1. To insure student awareness of department awards and to encourage as many nominees as possible, the list of available awards and application process will be posted on the department website, distributed (as posters) on campus, and announced in English classes during the fall and spring semesters.

2. Students may nominate themselves for an award or be nominated by another student or faculty member. In any case, students should secure permission from a faculty member before listing that professor as a reference. Students should also submit the appropriate supporting materials (e.g., writing sample) at the time of application. If a faculty member nominates a student, she or he should so inform the student and obtain the supporting materials.

3. Typically, the due date for applications/nominations is March 1 of each year. That date may be altered at the Chair's discretion.

4. A committee, appointed by the department chair and consisting (if possible) of a faculty member from each rank, will review the nominees for each award. At the March English Department meeting, the committee will present to the department a list of no more than three finalists for each award, along with a brief description of the merits of each nominee.

5. At its March meeting, the department will determine, by majority vote, the recipient of each award.

a. The awards will be discussed in the following order: Taylor, Dunn, Outstanding Senior, Peterson (when available). The recipients of "occasional" awards, like the Humanities Center awards in recognition of emeritus faculty, will be selected from the remaining finalists from the other awards.
b. Unless proscribed by the donor of the award, the department may, at its discretion, choose to split an award between deserving candidates. Likewise, unless proscribed by the donor, the department may choose not to give an award.
c. A student may be a finalist for more than one award, but a student can receive only one department award in a given year.
d. All students who applied for awards will be notified after the decisions have been made. Those students receiving awards will be asked to attend the A&S Honors Convocation in April.