The Call for Awards Nomination is now open for our 6th Annual Excellence in Online Learning Conference (EOLC). The purpose of these awards is to recognize UTRGV faculty for their exemplary teaching and innovative practices in the use of online instructional technology to improve student success in online courses. Recipients will also receive a stipend via ePAF. Please note that the stipend is subject to standard deductions and based on the university’s payment guidelines.
Award Categories
Faculty Excellence Award in Online Teaching – This award recognizes, encourages, and rewards superior teachers and their contributions to the development and delivery of exceptional online teaching and learning. The recipient provides models of excellence for fellow faculty. The recipient courses use well-designed course materials and instructional strategies while demonstrating a rapport with students and effective achievement of desired learning outcomes using best practices. There will be one award in this category – and includes a $1,000 stipend.
Hybrid Teaching Award – This award recognizes exceptional hybrid teaching. The recipient provides models of excellence for fellow faculty. The recipient must have designed and taught one or more hybrid courses. The course(s) utilizes well-designed course materials and instructional strategies for both the online and face-to-face components while demonstrating a rapport with students and effective achievement of desired hybrid course(s) learning outcomes using best practices. There will be one award in this category – and includes a $1,000 stipend.
Innovation Award – This award is to celebrate Dr. De La Rosa’s love of education and lasting contribution to online learning, leadership, and gamification and to remember his research that focused on the perception, interaction, and personality of online students. This award recognizes innovative practices that serve as a model for online teaching and learning. The recipient must have designed and applied this innovative approach for at least two semesters in an online course. In addition to implementing the strategy, the recipient will provide evidence of improvements attributable to the method in the form of overall increases in effectiveness, efficiency, and student achievement. The new approach should inspire innovation, support implementation, improve outcomes, and enable accessibility. There will be one award in this category – and includes a $1,000 stipend.
Open Educational Resources Award – This award recognizes exceptional use of Open Education Resources, tools, and practices. We encourage nominations beyond Open Education Resources including other areas of openness, fostering innovative open initiatives and practices. The recipient provides models of excellence for fellow faculty. The recipient must have designed and taught previously one or more courses that apply these principles. The course(s) utilizes best practices in the implementation and design of OER course materials and instructional strategies. The adoption or creation of OER has resulted in a more cost-effective solution for students while still meeting the desired learning outcomes using best practices. There will be one award in this category – and includes a $1,000 stipend.
UTRGV Center for Online Learning and Teaching Technology 