The Provost’s Award for Transformative Online Course recognizes online courses developed by full-time faculty members of the UAB community that exemplify best practices and innovation in online education. "Transformative" courses are defined as those that enhance the student experience through the use of innovative teaching strategies, fostering an interactive learning community that maximizes student engagement and outcomes.
Award
The award includes a cash prize (subject to composite fringe benefits) and a plaque suitable for display.
Eligibility
- Only courses developed by full-time UAB faculty may be nominated and must have at least 80% of the instruction in the course occurring online.
- All nominated courses must have been taught at least two semesters prior to being nominated and have evidence of impact on learner outcomes.
- A course may only receive an award once in a five-year time period.
TOCA Selection Criteria
The award shall be based solely on course excellence as demonstrated by:
- Incorporation of strategies into the course that support/promote faculty-student engagement.
- IIncorporation of innovative teaching strategies into the course to achieve desired student outcomes. In this context, innovative teaching strategies are defined as the use of new evidence-based processes, tools, and methods that are designed and incorporated into a course to positively affect student learning and achievement of course outcomes.
- Utilization of strategies to create an interactive learning community.
Note: In this context, a learning community is defined as the vehicle through which learning occurs online. In learning communities, strategies are used that require members’ dependence on each other to achieve the learning outcomes for the course. A learning community is defined as a group of individuals who are interested in a common topic or area and who engage in knowledge-related transactions as well as transformations within it. (Kahn, T. (1999, May 1). A New Model of Education: Designing Virtual Communities for Creativity and Learning. - Use of evaluation data (e.g., student evaluations, student feedback, etc.) to demonstrate impact on student outcomes and its use to improve the course.
Award Review Committee
The TOCA review committee is composed of previous recipients of the award.
2026-2027TOCA Timeline
- Friday, September 25, 2026: Submission of Nomination Form and Letter of Support due.
- Friday, October 2, 2026: Notification to eligible nominees.
- Friday, October 9, 2026: Nominee’s acceptance email due.
- Friday, December 18, 2026: Nominee’s complete application packet due.
- Friday, March 12, 2027: Committee review completed.
- Week of March 22, 2027: Awardees selected and notified.
- April 2027: Awardee recognized at the Recognizing Excellence in Education luncheon.
TOCA Process
Nominations
Courses may be self-nominated or nominated by a faculty member, student, or staff member of the UAB community. Courses may be nominated by completing and submitting the following items:
- Completed
Nomination Form - Letter of support by nominator. If self-nominating, please provide background on course and testimonials if available.
Completed nomination packet must be emailed to Learning Technologies by end of day, Friday, September 25, 2026.
Nominations will be reviewed for eligibility requirements and those meeting the requirements will be notified by end of day, Friday, October 2, 2026.
If nominee accepts nomination, they must notify Learning Technologies by end of day, Friday, October 9, 2026.
Applications
Nominees must complete and submit the following items to Learning Technologies by end of day, Friday, December 18, 2026.
- A document of 1-3 pages explaining how the course meets each of the selection criteria, as described above. This is to be written by the nominated faculty member.
- Letters from students (one - three letters) who have taken the course, describing how the course affected their learning.
- Supporting document (3-10 pages) including student feedback and evaluations of the course.
- Completed Canvas course access form.
TOCA Recipients
- Maria Hopkins – College of Arts and Sciences
- Scott Boyar – Collat School of Business
- Jennifer Edmonds – Collat School of Business
- Lauren Rast – College of Arts and Sciences
- DeReef Jamison – College of Arts and Sciences
- Elizabeth Barstow – School of Health Professions
- Brenda Bertrand – School of Health Professions
- Eta Berner – School of Health Professions
- Christopher Edmonds – Collat School of Business
- Malinda Blair O'Leary – College of Arts and Sciences