Vice Chancellor's Awards
for Teaching Excellence

1 Title of Awards

1.1 Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Teaching Excellence.

2 Definition of Excellent Teaching

2.1 For the purposes of this award, excellent teaching is taken to mean academic activities that facilitate high quality student learning.

2.2 It will, for instance, encourage motivation to learn, instil a desire to understand, persevere, pursue independent study, develop a respect for truth and foster a desire to pursue further learning.

3 Purpose and Nature of the Awards

3.1 Three Awards have been established to give prominence to the importance of high quality teaching in the University and to reward and encourage excellence.

3.2 Each award will consist of a plaque and a grant, presented at an appropriate occasion.

3.3 A sum of K20,000 has been reserved for the three types of award:

• For individuals involved in high quality teaching.
• For innovative teaching projects.
• For high quality teaching performance by an academic unit.
3.4 The grants will be accessible to the awardees through a University account and may be used to further their quest for academic excellence.

3.5 Reports will be required on the expenditure of the grants.

3.6 Awardees may be required to conduct an appropriate staff development exercise for the benefit of academic colleagues, and agreement to do this is a condition of nomination.

4 Eligibility

4.1 All academic staff who hold an appointment of 0.5 or more, and conjoint/seconded staff, with at least two years’ experience at UPNG, may be nominated.

4.2 Awardees may not re-nominate or be re-nominated within three years of receiving an award.

5 Nomination

5.1 Nominations will be accepted on the Nomination form from the nominee or a nominator who may be a student, member of staff or a graduate.

6 Procedure

6.1 The Teaching and Learning Centre will be responsible for the administration of the award scheme and for the establishment of a Teaching Awards Committee to recommend to the Vice Chancellor on selection of awardees. However, the Committee reserves the right to co-opt appropriate additional expertise.

6.2 The Committee will seek nominations by advice to Deans, and the SRC, and through TUTW. Nomination Forms will be available from the Teaching and Learning Centre. Completed forms should be returned to the Director, Teaching and Learning Centre.

6.3 Nominations will close on 30 September, annually.

6.4 The Committee will invite submissions from nominees.

6.5 The Teaching and Learning Centre will provide a Student Evaluation of Teaching service, which is available to evaluate the quality of teaching.

6.6 The Teaching Awards Committee will review submissions and recommend awardees to the Vice Chancellor, whose decision will be final. The Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre will act as Executive Officer for the awards.

7 Individual Awards

7.1 Submissions for individual awards itself will provide a justified statement of the applicant’s claim to teaching excellence. The submission document is to comply with the following format:
• Limited to 20 pages including Curriculum Vitae and two references.
• The Curriculum Vitae must be no more than 3 A4 pages referencing the nominees’ educational qualifications, career history, teaching positions and teaching experience.
• Two references (of no more than one A4 page per reference) must be from persons who are able to comment on the nominee’s teaching in terms of the criteria set out below. One of these references must be the Dean of the School.
7.2 The submission should be referenced to a teaching portfolio of evidence to support statements in the submission. One set only of the portfolio is required.

7.3 The submission must at least refer to teaching over the last two years and may also refer to teaching achievements over a longer period; the evaluation will make reference to attainments over the applicant’s full teaching career. The submission documents should address the following criteria, used by the Teaching Awards Committee to assess excellence in teaching and should be bolded as headings.


• Interest and enthusiasm in undertaking teaching and promoting student learning.
• Ability to arouse curiosity and to stimulate independent learning and the development of critical thought.
• Ability to organise course material and present it cogently and imaginatively.
• Command of subject matter including the incorporation of recent developments in knowledge into teaching.
• Innovation in the design and delivery of units.
• Participation in the effective and sympathetic guidance and advising of students.
• Provision of appropriate assessment with worthwhile and timely feedback to students on their learning.
• Professional and systematic approach to teaching including responsiveness to peer and student evaluation.
7.4 Teaching Portfolio

Argument should be made through a Teaching Portfolio, which does not exceed 10 pages. Refereed comments should be included with the Portfolio. This comment should be provided from preferably academically senior persons familiar with the applicant’s teaching, and should directly address each of the criteria listed above.

7.5 The Teaching Portfolio itself should provide evidence in support of the criteria listed above. The form of the Portfolio must contain:

• Teaching philosophy - A statement of the applicant’s beliefs about teaching, and the source of these beliefs in the literature and experience;
• Teaching approaches - An outline of the broad approaches used by the applicant;
• Curriculum development - An explanation of the applicant’s usual approach to, and involvement in curriculum development;
• Undergraduate teaching - A description of subjects taught, student numbers, teaching practices and materials, availability to students, and innovations;
• Honours and postgraduate supervision - An outline of student numbers, levels, extent of involvement, and availability to students;
• Assessment of student performance - A statement about views on assessment, current practices and samples of instruments and feedback, recent student assessment statistics, links between assessment practice and beliefs about teaching;
• Student evaluation of teaching - An outline of current practice, samples of instruments used, recent results (including the contexts in which they were obtained and applicant’s level of responsibility) and reflections thereon and responses thereto;
• Peer and other evaluations of teaching - As for student evaluation of teaching above.
• Scholarship in teaching and learning - Evidence might include participation in professional development activities relating to teaching and learning, mentoring colleagues, contributions to the literature on teaching and learning, invitations to teach elsewhere, research into teaching and learning, and participation in teaching committees.
• Reports from two referees, which validate the evidence provided in the Portfolio.

8 Innovative Teaching Projects

8.1 Submissions for Innovative Teaching Projects will provide a justified statement of the project’s claim to innovative and exemplary teaching practice. The submission document is to comply with the following format:

• Limited to 10 pages in length. The submission should be referenced to a project portfolio of evidence to support statements in the submission.
• The submission documents should address the following criteria, used by the Academic Unit to assess innovative practice and should be bolded as headings.
  1. Context in which the project was developed and the outcomes it achieves.
  2. How the project embodies interest, enthusiasm and vitality and reflects an innovative approach.
  3. How the project improves teaching and learning.
  4. How the project incorporates current developments in the field.
  5. How the project is organised and presented in such a way that it engages students’ interest and active participation.
  6. How the project stimulates curiosity, independent learning or creativity in students.
  7. How the design and implementation of the project has been responsive to peer and student evaluation.
8.2 References are required from two persons who are able to comment on the project’s effectiveness in terms of the above criteria, but who are not directly involved in the project. One of these must be a Dean.

8.3 The Project Portfolio should provide the evidence to support the submission. There are no particular restrictions on the form of the Portfolio. However, it must be identified with the Project’s name, have a coherence to its contents and be generally limited to 10 pages.

8.4 A statement describing the philosophy underpinning the project and its sources in the literature and/or experience.

8.5 A description of current practices (samples of evaluation instruments and evidence of their validity should be appended).


• description of the contexts and stages in the term in which the evaluations were conducted; reflections on the evaluations; and
• Response to these and past evaluations.

9 Quality Teaching by an Academic Unit

9.1 The Academic Unit Award is intended for use by a successful School in support of its teaching and learning activities.

9.2 The award is open to all Schools and will be judged on the submission of an Academic Unit teaching portfolio. The portfolio should be within the context of the School’s strategic plan and should specifically address the following indicators:

• The extent to which teaching and learning is reviewed within the Academic Unit (e.g. peer review, student perception of teaching, student perception of research supervision, external input);
• Course outcomes as assessed by evaluation, including employer surveys or by other peer review;
• Extent of curriculum review and development;
• Involvement in innovative teaching initiatives including innovative assessment;
• Participation in staff development relating to teaching and learning;
• Evidence of systematic mentoring in the AU;
• Attraction of visitors with an interest in teaching;
• Specific policies and budgetary practices, which promote teaching and learning.
• Evidence of the achievement of outcomes relating to the promotion of teaching.

10 Value of Awards

10.1 The Individual Awards will include:
• A plaque
• A grant of up to K2,500 to be used in the pursuit of further teaching excellence and innovation.
10.2 The Innovative Teaching Project Awards will include:

• A plaque
• A grant of up to K2,500 to be used in the pursuit of further Teaching project excellence.
10.3 The Quality Teaching by an Academic Unit Awards will include:
• A plaque
• A grant of K5,000 to be used by the School/Academic Unit in the pursuit of further excellence as a teaching unit.