Students’ Union opens nominations for fall semester teaching awards

By Tina Shaygan, October 2 2017 — 

Fall semester nominations for the Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Awards are now open until Oct. 27. The awards recognize professors and teaching assistants that make a positive contribution to the quality of instruction on campus.

“It means a whole lot to professors and TAs when they’re recognized directly by students,” SU vice-president academic Tina Miller said.

Award recipients are selected each year by the Teaching Excellence Awards committee, which is made up of seven members from the Students’ Legislative Council, three students-at-large and Miller. Applications to sit on the committee are now closed.

Students can nominate professors and teaching assistants who are teaching a class they are currently enrolled in for the award. Nominations can be made online through the SU website. From there, the number of nominations for each professor or teaching assistants are scaled depending on the size of their classroom and faculty.

“The higher-ranking professors and TAs get visits to their classrooms to collect student feedback by the committee members,” Miller said. “That feedback is sent back to the committee and they have one selection meeting where we discuss award recipients.”

Second-year biochemistry student Kelsey Young said he likes the idea of awards for professors and teaching assistants.

“I think it really helps motivate teachers to do well, to take pride in what they do,” Young said.

Miller added that the SU received 568 nominations last year. She said the SU donates $5,000 to the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning on behalf of the winners each year.

A form for nomination submissions can be found here. Winners will be announced in April.