Professional Development

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards Guidelines

馃棑锔 Application deadline: October 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM.

The Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards recognize excellence, innovation, and effectiveness in undergraduate teaching across USF.

AWARD DESCRIPTION

The purpose of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards is to recognize faculty whose teaching demonstrates exceptional commitment to undergraduate student learning and success. The award honors faculty who make meaningful contributions to the undergraduate experience through effective teaching, thoughtful course design, strong support for students, and ongoing improvement in their teaching practice.

The University values teaching that helps students build a strong foundation for success in their majors and beyond, particularly in the areas of critical thinking, problem-solving, and written and oral communication.

Up to eleven award recipients will be selected. Each recipient will receive $2,000 (less normal payroll taxes). The top three applicants with the highest rubric scores will each receive an additional $1,500 (less normal payroll taxes).

Eligibility

Applicants must meet all of the following requirements:

  • Be a full-time continuing faculty member, including Instructors, on any USF campus.
  • Have taught at least two undergraduate courses during the prior academic year.
  • Have held a continuing faculty position during the prior two academic years.
  • Not have received this award within the previous five years.

The following are not eligible:

  • Visiting faculty.
  • Faculty who taught a majority of graduate-level courses during the prior academic year.

SElection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated using the award rubric. Reviewers will consider both the completeness of the application and the strength of the evidence provided in the following areas:

  • Teaching Philosophy and Alignment with Practice: A clear, student-centered philosophy of teaching and strong alignment between that philosophy and the applicant鈥檚 actual teaching practices.
  • Evidence of Effective Teaching and Student Learning: Clear evidence that teaching methods contribute to meaningful student learning and achievement.
  • Commitment to Students and Student Success: Demonstrated support for students through mentoring, accessibility, responsiveness, engagement, and other efforts that help students succeed.
  • Learning-Focused Course Design and Teaching Practice: A thoughtful approach to presenting content, creating opportunities for student practice, and using effective assessment.
  • Innovation and/or Particularly Successful Teaching Approaches: Teaching approaches that are especially effective, innovative, or impactful in supporting student learning.
  • Commitment to Continuous Improvement: Evidence of reflection, responsiveness to feedback, and ongoing efforts to strengthen teaching over time.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Faculty applicants submit a digital portfolio as one combined PDF file.

Required Application Materials

Faculty may self-nominate or be nominated by students or other faculty.

If a faculty member is nominated, they will be notified. Nominated faculty who choose to apply must submit a digital portfolio, and any nomination letter(s) received must be included in the combined PDF file.

  1. Cover Sheet
    • Include the applicant鈥檚 name, rank or title, and unit/program.
  2. Curriculum Vitae or Resume
    • Be sure to highlight teaching related activities.
  3. Teaching Philosophy Statement
    • A statement of 500 to 1,000 words describing the applicant鈥檚 philosophy of teaching. This statement should explain the applicant鈥檚 beliefs about teaching and learning and how those beliefs shape their work with undergraduate students.
  4. Statement on Teaching Practice and Course Design
    • A statement of 500 to 1,000 words describing the applicant鈥檚 teaching activities during the prior academic year. This statement should explain how the applicant鈥檚 teaching methods reflect their philosophy of teaching and should provide evidence of a learning-focused approach to instruction, including content delivery, opportunities for student practice, and assessment of student performance.
  5. Statement on Student Learning and Success
    • A statement of 500 to 1,000 words describing evidence of student success resulting from the applicant鈥檚 teaching. This may include evidence of student learning, skill development, achievement, engagement, persistence, or other meaningful outcomes connected to the applicant鈥檚 efforts.
  6. Statement on Innovation and Continuous Improvement
    • A statement of 500 to 1,000 words explaining how the applicant鈥檚 teaching is innovative and/or particularly successful, and how the applicant has demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement in teaching. Applicants are encouraged to describe changes made in response to feedback, assessment, professional development, or student needs.
  7. Student Evaluation Summary
    • A one-page summary of student evaluation results from the prior two years. This should include both quantitative results and qualitative comments with response rates.
  8. Chair/Director Letter of Support
    • A letter from the chair or director that supports the application and certifies the student evaluation results as presented by the applicant.

Applications that do not include all required materials may receive a reduced score under the rubric category 鈥淎pplication Completeness and Adherence to Submission Requirements.鈥 The student evaluation summary and chair/director letter are required application materials and will be considered as supporting evidence across relevant rubric categories, including application completeness and evidence of teaching effectiveness.

Optional BONUS Materials:

Applicants may submit up to five supplemental materials for consideration under the Supplemental Evidence of Teaching Excellence bonus category, worth up to 10 additional points. Applicants may submit no more than one item from each bonus category listed below. Bonus points will be awarded based on the overall strength, relevance, and significance of the supplemental materials submitted. Submitting the maximum number of materials does not guarantee a higher score.

Eligible bonus categories include:

  • A list of teaching-related publications from the past three years
  • Documentation of classroom observations or peer teaching evaluations
  • Evidence of course or method development designed to address learning deficiencies
  • Student notes/emails/letters demonstrating meaningful impact on student learning, confidence, growth, engagement, support, persistence, or success.
  • A link to a short 5-minute video showing the applicant teaching a class and interacting with students
  • Other teaching-related work not adequately reflected elsewhere in the application

Preparing a Strong Application

Applicants are encouraged to review the rubric carefully before preparing their materials. Strong applications will do more than describe teaching activities. They will provide clear evidence of impact and show alignment across the portfolio.

Applicants should aim to demonstrate:

  • A clear relationship between teaching philosophy and teaching practice.
  • Specific examples of how teaching methods support student learning.
  • Evidence of a strong commitment to student success.
  • A learning-focused approach to course design and assessment.
  • Meaningful innovation or especially effective teaching strategies.
  • Reflection and ongoing improvement over time.

SUBMISSION timeline AND Review PROCESS

Applications and nominations are to be submitted online using the links below.

馃棑锔 Application deadline: October 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM.

For questions, please contact Madeleine Hershberger, Office of the Provost at mhershberger@usf.edu. 

Applications will be reviewed by a committee of five faculty members. The committee will include previous award recipients and will be selected each year by the Provost鈥檚 designee in consultation with the Regional Vice Chancellors. The committee will include representation from all three USF campuses. No committee member may also be an applicant.

The committee will make recommendations to the Provost鈥檚 designee during the fall semester. Applicants will be notified by email from the Office of the Provost during the fall semester. Applicants who are not selected will also be notified by email at the same time.