Regents Distinguished Teaching Award
Award Philosophy
To be eligible to receive an award, a full-time member of the faculty must have evidenced unusually significant and meritorious achievement in the instruction of students (graduate and/or undergraduate) for a significant period of years. Such achievement should be evidenced by:
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Unusual effort devoted to ensuring the quality of the students' classroom learning experience.
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Possession of high scholarly standards for both the rigor and currency of course content and for the level of student performance with respect to these standards.
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Available measures of the faculty member's direct impact upon and involvement with students.
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Service as a mentor and role model to other faculty.
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Quality of relevant information and/or nominations submitted by current and former students, including any teacher evaluation forms.
Number of Awards
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1 annual award per college (Arts and Sciences will have 2) @ $2,000 each plus appropriate fringe benefits.
Source of Funds
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State appropriated funds, provided by the General University through the Office of Academic Affairs, covering the permanent increase in salary/benefits for successful nominees, will be allocated to the respective colleges during the budget development cycle.
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Plaques paid from Foundation account or auxiliary enterprises funds.
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This program could be made available at branch campuses or other budget agencies, with funds provided by the respective campuses/agencies.
Criteria
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Must be nominated by a student and dean.
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Full-time faculty member at OSU for four or more years (must have completed 4th year).
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Hold rank as a tenure track Assistant Professor or above.
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Devote a significant amount of assigned duties to teaching for the past four years.
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An individual can receive this award no more than twice during his/her tenure at OSU.
Support Materials Would Include
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Letter of nomination from the dean and a student.
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Vitae of nominee.
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Nominee's statement on philosophy of teaching (limited to 2 pages).
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Listing of courses taught and number of students in the last four years.
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Copy of course syllabi, summary of mandated course evaluations for past three years, summary of grading practice.
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Supporting letters from:
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Department head (1)
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Faculty members (no more than 2)
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Students and alumni (no more than 4)
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Other materials as appropriate:
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Evidence used by faculty to gather feedback on teaching effectiveness.
Submission of the Application
The completed application must fit in a one inch three-ring spiral binder. The application, organized with tab dividers, should be arranged as follows:
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Letters of nomination (dean and a student).
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Vitae of nominee.
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Nominee’s statement of teaching philosophy (limited to two pages).
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Chronological list of courses taught and number of students in each class in the last four years.
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Copy of course syllabi for each course taught; summary of mandated course evaluations for the past three years; summary of grading practices.
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Supporting letters from:Appendix: other materials as appropriate to demonstrate teaching effectiveness. (Remember that everything must fit in the one-inch binder.)
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Department head – one
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Faculty members – no more than two
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Students and alumni – no more than four
Award Process
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Deans and department heads will be notified of the availability of this award.
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Colleges will develop a process whereby nominations are accepted and support materials are reviewed internally. The top three nominations for each college award will then be forwarded to Academic Affairs, with a letter of support from the dean, for consideration by the university-wide selection committee (composition noted below).
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Support materials for the deans' nominees will be due in the Office of Academic Affairs around the first week of March.
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Review and Selection Committee members will review support materials to identify winners. (It might be necessary to schedule interviews with the finalists prior to the selection of winners.)
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College award winners will be notified of the award and a permanent salary increment of $2,000 annually plus fringe benefits.
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Winners will be announced in September when salary adjustments are recommended to the OSU/A&M Board of Regents. Honorees will also be recognized at the fall University Awards Convocation at which time they will receive public recognition of awards and appropriately inscribed plaques.
Review & Selection Committee
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One undergraduate student appointed by the President of the Student Government Association.
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One graduate student appointed by the President of the Graduate Student Association.
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Two faculty members at large appointed by the Chair of the Faculty Council.
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Two department heads appointed by the Office of Academic Affairs.
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The Provost & Senior Vice President or designate will Chair.
Approved by the OSU Board of Regents May 22, 1992
Minor Modifications made June 1998