2015 Commendations and CitationsInformation Session

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Commendations for Excellence in Support of the Student Experience

• University of Adelaide award: open to academic and professional staff, individuals and teams, from all Faculties/Divisions.

• Five Commendations of $2000 each• Staff who have received a Commendation, an

ALTC/OLT Citation or Award, or a University of Adelaide Teaching Award are not eligible.

• Staff who have received a Faculty Teaching Award are eligible.

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Commendations: Selection Criteria

• Nominated Areas: in 2015, applications are invited from any one of the following areas of strategic priority: – Access, Equity and Participation (recruitment, transition, retention,

counselling, disability support, learning support) – Curriculum Design, Assessment and Feedback – The Online Experience – Graduate Destinations (workplace integrated learning, industry

partnerships, career services, international exchange, higher degree supervision)

– Staff Engagement (staff training, peer mentoring, educational scholarship)

• Assessment– The application will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates

evidence that the applicant’s contribution has had a significant and sustained (typically over at least a three year period) impact in support of the student experience.

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Commendations: Application Process• Each Application contains:

– Application Form– Applicant Profile– Written Statement (no more than 3 A4 pages)

• Overview• Description• Impact

– Reference Letter– Applicant Photograph

• Application Process– Applications are submitted to the Teaching Awards and

Grants Officer as a single PDF– A selection panel assesses applications and selects

Commendation recipients

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Commendations: What are assessors looking for?

• Adherence to application instructions• Reflective approach to telling the ‘story’• Evidence of uniqueness and of going above and

beyond the job description• Evidence that is well integrated into the overall

narrative• Awareness of relevant scholarly literature and/or

the broader higher education context

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Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning

• Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) award: open to academic and professional staff, individuals and teams.

• 150 Citations available nationally of $10,000 each• Each institution can submit up to six nominations

for consideration• Previous Citation recipients may renominate after

five years of receiving the Citation• Nominees who have no more than five years’

teaching experience (including tutoring and part time teaching) may apply for an Early Career Citation.

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Citations: Selection criteria

• Applications are required to show evidence that the nominee’s contribution has:– influenced student learning, student engagement or the

overall student experience– gained recognition from fellow staff, the institution,

and/or the broader community– provided evidence of sustainability of no less than three

consecutive years (two years for Early Career nomination).

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Citations: Selection criteria

• Nominees are required to address ONE of the four assessment criteria: – Approaches to the support of learning and teaching that

influence, motivate and inspire students to learn. – Development of curricula, resources or services that

reflect a command of the field. – Evaluation practices that bring about improvements in

teaching and learning.– Innovation, leadership or scholarship that has

influenced and enhanced learning and teaching and/or the student experience.

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Citations: Application Process

• Applications must include:– Nomination form– Written Statement (4 A4 pages)

• Proposed citation• Summary• Statement addressing the chosen criterion

– Two references– Photograph

• Application process– Applications are submitted to Teaching Awards and Grants

Officer– A selection panel assesses applications and selects

nominees– TAG officer works with nominees to finalise nominations and

submits all nominations to the OLT

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Citations: Common Mistakes

• Choosing the wrong criterion• Assumed knowledge – institutional or discipline• Not enough variety of evidence (too much focus

on SELTs)• Not integrating evidence well – lack of context,

analysis, reflection• Lack of cohesion – no ‘story’• Not following instructions

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Key Dates

• Commendations– Closing date: Monday 30 March

• Citations– Internal deadline: Tuesday 7 April– OLT closing date: Friday 1 May

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What’s Next?

• Application Instructions– Commendations - adelaide.edu.au/learning/staff/

awardsgrants/ – Citations - olt.gov.au/awards/citations

• Ashleigh Ward, Teaching Awards and Grants Officer– ashleigh.ward@adelaide.edu.au– 34862– Advice, feedback and support

• Head of School, Supervisor, Associate Dean (L&T), past award recipients, current applicants