Excellence in online teaching and course design is recognized and celebrated at NIU through numerous awards, including:
Excellence in Online Teaching Award
The Excellence in Online Teaching Award (EOTA) encourages and honors outstanding online and hybrid teaching at NIU. It recognizes NIU faculty and instructors whose performance exemplifies a commitment to excellence in online teaching, course development and student engagement.
Nominations are submitted to the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) for consideration by a review panel comprised of a subcommittee of members of the Innovative Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee (ITLAC), Online Learning Advisory Council (OLAC) and past award winners, chaired by the executive director of CITL. This review committee will select the award recipient(s).
The recipient(s) of this award receive a plaque and a $2,000 one-time stipend. All recipients shall be required to present a campus-wide seminar describing their approach to online teaching, with emphasis on teaching philosophy and innovative pedagogical approaches.
Learn More and Apply for the Award
Certificate of Excellence in Online Teaching
The Certificate of Excellence in Online Teaching (CEOT) was established in 2021 and is awarded for online teaching performance that exemplifies accomplished excellence in online teaching, course development and student engagement. Nominees for the Excellence in Online Teaching Award are eligible to receive this certificate upon demonstrating "Accomplished" excellence in review criteria. Examples of online teaching excellence include following NIU online course design essentials in online course development and online teaching principles for success in online course delivery.
View List of Recipients
Blackboard Ally Digital Badges
Earn a recognition for the great work that you are doing to improve the accessibility of your course materials and being a champion for accessibility.
You can earn a digital badge for your work to be student centered, increase your overall accessibility score, find and fix accessibility issues, and add captions to multimedia materials. When you earn them all, you will truly be an Ally Hero!
Because improving accessibility is an ongoing process and not an all-or-nothing endeavor, most of the badges offer multiple levels. Start small and work your way up to the top!
Learn More and Apply for a Badge