Teaching and learning
The Supported Teacher Award rewards high levels of performance and improvement in teaching in a way that mirrors the Supported Researcher Scheme for individual performance in research.
The Award has moved to an automated process of identifying staff for the award.
In 2011, Awards of $1500 each will be allocated to the top 60 academic staff according to a points system. Award funds will be transferred into professional development accounts and are to be used for activities which further teaching excellence and improvement, such as teaching development investments, conference presentations and small-scale equipment purchases within the provisions of the Professional Development Funds Guidelines: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/codes/miscell/pd_fund_guidelines.pdf.
The following staff are eligible to be considered for the Supported Teacher Award:
Professional staff, sessional staff, Deans: Teaching and Learning, staff of the Learning and Teaching Unit and adjunct staff are not eligible for the Supported Teacher Award.
This is no longer an application based process. The designation of a supported teacher is calculated annually, usually in August, and is based on data collected relating to previous years' activity. Identification of staff is a two stage screening process that maintains the SET performance as a hurdle for achievement of the Award as first implemented in 2009. Only staff identified through stage one are eligible to progress to stage two.
| Indicator | Reference years | Weighting |
| Excellence in SET (top quartile) | Previous two years (2009 and 2010 calendar years) |
70% |
| Bonus points for teaching large classes | Previous two years (2009 and 2010 calendar years) |
15% |
| Improvement in SET performance | Previous three years (2008-2010 inclusive) |
15% |
Based on these indicators and weightings, the top 25% of staff from each Division will progress to stage two.
In stage two, staff are compared to a whole of University ranking order which considers the following criteria:
| Indicator | Reference years | Weighting |
| Excellence in SET (top quartile) | Previous two years (2009 and 2010 calendar years) |
30% |
| Bonus points for teaching large classes | Previous two years (2009 and 2010 calendar years) |
5% |
| Improvement in SET performance | Previous three years (2008-2010 inclusive) |
10% |
| ALTC awards, citations and grants points (pro rata for groups) | Previous two years (i.e. 2009 and 2010 calendar years) |
30% |
| UniSA awards*, citations, grants points (pro rata for groups) | Previous two years (2009 and 2010 calendar years) |
10% |
| Number of publications associated with the scholarship of teaching (as per the ERA journals listing) | Previous three years (2007-2009 inclusive) |
15% |
*Excludes the Supported Teacher Award
The Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic will notify all winners of the award by email and post a public announcement on the staff portal. Winners will be listed on the University's website.
The 2011 Supported Teacher Award winners will be acknowledged at the Celebration of Teaching Awards Luncheon in November 2011.
