Accomplished Service in Arts & Sciences Award (AS²)

Purpose

The award is intended to recognize, reward, and motivate Arts and Sciences employees who perform their duties in an outstanding manner.

Criteria and Award Categories

Nominations are made to recognize an eligible employee for outstanding performance of their duties. Nominations must fall into one of three categories:

• Consistent outstanding work.
• Outstanding completion of a specific project or assignment.
• Outstanding performance of duties under adverse or varying conditions.

Consistent outstanding work nominations must include specific examples of outstanding work over a period of time, as well as general comments on the employee's performance, work ethic, customer service, etc. A nomination that simply uses superlatives to describe an employee's performance without providing specific examples will not merit an award.

An employee will not earn an award simply by doing their job at an acceptable level. Awardable actions must exhibit a positive impact on others or the organization above the norm. Employees who take responsibility and show initiative outside their normal duties also qualify for this award.

Nomination and Award Process

All employees and students in Arts and Sciences are encouraged to acknowledge the hard work and achievements of their eligible co-workers, colleagues and peers by nominating them for the AS² Award.

The nomination form is electronic and can be found at:

http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/as2nominate

The form asks for information that identifies the nominee and nominator and asks two questions:

1. Describe the event(s) for which the employee deserves an award.
2. Why Should the Employee be Recognized for this? Answers must describe the positive impact of the nominee’s contribution on others or the organization, as well as other positive outcomes.

For consistent outstanding work nominations, the answer to question one must include specific examples of outstanding work over a period of time.

Nominations will be received electronically and an e-mail will be sent automatically to the nominee’s supervisor. Supervisors will review nominations and provide comments regarding the nomination, which will be forwarded to the Reward and Recognition Committee as part of the nomination. If the supervisor has concerns about the accuracy, context, or completeness of the nomination, they should address the issues directly with the nominator and address the outcome of that conversation in the supervisor’s submission. If there are performance-related issues that disqualify the nominee, the supervisor will check a box on the submission form that notifies the Dean’s Office of a possible disqualifying situation. The Dean’s Office will then be in touch with the supervisor to discuss the situation and determine if the nomination will be accepted for review or disqualified. The nominator will be notified by the Dean’s Office if the nomination is disqualified.

The Reward and Recognition Committee will review all qualified nominations and select the recipients, subject to approval by the Dean of Arts and Sciences or his delegate. The Dean’s Office will notify the award recipients, their supervisors, and the nominators. Nominators will be notified by the Dean’s Office if the submitted nomination is not selected for an award.

Awards

The recipients of the AS² Award will receive a certificate and a gift. All awards will be conveyed at the quarterly Arts and Sciences Reward and Recognition Reception.

Employees may only earn two AS² Awards in a 12-month period. Awards are limited to an average of 50 per quarter.

Not all nominations are guaranteed to result in an award.