[Date changed–posted 11/1/23 (last revised 9/23/21)]
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Operating Policy and Procedure

OP 70.30: Distinguished Staff Awards for Non-faculty Employees

DATE: November 1, 2023

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Operating Policy/Procedure (OP) is to establish an awards program to recognize and support the achievements of Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University System non-faculty benefits-eligible employees. (Faculty positions, including librarians and archivists, are ineligible for this program.)

REVIEW: This OP will be reviewed in September of odd-numbered years by the Associate Vice President for Human Resources with substantive revisions forwarded to the Chief of Staff for the President and Vice President for Administration.

POLICY/PROCEDURE

1.  General Policy

a.    Six levels of awards are included in this annual program:

• Staff Senate Award
• Matador Award
• Masked Rider Award
• Guns Up Award (groups are comprised of 2 to a maximum of 10 employees)
• President's Award of Excellence
• Chancellor's Award of Excellence

More information concerning these awards can be found on the Human Resources website or at the following link, http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hr/AwardsRecognition/Index.php.

b.    Eligibility

These awards are made in accordance with each of the eligibility criteria listed below. The award year is considered the fiscal year.

The nominee(s) must:

(1)    Have a current performance evaluation on file in Human Resources and have received an overall rating of “strong performer” or above and have a rating of “strong performer” or above in all rated categories;

(2)    Be continuously employed as a full-time or part-time benefits-eligible employee for 12 consecutive months prior to the nomination;

(3)    Not have received a disciplinary action within the previous 12 months; and

(4)    Not have received a Distinguished Staff Award in the past five years.

Note: The nomination may include an individual or team; however, all members of a team must meet the basic eligibility criteria stated above. If any member does not meet the eligibility requirements, Human Resources, with the approval of the nominator, will remove the ineligible team member and continue the nomination process with the remaining eligible team members.

c.    Nominations

The electronic nomination form is the only source of information about the nominee the selection committee uses in the selection process. The selection committee members evaluate the degree the nominee demonstrates excellence in each of the criteria areas listed for consideration of the award. The quantity of nominations received is not a factor in the selection process.

d.    Verifications and Approvals

Verification of employment and performance will be completed by Human Resources. Division leaders (Provost, vice presidents, and deans) and immediate supervisors will be notified of employees from their areas who are nominated. Approval by the immediate supervisor is required for an award to be presented to the Distinguished Staff Awards Selection Committees.

e.    Awarded Evaluation Criteria and Selection

Eligible nominations will be evaluated on the specific criteria for the award for which the employee is being nominated, and the selection committees will use a weighted scoring method to evaluate the criteria. The selection committees will prepare a list of recommendations to submit to the President and Chancellor for their review and final selection for the respective awards.

2.  Administration of Program

The administration of the program will be handled through Human Resources.

3.  Selection Procedure

a.    Call for Nominations

Nominations are solicited for eligible employees of the University and the System through Human Resources. Human Resources will provide timelines and due dates for nominations in April of each year.

b.    Selection Committees

The selection committee for the Matador Award, Masked Rider Award, Guns Up Award, President's Award of Excellence, and the Chancellor's Award of Excellence will be comprised of previous award winners. The selection committee for the Staff Senate Award will be the Texas Tech University Staff Senate.

c.    Nominators

Any member of the Texas Tech community can submit nominations for eligible employees.

d.    Nomination Form and Specific Award Criteria

Specific award criteria and nomination forms are available on the Distinguished Staff Awards website (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hr/AwardsRecognition/Index.php) or by contacting Human Resources.

e.    Exclusions

(1)    Self-nominations and anonymous nominations will not be accepted.

(2)    Nominations received after the deadline will not be accepted.

(3)    Librarians, archivists, and other faculty positions are ineligible for this program.

4.  Awards Ceremony

Human Resources plans and organizes an awards ceremony, which is held in the fall.

5.  Right to Change Policy

Texas Tech reserves the right to interpret, change, modify, amend, or rescind this policy, in whole or in part, at any time without the consent of employees.

OP Categories

01 Chancellor
02 Development
04 Audit Services
10 President
30 Academic and Student Affairs – General
32 Academic Policies – Faculty
34 Academic Policies – Students
36 Academic Programs
40 Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
48 Communication Services
52 Information Technology
60 Environmental Health and Safety
61 Facilities Management
62 Financial and Accounting
63 General Services
64 Graduate Programs (Faculty and Students)
65 Research Accounting
66 Libraries
67 Mail Services
68 Communications and Marketing
69 Payroll and Tax Services
70 Human Resources
72 Purchasing, Contracting, and Payables
74 Research
76 Security
77 Student Services and Registrar
78 Traffic and Parking
79 Travel
80 Vehicles