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GUIDELINES FOR THE UGFA TEACHING AWARD NOMINATIONS

 

PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE FOR SUPPORTING MATERIAL SUBMISSIONS IS APRIL 19, 2024.

 

 

The Awards

 

1.   Up to 7 "Distinguished Professor" Awards for Excellence in Teaching, one for each college.
2.   Up to 2 "Distinguished Professor" Awards for Innovation in Teaching, across the University.

 

Purpose

 

The awards are intended to provide tangible recognition for excellent contribution toward teaching and learning, broadly defined.
Individuals may be nominated for an UGFA teaching award on the basis of excellent performance in any of the following areas of teaching:

 

  1. Classroom instruction, including lecturing, small-group teaching, and laboratory instruction;
  2. consultation with students outside of class, including individual tutoring and advising;
  3. thesis supervision;
  4. course design;
  5. curriculum development;
  6. production of educational materials, including textbooks, films, and study guidelines;
  7. development of programs to improve teaching or research on university teaching;
  8. development of innovative teaching methods; and,
  9. educational planning and policy making, regarding teaching

 

Dates
 
Closing date for Nominations:               April 5, 2024
Closing date for Supporting Material:   April 19, 2024

 

 

 

Presentation: The citation is normally presented at the annual reception in the fall. Each recipient of an Award will be presented with a plaque and a monetary award of $500.00.

 

Who May Nominate

 

Nominations may be made by students or faculty at the University of Guelph.
Nominations must clearly indicate:

a)   The name of the nominee;
b)   The College and Department of the nominee;
c)   The type of award (excellence in teaching or excellence in innovation);
d)   Documentation to support the nominations (see below); and,
e)   The name and phone number of the nominator

 

Eligibility

 

Any individual who, at the date of nomination, is a member of UGFA is eligible to be nominated and to receive the Award.

 

A member may only receive each Award once.

 

Criteria

 

There are no fixed criteria or decision rules for the selection of UGFA award winners; members of the selection committee may weigh different categories of teaching and different sources of evidence as they see fit. However, a number of broad guidelines have emerged from discussions of the committee, which nominators should take account of in preparing their submissions. Specifically, preference is normally given to nominees who:

a)   have been successful in several areas of teaching;
b)   have the support of more than one constituency;
c)   are judged to be "truly excellent" rather than merely "very good";
d)   appear to have had an effect upon student learning or cognitive development rather than merely being popular with students or colleagues.

 

Guidelines for nominators

 

The strongest nomination package includes letters of support from more than one constituency.

 

To facilitate the deliberations of the Awards Committee, each nomination package should include the following:

 

  1. A table of contents;
  2. A signed Nominee Acceptance Form;
  3. Tabs to separate and identify the various sections of the package;
  4. A signed nominator's letter. This letter summarizes the highlights of the nomination package, with special focus on areas of excellence in teaching as described under "Purpose" above. This letter should represent the core of the case and offer a picture of where and with what priority the supporting documents fit in. Documents seldom speak for themselves; they are invariably more useful when summarized, abstracted and explained by someone on the scene and familiar with the nominee;
  5. A teaching CV and Statement of Teaching Philosophy, provided by the nominee;
  6. Letters of support from more than one constituency. The strongest letters address specific areas of excellence and the impact of the nominee. Letters must be current and prepared specifically for the UGFA Award nomination;
  7. Course evaluation score summaries with the permission of the nominee, as well as the evaluation questionnaire. Avoid submitting raw data.

 

NOTE: The Awards Committee has discretion to grant a Special Merit Teaching Award to a nominee for any of the regular teaching awards. The reasoning behind such a decision will be communicated to the nominator and at the awards reception.

 

If there are any questions please contact the Faculty Association Office at ext. 58538 or [email protected]
 

last updated  March 2024