Wall of COOL Application

It's COOL! Most importantly, if you are proud of how you support your students' success creatively, and you want to share what you've done so other people can learn from your work, the Wall of COOL is a big way to do that. In speaking with previous Wall of COOL awardees, we've found that faculty value this award because it validates the great work they do with and for students.

Also, the Wall of COOL is a selective award. Bragging rights are attached!

You nominate your course or learning opportunity using the form below. The CAFE team takes a first pass at all nominations, looking closely at materials that you submit or tell us that we can access. Then, previous Wall of COOL faculty awardees, CAFE team, and CAFE student assistants have long, lively conversations to decide on the final Wall of COOL selections.

Courses of any format – fully remote (synchronous or asynchronous), hybrid (synchronous or asynchronous), or technology-enhanced face-to-face – are eligible. Any faculty member or faculty team from any college, department, or unit is eligible to submit a course for the Wall of COOL. Courses must have been taught in the 2022-2023 or 2023-2024 academic year, including summer, or winter session.

Please do not apply for a course that has previously been recognized on the Wall of COOL, even if the course has been significantly updated since the award.

Learning experiences apart from courses must have been offered in the 2022-2023 or 2023-2024 academic year, including summer, or winter session. Non-course learning opportunities must include significant involvement by faculty.

The Wall of COOL is all about recognition for your outstanding work.

We will take your picture for the Wall of COOL website. We'll interview you and feature the best "artifacts" from your course in a cool video, produced by our friends at MediaVision. We'll ask you to give a short presentation (~5min) at a major event on March 21, 2025 (exact time tbd). We'll arrange for articles in PolyCentric and the PolyPost, and make sure that your college is aware of your achievement.

Winners will be notified the week of Nov. 15, 2024.

1. Solid course design apart from technology. Your learning outcomes and expectations for your students' performance are clear and easy for students to find. Graded activities and learning activities are aligned with the learning outcomes. The course is well-organized and contains helpful resources.
2. Clear emphasis on inclusive and equity-minded teaching. Your course or learning experience actively welcomes all students and supports them to succeed because you've made a serious effort to get to know who Cal Poly Pomona students are and what they need. You reflect on your practice and keep on improving your course or learning experience to better serve all students.
3. Good faith effort to make your course accessible to all students, including those with disabilities. Although your materials aren't 100% accessible – that's almost impossible – you have made a demonstrable effort in this area. See our Creating Accessible Courses page for more information about accessibility, and don't hesitate to call CAFE with questions.
4. Innovative AND/OR practical use of technology for supporting learning. Some people are on the bleeding WOW edge of teaching technology – others take a workaday, pragmatic approach that others can readily adopt. Either, or both, is great for the Wall of COOL!
5. Bonus factors: Tell us what you're proud of about your course or learning experience! Are your students constantly engaged and never checked out? Do you exemplify learn-by-doing? Have you carefully included content and experiences that reflect the diverse backgrounds of Cal Poly Pomona students? Is it a service-learning course or experience? Are you working as a team with other faculty and staff to spread great practices? Is your course or experience a down-to-earth GE or academic success program that serves a lot of students? Do you have a small grad-level class or academic success program that speaks directly to their professional aspirations? Is your course or experience super-tough, but you've made it possible for students to succeed without lowering your standards? …anything goes here!