AGuidetoWritingandSubmittingOftheMonthAwards
BroughttoyoubytheScarletandCreamChapteroftheUNL
NationalResidenceHallHonorary
WhatareOTMs?
An Of The Month award (OTM for short) is one way for the residence life community to
recognize outstanding individuals and programs on the campus of Colleges and Universities
across the nation. OTMs are the primary source of recognition for the Residence Hall
Honorary (NRHH) as their members read through submissions and determine the campus
winners. OTMs are written by students at individual schools, such as UNL, evaluated on the
campus level by the Scarlett and Cream NRHH chapter, and then sent on to the regional
and national levels by students from schools across the United States.
OTMs embody the very idea of recognition! Making people feel appreciated and supported
will encourage them to continue going above-and-beyond, and will inspire them to continue
excelling in the future. Lack of recognition can lead to negative leadership in the future my
making people feel unappreciated and unsupported. OTMs are a relatively easy and
effective way to help the quality of leadership within residence life to grow.
WhatAretheCategories?
Advisor
Community
CommunityServiceProgram
DiversityProgram
EducationalProgram
ExecutiveBoardMember
ResidenceLifeandInstitution
Faculty/Staff
Organization
PassiveProgram
ResidentAssistant
SocialProgram
Spotlight
Student
HowDoYouDetermineaGoodNominee?
ScarletandCreamNRHHChapter
http://www.unl.edu/unlnrhh/
1
HowShouldIWriteanOTM?
Firstandforemost,chooseyourcandidateTobeginwritinganOTM,youmustfirst
chooseyourcandidate,whetheritbeapersonorprogram.Thinkaboutthepastmonthand
thinkaboutwhatwentextraordinarilywellorwhowentaboveandbeyond!
ThendosomeresearchFirsthandexperienceisalwaysthebestwhendescribingaperson
orprogrambutifyouhavetroublerememberingwhathappened,askothersorinterview
thoseinchargeoftheprogramsoraroundthepeople.Otherpeoplearegreatresources
becausetheyaddtothescopeandqualityoftheOTM;theycangiveyoudetailsthatyou
mighthaveneverseen.
Next,logontowww.otms.nrhh.orgselecteitherGeneralCategoryorProgramCategory
(ontheleftsidemenu).IfyouarewritingaGeneralCategoryorProgramCategoryOTM,
youwillthenbeaskedtoselectyourschool.ItwillthentakeyoutotheOTMform.
Openupawordprocessingprogram,likeMicrosoftWordandStartWritingThereare
notmanylimitationsonOTMs.Letyourcreativityrunwild.Gotheextramilefortheperson
orgroupthatalreadywentthere.ForgeneralOTMs,itisrecommendedthatyouhavean
introduction,body,andconclusion,justlikeanEnglishpaper.Youwillnotbedockedfor
spelling,grammar,andformattingerrorsbutitwillhelpyourOTMlookmoreprofessional,
easiertoreadandfollow,andmorethoughtful.Defineallacronyms;noteverythingis
universal.MakesurethatyourOTMismonthspecificwriteabouteventsfromthe
monthnotbeyond.
Lastbutnotleast,clickSubmitOnceyousubmitbyyourschoolslocalduedatetheyare
reviewedbyeachcampus'NRHHandcampuswinnersarethensubmittedregionally.
SchoolsfromacrosstheregionsubmitOTMstotheAssociateDirectorofNRHH(RAD
NRHH)andhis/hercommittee.Regionalwinnersareawardedacertificate,usuallyat
conferences.Afterregionalwinnersareselected,theyareforwardedontothenationallevel.
The purpose of an OTM is not simply to win an award for someone involved
in Residence Life; it is to recognize an individual or an event for outstanding
contributions to on-campus living during the course of a certain month. This
can be as simple as submitting one about a student balancing academics
and their residence hall involvements or one about a resident assistant who
showed tremendous creativity in implementing a program within their
building. Recognition need not be secluded to a select few but remember
TheNSROthencomparesthebestfromeachoftheregionsofNACURHandchoosesthe
besttobetheNationalOTMforeachcategory.Remember,thishappensEVERYmonthin
EVERYcategory.
Source:www.nacurh.org/SWACURH/NRHH/html/Writing_an_OTM.htm
WhereCanIFindPastOTMWinners?
ThenationalOTMdatabase,locatedatwww.otms.nrhh.orghasanAdvanced
Searchfeature,locatedonthelefthandsideofthenavigationscreenandcan
beutilizedtofindanynumberofOTMwinnersoncampus,regional,and
nationallevels.
AreThereAnySpecificationsIShouldAdhereTo?
Remainwithinpostedwordlimits(600wordsformostcategoriesbutvarying
lengthsforprograms)
Makesureyourentryismonthspecific
SubmittheOTMbythemidnightofthe1stofeverymonth
ScarletandCreamNRHHChapter
http://www.unl.edu/unlnrhh/
2
Good...
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Source:AppalachianStateUniversity,SAACURH
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National winners
HowDoISubmitOTMs?
ToSetupanAccount
ThereareseveralbenefitstosettingupandsubmittingOTMsthroughanaccountonthe
databaseincluding:
TheabilitytoeditOTMsrightupuntiltheduedate
TheabilitytoseealistofallOTMsyou'vesubmittedandanyawardstheywon
AllpersonalinformationwillbefilledinautomaticallyeverytimeyousubmitanOTM,
savingyousometimeandenergy
TheabilitytohaveinstantvisualconfirmationthatyourOTMhasbeensuccessfully
submittedtothedatabase
Ifyouwishtosetupanaccount:
1)Gotohttp://otms.nrhh.org/andclickon"CreateanAccount"
2)Select"UniversityofNebraskaLincoln"
3)Fillinallofyourinformationandselectausernameandpassword
4)Clicksubmitandyou'redone!
NOTE:Thedatabaserequiresthatallaccountsbe`verified'beforetheyaremadeactive.
Aftersettingupyouraccount,anemailwillbesenttothosewhohave`Campus
Administrator'privilegesforUNL.Assoonasyou'reaccountis`verified',youwillreceivean
emailsayingthatyouareactive.**Maximumturnaroundtimeforthisshouldbenomore
than24hours**
Remember:OTMsaredueatMIDNIGHTonthe1stofeverymonth.If
youraccountisawaitingvalidationandyouarepressedfortime,itmight
beeasiertojustsubmittheOTMwithoutcreatingtheaccount
Source:UniversityofNorthDakota,MACURH
ToSubmitanIndividualorGroupOTM
1)Gotohttp://otms.nrhh.org/andclickon"SubmitGeneralOTM"
2)Select"UniversityofNebraskaLincoln"fromthedropdownmenu
3)Selecttheappropriatecategoryandfillinalloftheinformation
4)Copyandpasteyournominationfromawordprocessorandusethewordcounttoolatthe
bottomofthepagetobesureyouarewithinthespecifiedwordlimits.
5)Clicksubmitandyou'redone!
ToSubmitaProgramOTM
1)Gotohttp://otms.nrhh.org/andclickon"SubmitProgramOTM"
2)Select"UniversityofNebraskaLincoln"
3)Selecttheappropriatecategoryandfillinallofthebasicinformation.
a.programscanbeCommunityService,Diversity,Educational,orSocial
b.Evenifyourprogramisacombination,choosetheonethatbestdescribesit
4)Typeupyourdescriptionandresponsestoallofthequestionsandusethewordcount
featuretobesureyouarewithinthespecifiedwordlimits.
5)Clicksubmitandyou'redone!
ScarletandCreamNRHHChapter
http://www.unl.edu/unlnrhh/
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