Undergraduate Student Awards

Thanks to the support of alumni and friends, the College of Education is proud to award a wide variety of awards to deserving students of the College of Education. Awards are awarded on a competitive basis to College of Education students acknowledging excellent academic achievement, commitment to the profession, and outstanding participation in professional and service activities.

Who is eligible for an award?

University students with any number of credit hours who are enrolled in an undergraduate curriculum in the College of Education or College of LAS with a minor in secondary school teaching are eligible to apply. Applicants for awards should be enrolled in Pre-Teacher Education or Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, Special Education, or one of the Secondary School Teaching Minor programs (Science: Biology; Science: Chemistry; Science: Earth and Space Science; Science: Physics; English Language Arts; Mathematics; and Social Science: History).

Applicants must be in good academic standing (i.e., not on academic probation) and should have a commitment to maintaining satisfactory and continuous progress toward the degree objective and teacher certification.

Incoming freshmen and transfer students who meet the criteria for an award will be automatically considered based on information from admissions materials; no additional application process is required.

What types of awards are available?

• General Awards
• Elementary or Early Childhood Awards
• Secondary Education Awards
• Financial Need Awards
• Nontraditional Student Awards
• Geographically-based Awards

What are the procedures and deadlines for applying for an award?

Applications for 2012-2013 awards are due May 1, 2012. They are submitted electronically through Awards Manager. Applicants begin by logging in using their netID and Active Directory password. The online application can be saved before submitting so applications can be completed over a period of time. Applications in progress can be accessed at Awards Manager.

The following documents should be prepared for upload into the college Awards Manager (How to create a PDF file):

• Professional Activities and Experiences Form. Examples are listed below:
  
  
  
  

• Responses to three essay questions. Approximately 250 words for each question.
  • “Every child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.”  This Chinese proverb suggests that as a teacher, you have a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of your students. Describe one “mark” you intend to leave with your students.
  • Share your vision of yourself as a professional 5 years after graduation. Where and whom will you be teaching?  Include age ofstudent and type of community.  What motivates you to seek this particular type of position?
  • In response to public concerns about the quality of education, national and state politicians and policy makers have called for increased rigor and scrutiny in teacher education. For teacher candidates like you, these moves have resulted in new policies (e.g., grades of C- or below cannot be used for certification) and new testing requirements (a new and more difficult test of basic academic skills, and beginning with the Class of 2016—you will make a video of your teaching during your student teaching semester that will be scored by outside-the-university evaluators who will determine whether you can receive a teaching certificate).  Do you think these initiatives will have a positive or negative impact on the teaching profession? Support your answer.
• Financial Aid Award Letter. Applicants who wish to be considered for need-based awards must include a copy of their most recent Financial Aid Award Letter. See instructions below:
  • Log into UI-Integrate Self-Service.
  • Click the second tab at the top entitled Financial Aid.
  • Select the first item on the list “Award Letter”
  • Select the year as 2011-2012.
  • On the bottom right, click “Print/Save Award Letter”
  • Print as you normally would from your browser.
    

Applicants may elect to be considered for awards intended for students who meet specific criteria. Text boxes are available in which applicants can provide additional information they wish to be considered during the selection process for these awards.

• Financial Need consideration. Financial need information will be drawn from 2012-2013 FAFSA.
• Geographic consideration. Awards are available for students from particular areas of the state. Applicants should use the text box to write a short statement describing their connection to the geographic area.
• Non-Traditional Student consideration. Students who are parents or who are completing an undergraduate program several years after high school are encouraged to use the text box to share a statement describing relevant circumstances.
  

How are the recipients chosen?

Application materials are reviewed by the College of Education Undergraduate Honors & Awards Committee. Award criteria vary slightly depending on the donors’ wishes, but in general, the committee considers academic achievement, commitment to the profession, and participation in professional activities and experiences.

When are the awards announced?

Announcement of Student Award Recipients will be made the May prior to the Awarded Academic Year. Recipients will be honored at the College of Education Student Recognition Banquet held annually in November. Attendance at the Student Recognition Banquet is mandatory and is a required condition of all of the College of Education awards. Many of our donors also attend and they want, and expect, to meet the students who will benefit from their generosity.