OLC Awards of Excellence

OLC recognizes members of the community twice each year on two separate award cycles – in the spring at OLC Innovate, and in the fall at OLC Accelerate.

Application Portal will open on March 17, 2025

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The following OLC Awards of Excellence are bestowed at OLC Accelerate in the fall of each year based on alignment with OLC Dimensions of Quality.*

Gomory-Mayadas Award for
Excellence in Digital Learning Leadership
Excellence in Digital Learning Innovation
Excellence in Digital Learning Support
John Bourne Award for Excellence in Online and Digital Programming
Karen J. Swan OLJ Outstanding Research Achievement Award in Digital Learning
OLC Outstanding Volunteer Achievement Award

*With the exception of Karen Swan OLJ Outstanding Research Achievement in Digital Learning, which uses its own evaluation criteria.

Application Criteria

We ask that submitters take note of the following award submission requirements:

All nominees need to be professional members or affiliated with OLC institutional members.
Self-nominations are permissible for all awards with the exception of the OLJ Research Award and Volunteer awards. Self-nominations will still require three letters of support to be considered as a complete application.
An individual cannot submit for more than one award or scholarship per year. However, an institution can have more than one award submitted within the same year.
There may be more than one winner selected for each award category.
It is possible for no award to be given within an area should the submissions within that category not meet the minimum threshold score for awards.

Materials Required for Application

A detailed description of the area of excellence that summarizes the practice(s), providing evidence of how the award criteria are met.
Supporting documentation of the practice(s) alignment to the award criteria. Evidence may include (but are not limited to) websites (URLs), screenshots, videos, assessment data, reports, testimonials.
Three (3) letters of support addressing how the award submission aligns to the OLC Dimensions of Quality. It is recommended that submission packets include letters from a mix of both internal and external senior leaders who can speak to the impact of the practice(s) highlighted in the submission.

Scoring Criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate all OLC Awards of Excellence submissions:

OLC Dimensions of Quality
How well does this submission impact:

Dimension Description

Evidence
Submission includes evidence of excellence for this dimension

Learning Effectiveness

Learning Effectiveness is centered around creating educational experiences that are intentionally designed to support all learners in equitably meeting articulated outcomes, thereby gaining valuable competencies and skills. This involves aligning learning outcomes with the mission, values, and overall strategy of the organization to provide quality learning opportunities that prepare learners for future work and promote lifelong learning. Through the leverage of online, blended, and digital environments, Learning Effectiveness facilitates inclusive, academically rigorous experiences that prioritize learner engagement and community development among instructors, learners, designers, and leaders.