As spring term arrives, please remember to nominate outstanding undergraduate student essays for a WIC Culture of Writing Award. Recognizing exceptional student
writing communicates to our students and the university that good writing matters in every discipline. Participating units (schools, departments) seek nominations from the faculty and select the best paper from the major. WIC then awards $50, matched by $50 for the unit, for the writing prize winner. What a great way to acknowledge the hard work and talent of our undergraduate writers!

Once your department or unit has chosen a paper to nominate, fill out the nomination form and submit it to Julie Howard by 5:00 p.m. PST, June 1, 2015. The complete policy and submission instructions are on the WIC website.

Here are a few tips and models for the award nomination process:

• Model 1: the academic unit might use the department or school awards committee, who asks faculty to nominate and submit their best undergraduate paper for the year. The committee chooses   the awardee.
• Model 2: the academic unit wants the awardee to be from a WIC course, so one or more WIC instructors select the best paper.
• Model 3: the top academic writing occurs in a capstone course with a team project. The unit selects the team with the best-written capstone project for the award. When the award goes to a team or four, some units divide the $100 award 4 ways, while other units contribute more than $50 so that individuals will receive a more substantial award.
• Because the only way a student at OSU can receive a monetary award is through a deposit in the student’s account, the award is typically given to a student who is currently enrolled. Thus, we have a deadline that enables us to process all awards to student accounts before the end of spring term. Units with special considerations regarding the due date should contact Vicki Tolar Burton, copying Jacob Day. If a student winner has graduated prior to June 2015, additional paperwork will be required.