display control unit 52 controls the display of various types of information. Specifically, the display control unit 52 controls the display of various types of information on the display of the output unit, etc. For example, the display control unit 52 controls the display of the output unit, etc., to display a user interface including information (e.g., an input form, etc.) for inputting information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution-designated information, and advertising information.

[0047] The transmission control unit 53 controls the transmission of various information via the communication unit. For example, the transmission control unit 53 controls the transmission of information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designation information, and advertising information to the management server 1.

[0048] (Functional configuration of user terminal 3) In the CPU of the user terminal 3, an acquisition unit 71, a display control unit 72, and a transmission control unit 73 function when the CPU is operating.

[0049] The acquisition unit 71 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquisition unit 71 acquires various types of information transmitted from the management server 1 or from an external source to the user terminal 3. Examples of information transmitted from the management server 1 include scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution-designated information, and advertising information. The acquisition unit 71 also acquires information whose input is accepted by the input unit. Examples of information whose input is accepted by the input unit include user information such as personal information required when registering as a member for the service, and information for logging in to the platform after member registration.

[0050] The display control unit 72 controls the display of various types of information. Specifically, the display control unit 72 controls the display of various types of information on the display of the output unit, etc. For example, the display control unit 72 controls the display of the output unit, etc., to display a user interface including information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designated information, and advertising information.

[0051] The transmission control unit 73 controls the transmission of various information via the communication unit. For example, the transmission control unit 73 controls the transmission of user information entered by the user and information for logging in to the platform after membership registration (e.g., ID, password, etc.) to the management server 1.

[0052] <Processing flow of Management Server 1> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow of the management server 1. When narrowly defined scholarship information is transmitted from the support applicant terminal 2 (YES in step S1), the acquisition unit 31 of the management server 1 acquires the transmitted narrowly defined scholarship information (step S2) and proceeds to the determination process of step S3. On the other hand, when narrowly defined scholarship information has not been transmitted (NO in step S1), the acquisition unit 31 repeats the determination process of step S1.

[0053] When broad scholarship information is transmitted from the support applicant terminal 2 (YES in step S3), the acquisition unit 31 acquires the transmitted broad scholarship information (step S4) and proceeds to the judgment process of step 5. On the other hand, when broad scholarship information has not been transmitted (NO in step S3), the acquisition unit 31 proceeds to the judgment process of step S5.

[0054] When the educational institution designation information is transmitted from the support applicant terminal 2 (YES in step S5), the acquisition unit 31 acquires the transmitted educational institution designation information (step S6) and proceeds to the processing of step S7. On the other hand, when the educational institution designation information is not transmitted (NO in step S5), the acquisition unit 31 proceeds to the processing of step S7.

[0055] When advertising information is transmitted from the support requester terminal 2 (YES in step S7), the acquisition unit 31 acquires the transmitted advertising information (step S8) and proceeds to the processing of step S9. On the other hand, when advertising information has not been transmitted (NO in step S7), the acquisition unit 31 proceeds to the processing of step S9.

[0056] The reception unit 32 of the management server 1 receives various information acquired in each step (step S9). Specifically, the reception unit 32 receives the narrowly defined scholarship information acquired in step S2, the broadly defined scholarship information acquired in step S4, the educational institution designation information acquired in step S6, and the advertising information acquired in step S8.

[0057] The management unit 33 of the management server 1 stores and manages the received various types of information in a database (step S10). Specifically, the management unit 33 stores and manages the received narrow-sense scholarship information, broad-sense scholarship information, educational institution designated information, and advertisement information in a narrow-sense scholarship DB 41, a broad-sense scholarship DB 42, an educational institution designated DB 43, and an advertisement DB 44, respectively.

[0058] When user information is transmitted from the user terminal 3 (YES in step S11), the acquisition unit 31 acquires the transmitted user information (step S12) and proceeds to the processing of step S13. The acquired user information is stored and managed in the user DB 45. On the other hand, when user information has not been transmitted (NO in step S11), the acquisition unit 31 repeats the determination processing of step S11.

[0059] The output control unit 34 of the management server 1 outputs the platform to the user terminal 3 in response to the user's input operation (step S13). This ends the processing of the management server 1 (END). The platform output to the user terminal 3 includes information such as scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designated information, and advertising information.

[0060] <Example> Figure 5 is an image showing an overview of this service. 5 shows multiple support requesters 100 and one or more benefit recipients 210 selected from multiple users 200. Although not shown, the support requesters 100 operate the support requester terminal 2 (see FIG. 1), and the users 200 operate the user terminal 3 (see FIG. 1).

[0061] Each of the multiple support applicants 100 provides the service with scholarship information in the narrow sense, scholarship information in the broad sense, educational institution designated information, and advertising information via a platform 300 that makes the service available. Also, each of the multiple users 200 provides user information including personal information to the service via the platform 300.

[0062] In this service, narrowly defined scholarship information, broadly defined scholarship information, educational institution designated information, and advertising information are provided to user 200 as recommended information for each user 200 based on the provided information. Such recommended information is provided to user 200 via platform 300. Below, with reference to FIG. 6, specific examples of narrowly defined scholarship information, broadly defined scholarship information, educational institution designated information, and advertising information provided to user 200 as recommended information will be described.

[0063] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing specific examples of various types of information output to the user terminal 3 as recommendation information. FIG. 6 shows a specific example of a screen that is displayed after a user logs in to the platform by operating the user terminal 3. The screen shown in FIG. 6 includes display areas A1 to A3. Display area A1 displays the words "Scholarship Search" along with recommended information on scholarships in the narrow sense and scholarships in the broad sense. By viewing the various information displayed in display area A1, users can efficiently learn about scholarship information in the narrow sense and scholarships in the broad sense that they may be eligible for. For example, a scholarship called "XX Foundation Scholarship Fund (Limited to XX University)" is available only to users who are attending or planning to attend "XX University," an educational institution designated by the applicant.

[0064] Display area A2 of the screen shown in Fig. 6 displays the notation "Search Conditions" along with various buttons and input fields for searching for scholarship information in the narrow sense and scholarship information in the broad sense. By performing input operations on the various buttons and input fields displayed in display area A2, the user can search for scholarship information in the narrow sense and scholarship information in the broad sense that interests them.

[0065] Advertising information is displayed in display area A3 of the screen shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, various types of advertising information are displayed in a banner advertisement labeled "Advertisement." The advertising information displayed in display area A3 may be information corresponding to the user having passed selection as a recipient of a narrow-sense scholarship or a broad-sense scholarship. This allows an advertiser to output advertising information so that, for example, high-potential users who have passed selection as recipients of a scholarship will view their advertisement.

[0066] <Advantageous Effects of the Present Embodiment> According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to output both information about scholarships in the narrow sense that is related to offers of support for tuition fees and information about scholarships in the broad sense that is related to offers of support that include expenses other than tuition fees, thereby enabling students and prospective students to make study plans with a broader economic scope.

[0067] <Other embodiments> While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. that achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, both narrowly defined scholarship information and broadly defined scholarship information are provided by the support applicant, but this is not limited to this. For example, the support applicant may provide only narrowly defined scholarship information, or may provide only broadly defined scholarship information.

[0068] For example, in addition to the above-described embodiment, an automatic calculation function for tuition fee exemptions may be provided. Specifically, when a list for each student is output to the screen for the administrative user, the administrative user of the school may determine whether tuition fee exemptions are required based on the annually revised grant criteria, and the calculation of tuition fee exemptions may be automated. Furthermore, for example, in addition to the above-described embodiment, a task management function may be provided. Specifically, the function currently most popular with users (for example, automatic reminders of various notifications for students who are often late or forgetful) may be provided. Furthermore, in addition to the above-described embodiment, for example, a function for creating and issuing notifications in bulk online may be provided as a function for school administrative users.

[0069] Furthermore, for example, in addition to the above-described embodiments, it is also possible to recommend scholarships that students may be eligible for. Specifically, when registering for the app, if a student registers information related to their attributes (e.g., place of residence, university, withholding slip, transcript, etc.), information on scholarships that will begin accepting applications within three months can be presented through recommendations, search filtering, etc. Furthermore, for example, in addition to the above-described embodiments, functions such as household accounting linkage, eKYC (e-KYC) function (realizing eKYC function by reading My Number cards or photographing driver's licenses, etc.), automatic document upload using a camera, and payment system linkage may be provided.

[0070] <Other> Furthermore, the above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. In other words, the above-described functional configuration is merely an example and is not particularly limited. In other words, it is sufficient for the information processing system to be provided with a function that can execute the above-described series of processes as a whole, and the type of functional block used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the above-described example.

[0071] The location of the functional blocks is not particularly limited and may be arbitrary. For example, the functional blocks of the management server 1 may be transferred to another device, or the functional blocks of another device may be transferred to a server. Furthermore, one functional block may be configured as a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination of both.

[0072] When a series of processes is executed by software, the programs constituting the software are installed onto a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium. The computer may be a computer incorporated into dedicated hardware. The computer may also be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, such as a server, a general-purpose smartphone, or a personal computer.

[0073] The recording medium containing such a program may be configured as a removable medium (not shown) that is distributed separately from the device main body in order to provide the program to users, etc., or may be configured as a recording medium that is pre-installed in the device main body and provided to users, etc. Since the program can be distributed via a network, the recording medium may be installed in or accessible from a computer that is connected or connectable to the network.

[0074] In this specification, the steps describing the program recorded on the recording medium include not only processes that are performed in chronological order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed in chronological order but are performed in parallel or individually. Also, in this specification, the term "system" means an overall device composed of multiple devices or multiple means, etc.

[0075] In other words, the information processing system to which the present invention is applied can take various forms having the following configurations. (1) That is, the information processing system S to which the present invention is applied is This information processing system is equipped with a scholarship information output means (e.g., output control unit 34 in Figure 3) that, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, outputs both information regarding scholarships in the narrow sense (e.g., the above-mentioned ``narrowly defined scholarship information'') that is related to an offer of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information regarding scholarships in the broad sense (e.g., the above-mentioned ``broadly defined scholarship information'') that is related to an offer of support that includes expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution. This allows current and prospective students to make study plans with a broader financial scope by outputting both narrowly defined scholarship information relating to offers of financial assistance for tuition fees and broadly defined scholarship information relating to offers of assistance for expenses other than tuition fees.

[0076] (2) The system may further include a broad scholarship information receiving means (for example, the receiving unit 32 in FIG. 3) that specifies the educational institution and receives information about the broad scholarship. This allows companies to make broad scholarship offers by specifying the specific learning institutions they wish to accept students from.

[0077] (3) Furthermore, the scholarship information output means can output information regarding the broader scholarship in response to the user passing the selection process to be a recipient of the narrower scholarship. This allows high-potential users who have been accepted for scholarships in the narrow sense, such as for tuition fees, to be offered scholarships in the broad sense.

[0078] (4) In addition, the system may further include an advertising information output means (e.g., output control unit 34 in Figure 3) that outputs specified advertising information in response to the user passing the selection process for the narrow-sense scholarship or the broad-sense scholarship. This allows high potential users who have been accepted for scholarships to view the advertisement.

[0079] (5) Furthermore, the scholarship information output means can output information relating to scholarships in the broad sense in response to the user registering his or her personal information. This makes it possible to provide scholarship information in a broad sense as an incentive for membership registration.

[0080] Furthermore, the information processing method to which the present invention is applied can take various forms having the following configurations. (6) That is, the information processing method to which the present invention is applied is This information processing method includes a step of outputting, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, information regarding scholarships in the narrow sense, which are an offer of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information regarding scholarships in the broad sense, which are an offer of support that includes expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution.

[0081] Furthermore, the program to which the present invention is applied can take various forms having the following configurations. (7) That is, the program to which the present invention is applied is In an information processing system (for example, the information processing system S in FIG. 1), This is a program that executes information processing to output, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, information regarding scholarships in the narrow sense, which are offers of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information regarding scholarships in the broad sense, which are offers of support that include expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1: Management server, 2: Support applicant terminal, 3: User terminal, 11: CPU, 16: Output unit, 17: Input unit, 18: Storage unit, 19: Communication unit, 31: Acquisition unit, 32: Reception unit, 33: Management unit, 34: Output control unit, 35: Transmission control unit, 51: Acquisition unit, 52: Display control unit, 53: Transmission control unit, 71: Acquisition unit, 72: Display control unit, 73: Transmission control unit, S: Information processing system, N: Network

Claims

1. An information processing system equipped with a scholarship information output means that, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, outputs both information regarding scholarships in the narrow sense, which are offers of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information regarding scholarships in the broad sense, which are offers of support that include expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution.

2. further comprising a broad-sense scholarship information receiving means for receiving information on the broad-sense scholarship by specifying the educational institution; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. the scholarship information output means outputs information about the broad-sense scholarship in response to the user passing the selection as a recipient of the narrow-sense scholarship; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

4. The system further comprises an advertisement information output means for outputting predetermined advertisement information in response to the user being selected as a recipient of the narrow-sense scholarship or the broad-sense scholarship. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

5. the scholarship information output means outputs information about the broad definition of scholarships in response to the user registering his / her personal information; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

6. An information processing method including a step of outputting, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, information relating to scholarships in the narrow sense, which are offers of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information relating to scholarships in the broad sense, which are offers of support including expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution.

7. Information processing systems, A program that executes information processing to output, in response to a request from a user who wishes to study at a specified educational institution, information regarding scholarships in the narrow sense, which are offers of support for tuition fees at the educational institution, and information regarding scholarships in the broad sense, which are offers of support that include expenses other than tuition fees that the user will bear at the educational institution.

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