Purpose

The Burks Oakley II Distinguished Online Teaching Award is intended to recognize UIS faculty members whose performance exemplifies the institution’s commitment to excellence in online teaching.  The recipient of this award shall receive $1,000 cash plus a commemorative plaque, and their name will be engraved on a permanent plaque located in the Provost’s Suite.  The award is funded through the generosity of Burks Oakley II.

Who can be nominated?

All faculty members holding full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty appointments are eligible to be nominated.  Full-time administrators holding faculty rank are not eligible.  In the event a member of the Campus Sabbatical & Awards Committee (CSAC) is nominated, they must recuse themselves from the deliberation of the particular award for which they are being considered.  The deliberations shall take place without the appointment of a replacement representative.  A nominee’s file will remain active for three years unless the nominee is selected for the award.

Who can make nominations?

All tenured and tenure-track faculty members and administrators holding faculty rank may make nominations.  There is no limit as to the number of nominees from any department/ program or college.  Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.

Nomination Guidelines

1. Nominators are strongly encouraged to provide a focused and well-supported rationale, based in significant measure on materials in the nominee’s personnel file as well as any other materials provided by the nominator.  The rationale should clearly indicate the areas of online teaching and/or accomplishments in online teaching that are indicative of the nominee’s excellence.  Nomination letters should reference supporting documentation.  The Review Panel will focus on the following documentation provided by the nominator when looking for evidence of excellence in online teaching:
   • A statement by the candidate addressing his/her online teaching philosophy, identifying the scope of the candidate’s experience with online teaching, and describing the candidate’s substantive contributions to online teaching or innovative pedagogical approaches used in their online courses;
   • Student evaluations of online courses taught by the candidate
   • Letters from current or former students enrolled in the candidates’ online courses.
2. Each nomination should be accompanied by the candidates’ curriculum vitae.
3. The completed nomination will be reviewed by the Executive Director for Online, Professional, & Engaged Learning, and the Associate Director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, & Service (COLRS), who will submit a joint recommendation by February 15, 2022 on each nomination to be considered by the Review Panel in its deliberations.  See Oakley-COLRS Best Practices below for review criteria.
4. For other than self-nominations, each nominator must obtain written permission from the nominee to review the nominee’s personnel file to assist in preparing the nomination.  Nominees may grant permission via an email message sent to UISfacultyfiles@uis.edu.
5. 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.  The presentations can occur at the same time period as the award or in conjunction with, or as a part of another, faculty development series, such as a brown bag lunch time program.

Review Panel

The Campus Sabbatical and Awards Committee (CSAC) shall serve as the Review Panel for the Burks Oakley II Distinguished Online Teaching Award.  Consideration by the Review Panel shall include a review of course evaluations for online courses taught by the nominee, copies of which will be provided by the nominator.

Processing Guidelines

1. All nominations are due by 5:00 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. The nominee’s last name should be included in the names of all nomination documents. There are two options for submitting nomination materials:
   1. Materials may be emailed to UISfacultyfiles@uis.edu, or (particularly if materials are too large to attach to an email)
   2. Materials may be uploaded (drag and drop) to the Faculty Awards folder in Box
2. The Review Panel shall make its recommendations to the Chancellor by Monday, March 7, 2022.
3. The Chancellor shall subsequently notify the recipient of this award of her decision.  Funds will be available for fiscal year 2023, beginning July 1, 2022.
4. The Provost/VCAA shall notify nominees not selected for this award.
5. Nomination materials shall be placed in the appropriate faculty member’s personnel file following conclusion of the selection process.

11.29.2021

COLRS Best Practices

5.11.2021