2027 Teaching Excellence Award

Teaching Excellence Award Nomination Form

Teaching Excellence Award Timeline

Nomination and Application Procedures

1. A faculty member may be nominated for the award by other faculty members or an academic administrator. A faculty member may not be nominated by a relative, spouse, or significant other, or place his/her own name in for nomination.  A faculty member is ineligible for the award if he/she has received the award within the past seven years (no later than 2019).
2. The nomination form and procedures are available through the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) at each college. Dissemination of information relative to the award, including all deadlines, will be undertaken by the VPAA.
3. It is the responsibility of the nominator to complete the nomination process by providing the nomination materials listed below and submitting them to the academic vice president by Monday, November 2, 2026.
4. All nominations should include the following materials:
   1. An original nomination form.
   2. A 1-2 page (abridged) resume or vita that provides a concise summary of education, teaching experience, teaching awards, publications, service and other significant contributions.  You may summarize this information using a biographical format. Focus on teaching; include the names of publications, articles, or books, but summarize the rest.  Only the first two pages of a longer submission will be considered.
   3. Three to four letters of support (one to two pages each) as follows:  
      1. One letter must be from the nominator.
      2. One letter which may come from faculty peers or the department chair.
      3. One letter from the academic dean.  
      4. One letter from a student who has completed at least one course with the faculty member as instructor.  If the student is the nominator, that letter is sufficient.
5. Nominees will be vetted with their respective Deans to ensure they are not currently under a Corrective Action Plan or Memo of Expectations.  If so, they will be ineligible.  The Dean’s letter of support is required for the nomination to move forward.  Final nominees will be notified of their nomination, the source, and the criteria to be met for the award by Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
6. The VPAA will forward the nomination to the Campus Review Committee, to be determined by the college president and VPAA, by Monday, November 11, 2026. The Campus Review Committee will review the nominations and comment on each, relative to the candidates’ qualifications for the award. They will rank the candidates and recommend one as the nominee from the College. The nominations of all candidates will be forwarded to the VPAA for review and comment by Monday, January 11, 2027.
7. Upon receipt of all complete nominations from the Campus Review Committee, the VPAA will review all nominations and comment on each, relative to the candidates’ qualifications for the award.
8. Upon completion of the review process, the VPAA will forward to the president of the College all nominations of qualifying faculty by Monday, January 25, 2027. The president will undertake a final review of the nominations and select one candidate from the College to receive the award. Should the VPAA and/or president not concur with the college committee, the recommendation will be returned to the committee for reconsideration. Each nominee will be formally notified of the status of his/her nomination following the president’s review no later than Monday, February 1, 2027. 
9. Each president will submit the award recipient’s name and materials to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for recognition by Monday, February 15, 2027. 
10. The recipients of the NSCS Teaching Excellence Award from each campus will be formally announced by the NSCS directly following the Board meeting via a press release from the System Office.
11. Each award recipient will be recognized at his/her college’s Spring Commencement Ceremony, scheduled for Saturday, May 8, 2027, as the college’s award recipient for the year.  
12. The NSCS Teaching Excellence Award recipients will be formally recognized by the NSCS Board of Trustees at the Board meeting held at their home college.