No. Nominations should include a narrative that addresses criteria for the award category in question. Rubrics are included with award descriptions elsewhere in this awards website. Nominations should also present evidence of what the narrative states. COLE and/or the OSRHE may determine that nominations without a narrative or without evidence do not qualify for the award.

Nominations should include, at a minimum, a narrative and supporting evidence. A photo of the nominee and a 500 word maximum biography is also required for award announcements.

No specific format for the narrative and evidence is required. The nominator has the creative freedom to determine how best to frame the narrative and present supporting evidence.

However, it is recommended that programs and formats for the narrative be those that are widely available and used to ensure the files can be opened by each selection committee member.

For example, Word documents and Adobe .pdf files are good options for written materials. Video files should also be formatted so as to be easily opened and viewed with ease.

No. The file name for each evidence file should clearly represent which nomination the evidence accompanies and the criteria it addresses.

Note that individual files may not exceed 30MB. Files that exceed that limit, such as video files, may be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, or a similar option and linked through the narrative or other evidence information files.

Yes. The file name for each evidence file should clearly represent which nomination the evidence accompanies and the criteria it addresses. However, if you have multiple screenshots or images, consider presenting them in a single document to facilitate ease of access and review for the selection committee.

No. All nominations and supporting materials must be submitted online via the awards website.

COLE considers blended courses a subset of online learning and the OOEA program includes consideration of blended initiatives and practices and their integration of online teaching methods and technologies with other delivery strategies.

The rubric referenced for the Oklahoma Online Excellence teaching award references “online/blended” teaching in the first section to indicate that blended teaching/initiatives were eligible for award consideration. Only the term “online” appears in the criteria wording in order to render the readability of the rubric less cumbersome.

Evaluation of nominations that relate to blended learning will consider the integration of online facets of learning with the other learning environments/modalities teaching that the nomination entails.

No. Nominations will be evaluated by committee members that are not affiliated with the individual, program, team, or institution nominated for an award.

In addition, members of COLE and/or the selection committee who are nominated for an award do not evaluate nominations in the category for which they have been nominated.

Yes. However, given that nominees often have the most in-depth knowledge of their work, we recommend working closely with the nominee to obtain information and evidence to support the nomination.

Yes.

Yes, with the exception of a COLE subcommittee nominated as a collective entity.

COLE members are active in leading online learning within their organizations so we expect that they might be nominated for awards. However, the activities presented for recognition should include significant initiatives external to work done for COLE committees and initiatives. A nomination might reference some activities related to COLE participation as one facet of the narrative and/or evidence, or reference COLE as one vehicle for sharing an initiative or innovation; however, activities and initiatives at the nominee’s home institution or professional online education organizations other than COLE should form a significant part of the nomination narrative and supporting evidence.

If you are not sure if an individual or team qualifies for an award, please contact the selection committee chair with your questions. COLE is happy to help you determine how best to present your nomination idea.

Yes. We receive many strong nominations each year, but, unfortunately, may select only one award recipient per category with rare exception. Therefore, we encourage and welcome submissions for nominations that were submitted previously but not selected for an award. We recommend that materials for resubmitted nominations be reviewed for any items that you might want to update and, in some instances, strengthen.

The nomination form includes fields both for the nominee and for indicating the name as it should appear on the award. Indicate the team leader in the nominee field and use the “name as it should appear on the award” field to enter the collective team name or the names of all team members. If there are more than 3-4 team members, the group should be referenced collectively. For example, “Center for Teaching and Learning, Winning Community College.”

The nomination narrative should also reference the group as a whole when describing accomplishments for which the team is being nominated to help clarify that a team and not just the team leader is being nominated.

Yes. All nominations and related materials are used for judging purposes only and will remain confidential.

No.

11:59 PM PT on the indicated nomination due date. The January deadline date allows the selection committee to complete its work before the opening of the COLE Learning Innovations Summit when awardees are announced and may not be extended.

That is the goal of the Oklahoma Online Excellence recognition program. However, there are circumstances in which there might not be an award, or there might be more than one award, in one or more categories. The decision not to make awards or to make multiple awards in any given category is at the discretion of OSRHE working in collaboration with the COLE Director and the COLE awards selection committee.

The OSRHE strives to notify award recipients and non-recipients by email no later than the week before the COLE Learning Innovations Summit.

No.