Vice-Chancellors Distinguished Teacher and Professional Support
Staff Awards 2016
The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher awards aim to raise the status of teaching and
learning at Newcastle University by rewarding those individuals who make a marked
impact on enhancing the student learning experience.
Key dates
Scheme opens
4 April 2016
Deadline for submission of
applications
9.00am Monday 16 May 2016
Applicants notified of outcome
Late June 2016
Presentation at congregations
July and/or December 2016
Categories and eligibility for award
The Award is open to all individual members of staff, at Newcastle, NUIS and NUMed,
whose work enhances the student teaching and learning experience. In addition applications
are welcome from staff of associated employers with direct and substantive involvement in
the delivery of the student experience at Newcastle, for example, staff of INTO Newcastle
University.
The awards fall into the following 3 categories:
Category 1: General award

Up to 3 awards for individual members of academic staff whose contribution to
teaching and learning at Newcastle is exceptional
Category 2: Societal Challenge award

Up to 1 award is available for individual members of academic staff working within
any Societal Challenge theme. The themes are ‘Aging’, ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Social
Renewal’, the web page for the Societal Challenge Theme can be found here
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/values/societal/.
Category 3: Professional Support award
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
Up to 1 award is available for individual members of professional support staff whose
contribution to learning, teaching and the student experience is exceptional.
Prizes
Each year up to 5 awards of £5,000 will be made available to support teaching and learning
activities, including to buy equipment; to fund studies or travel; to buy in research support;
and to buy out staff time (with the agreement of the Head of Academic Unit or Service).
The awards will be presented at a relevant summer (or winter) congregation. There will be a
University celebrating success event providing the winners with the opportunity to meet each
other.
Criteria for the award
Award categories 1 and 2 will be judged against the following criteria:
 demonstrating transformational leadership of learning and teaching
 demonstrating high quality and effective commitment to personal tutoring
(where appropriate) and pastoral care as well as academic support of
students
 demonstrating creative and effective approaches to learning, teaching and
assessment that have improved the student learning experience
 demonstrating effective innovation in curriculum design, content, and delivery
 demonstrating excellence in supervision of postgraduate students
 demonstrating high levels of student satisfaction through a portfolio of recent
student evaluations
 development of teaching opportunities for students to engage with Societal
Challenge Themes [for Award 2]
Award category 3 will be judged against the following criteria
 demonstrating high quality and effective support for student learning and the
student experience
 demonstrating a sustained approach to this support over time
 demonstrating creative and effective approaches to supporting student
learning
 demonstrating a positive impact on colleagues and students
 demonstrating leadership in the support of learning
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Nomination for award
Please note that for 2016, the process for nominating and selecting staff has changed.
Please read the instructions carefully and note items 4 and 5 below.
1. Staff, either individually or in small groups, are invited to put forward individual members
of staff for the awards (a group can also include students).
2. The nomination must be made in the name of the Head of Unit or other senior colleague.
3. No one can be nominated more than once every two years, if you are uncertain whether
the person you wish to put forward was nominated last year please contact Sue Gill, who
will be happy to help.
4. Nominations should take the form of
a. a pro forma which provides details of the member of staff put forward, the
proposer, and the support from the Head of Unit plus;
b. a document, maximum of 2 sides of A4, listing key activities/markers undertaken
by the applicant, against the criteria for the award. To be completed by the
proposer in discussion with the applicant.
5. Members of staff nominated will be invited to attend a panel meeting where they will:

give a 15 minute maximum verbal presentation (no PowerPoint or other visual
aids allowed, nominees are welcome bring notes and examples to share
evidence and support their nomination) demonstrating the impact their activities
have had against the criteria with up to an additional 10 minutes for questions
from the panel;

Note the session will be recorded, audio only. The recording will only be used by
the panel and Vice-Chancellor in making their selection and will be deleted
afterwards.
6. Staff considering nominating a colleague for an award are strongly recommended to
make use of the resources in the attached Appendix to assist them in completing the
application.
7. Please use the forms and supporting information here to make your nomination.
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ltds/funding/vc/
8. Only submissions made using the forms will be considered; they must be submitted
together in one email by the nominee to LTDS LTDS@ncl.ac.uk. Please title the email
‘VC award nomination’. All submissions will be acknowledged on receipt.
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Selection Process
The selection process will be carried out by a small panel consisting of:

Pro-Vice Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)

A National Teaching Fellow

A previous recipient of the award

University Librarian

A student representative

A representative of LTDS
Sue Gill,
LTDS, March 2016
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Appendix 1: Notes to help complete the forms
Guidance for the Head of School, Institute or Service Citation
This is a short piece which should provide brief evidence of the positive effect the nominee
has had on colleagues in your unit and beyond (if appropriate) and students as a result of
the work they undertake. It is intended it will complement the list of activities in the second
document and should not repeat the information provided there.
Please do include how you know a difference has been made – for example student
feedback, staff remarking on the better preparedness of the cohort, increase in average
marks for a module, increase in student numbers wanting to take a module or programme.
Please do not exceed the word limit.
Guidance for the Examples of Activity
Here are some examples of the types of activity you might include in your examples form

development/revision of new/existing modules or programmes; laboratory sessions;
workshops,

interactions with external partners,

involvement of students in your activities,

comments from external examiners on your modules/programmes,

requests to be an external examiner,

being a member of an education committee for your discipline,

joint projects with other HEIs or similar partners.

presenting on your teaching at School, Faculty or University Learning and Teaching
events

Student feedback. (Members of academic teaching staff should include feedback
from students, both formal, such as module feedback and informal comments or
other testimonials. Please supply more than one years’ worth of data as the ViceChancellor is looking for sustained achievement.)
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
Requests to share work with others in the university eg through School Learning and
Teaching committees

Student led teaching award nominations or awards

External teaching awards

Leading/participating in discipline specific projects internally and externally
(This is NOT an exhaustive list, but provided to give an indication of possible sources to
consider.)
Guidance for preparing for the presentation
When preparing for the presentation we recommend that you
Look at the criteria and your activities and select the most compelling examples against each
criterion to make your case for the award.
Make sure you cover all the criteria, take the opportunity to show the panel the breadth of
your activities. If you don’t undertake research student supervision that will NOT affect your
application, please just let the panel know.
Do not just use one project or activity across all criteria, the panel will be looking for a
broader picture than that.
Provide analysis and evidence of impact not description. What is needed is a critical
appreciation of how or why your activity or actions worked effectively or was good; how do
you know this what the impact was on students or colleagues and how they responded.
Support your assertions with evidence from more than one source
Where the activities you’ve undertaken are innovative or unusual for the subject or discipline
it is very helpful to point this out. The panel have a wide range of experience but they do not
know the detail of every discipline so this will enable to them to make a more accurate
judgement.
Been clear about what it is which makes what you have done be ‘excellent’. Your colleagues
would not have put you forward if they didn’t believe in your abilities and the positive impact
you have!
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Checklist
Before you submit the application have you:
Completed all sections, including indicating if the nominee does NOT undertake
research student supervision,

Developed a clearly laid out portfolio of evidence to support the application, with clear
links between the portfolio and the application,

Got the signature from the nominee,

Used a range of sources of evidence,

Supported assertions with evidence from more than one source?
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