Nomination Guidelines for
The Award for Excellence in Support of the Student Experience

Part A: Selection criteria

All applications for the Award for Excellence in Support of the Student Experience will be assessed by the Committee for Teaching and Learning Awards on evidence they provide in relation to the following four criteria:

1. Distinctiveness, coherence and clarity of purpose
   Extent to which the activity or service has clear objectives and systematic approaches to coordination, implementation and evaluation.
2. Influence on student learning and student engagement
   Extent to which the activity or service targets identified needs and directly or indirectly enhances student learning, student engagement and/or the overall student experience of higher education.
3. Breadth of impact
   Extent to which the activity or service has led to widespread benefits for students, staff, the institution, and/or other institutions, consistent with the purpose of the activity or service.
4. Concern for equity and diversity
   Extent to which the activity or service promotes and supports equity and inclusiveness by improving access, participation and outcomes for diverse student groups.

In assessing nominations against the four selection criteria, the Committee for Learning and Teaching Awards will take into account:

• the extent to which the claims for excellence are supported by formal and informal evaluation
• the extent of creativity, imagination or innovation, irrespective of whether the approach involves traditional student management and assistance or technology-based developments
• the information contained in staff or student feedback, references and selected materials submitted by the nominee

The four selection criteria will be given equal consideration by the Selection Committee.

Part B: Guidelines and instructions for nomination

1 Eligibility

• Nomination is open to professional staff who have been employed for a minimum of three years at the University of Adelaide.
• Both individual and team nominations are encouraged. (Teams may be of any size and may include, but not consist solely of, contract or sessional professional staff.)
• Recipients of the Award are eligible to re-apply six years after receiving the Award.
• Applications are valid for two years; and unsuccessful applications are automatically considered the following year, when the application may be updated by the nominee.

2 Nomination

• Candidates for the Award for Excellence in Support of the Student Experience must be nominated by at least three people who are members of the professional or academic staff of the University.
• Self-nominations will not be accepted.
• Nominations must be submitted on the nomination form provided with these guidelines.
• The nominee is asked to indicate which award is being applied for (individual or team) and whether the nominee has been nominated before, and when.
• The Executive Dean, Director or Manager of the nominee’s Division or Unit must certify the eligibility of the nominee and the validity of the nomination form.
• Nominators must sign the form.

3 Essential documentation

All nominees for the Award for Excellence in Support of the Student Experience must provide the following documents:

• Nomination form (available from the CLPD website)
• Written statement, including an overview and an argument addressing each of the four selection criteria (no more than seven pages)
• Two references (a single A4 page each)
• Feedback (student, staff, external) received within the previous three years must be provided in the documentation. It may be either quantitative or qualitative or both.
• Feedback separate from that used as evidence of claims in the text of the document is limited to six A4 pages.

Nomination form. The completed nomination must be signed by the Executive Dean, Director or Manager of the Unit or a delegate. The Nominators must sign the form.

Written statement. The candidate’s written statement is the central element in the nomination. It provides the opportunity for candidates to describe their support activities and achievements, and specifically address each of the four selection criteria. The written statement should be presented under the following five headings, in order.

NOTE Layout of the written statement: Page margins must be at least 2cm all round. The font must be at least 11 points with 13 points of spacing between the lines. A clear, legible serif font is preferable, such as Times New Roman or Palatino.

1. Overview
2. Distinctiveness, coherence and clarity of purpose
3. Influence on student learning and student engagement
4. Breadth of impact
5. Concern for equity and diversity

The overview provides the opportunity for nominees to commence the written statement with a focus on the specific character of their support activity or service. It is recommended that the overview be no more than one page and that it include the nominees’ philosophy and beliefs in terms of student support, a description of the context in which they are working and an integrated summary of the claims relating to the selection criteria. The majority of the written statement should be devoted to addressing each of the four criteria in turn. Nominees must provide evidence in support of their claims against these criteria. The written statement is limited to seven A4 pages in total. 

References. Two references, of no more than one A4 page each, must be provided by people who are able to comment on the nominee’s performance against the selection criteria. One of the referees must be the Director/Manager of the nominee’s Division or Unit. If the nomination is from a team, the references should apply to the team.

Evidence of evaluation. Documentation highlighting the evaluation of the activity or service. Either qualitative and/or quantitative data can be submitted.

Optional supporting materials. Selection is based primarily on the written statement addressing the selection criteria. However, nominees may include selected teaching materials supporting their claims against the selection criteria. The relevance of any such material must be made clear in the written statement. Supporting materials are limited to a maximum of two of:

• website (URL)
• CD ROM* or DVD*
• video or audio tape
• 4 pages of printed material

(*Nominees are encouraged, where possible, to provide digital material via a single URL. Only one copy of supporting materials should be provided.)

Part C: Lodgement and processing of nominations

Presentation

There is no advantage in elaborate presentation of nominations. The nomination form is adequate as a cover page. If optional (physical) supporting materials are to be included, these should be separately packaged and labelled as Supporting Teaching Material. The label should also include the date and the name(s) of the nominee(s). The package should be sent to the Teaching Awards & Grants Office, CLPD, Level 2, Schulz Building West to arrive by 5.00 pm on Monday 10 October 2011.

Submission of applications

The nomination should be sent as a PDF file to the Executive Officer, Teaching Awards and Grants Committee (TAGC)

by email tagc@adelaide.edu.au

to arrive by 5.00 pm on Monday 10 October 2011

Receipt of nominations

Receipt of all nominations will be acknowledged by email by the Executive Officer, Teaching Awards and Grants Committee. If you do not receive a confirmatory email within a week of submission, please contact tagc@adelaide.edu.au;  phone 830 34862.

The Teaching Awards and Grants Committee will recommend winners for the endorsement of the University Learning and Teaching Committee. The Committee consists of:

• Director, Centre for Learning and Professional Development (Chair)
• Nominee of the Executive Dean [usually the Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching)] of the:
  • Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences
  • Faculty of Health Sciences
  • Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Faculty of the Professions
  • Faculty of Sciences
• Dean of Graduate Studies
• Director, Student Support Services
• Director of Wilto Yerlo and Centre for Australian Indigenous Research and Studies
• University Librarian
• One academic staff representative who has previously won a Carrick Institute award
• One professional staff representative who has previously won a Carrick Institute award
• One currently enrolled undergraduate student representative
• One currently enrolled postgraduate student representative

Notification

Winners of University Award for Excellence in Support of Student Learning will be notified in November. They will receive a certificate recognising their accomplishment and a grant for $8,000, to be paid through academic units and used by the winners to assist with their professional development. They may be asked to provide a half page biography accompanied by a good quality passport size photograph, and be invited to an informal function with the Selection Committee. The names of Award winners will be made public on the University of Adelaide website and in the Adelaidean.