EUIA Nomination and Selection Procedures
Please note:The EUIA is an award new as of 2005-2006 and separate from the long-standing Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, or EUTA
THE AWARD
The purpose of the award is to:
- Honor excellent undergraduate teaching in the university, specifically among non-tenure-track educators not recognized by the NIU Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
- Encourage improvement of instruction.
- Promote discussion among members of the university community on the subject of teaching.
CRITERIA
Recipients should be among the most outstanding instructors on campus. This fact should be attested to by those with direct knowledge of effective instruction on the part of the nominee, such as students and alumni who have been taught by the nominee and/or instructors or faculty who have observed the nominee's teaching. We also seek indirect knowledge of effective instruction on the part of the nominee. Evidence should be provided by students, instructors or faculty (including those in departments other than the nominee's), administrators, and others who know of the nominee's reputation.
The Committee for the Improvement of Undergraduate Education especially seeks the following qualities in a nominee:
- An instructor who instills and develops in students an intensity of interest in, and an appreciation for the value of, his or her subject.
- An instructor who applies rigorous standards to student performance, inspires students, and stimulates student growth.
- An instructor who is respected and esteemed by students rather than merely being popular.
- An instructor who demonstrates extraordinary commitment to students and their welfare, who is not only knowledgeable and prepared for class but also available to them outside of class: for example, providing extra help with material, advising them, listening to their concerns, and assisting them with extra-class projects or activities.
- An instructor who works actively with students, other instructors and faculty, and administrators to improve undergraduate education at NIU, through extra-classroom programming, curriculum improvement, and other activities directed toward the improvement of instruction.
- An instructor who has demonstrated continuous teaching excellence over the period of time employed at Northern Illinois University .
TIMETABLE
This timetable is for the convenience of those submitting nominations. Each department and college may adjust it as they see fit. However, the date by which college nominations must be submitted to the Vice Provost's Office is firm.
December 1, 2006 Suggested date for submission of nominations to the departmental chair or student advisory committee.
January 31, 2007 Suggested deadline for departmental nominations to be forwarded to the college student advisory committee.
February 21, 2007 Deadline by which each college must submit nomination packets to the Vice Provost's Office, which then distributes the packets to CIUE.
April 2007 Presentation of Awards (date to be announced)
Any questions or comments regarding these nomination and selection procedures should be directed to Brian Mackie, Chair, Committee on the Improvement of Undergraduate Education, Department of Operations Management, 815-753-5896. e-mail: bmackie@niu.edu
NOMINATION PROCEDURES
The following directions supplement the Form for Submission of Nominations . The Roman numerals correspond with the five sections (I-V) of this form, as do letters A and B under II.
I. ELIGIBILITY FOR NOMINATION
The following criteria must be satisfied to ensure the eligibility of a nominee.
- An instructor who was nominated previously but did not receive the award remains eligible. However, once an instructor has received the award, she or he may not receive it again.
- The nominee must be an NIU employee with regular teaching responsibilities who is not a tenured or tenure-track faculty member.
- The nominee must have completed a minimum of five full academic years at Northern Illinois University .
- For each of the past three years, the nominee must have taught at least four (4) undergraduate courses. Programmatic student advising is not considered part of this load.
- The nominee must not be a member of the Committee for the Improvement of Undergraduate Education in the year of nomination.
- In the nominating process, there must be no discrimination based on race, sex, age or other distinction not directly related to determining superiority in teaching.
- In the year of nomination, the nominee may be on leave, serving in an administrative position, or working in some other non-teaching capacity at NIU, provided he/she meets the other criteria for nomination.
II. NOMINATION PROCEDURES
A. Department Level:
- Each department may forward one nominee for the EUIA, whose nomination form once completed should be sent to the department's respective college for further consideration. The suggested due date for this is published above, under TIMETABLE.
- The departmental nominee should be selected either by the departmental student advisory committee or by procedures established jointly by the department and its student advisory committee. Students should take a major part of this process. Normally, at least one-half of any selection committee should be composed of undergraduate student members.
- Since nominations are commonly initiated by student committees of majors within a department, departments should take specific steps to ensure that individuals regularly engaged in teaching introductory general education courses be fully considered. This provision is especially important in the nomination process for the Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction Award.
- If a department lacks a student advisory committee or its student advisory committee does not function, the department chair and/or individual department members should encourage formation of an ad hoc nominating committee. If this form of committee is used, the statement under IIA in the nomination form should stipulate this clearly. With an ad hoc committee no less than a standing student advisory committee, it is expected that not less than half of the membership should consist of undergraduate students.
- Departmental instructors, faculty, and/or administrators may assist the students in a variety of ways: in compiling a list of instructors eligible for the award, through mentoring of the advisory committee, by serving with them on a selection committee, and/or by helping to assemble, organize, and edit the materials to complete the nomination form. The department should also keep on file letters of nomination and recommendation, which may be solicited through departmental newsletters as well as the NIU alumni newsletter.
- Participation in the selection process by a nominee for the award is prohibited. For example, a mentor to the student advisory committee should excuse him or herself from consideration. Likewise, department members serving on the selection committee for the EUIA should not be considered for nomination. Once a nominee has been selected, the committee may interview her or him in order to gather information, but the nominee must not participate directly in the nomination process. For instance, the nominee should not solicit letters of nomination or recommendation, nor should he or she help in completing the nomination form or even see it.
B. College Level
- Each college may submit to the Committee for the Improvement of Undergraduate Education a number of nominees based on its percentage of the total university faculty. For the 2005-06 academic year, the College of Business may submit one (1) nomination, the College of Education may submit two (2) nominations, the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology may submit one (1) nomination, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may submit three (3) nominations, the College of Health and Human Sciences may submit one (1) nomination, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts may submit one (1) nomination. CIUE also invites nominations at large from academic units that offer academic courses but are not members of a college. Each unit of this type may submit one (1) nomination.
- The selection of the college nominee or nominees should be made by the student advisory committee of the college, or similar body. As at the departmental level, it is expected that not less than half of the college nominating committee should consist of undergraduate students.
- While letters of nomination and recommendation are to be retained in the appropriate departmental office (and forwarded to that office when received by other offices), the colleges and the Alumni Association as well as the departments are encouraged to solicit such letters from alumni and other individuals with a knowledge of potential nominees.
- The college must submit twenty-five (25) copies of each completed nomination form to the Committee for the Improvement of Undergraduate Education. These packets should be delivered to the Office of the Vice Provost, Altgeld 220A, no later than the date given above under TIMETABLE.
III. CAREER PROFILE
Although information from a nominee's resumé or curriculum vitae will be helpful in compiling the career profile, the profile should offer a selection of information from this source (or other sources). A brief statement of teaching philosophy, either culled from the nominee's c.v. or solicited by the committee, may also be included in this section. The nominating committee should include especially those activities that exemplify the nominee's suitability for the EUIA, activities including but not limited to the following:
- Service to students outside the classroom, such as advising, working with student organizations, and assistance in attaining career goals.
- Creative academic activities within the department, college, or university, including curriculum improvement and assistance to other instructors and faculty in improving their teaching.
- Grants, fellowships, or leaves related to instructional improvement.
- Previous recognition for outstanding teaching and service to students such as assignments within the university, membership in honorary organizations, and previous nominations for teaching awards (including the EUIA).
- Publications, lectures, presentations, or public speeches related to instructional improvement or teaching excellence.
IV. STUDENT EVALUATION DATA
As stipulated in the nomination form, the student evaluation data and the chair's statement are mandatory submissions. For each undergraduate course (or section) that the nominee has taught in the previous three years, include the following numeric data in the table provided:
- Number and name of course/section; semester and year taught.
- Number of students in each course/section.
- Overall student evaluation rating of instruction in each course/section, including scale used.
- Average of student grades given by the nominee in each course/section.
The chair of the nominee's department should write a brief statement—400 words maximum--discussing the nominee's suitability for the EUIA. The nominating committee should insert this statement into the space provided on the nomination form. Included in this statement should be a comparison of the nominee's teaching evaluations with the ratings of his or her departmental colleagues.
If the nominating committee chooses to include excerpts from written student evaluations, they should—as with the career profile—be selective in order to highlight especially the nominee's activities and characteristics that address the criteria used by CIUE. We wish to emphasize that an excessive quantity of supporting information is not desired.
V. LETTERS OF NOMINATION AND RECOMMENDATION
Whereas the nominee's recent record in teaching is documented by the student evaluation data, an opportunity to document the longer as well as shorter term impact of the nominee's teaching is provided by the letters of nomination and recommendation. (The term “letters of nomination” is meant to refer to letters endorsing a particular instructor in answer to general calls for nomination, whether submitted by current students, alumni, or colleagues. “Letters of recommendation” refers to similar letters that may be solicited by the committee after the nominee has been selected.)
All letters should be dated within the last three years , although this in no way should be construed as precluding letters from alumni, colleagues, or others who have known and worked with the nominee longer ago than three years. (The writers of older letters on file may be asked to update their letters.) Indeed, here and in the career summary, evidence should cover as long a period of time as is possible and be suitable for the length of time the nominee has taught at Northern. List in the table provided in the nomination form the names of those individuals who have written a letter of nomination or recommendation for the nominee, the relationship of the letter writer to the nominee (for example, current student, former student, colleague), and the date on which the letter was written.
Letters should concentrate on reports of activities which exemplify the nominee's qualifications. One important criterion for the award that the letters should especially address is the nominee's impact on students' career choices.
Letters of nomination or recommendation should be photocopied, not transcribed, and included in their entirety. Brief letters may, however, be cropped and combined with other letters on a single page to assist in keeping within the twenty-page limit for the total nomination. The copies of the original letters conclude the nomination.
