Excellence In Online Teaching Award
Overview
The University of North Florida recognizes faculty who perform meritoriously in online teaching. To that end, the Excellence in Online Teaching Award shall be given annually in recognition of excellence in online teaching.
The award winner will receive an honorarium of $2,500 and a commemorative plaque. The award is funded by Digital Learning, which reserves the right not to provide the monetary award to any winner who is not a UNF employee at the time of UNF’s Annual Convocation.
Additionally, per the Florida Board of Governor’s Online Education 2025 Strategic Plan, each institution within the State University System (SUS) will identify one outstanding faculty member each year to receive the SUS President’s Award. UNF’s Excellence in Online Teaching Award recipient will receive recognition as UNF’s President’s Award winner and be featured on the SUS website.
Award Eligibility
Any regular, full-time member or permanent part-time member of the UNF faculty, who holds an in-rank faculty appointment at UNF and meets the following requirements:
- Delivery of distance learning course(s) at UNF for two or more years.
- Completed UNF’s Teaching Online Foundation Course (TOL) or other online teaching certifications/training related to quality online course development and delivery.
- Completed at least one Online Course Design Quality Review.
Note: No awardee shall be eligible for another Excellence in Online Teaching Award until the fifth year after receiving the last award.
Criteria
In addition to the eligibility requirements listed above, awardees must have contributed to excellence in online teaching at UNF in some or all of the following areas. Innovative online teaching strategies and demonstrable impact on students are of the highest importance.
- Successful implementation of innovative online teaching strategies and tools to promote active learning, high levels of instructor-student or student-student interaction, and community engagement.
- Use of data (e.g., Canvas analytics, ISQs, student feedback) or student-created artifacts (e.g., research proposals, websites, class presentations) as a demonstrable indicator of student success.
- Exemplary contributions and mentoring on the practice of online course design and delivery, such as participation or leadership roles in department/college committees related to distance learning at UNF.
- Scholarship, publications, and conference presentations related to evidence-based practices for online teaching.
Nominations
Any person within the University community (students, alumni, faculty, staff, or administration) may nominate a faculty member, or a faculty member may self-nominate for the award.
To nominate an outstanding faculty member for this award, complete the Faculty Awards Online Nomination Form.
The Nomination period for the faculty award is December 19, 2022 - January 13, 2023 at 5:00pm
Note: Please review the award eligiblity section (shown above) for specific requirements that must be met by your nominee.
Nominees
After the close of nominations, UNF Online confirms each nominee’s eligibility and sends a letter of confirmation to eligible nominees and their department chair, including instructions for the nominee to submit their nominee materials. Nominees who are not eligible will be notified.
To be considered for this award, eligible nominees must submit one copy of their materials in pdf format. Nominee materials shall not include more than nine pages with standard margins, double-spaced, and font sizes no smaller than 12-points. It must include the following artifacts in the order listed:
- Three-page (maximum) summary and discussion detailing the nominee’s contributions to excellence in online teaching at UNF based on the award criteria.
- Five-page (maximum) curriculum vitae, including educational background, current rank, and position at UNF.
- One-page signed statement by the faculty member attesting to the accuracy of the information included in the packet and a stipulation on the part of the Chair that the material is consistent with the Chair’s knowledge of the faculty member’s performance. Download and include the Statements of Accuracy document in your nominee packet.
Award Selection
The award recipient is selected by a committee of six college representatives elected by the UNF Faculty Association to serve on the Distance Learning Committee (current DLC members) and the three previous award winners. The award recipient and their Chair will be notified in early spring (March), and the award will be presented at UNF’s Annual Convocation in the Fall (September).
Award Schedule
The schedule for collecting nominations and selecting the award recipient is as follows:
| Award Activity | Completion Date |
|---|---|
| Nomination period starts | Monday: 12/19/2022 |
| Nomination period ends | Friday, 1/13/2023 |
| Eligible/Not eligible nominees are notified | Friday, 1/20/2023 |
| Deadline to submit nominee materials | Sunday, 2/12/2023 |
| Award selection committee deliberates | 3/6/2023 - 3/21/2023 |
| Award recipient and department chair are notified | Monday, 3/27/2023 |
| Florida BOG notified of award recipient | April 2023 |
| Award presented at UNF’s Annual Convocation | September 2023 |