NCA Faculty Resources
Faculty play a vital role in encouraging students to pursue opportunities that they may not even be aware of and urging them to take a chance on applying for nationally competitive awards. Faculty are important in assisting the Director of Fellowships to spread the word about the many scholarships, fellowships, and awards that are eligible to outstanding students and to be students’ cheerleaders and champions. Many outstanding students undervalue their skills and simply don’t know that they are eligible for life-changing scholarship, fellowship, and award opportunities.
Identifying Outstanding Students
We encourage faculty to identify students that are ideal candidates for awards and share their names with us so that we can further support them through the process.
Scheduling Class Presentations
The Director of Fellowships is eager to help faculty familiarize themselves with awards for undergraduate and graduate students—as well as fellowships that faculty themselves may be eligible for.
The Director of Fellowships is available to offer informational presentations in your classes to help make students aware of scholarship, fellowship, and award opportunities. Contact us today to schedule a presentation!
Writing Recommendation Letters
Recommendation letters are usually required for nationally competitive awards, and faculty letters play a vital role in the award adjudication process. Your recommendation letter may make the difference in whether a student receives an award or not, so it’s important for you to be as supportive as you can be.
In most cases, your recommendation letter will need to be submitted electronically to the award’s online application portal. Once a student begins their application, they typically need to include their recommender’s name and email contact information, and you will often receive an automated email with instructions for how to submit your letter.
Sometimes you may be required to submit your letter to UIndy’s Director of Fellowships, who will then include it when certifying the students’ application. The Director of Fellowships is available to answer any questions about the application process and submitting your letter.
The following faculty resources are particularly helpful for any faculty member who’s been asked by a student to write a recommendation for a nationally competitive award: