University Awards for Student Success

The President and Provost’s University Awards for Student Success Champions recognize staff, faculty, and student employees for exemplary work in student success.  With the President’s Three Rs—Recruitment, Retention, and Relationships—as their foundation, these awards recognize nominees’ contributions to programs and services that significantly support and impact student success metrics and student satisfaction.

The award categories are:

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Nomination Process

Exemplary Service

This award recognizes student employees and professional staff in the Division of Student Success for service to students and/or others in the university community.

The focus of this award is for service to students; however, exemplary service is not limited to any one group of people or limited instances. High level service is an everyday, every interaction experience.

Exemplary service is consistent, attentive, respectful, clear, and thorough. The end result is that a person’s problem or question is not only resolved or answered, but they are left with a clear idea of what to expect and a great feeling about the interaction. People aren’t merely pointed to the next door, they are walked there. Questions are not merely answered, they are anticipated; we listen so attentively that we answer the unasked question. We set proper expectations and then deliver beyond the expectation. To paraphrase a cliché, high-level service seeks not merely to satisfy but to delight.

Eligible Nominees	Student employees and professional staff
Eligible Nominators	Students Any member of the university community
Nomination Process	An eligible nominator who wishes to nominate an eligible student employee or professional staff member should submit a letter of nomination to the Student Success Awards committee. The nominating letter should detail the exemplary service qualities and behaviors the person demonstrates along with example instances (e.g., story or narrative) of such exemplary service. When possible, nomination letters should be accompanied by student comments that support the nomination and/or a nomination letter from a second eligible source.
Criteria for Selection	Multiple awards may be presented in any given year, but preference will be given to those nominations that provide detailed narrative and descriptions of the qualities and behaviors that exemplify an exceptional standard of service and that provide confirming student commentary in support of the nominee. The Student Success Awards committee will make the final determination of award recipients based on evidence of consistent achievement of exceptional service levels.

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Exemplary Collaboration

This award recognizes faculty, staff, or organizational units outside of the Division of Student Success who have made significant collaborative contributions to our work.

An exemplary collaborator doesn’t merely “help out.” They take an appropriate level of shared ownership for the tasks and results of the collaboration. They are willing, adaptable, and supportive. They contribute ideas and resources. They make it easy for others to work with them. These characteristics make them sought after collaborators.

Eligible Nominees	Faculty, staff, or organizational units outside of the Division of Student Success.
Eligible Nominators	Any member of the Division of Student Success, University Libraries, or Office of the Provost
Nomination Process	An eligible nominator who wishes to nominate an eligible person or unit should submit a letter of nomination  to the Student Success Awards committee. The nominating letter should provide a narrative of the collaboration along with details about the exemplary collaboration qualities and behaviors the person or unit demonstrated.
Criteria for Selection	Multiple awards may be presented in any given year, but preference will be given to those nominations that provide detailed narrative and descriptions of the qualities and behaviors that exemplify the highest standards of collaboration. The Student Success Awards committee will make the final determination of award recipients based on evidence of successful collaboration.

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Ashley McGinley Award for Exemplary Tutoring

This award recognizes tutors and Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leaders who best exemplify the many positive qualities, skills, and behaviors that it takes to excel as a tutor.

Exemplary tutors challenge, support, and encourage their students. They lead students to develop the skills they need, to not only be successful in their classes but to have their own experience of success so that they develop a genuine and deserved sense of confidence in their skills and knowledge. In this way, students become independent learners and interdependent members of their communities, whether academic, professional, or social.

To accomplish these things, exemplary tutors demonstrate a plethora of skills, abilities, and characteristics. They are empathetic, analytical, insightful, always adaptable and clear, challenging, encouraging, supportive, and creative leaders who help their peers achieve their potential.

Eligible Nominees	Peer tutors and SI Leaders in the Academic Success Centers (e.g., Tutoring Services, The Math Learning Center, and The University Writing Center). 2023-24 Eligible Ashley McGinley Award for Exemplary Tutoring Nominees
Eligible Nominators	Academic Success Center Program Directors, Coordinators, and Specialists Fellow peer tutors and SI Leaders Students who have been tutored in one or more of the Academic Success Centers
Nomination Process	An eligible nominator who wishes to nominate an eligible tutor or SI Leader should submit a letter of nomination to the Student Success Awards Committee. The nominating letter should detail the exemplary qualities and behaviors the tutor demonstrates along with example instances (e.g., story or narrative) of such qualities and/or behaviors. When possible, nomination letters should be accompanied by student comments that support the nomination and/or a nomination letter from a second eligible source. Note: To ensure the distinctiveness of the award, consideration should be given to only the most deserving. Multiple tutors or SI Leaders may receive awards in any given year, but, as a guideline, the number of award recipients from a given center should be 10% or less of the total number of tutors/SI Leaders in a given center and the total number of recipients in this category should be 10% or less of the total number of tutors/SI Leaders in the Academic Success Centers.
Criteria for Selection	If the nomination process has been adhered to, all nominees may be selected in any given year; however, preference will be given to those nominations that provide detailed narrative and descriptions of the qualities and behaviors that exemplify what it is to be a tutor/SI Leader and that provide confirming student commentary in support of the nominee. Program Directors and Specialists of the Academic Success Centers will consult with the Student Success Awards committee to make the final determination of award recipients.

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Exemplary Leadership

This award recognizes professional and student staff at the university who demonstrate exemplary leadership whether their leadership comes from a recognized leadership position or from within the organization.

Exemplary leadership does not require positional authority; it can come from anywhere within an organization.

Exemplary leaders communicate and embody the values, principles, vision, and goals of the organization. They inspire others through both word and deed to embrace and realize these things. They build trust and consensus, tapping into intrinsic motivations through open dialogue and appropriate levels of transparency. They listen attentively, communicate clearly, and encourage those around them, ultimately making those around them better, allowing them to achieve more than they thought possible. They root out and remove problems so that they and others can be successful. Exemplary leaders are not without their doubts, but they ultimately not only exude confidence, they transmit that confidence to others. Importantly, exemplary leaders take responsibility, not only for their own actions, but for the results of their and their team’s efforts. Finally, exemplary leaders are consistent. This doesn’t mean they are without error, but generally speaking, they embody these characteristics and perform these actions regularly and routinely.

Eligible Nominees	Any student employee or professional staff member
Eligible Nominators	Any professional or student staff member
Nomination Process	An eligible nominator who wishes to nominate an eligible Student Success staff member should submit a letter of nomination to the Student Success Awards committee. The nominating letter should detail the exemplary leadership qualities and behaviors the person demonstrates along with example instances (e.g., story or narrative) of such exemplary leadership.
Criteria for Selection	Multiple awards may be presented in any given year, but preference will be given to those nominations that provide detailed narrative and descriptions of the qualities and behaviors that exemplify the highest standards of leadership. The Student Success Awards committee will make the final determination of award recipients based on evidence of successful leadership.

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Exemplary Advising

This award recognizes Academic Advisors who best exemplify the many positive qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding Academic Advisor.

Exemplary Academic Advisors provide comprehensive proactive academic advising that facilitates student academic success, retention, and timely movement to degree completion. They possess strong interpersonal skills, as well as mastery of institutional policies, practices, and regulations. Exemplary Academic Advisors are available and approachable, while demonstrating a caring and helpful attitude toward advisees and campus partners. They promote academic advising on campus and proactively create academic advising interactions, in addition to utilizing campus networks in order to make appropriate student referrals.  They also participate in Wright State and University Academic Advising events and trainings, engaging in opportunities to grow and improve as student success professionals.   

Such stellar Academic Advisors demonstrate skills in both verbal and non-verbal communication, listening, questioning, service, negotiation, problem-solving, decision making, assertiveness, social awareness/empathy, responsibility/accountability, and self-management.

Eligible Nominees	Any Academic Advisor within the Division of Student Success
Eligible Nominators	Students and college faculty and staff
Nomination Process	An eligible nominator who wishes to nominate an Academic Advisor should submit a letter of nomination to the Student Success Awards committee. The nominating letter should detail the exemplary academic advising qualities and behaviors the person demonstrates along with example instances (e.g., story or narrative) of such qualities and/or behaviors.
Criteria for Selection	Multiple awards may be presented in any given year, but preference will be given to those nominations that provide detailed narrative and descriptions of the qualities and behaviors that exemplify what it is to be an Academic Advisor and that provide exemplary academic advising services. The Student Success Awards committee will make the final determination of award recipient(s) based on evidence of exemplary academic advising.

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Exemplary Teaching

This award recognizes faculty who have made significant contributions to student success outcomes in- and out of the classroom.

An exemplary faculty strives to impact student outcomes that lead to improved course completion, increased student engagement, student persistence, and decreased time-to-degree.

Eligible Nominees	Faculty
Eligible Nominators	Students and any member of the university community
Nomination Process	An eligible nominator who wishes to nominate an eligible faculty should submit a letter of nomination to the Student Success Awards committee. The nominating letter should provide a narrative of the exemplary work with details about the exemplary qualities and behaviors the faculty demonstrated.
Criteria for Selection	Multiple awards may be presented in any given year, but preference will be given to those nominations that provide detailed narrative and descriptions of the qualities and behaviors that exemplify the highest standards of teaching and learning. The Student Success Awards committee will make the final determination of award recipients based on evidence of successful teaching and learning.

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