Guidelines
Go to Recipients
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence is to recognize excellence in teaching in Virginia’s community colleges.
II. THE AWARD
The Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence is awarded annually to one teaching faculty member in the VCCS who distinctly represents the teaching excellence found at VCCS college(s). The award provides the recipient with a VCCS stole and $5,000. One nomination per campus will be accepted.
III. ELIGIBILITY
Eligible applicants:
Are full-time teaching faculty with unrestricted rank and salary proposals,
Possess a minimum of five years of full-time VCCS service during which at least 75% of the workload was devoted to teaching, and
Are recommended by the president of the employing institution
Note: The VCCS will consider one applicant per campus.
IV. SELECTION
Selection of the Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence recipient is made by a committee comprised of one college president, one academic vice president, two deans (one academic and one student services), three faculty members, one student, and the Director of Professional Development.
V. CRITERIA
The criteria on which the recipient is selected reflect instructional effectiveness, student focus, discipline competence, and personal attributes. More detailed information about the criteria is included below.
VI. APPLICATION PROCESS
Application Packet
The completed application packet for the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence must include these two items (additional materials are not accepted).
1. An electronic information document containing:
- 150-word abstract of information in the proposal,
- Narrative that provides compelling evidence of the nominee’s excellence (Maximum length is 5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins all around. It is strongly recommended that the material in the narrative be organized by the four criteria presented.),
- A syllabus of a class taught within the last five years, and
- One-page letter of support from the president of the nominee’s institution (screen shot of the actual letter with the president’s signature).
2. An electronic demonstration document featuring the nominee engaged in teaching that demonstrates aspects of the four criteria listed below. To strengthen the connection to the four criteria, the applicant should consider organizing the document by those criteria. The demonstration document must be submitted in the format specified. Examples could include:
- Video of the applicants teaching or working with student(s). Maximum length is 6 minutes. [This must be submitted as a Quicktime (.mov) file.], or
- Screen shots from an online class, copied into a MS Word document, no more than 10 pages, or
- Text from student discussion boards, copied into a MS Word document, no more than 10 pages, or
- A Powerpoint presentation.
Submission Process
- All documents (information and demonstration) are to be burned onto a CD that is to be sent by the Chief Academic Officer of the college to the VCCS Director of Professional Development. It must be received by 5:00 p.m. on April 25. The deadline date is the same every year. If the due date falls on a weekend, then the following Monday will serve as the due date.
- Application materials on campus nominees from multi-campus colleges are to be submitted in one group representing the college by the Chief Academic Officer of the college.
- Nomination packets that are incomplete, do not comply with the submission requirements, exceed the specified length, or include additional materials beyond those required will not be considered.
VII. CONNECTION TO THE SCHEV OUTSTANDING FACULTY AWARD
It is expected that the preparation of materials for the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence will position a college and its nominee(s) to address related criteria for the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award.
VIII. SCHEDULE
November 15 Information on the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence for the
upcoming year is announced and posted on the VCCS Professional
Development web site.
April 25 Nomination packets are due to the VCCS Director of Professional
Development at the system office.
June The Selection Committee chooses recipient.
November Chancellor announces recipient at the State Board for Community
Colleges Annual Meeting. Additional announcements are distributed
through the VCCS Office of Institutional Advancement and the VCCS
Office of Professional Development web site.
IX. DETAILED CRITERIA FOR THE CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR TEACHING
EXCELLENCE
The four criteria given below will be given equal weight by the Selection Committee.
1. Instructional Effectiveness:
- encourages active learning
- respects diverse talents and ways of knowing
- creates and offers many options for learning
- gives prompt feedback
- emphasizes time on task
- assesses student learning through documentation
- promotes a complete range of thinking skills
- integrates the acquisition of basic academic success skills and academic values into course work
- integrates technology appropriately into teaching and learning
- understands current trends and issues related to pedagogy and the discipline
2. Student Focus:
- promotes positive student relationships
- encourages cooperation among students (through group work or projects, collaborative
learning communities, or other mechanisms)
- engages learners as full partners in the learning process, with learners assuming responsibility for their own choices
- communicates high expectations
- encourages personal development, work and career preparation
- creates change in learners
- engages students in activities outside of the classroom such as clubs, organizations, tutoring, field trips, or similar activities
3. Discipline Competence:
- possesses specific knowledge and skills
- maintains currency through discipline-related professional development
4. Personal Attributes:
- models life-long learning
- engages in positive working relationships with students, colleagues, departments, campuses, and/or community
- affirms and participates in shaping a college’s culture (mission, vision, and values)
- demonstrates clear reasoning skills
For more information on the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, contact
Ms. Nan Ottenritter, Director of Professional Development, at nottenritter@vccs.edu.
The recipient of the 2008 Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence is:
Martin D. Zahn
Associate Professor of Biology
Thomas Nelson Community College
Mr. Zahn has received the 2008 Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence.He was awarded the $5,000 check, an academic stole and medallion at the State Board for Community Colleges’ meeting in November 2008. Congratulations, Marty!
Congratulations to Mr. Martin Zahn, Associate Professor of Biology, Thomas Nelson Community College.
Professor Zahn is a dynamic teacher who embraces change when it comes to teaching. That sense of exploration has led him to transform the way biology is taught at Thomas Nelson. Fifteen-years ago he taught a traditional college biology course using the well-known tools of the day – a blackboard with chalk, an overhead projector with transparencies and many handouts.
Today, Marty teaches a general biology course on-line, a course that he developed himself. What makes his course so special is it also includes an on-line laboratory component. His online biology course has enabled students to complete programs of study at a distance.
The United States military has a significant presence in the Hampton Roads area and Thomas Nelson has many students who are active duty military. By providing this on-line biology opportunity, students are able to continue their academic progress while deployed on ships and installations far, far away.
Mr. Zahn’s courses are content-current. He is always seeking new ways to improve his instruction. And you know when students report that they truly like and appreciate what he does – meaning that they are actually enjoying the study of science! – Marty Zahn must be doing the right things.Congratulations Marty
Dr. James O'Brian
Professor of Psychology
Tidewater Community College
Dr. O'Brian received the 2007 Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence.He was awarded the $5,000 check, an academic stole and medallion at the State Board for Community Colleges’ meeting in November 2008. Congratulations, Jim!