Award for Excellence in Online Teaching

The award from 2020 for online instruction

NOMINATIONS ARE NOT CURRENTLY BEING ACCEPTED

The deadline for nominations for this award was October 31, 2023.

Introduction to Award

Note: Only “INT” or fully distance education courses are eligible for the Award for Excellence in Online Teaching.

The Office of Distance and Extended Learning is pleased to support the annual Award for Excellence in Online Teaching.

The award recipient will receive $2500, and up to two runners-up, each will receive $1250 at a recognition reception. All recipients will be asked to present their work to the campus community.

The awardees may be asked to assume a leadership role in promoting online instruction at Texas State and serve on the award selection committee.

Purpose of Award

The award recognizes and rewards superior online teaching, provides models of excellence for fellow faculty, and encourages all faculty to continue to improve and advance their online teaching pedagogy.

Nominations

To nominate yourself for the award, follow the submission directions below. You will need to complete a nomination form and submit documentation for one online course you taught in Fall 2022, Spring 2023, or Summer 2023. It is recommended that you review the nomination form and documentation requirements well in advance of submission.

Apply by following the directions below.

Note: You will be required to provide access to a course site that allows judges to assess the quality and frequency of your interaction with students.

Submission Directions

  1. Download and add comments to the Quality of Course Design Rubric. Your comments should summarize how your course addresses each point in the rubric. The rubric, along with your comments, the other nomination materials, and your course site, will be used to judge your submission.
  2. Prepare a Student Feedback on Course Effectiveness Report. Refer to these guidelines for preparing this document.
  3. Complete the Nomination Form online, and attach the supporting documentation described above.
    • Note: Nomination Forms that do not include the required documentation (Quality of Course Design Rubric and Student Feedback on Course Effectiveness Report) will not be considered. If you have any questions regarding the preparation of the documentation, please contact the Office of Distance and Extended Learning.
  4. Follow these directions for Canvas: 
    • In your Course site in Canvas, please be prepared to add members of the Award Selection Committee to your course, so judges who log in can examine all aspects of your course.

Timeline

  • Accept nomination form and documentation: May 9, 2023 - October 31, 2023.
  • Judge entries: November - December 2023
  • Announce award recipients: January 2024

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to receive an award, courses must

  • be developed and taught by faculty who teach a minimum of half-time or have a continuing appointment;
  • be 85% or more online; and
  • have been taught online in Fall 2022, Spring 2023, or Summer 2023.

In addition, a faculty member may only nominate one course for consideration.

Award Criteria

The award is based exclusively on work conducted while serving a teaching appointment at Texas State University. The criteria for the award include

  • quality of the online course design,
  • instructional and technology innovation, and
  • student feedback on course effectiveness.

Award Selection Committee

The Distance and Extended Learning Steering Committee appoints a selection committee. The committee is comprised of the following:

  • Committee chair
  • Two to three faculty with demonstrated online teaching experience (may be filled using previous award recipients, and the faculty representatives must represent different departments)
  • One representative from the Office of Distance and Extended Learning

Eligibility of Previous Recipients

A previous recipient (whether winner or runner-up) of the Award for Excellence in Online Teaching

  • may receive the award more than once, but not more than once every three years; and
  • cannot receive the award for the same course more than once (e.g., if a faculty member was recipient of the award for work done on TXST 101, he/she may not win the award subsequently for TXST 101 but may nominate a different course).

2022 Awardees

Our 2022 awardees were the following:

  • Recipient: Dr. Debarun Majumdar, Professor, Department of Sociology
  • Runner-up: Dr. Vince Bagnulo, Lecturer, Department of Political Science
  • Runner-up: Daris Hale, Senior Lecturer, School of Music

Read more about 2022's awardees on the 2022 Award page.

2023 Awardees

Our 2023 awardees were the following:

  • Recipient: Jessica Grace Robinson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Curriculum and Instruction 
  • Runner-up: Dr. Lauren Brentell, Senior Lecturer, Department of English
  • Runner-up: Dr. Barbara Hewit, Senior Lecturer, Department of Health Informatics and Information Management

Read more about 2023's awardees on the 2023 Award page.