The Bellwether Awards are an integral part of the Community College Futures Assembly, established in 1995.  The Assembly is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida and focuses on cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that other colleges might find worthy of replicating.  The Bellwether Awards are given annually in three categories to colleges with outstanding and innovative programs or practices. 

The Bellwether Award has been compared to football's Heisman Award because it is competitively judged and is an award given by your peers in community colleges, with no cash award.  It has also been called "the award of awards" because many institutions with programs that have won other awards apply for the Bellwether Award.  Previous recipients of the Bellwether Award have said that it has been a springboard for other types of recognition and/or funding.

The award can be seen here.

Selection of the finalists is a competitive process.  It is essential that those nominated provide key information addressing specific criteria, etc. in order to be competitively judged in the selection of finalists.

It is our practice not to reveal the specific source of nominations.  In general, Bellwether nominations come from numerous sources, including co-sponsoring organizations, state officials, previously competitively reviewed presentations at other national conventions, and programs featured in the media.

Yes; in fact, we prefer electronic submissions.  You can send them to futures @ coe.ufl.edu.

No.  Additional materials are requested only from finalists after they have been notified of their finalist status.  Please stick to the application guidelines.

No.  Only one category can be chosen per program, so choose the category your program fits best.

Yes.

1. Choosing finalists: There are several judges in each category; all from that category's co-sponsoring organization.  Co-sponsoring organizations are the National Council for Instructional Administrators for Instructional Programs & Services, the Council for Resource Development for Planning, Governance & Finance and the National Council of State Directors for Workforce Development.  The judges rate the programs based on the applications and program descriptions and then choose ten finalists for their category.
2. Choosing winners: The Bellwether Selection Committee chooses winners based on additional program materials in conjunction with the presentation made at the Assembly.

The judging process for winners is based partially on the quality of the college's presentation at the Assembly--so yes, registration and attendance by someone involved with your program is required.  It is also strongly recommended that you attend the Bellwether Finalists Reception and the Bellwether Winners Luncheon while at the Assembly.  Recognition is given and press pictures are taken at that time.