Pine Technical College
Policy and Procedure


Policy Number: 226 Date: February 2, 2006 Revision Date:
Division/Department: Academic Affairs Author: Mary Jo Mettler, Chris York, Melissa Felland
Subject: College Awards for Excellence

Authorities:
MSCF Contract

Office of the Chancellor Guidelines

Purpose:
To establish guidelines for the solicitation, review and approval of proposals, and to evaluate results and outcomes for faculty Awards for Excellence

Policy:
Awards for Excellence are intended to provide the campus president with the means for rewarding faculty achievements “above and beyond the normal requirements of the individual’s position(s).” In making these awards, the president should ensure that the college and system principles of excellence have been articulated, and that faculty outcomes have been clearly and appropriately demonstrated.

The contract and legislative language that provided for these compensation awards requires the following of all proposals:

1. The proposal must involve work that is above and beyond the normal requirements of the individual’s position(s); and

2. The successful achievement of the objectives or outcomes will promote excellence in student learning; and

3. The proposal must clearly identify the methods to be used for assessing outcomes.

Procedure:

1. A Call for Proposal is solicited from all MSCF faculty in the Fall Semester (See Appendix A).

2. Proposal is sent to college VP of Academic Affairs for approval.

3. The president, vice president and Shared Governance Council chair appoint an Awards for Excellence committee. To ensure a fair and professional review process, the composition of each Review Committee for each round of reviews will consist of faculty from a rotating pool who do not have proposals under consideration.

4. The college Awards for Excellence Committee will review the approved proposal. In the event that the Review Committee recommends improvements to a proposal, the faculty member will have a five day window to submit change for consideration. Those who do not meet this deadline can resubmit for the next round.

5. If approved, the faculty member will begin the proposed work or project after receipt of notice from the College President. Upon completion of the project and its assessments, the faculty member will provide summative documentation and outline the project outcomes for the Committee to review. Recommendations will be forwarded to the President. Awards will be issued for projects receiving positive recommendations. In the event a project receives a negative or neutral recommendation, the President will make the final determination as to whether an award is issued or not.

6. The college will be expected to provide annual reports to the Office of the Chancellor which, at a minimum, include the following for approved proposals and completed projects.

Approved Proposals
Faculty name, award amount encumbered title of project, brief project description, guiding principles, and projected outcomes.

Completed Projects
Faculty name, award amount paid title of project, brief project description, guiding principles, and documented outcomes.

Responsibilities:

Dissemination:

Reviewed by Leadership Team: 2-13-06
Reviewed by Faculty Shared Governance: 2-14-06

Approved: ___________________________________ Date: 2-24-06
Robert L. Musgrove, Ph.D., President

Call for Proposals
Announcement of Awards for Excellence

Purpose
Awards for Excellence are intended to provide the campus president with the means for rewarding faculty achievements “above and beyond the normal requirements of the individual’s position.” Proposals are welcome from all instructional program areas. Proposals are encouraged from individuals or from faculty teams representing programs, departments; they may also involve faculty from other institutions.

Proposals must include the following four characteristics:

Eligibility
All full- and part-time faculty members at Pine Technical College are eligible. Individual faculty members pursuing teaching innovation projects are encouraged to include at least one other faculty or staff member in some capacity; for example, as an outside peer reviewer for the project, a consultant on instructional design, or an administrative partner to overcome barriers.

Funding
Awards will be limited to no more than $5,000, to be paid as salary compensation only after the college president Review Committee have accepted and approved the faculty member’s report of outcomes. If the proposal assumes or is dependent upon additional resources or equipment, the kinds, amounts, and sources of these additional resources or funds must be identified in the application.

Application/Implementation Timeline
Proposals might be implemented over one or two semesters, and may or may not include work to be done in summer

Fiscal Year Application Deadline Project Approved Implementation Final Report Due
2005-06 March 15 April 1 Summer 2006 September 15
2005-05 April 30 May 15
(funds encumbered FY06)		 Summer/Fall 2006 December 15
2006-07 August 1st August 15 Fall 2006 January 15
2006-07 October 15 November 1 Spring 2007 June 1

Proposal Format
Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their ideas with other faculty, the Chief Academic Officer, or College President before applying. All applications must follow the format below.

Proposal Section Proposal should address: Suggested Length
Project Description What issue or problem is being addressed?
What are your goals and methods?
What activities will address your goals?
How is the project innovative for your own development, your program or the college?
Who will be involved: how many faculty, students, etc.?		 One Page
Rationale/Evidence Why is the project important? How do you know it is important, what is your evidence (i.e., how has the issue or problem been documented and how will success be measured)?
What are the conditions or contexts in which the project will be taking place?
What is the need, both locally and in a system or national context?
How is the project linked to college and/or MnSCU priorities and initiatives?
How will the innovation or change be sustained after the project funding has ended?		 Half Page
Anticipated difficulties What kinds of hurdles or limitations do you expect to encounter?
How would you address them?		 Half Page
Timeline of Activities When are activities planned?
How can you assure the project will be completed within the proposed timeframe?		 Half Page
Outcomes What specific outcomes do you want to achieve?
How will your planned activities achieve these outcomes?
How will your plan promote excellence in student learning?
*Each outcome must be matched to an assessment in your evaluation plan.		 Half Page
Evaluation plan How will you know that you have achieved your outcomes?
What kind of evidence will you gather?
What kinds of assessments will you use?
Is there an assessment matched to each outcome?
What is the impact on campus or the surrounding community?		 One Page
Dissemination With whom will you share this information?
How will the project be shared with other? Consider campus professional development days, conference presentations, articles, electronic portfolio.
How will [LIST MEMBERS OF CAMPUS, DISCIPLINE/PROGRAM, OR SYSTEM COMMUNITY] be included or informed of the dissemination?		 Half Page
Budget How much money will the entire project require?
What resources, equipment, or other funding are you requesting from other sources?
How did you arrive at this budget?
Does the budget include up to 12% for administrative overhead (if required by your college or university)?		 One Page
Total Proposals will likely range from 6 to 8 pages in length.  

Budget Preparation Guidelines

Budget Category Guidelines & Polices
Project Manager(s) Payment Requested:
Other Faculty Stipdends Stipends up to a maximum of $500 for any one incident may be requested for faculty partners on this proposal.  Substantial collaboration between faculty members should be addressed by separate proposals for each individual.  The separate proposals should clearly indentify the collaborating partners.
Travel Costs directly related to the project or associated with collaborating with other MnSCU employees (meals, lodging, and mileage) will be considered.  Requests for travel to attend conferences or training institutes are rarely funded.  Professional development funds may be used as match.  IDENTIFY SOURCES OF ALL FUNDS.
Student Stipends Estimate number of student hours that will be paid (at campus rates) for assistance directly related to the project.  Students may also receive nominal stipends for non-classroom activities related to the grant project.  IDENTIFY SOURCES OF ALL FUNDS.
Equipment Equipment, hardware and software that is directly relevant to the proposed project will be considered.  Requests whose budgets are primarily for equipment will ordinarily not be funded without extraordinary justification.  IDENTIFY SOURCES OF ALL FUNDS.
Materials/Supplies Special project supplies, which may include printing, copying, postage, long distance telephone.  IDENTIFY SOURCES OF ALL FUNDS.
Other Other costs directly related to your project.  IDENTIFY SOURCES OF ALL FUNDS.


Awards for Excellence Review Rubric

Criteria 4 3 2 1
Promotes excellence in student learning        
Benefits a program or department        
Contributes to the mission of the college        
Documents the importance of the project        
Documents how the project will take place        
Documents how the project is linked to the college and/or MnSCU strategic goals        
Demonstrates sustainability of the project after funding has ended.        
Has clear and reasonable timeline        
Addresses difficulties with reasonable solutions        
Has well defined outcomes that match the project description        
Describes the kinds of assessment to be used        
There is an assessment tied to each outcome        
Has identifies the impact of the project on students, college, community or MnSCU system