The Nicholas Evans Awards for Advising Excellence

The West Virginia University Office of the Provost is pleased to announce the Nicholas Evans Awards for Advising Excellence. These awards—given in three categories—highlight the outstanding advising and mentoring provided by members of the WVU community. The awards honor Dr. Nicholas Evans, a lifelong proponent and exemplar of excellent undergraduate advising.

Award Categories:

1. Graduate Assistant

• Must be a graduate assistant for whom a significant portion of his or her role—at least 50% of his or her time in the position—is to provide direct delivery of academic advising services to undergraduates. Nominees must have advised at WVU for at least one academic year and be enrolled as a graduate student during the semester that the award is presented. Award: $1,000 to be deposited in their WVU student account.

2. Professional Staff

• Staff with a significant role—at least 50% of his or her time—in the direct delivery of academic advising services to undergraduates. Award: $2,500 will be deposited into a state account held by the department or unit to be used for travel or other allowable expenditures.

3. Faculty

• Faculty member who spends a significant portion of his or her time—at least 15%—providing direct delivery of academic advising services to undergraduates. Award: $2,500 will be deposited into a state account held by the department or unit to be used for travel or other allowable expenditures.

Award Eligibility:

All West Virginia University graduate assistants, professional staff and faculty for whom undergraduate academic advising is a significant portion of their workload is eligible. Please note the required proportion of time for undergraduate academic advising in the above award descriptions. Advisors can win the Nicholas Evans Advising Award only once every four years. Winners must agree to serve on the award selection committee the year after receiving the award.

Nomination Procedure:

Nominations can be made by WVU staff, faculty or students. The nominee is responsible for collecting and submitting all required nomination materials. Therefore, nominators should consult with the nominee before submitting a nomination. Please do not submit anonymous nominations.

Each nomination must be supported by objective data, including factual or narrative material, which describes the extent to which the nominee meets the award criteria outlined below. The following items also must be included in the nomination package:

1. Nomination form (to be completed by the nominator)

2. A synopsis of the nominee’s qualifications.

The nominee should summarize the extent to which he or she meets the below criteria by briefly responding to the following prompts. The synopsis of the nominee’s qualifications will help the committee define the nominee’s responsibilities and advising techniques.

Please transcribe each item onto a separate sheet. Responses should be written directly below the corresponding prompt. Please address each prompt in no more than three paragraphs.

• Job Duties: Provide a brief description of the nominee’s position and associated responsibilities.
• Developmental Advising: How has the nominee contributed to the advancement of undergraduate advising? Please illustrate using a single initiative, program, or achievement.
• Planning and Motivating: How does the nominee help advisees establish and work toward the completion of academic goals? Please illustrate using a single brief example.
• At-risk Students: How does the nominee approach advising students who must overcome significant academic or personal challenges to be successful? Please summarize the nominee’s approach or philosophy in a concise statement.

3. Three recommendation forms (One from a student advisee and two from colleagues or supervisors)

A recommendation from a student advisee should answer the following prompts or questions/directives concerning the nominee. Please transcribe each item onto a separate sheet and write responses directly below each prompt. Each response should be limited to no more than two paragraphs.

• What makes the nominee stand out from other academic advisors? Describe the nominee’s approach to academic advising based on past interactions. Simply cite a specific example of him or her going above and beyond the call of duty.
• How has the nominee contributed to your academic experience at WVU?
• How did the nominee establish a comfortable yet effective environment for discussion?

The two recommendations from professional colleagues and/or supervisors should answer the following prompts or questions/directives concerning the nominee. Please transcribe each item onto a separate sheet and write responses directly below each prompt. Each response should be limited to no more than two paragraphs.

• How has the nominee separated him or herself as one of the best undergraduate advisors at WVU?
• Discuss the knowledge and expertise employed by the nominee when advising. How does the nominee utilize the resources of the university to enhance the student’s academic experience? Please cite one specific example.
• How does the nominee connect with and motivate students? How has the nominee helped students work toward long term goals? Please cite one specific example.

Submit nomination form, recommendation forms and the summary of qualifications by January 27, 2012 to:

2011-2012 WVU Nicholas Evans Awards for Advising Excellence Committee
Anita Mayer, Director of the Undergraduate Advising Services Center
121 Student Services Center
Box 6212
Morgantown, WV 26506-6212

Every application packet should include:

1 Nomination Form

1 Summary of Qualifications (completed by the nominee)

3 Recommendation Forms:

1- Student
2- Professional

Selection Process:

Materials will be accepted until February 10, 2012. The Advising Awards Committee will review materials and make final recommendations on the awards to the WVU Office of the Provost by March 9, 2012. The awards will be presented at the University-wide Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner taking place in April of 2011.

Please do not contact the WVU Undergraduate Advising Services Center about the status of the award selection process. All applicants will be notified of their selection status via e-mail by the end of March. Recipients are expected to attend the award dinner on April 18th, 2011. Recipients are expected to comply with WVU regulations concerning the disbursement and taxation of award funds.

*A PDF version of this announcement is available here .

Please direct any questions to EvansAward@mail.wvu.edu