Innovation of the Year Award Submission Instructions

Winning Innovations

After choosing a winning innovation according to its own guidelines, each League Board or Alliance college or district* submits its selection via the online application (see instructions below). One winning innovation will be accepted from each college/district.

Local Finalists

Districts or systems with multiple colleges or campuses are also encouraged to email information about college-based finalists for the district award to Kelly Dooling, subject line "IOY Award Finalists." Please include the associated campus, innovation title, innovation description, and names of team members (institutional employees only).

Click here to learn how winning innovations and local finalists are recognized by the League.

*A district may hold League membership for all the colleges in the district; the overall winner selected from among the district colleges is the Innovation of the Year winner and the remaining college winners are local finalists. Similarly, a college may hold League membership, which extends to all its campuses; the overall college winner is submitted to the League and the remaining campus winners are the local finalists.

Award Contact

The Innovation of the Year primary contact is the only person from your institution who can access and submit the award application online and/or email finalist information. If you are not that person, please send these instructions to him/her. To learn the name of your college’s Innovation of the Year Award contact, or, if you are the award contact and your institution has decided to designate someone else, email Kelly Dooling.

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR AWARD APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY APRIL 12, 2024.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Online Submission of Winning Innovations

[Click here to download a print-friendly version of these instructions.]

Review the award procedure information here prior to entering the submission portal.

1. Log into your account at www.league.org. (If you do not remember your username and/or password, click on “Forgot Password?” and enter your college/business email address.) You will receive a password reset email.

2. Once you are logged in, click the dropdown arrow next to “My Account” at the top, right of the page and select “Innovation of the Year Award Submission.”

3. Click on “Create New Submission.”

4. After carefully reading the information on the Instructions page, hit the “Next” button.

5. On the Details page, enter or select the following:

  • Title (up to 100 characters)
  • Description (up to 1,000 characters)
  • Category
  • Criteria
  • Recognition (up to 300 characters)

6. On the Recipients page, click on the “Add New” button, then enter a recipient’s last name in the “Search for a Customer” field.

  • If the recipient** has a League account, his/her name will appear. Select the recipient's name and hit “Save.” (Recipients who have not yet created a League account will not appear in the list.)
  • After you have selected all recipients available, hit “Next.”
  • If you were unable to find recipients by using these instructions, contact Kelly Dooling prior to submitting.
  • To access your “In Process” application and add recipients after communicating with Kelly:
    • Repeat steps 1 and 2 above.
    • On the landing page, click on “Details” to the right of your pending submittal to reenter the application.
    • Select the Recipients page using the tabs on the left and add additional recipients.
                 **Recipients must be employees of the submitting college.

7. Once all recipients are added to the application, confirm that all innovation details and recipient information is correct. This is important because the information will appear online and in related publications as submitted. You will not be able to edit your entry once you submit.

8. Hit the Submit tab to complete this process.

9. Upon submission, a confirmation email will be sent to you. If you do not receive notification from our office, please follow up with Kelly Dooling to ensure that the submission was successful.

League Awards Program Ads

Participating colleges and systems are encouraged to submit an ad for inclusion in the League Awards program. The purpose of the ads is to highlight and congratulate Innovation of the Year and Excellence Award recipients from your college, and to bring attention to League Board and Alliance member institutions. Submissions may include photos of recipients and/or a special congratulatory message.

Ad submission instructions for the 2023-2024 Innovation of the Year Award winners will be posted in fall 2024.

Adwords test: