Scholarship Review Process
Reviewers will use the Award Spring platform to access the applications. Each applicant is required to respond to two short answer questions as well as to upload an essay based upon Beautiful Country, by Qian Julie Wang. You will see “score cards” for each student; for the essay, you will use 80 (Excellent) through 30 (Unsatisfactory) for each; reference the rubric for detailed descriptions of each level. You will also be asked to score the two additional questions, which should be a quick process. We are using these additional questions as further evidence of writing ability, evidence of active involvement in NEHS, and as insight into the applicants’ passion for English studies. As experienced teachers and NEHS Advisors, we have confidence in your ability to score the additional questions holistically; since the point values range from 0-10, we have not described each data point.
You will be assigned applications; we will not send you any papers that have been submitted by NEHS members from your chapters. Scores are due Tuesday, February 15. If you find you have any evaluation difficulties, please contact Chris Lockwood at ctlockwood@niu.edu
How to Review
Follow the steps below to review the scholarship applications assigned to you.
Login
Go to AwardSpring Evaluation Link
You are now will set up a password for the reviewer account we have set up for you.
Click on Forgot Password to create your password. You will be taken to the page to set up your login password. Then login using your email address and your new password.
AwardSpring Review Process
- Click on the Scholarship link.
- You will now see a page with all applications assigned to you. To start reviewing applications, click on the first number under Applicant Name.
- You will be taken to the page containing the application, including the essay.
- Now score the applicaion. Scores for each section are entered into the boxes in the orange Score section located at the bottom right of the window. To save your scores, click the Save button.
- Once you have reviewed and scored the application, click the Next button at the bottom of the page to advance to the next applicaion.
Questions and Assistance
If you need any sort of technical assistance, please contact Elfi Gabriel or Namon Kent, our technology spcialists, at nehsapply@niu.edu.
Evaluation Tips
As you read the applications, it may be efficient to find the truly strong or very weak essays first to establish the range within the papers you have received. This may mean revisiting the works in the middle ground before assigning a rating. Remember, you are evaluating the application you receive against the rubric expectations. Other evaluators are reading the same applications; final scores are determined by combining the scores; NEHS Advisory Council members will make final determinations of scholarship awards after a review of all scores.
Once again, thank you for the help. Please let me know if you need any further information. I am also open to questions, suggestions, or other feedback.