Criteria and Guidelines
PURPOSE
The purpose of the TSUS Regents’ Teacher Award is to honor exceptional instructors at TSUS component institutions. The focus of the program is to reward outstanding performance in their roles as teachers, regardless of the size of mission of the institution, as evidenced by their dedication, skill and knowledge of curriculum.
AWARD
Winners of the Regents’ Teacher Award will receive:
- The designation of Texas State University System Regents’ Teacher, a title they will maintain during the duration of their service within TSUS.
- A $5,000 award, a framed Board of Regents resolution, and a commemorative medallion bearing the seal of the System.
- Formal recognition at a regular meeting of the Board of Regents
ELIGIBILITY
Nominees must be full-time faculty members with at least five consecutive years of teaching experience at the institution. Additionally, the candidates will demonstrate a record of distinguished teaching.
SELECTION PROCESS
- The Texas State University System Foundation (TSUSF) Executive Director will call for nominations for the award no later than February 1 of each year.
- Utilizing the institution’s existing framework for recognizing and awarding excellence, the local committee will select a limited number of nominees from whom additional information (outlined below) will be requested. The committee will assess the materials on the basis of the selection criteria and will forward their recommendations to the president.
- The president, in turn, will make his/her recommendation to the TSUSF Executive Director no later than May 1. The Executive Director will forward the nomination packets to the Evaluation Committee.
- Applications will be reviewed and ranked by the Evaluation Committee, consisting of the TSUS Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and TSUSF Executive Director. Their rankings shall be completed by July 1. (Note: The Evaluation Committee’s composition will change when there are at least five recipients of the Regents’ Teacher Award, at which time it will consist of previous recipients.)
- The Executive Director will forward the rankings and Executive Summaries to the TSUSF Board of Directors as soon as possible. Prior to August 31, the Board of Directors will determine the number of Regents’ Teacher Awards for the current year, and select the winner(s), with the goal of announcing the winner(s) the November Board of Regents meeting.
- Presentation of the award to occur at the February Board of Regents’ meeting the following year.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The materials assembled for consideration should offer a summary of the nominee’s best performance in teaching. Each nominee will submit his/her portfolio electronically, including and limited to the following areas.
- Narrative presentation including philosophy of teaching, courses developed, and teaching methodology.
- Description of innovative teaching materials, methods, uses of technology, etc.
- Formal standard evaluations (students, peers, supervisors).
- Evidence of outstanding accomplishment of learning outcomes.
- Number of courses and number of students taught per year. • Citations or other acknowledgements by former students (letters, e-mails, cards, etc.).
- Other assessments (licensure examination records of former students, letters of commendation from peers inside and/or outside System component, etc.).
- Teaching awards/recognition.
- Other applicable documentation.
- Executive Summary for review by Board of Regents and TSUSF Board of Directors consisting of a condensed curriculum vitae and a compilation of the candidate’s teaching achievements.
NOMINATION PACKET
Following review and concurrence by the institution president, a formal nomination packet will be submitted to the TSUSF Executive Director. The packet, which will be submitted via e-mail, file sharing service or mailed on a storage device in PDF format, will be no longer than 25 pages. Order of submission and recommended page lengths are as follows:
- Letter of Transmittal (from President): Up to 2 pages
- Curriculum Vitae: Up to 3 pages
- Portfolio (materials outlined above under Selection Criteria): Up to 10 pages
- Letters of Recommendation from colleagues, students, etc.: Up to 8 pages
- Other material of candidate’s choice Up to 2 pages Executive Summary: Up to 2 pages
- TOTAL: 25 pages maximum
An institution may nominate no more than one candidate per 140 full-time faculty members, based on Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data from the previous fall semester. Thus, Lamar may nominate two faculty members for the 2021 TSUS Regents’ Teacher Award.