Teaching Excellence & Innovation Awards

Awards consist of a cash prize of $2,000.00 each. In any one year, however, the adjudication committee may advise the Provost that only one award be given. A faculty member may win the award once only during the course of their career.

A master plaque listing the names of award recipients will be displayed in a prominent place on campus. The recipients will be honoured formally at Convocation.

Beginning in 2021/22, there are two nomination categories. Up to two awards are available for any faculty member with a continuing appointment, either tenured or tenure-track. One award is available for instructors holding full-time or part-time limited-term appointments.

Faculty members, deans, unit heads, field supervisors, alumni and students will be invited to submit nominations. Faculty members may not apply for the award on their own behalf, although they may provide documentation in their own words as to why they feel they are deserving of the award.

Unsuccessful nominations will be carried forward to the following year’s competition (one year only). Nominees will have the opportunity to update their nomination package to reflect their latest teaching endeavours towards meeting the criteria for the award.

The adjudication criteria for the Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation are based upon a comprehensive, robust view of teaching that includes in‐class instruction but also takes into account those activities that support teaching that occur outside of the classroom.

1. Educational Leadership: Educational leadership involves leading significant transformation in teaching and learning at an institutional, disciplinary, community, and/or societal level. Educational leadership fosters and supports change, and leads to a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse post-secondary education landscape.
2. Teaching Excellence: Teaching excellence refers to the intentional actions of an instructor to create an exceptional learning environment through engaging in pedagogical practices designed to maximize student learning. Excellent teachers engage in inclusive practices, scholarly teaching and ongoing reflection of their own teaching practice.
3. Educational Innovation: Educational innovation is the novel execution of ideas that contribute to more effective teaching and learning practices. The result of educational innovation impacts people in academia and beyond to reach mutual goals.

The Teaching Award Committee will be selected by the Okanagan Provost and Vice-President Academic or their designate, who will further select the members of the committee at their sole discretion. The committee may include past award recipients.

Nominators complete and submit to the Dean of the nominee’s Faculty the Intent to Nominate Form

Nominators complete and submit to the Dean of the nominee’s Faculty the following supporting documents:

1. Nomination form
2. Letter of nomination
3. Selected letters of reference from students and/or colleagues (no more than 6 letters in total)
4. A letter of support from the nominee’s Head (not needed if nominee’s Head is the nominator)

The nominee will complete and submit to their Dean the following supporting documents:

1. Teaching philosophy (max. 2 pages)
2. Personal statement explaining how the criteria is met with specific examples (max. 3 pages)
3. The nominee’s CV in UBC format edited to explain teaching excellence (no more than 15 pages)
4. Overview of TEQ/SEOTs highlighting excellence over time (max. 2 pages)

Please refer to the above stated dates for the process deadlines.

• Nominations exceeding the number of pages suggested in the above sections will not be considered.
• Nomination packages that are late, incomplete, or not conforming to the guidelines above will not be reviewed by the adjudication committee.
• The entire nomination package must be submitted electronically to the Provost office at ubco.provost@ubc.ca
• Hard copies are not required and will not be considered.