Excellence In Teaching Award

The Excellence in Teaching Awards at SUNY Cortland are designed to recognize and reward outstanding teaching performance. Unlike other campus awards, this honor focuses solely on exceptional classroom performance, where nominees must demonstrate mastery of teaching techniques and adapt their instructional approach to meet the diverse needs and interests of students. The award highlights the importance of flexibility and innovation in teaching. The recipient will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be recognized at the annual Teaching-Research-Service Awards ceremony in the following December.

Eligibility

• Eligibility is open to one tenure-track and one non-tenure-track faculty member each year, teaching at the graduate or undergraduate level.
• Nominees must have completed at least four semesters of teaching at SUNY Cortland prior to the year of nomination.
• There will be a one-year waiting period before a nominee who did not receive the award may be nominated again.
• Self-nominations are not accepted.

Criteria for Selection

The sole criterion for the Excellence in Teaching Award is skill in teaching. In the selection of persons for this award, the following criteria will be considered:

• There must be positive evidence that the nominee performs superbly in the classroom.
• The nominee must maintain a flexible instructional style that readily adapts to students' needs, interests, and problems.
• Nominees must set high standards for students and help them attain academic excellence.
• Nominees must work actively with individual students to help them improve their scholarly and/or artistic performance.
• Consideration will be given based on the number of students per course, and different teaching techniques employed in various courses as well as the quality, quantity, and difficulty of the tasks or work assigned to students.
• The Faculty Development Committee uses a Teaching Observation Report to evaluate nominees.

Selection Process

Nominations for this award can arise from faculty, students, or administration based on continuing and recognized teaching quality. Names of potential candidates will be sought through a campus-wide email announcement using the link noted for the Excellence in Teaching Nomination Form (Adobe Online). 

1. FDC members will make classroom observations once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester at the convenience of the nominee. Note: It is the nominee's responsibility to communicate with their observer about dates/times not relevant for observations and/or identify best times for observations during their teaching schedule for fall and spring.
2. The committee will complete deliberations in late spring, and all nominees will be notified of the outcome immediately.

Documentation Required of Candidates

Nominees will not be considered unless all documentation is provided to the Faculty Development Committee in the approved form by the deadline.
Candidates who accept their nomination are asked to provide the following supporting evidence by March 15, or the following business day if the due date should fall on a weekend. 

1. Syllabi for all courses taught in the current academic year (fall/spring).
2. Statement of Teaching Philosophy of no more than two pages.
3. Supporting evidence that documents the effectiveness of teaching techniques. Evidence can include, but is not limited to: teaching materials; student work and/or evaluations that target the specific category for which the nomination has been made; and/or students’ statements on how the nominee’s work in the targeted category has enhanced their learning.
4. A minimum of two years' course teaching evaluations (CTEs) from the candidate's most recent teaching assignments.
5. A letter of support from either the appropriate Chair or Dean.