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Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology
CTLT Home >> Grants & Awards >> University Teaching Awards >> University Graduate Teaching Award

University Graduate Teaching Award

Portfolio Preparation Guidelines

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Overview

These awards are for graduate students who make outstanding contributions to teaching as part of their program and educational experience at Illinois State University. It is designed to recognize persistent, focused, and purposeful dedication to striving for excellence. This includes: learning about and applying effective instructional practices across a wide range of teaching activities; evaluating the effectiveness of those practices; and reflecting on personal values and professional experiences to shape future teaching practices. This award has three categories:

  • Level I: Doctoral degree graduate assistants with sole responsibility for instruction in a course.
  • Level I: Master’s degree graduate assistants with sole responsibility for instruction in a course.
  • Level II: Master’s or doctoral graduate assistants directing labs or discussion groups associated with a course taught by a faculty member, or who have significant responsibilities team-teaching or co-teaching a course.

Eligibility

Graduate teaching assistants currently holding at least a .25 FTE appointment (6-10 hours per week) related to one of the above award categories, or who have held such an appointment for at least one full term (fall, spring, or summer) of the current academic year, are eligible.

Note: Current members of the University Teaching Committee are ineligible.

Timetable

  • Last Monday of February – Program information and guidelines are posted to the CTLT Web site and memos outlining the time frame and the process are distributed to Chairs, Deans, and others by the University Teaching Committee.
  • First Monday of May – Names of nominees due from departments to the Chair of the University Teaching Committee (Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology, Campus Box 6370). Departments should inform nominees of their nomination. This date is intended to provide nominees with sufficient time to prepare their application materials and as such is the preferred date for nomination submissions. In extraordinary circumstances, nominees may be submitted after this date with no penalty.
  • Summer – The Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology provides nominees with portfolio development support through workshops and individualized consultation. See CTLT summer programming for details (www.teachtech.ilstu.edu).
  • Third Monday of September – Nominees’ application materials due from departments to the offices of their respective college deans.
  • Third Monday of October – Application materials of final college nominees are due from college offices to the chair of the University Teaching Committee (Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology, Campus Box 6370).

Nomination Procedures

The process begins at the department level, where departments select final departmental nominees among nominated graduate teaching assistants. Final departmental nominees prepare their application portfolios for submission in Fall to their respective colleges, where they are evaluated with all other department-level nominees in the college. Colleges then forward their final nominees’ application materials to the University Teaching Committee for evaluation and selection of the awardees in late Fall. Details are explained below.

Department Level

Nominations may be initiated by graduate coordinators, department chairs, faculty members, staff, or students. Nominations must be reviewed in the nominee’s department in a process arranged by the department chair. Each department may designate up to three graduate students, one for each award category, as final departmental nominees. The department chair/school director or designee must endorse and submit the final nominee(s), each for a specific award category, in a letter to the chair of the University Teaching Committee by the first Monday in May. Final departmental nominees should prepare their application portfolio, which chairs should forward to their college dean's office by the third Monday in September. When the college-level process is completed, department chairs will be informed of the college-level outcomes and then should inform all departmental nominees of those outcomes.

College Level

Deans and/or selection committees evaluate portfolios and identify up to three nominees per award category (up to nine nominees total) and forward their portfolios and letters of endorsement to the University Teaching Committee by the third Monday in October, with the exception of the College of Arts and Sciences where up to three candidates in each division (social sciences, sciences, humanities) may be endorsed for each of the three awards. The dean and/or college selection committee has the option of ranking nominees and/or providing written rationales, which should be forwarded to the UTC as advisory information. The dean and/or college selection committee should notify each departmental nominee’s department chair of the college-level outcomes so chairs can notify their department’s nominees.

University Teaching Committee

The UTC shall select UGTA recipients and notify each finalist of the outcome.