National Awards Program for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences

Nomination Guidelines (Revised July 2008)

Sponsored by:
Higher Education Programs
Science and Education Resources Development (SERD)
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

CONTENTS

Section I. General Introduction and Purpose
Section II. Program Description
Section III. Preparation of a Nomination
Section IV. Submission of a Nomination
Section V. Nomination Review and Evaluation Criteria
Section VI. Nomination Package Summary

Section I. General Introduction and Purpose

To address the national priority of developing human capital for scientific and professional expertise in the food and agricultural sciences, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) through its Science and Education Resources Development, Higher Education Programs office will offer, subject to the availability of funds, a National Awards Program for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences (hereafter referred to in this document as the “Awards Program”).

The Awards Program recognizes faculty who promote effective and innovative pedagogy evidenced by successive years of sustained, meritorious and exceptional teaching.

The Awards Program is offered annually to honor excellence in teaching, a key element in developing expertise. The Awards Program will recognize and honor a select group of college and university teachers who excel at teaching, make a positive impact on student learning, and influence other teachers by example. It is designed to focus national attention on the teaching role--one which is fundamental to the development of the scientific and professional expertise essential to the future growth and progress of our nation's food and agricultural system.

Authority

The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (Public Law No.95-113; 7 U.S.C. 3152), as amended, designates USDA as the lead federal agency for teaching, extension, and research programs in the food and agricultural sciences. Section 1417(i)(1) of this law further authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national food and agricultural sciences teaching awards program.

Definitions
For purposes of administering the Awards Program, the following definitions will apply:

Award Categories -- On an annual basis, awards will be made in the following, three categories:

• National – A recipient selected from the pool of potential Regional award recipients, from any of the four regions, and deemed by the review panel to exhibit sustained, meritorious and exceptional teaching. While a sustained pattern of exceptional activity is expected, this award does not recognize teaching longevity so much as the quality of recent achievements involving teaching philosophy, methodology, and self-assessment aimed at improvement.

• Regional – A teacher selected from any of the four regions, deemed by the review panel to exhibit sustained and meritorious teaching, and who has maintained at least five concurrent years experience in teaching. While a sustained pattern of meritorious activity is expected, this award does not recognize teaching longevity so much as the quality of recent achievements involving teaching philosophy, methodology, and self-assessment aimed at improvement.

• New Teacher – A teacher selected from any of the four regions, who has demonstrated a commitment to a career in teaching and is deemed by the review panel to exhibit meritorious teaching, but who has no more than five concurrent years experience in teaching, as defined in this section.

College or university -- An educational institution in any state that (1) admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate, (2) is legally authorized within such state to provide a program of education beyond secondary education, (3) provides an educational program for which a bachelor's degree or any other higher degree is awarded, (4) is a public or other nonprofit institution, and (5) is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.

Food and agricultural sciences -- Denotes teaching activities concerned with the production, processing, marketing, distribution, conservation, consumption, research, and development of food and agriculturally related products and services, inclusive of academic programs in agriculture, natural resources, forestry, veterinary medicine, human sciences / family and consumer sciences, and closely allied fields.

Teaching -- Denotes activities to promote student learning of the food and agricultural sciences. Includes various aspects of instruction and student support, such as: formal classroom activities; instruction via innovative delivery systems; student internships and study tours; course and instructional materials development; student advising and counseling; and scholarship related to teaching, including preparation of textbooks, instructional software programs, videos, and other publications of an instructional nature.

Teacher -- A faculty member at a college or university who holds a full-time appointment which reflects sustained and continuing responsibility for undergraduate and/or graduate teaching as determined by the college or university.

Course -- Instruction offered for academic credit and included in the official course catalog of a college or university, and for which assessments are conducted to evaluate student learning.

Regions -- The four regions of the United States, as defined for the purposes of this program are as follows: Northeast (CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, WV, DC); North Central (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI); Southern (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, PR, USVI); Western (AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY, American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas).

Funding
As stated in Section 1417(i)(2), the Secretary may use funds appropriated for the conduct of any agricultural research, extension, or teaching program for the purpose of conducting a National Awards Program for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences. USDA, through CSREES, will support management of the Awards Program (solicitation and evaluation of nominations), monetary awards, travel for two national winners to participate in an awards ceremony, and preparation of certificates of merit. Institutions employing the regional and New Teacher award recipients will be expected to provide expense support for their travel to the national awards ceremony.

Eligibility
Teacher nominees must be employed by a college or university that (1) confers a baccalaureate or higher degree in at least one area of the food and agricultural sciences for which the teacher is nominated, (2) has demonstrated a commitment to the food and agricultural sciences, and (3) attributes a high priority to its education mission.

A teacher nominee must hold a full-time appointment as an active faculty member as of the nominee submission due date, and have responsibility for teaching in an area of the food and agricultural sciences.

Individuals who do not receive an award in a given year are eligible for re-nomination. However, a new nomination package must be resubmitted. Nomination files are not retained for reconsideration in future years.

National award recipients are not eligible for renomination. Regional award recipients may only be renominated to receive a national award. Such renomination may occur no sooner than three years following receipt of the regional award. New Teacher award recipients may only be renominated to receive a regional or national award. Such renomination may occur no sooner than three years following receipt of the New Teacher award.

Section II. Program Description

* Award recipients will be contacted immediately following Merit Evaluation. Non recipients and the general public are not notified until after the National Award Ceremony.

Section III. Preparation of a Nomination

Nominations may be submitted by a supervisor or peer. However, nominations must include endorsement by the nominee's supervisor(s), conveyed via signatures requested on the Information Cover Page described below. Limit submissions to only superior educators who excel in each of the six published Evaluation Criteria, and who exhibit sustained, consistent and long-term commitment to achieving the highest quality of teaching excellence. New Teacher-category nominees should demonstrate a commensurate level of commitment based upon their teaching tenure.

Note: When multiple nominations occur from the same institution, the individual in charge of academic instruction should first internally rank nominees, and only then, submit for review those one or two nominations that reflect exceptional teaching qualities mentioned above. Submitting multiple New Teacher or Regional nominees from the same institution is generally discouraged.

New Teacher Award category nominees will be evaluated separately from the Regional Award category nominees, but each group of nominees should use the same Evaluation Criteria and nomination forms.

Determine institutional and teacher/nominee eligibility from Section I, above.

The following steps should guide the nomination preparation process:

• The nominee or another individual may prepare the nomination package. However, nominees are required to provide a first-person response to Evaluation Criterion # 2 - "Philosophy of Teaching and Teaching Methodology".
• A complete nomination package consists of the Information Cover Page, Personal Data Page and a written response to each of the six published Evaluation Criteria from Section V, below.
• Each nomination package must not exceed 15 pages (including the Information Cover Page, Personal Data Page, and all responses to the published Evaluation Criteria). Please number each page.
• Any material submitted in excess of the 15-page limit (CDs, videos, publications, etc.) will be discarded prior to review.
• Incomplete applications will be returned without review.
• Use standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper and Times New Roman 12 point (or equivalent) font.
• Submit a total of five (5) copies of the nomination package.
• Staple each nomination package. Do not spiral bind package or include in any kind of a notebook or folder.
• Include one (1) copy of the nominee's Curriculum Vitae with your submission. This will not be part of the review, but may serve to provide additional information for the awards program if the nominee is selected. Clearly mark the Curriculum Vitae as such, and do not attach to a nomination package.

The Information Cover Page is a one-page form containing the nominee's background information and approval for submission by the nominee's Dean and Department Chair. For institutions with a different administrative structure, this form should be signed by two appropriate individuals having administrative oversight of the nominee.

The Personal Data Page is a one-page form containing the nominee's personal data (education and experience) as well as a brief summary of recent teaching assignments.

Written responses are also required for each of the six Evaluation Criteria found in Section V, below. Responses should be organized by Evaluation Criterion number and include the underlined criterion wording. Responses for Evaluation Criterion # 6, Endorsement by an Administrator, Alumnus and Colleague, may be submitted via individual letters from each, submitted on letterhead and signed by the appropriate author. All such letters are to be included in the 15-page package limit.

Nomination packages must follow the guidelines and format outlined above.

Section IV. Submission of Nomination

Nominations can be self-submitted, or completed by any individual on behalf of a teacher/nominee. Submit one Curriculum Vitae and five copies of the nomination package, to arrive by March 15, to:

For U.S. Mail Delivery:

USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
CSREES/SERD/Higher Education Programs
1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Stop 2251
Washington , DC 20250-2251

For FEDEX or other Courier Delivery:

USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
CSREES/SERD/Higher Education Programs
800 9th Street, SW; Room 3260
Washington, DC 20024

Late submissions will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the sender to use the appropriate delivery method to ensure nominations arrive no later than the submission deadline date. Nominations are not accepted via a facsimile (fax) machine or by electronic mail.

Section V. Nomination Review and Evaluation Criteria

The Award Program evaluation process includes both USDA internal staff review and merit evaluation by a panel of experts. In any given year, the peer review panel may consist of a combination of university faculty and administrators, public school teachers or administrators, representatives from professional associations, and personnel from other federal agencies. Reviewers follow strict rules governing conflict of interest.

Review Process
Nominees from each of the four regions will be evaluated first in competition with others from within the same region. Teachers deemed most meritorious in each of the four regions will then be placed in competition for the national awards. New Teacher Award category nominees will be evaluated separately from the Regional Award category nominees, but each group of nominees should use the same Evaluation Criteria and nomination forms.

The review panel reserves the right to make less than the maximum number of awards in each of the three Award Categories due to insufficient meritorious nominations.

Evaluation Criteria
Each nominee is required to complete a nomination package explained in Section III, above. One component of that package is a written response to each of the following six Evaluation Criteria. Responses should be organized by Evaluation Criterion number and include the underlined criterion wording. Responses for Evaluation Criterion # 6, Endorsement by an Administrator, Alumnus and Colleague, may be submitted via individual letters from each, submitted on letterhead and signed by the appropriate author. All such letters are included in the 15-page package limit. The nomination package must follow the guidelines and format outlined in Section III, above.

Award recipients are selected based upon responses in the nomination package that best address the following criteria:

Section VI. Nomination Package Summary:

Consult Section III, above, for nomination package preparation guidelines.
Submit the following to the address found in Section IV, above.

• The Information Cover Page and Personal Data Page (on-line forms available in MS-WORD and PDF ).

• A written response to each of the six published Evaluation Criteria from Section V, above, and

• One (1) copy of the nominee's Curriculum Vitae

Helpful Hints - Nomination Package Submission:

• Evaluation Criterion #1: Include numerical rankings when available, but concentrate on how the nominee excels in comparison to others, both within the academic unit and especially across the greater college or university. Peer review assessments are favored over anecdotal student comments.

• Evaluation Criterion #2: Peer panel members especially like to read how the nominee designs special teaching practices to address specific topics, material, or learning styles of students. The ‘how' and ‘why' are as interesting as the ‘what'. Specific examples are encouraged.

• Evaluation Criterion #3: Every nominee is already recognized as a good classroom teacher. What demonstrates how this nominee is different, special? For example, most past National recipients are also well known off campus for regional, national, or international contributions.

• Evaluation Criterion #5: Top-ranked nominees often are also leaders within their discipline. Include examples of regional, national, or international contributions to your field of expertise.

• Evaluation Criterion #6: The nominating letter should come from the unit's person in charge of academic instruction. Letters should refrain from repeating information already included in the application. What special contributions distinguish the nominee from other teachers? Specific examples of distinguishing contributions or impacts on students are helpful to the peer panel members.

View the Historical List of Award Program Recipients

Questions on the National Awards Program for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences should be directed to:

Higher Education Programs Office
Telephone: (202) 720-1973
Email: teachaward@csrees.usda.gov