USI » Academic Advising

USI Outstanding Advisor Award

Awards

Each year, the Faculty Awards for Service, Teaching, and Research Committee will be charged with selecting winners of the USI Outstanding Advisor Award. The budget for awards will be $5000 annually, and up to 5 awards of $1000 may be granted each year. The awards may be taken by the winners as a stipend, or as professional development funds.

Eligibility

All full-time faculty and professional advising staff are eligible. There is no length of service requirement; newly hired advisors will be considered alongside advisors that have been employed at USI for many years. An award winner will not be eligible for an additional award for at least 5 years.

Nomination Form

Nominations may come from students or colleagues (to include department chairs, program directors, and deans). The nomination form is a simple letter with rationale, and every nominee will be given the opportunity to submit a packet.
Nominator should provide a first-person account of why the nominee is deserving of the award.
Nominators should discuss the following criteria for outstanding academic advisors:
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Availability to advisees, faculty, or staff
- Frequency of contact with advisees
- Appropriate referral activity
- Use and dissemination of appropriate information sources
- Caring, helpful attitude toward advisees, faculty, and staff
- Monitoring of student progress toward academic and career goals
- Mastery of institutional regulations, policies, and procedures

Nominee Packet

Once nominated and contacted by Academic Affairs, the nominee is responsible for compiling and submitting a packet of materials for consideration by the Faculty Awards for Service, Teaching and Research Committee.

In addition to the completed nomination form received by Academic Affairs, the packet of materials shall include:

Curriculum vitae, to include only materials that pertain directly to academic advising, plus number of years in academic advising and percentage of time spent advising. (2 pages maximum)
Letter of support from dean, department chair, program director, or other appropriate person. (1 page)
Personal statement on advising by the nominee (1 page)

Nominees will be responsible for submitting six (6) copies of the packet to Academic Affairs by the posted deadline.

Selection Process

The Faculty Awards for Service, Teaching, and Research Committee will serve as the Selection Committee. They will determine which advisors best exemplify the criteria listed above for outstanding academic advising.

Award Timeline

Student/Colleague nomination deadline: One week after priority registration ends in November - DECEMBER 2, 2011
Academic Affairs approaches nominees to submit packets for consideration.
Nominee packet submission deadline: LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY
Winners chosen and announced: By the last day in February

Nomination Forms are available HERE or in the Academic Colleges, University Division, or Academic Affairs