Staff Appreciation and Recognition Plan (called the “STAR Program”) has been designed to recognize and reward excellence in University service; significant achievements and contributions; and/or outstanding individual and team performance.

The STAR Program will recognize contributions in three ways:

  • SPOT Awards: Recognize significant employee achievements and contributions, as they occur, for a specific project or task over a relatively short period of time. A SPOT Award lets employees know that someone has noticed their noteworthy contribution. SPOT Awards are administered locally by individual departments across the school utilizing UCSF-wide guidelines. Prize amount is $1,500 (previously $1,000).
  • ACHIEVEMENT Awards: Recognize sustained, exceptional performance and/or significant contributions from an employee(s) over an extended period of time. The contribution that is being recognized at the Achievement Award level must reflect at least one of the Chancellor’s Goals and/or the UCSF PRIDE Values. Achievement Awards are administered through an SOM-wide process with selection committees which include staff, supervisory and faculty representation representing diverse functional areas. Prize amount is 10% of base salary, with a cap of $7,500 (previously $5000).
    • NEW! TEAM Achievement Awards: $7,500 split evenly among all named team members (new award level). The School of Medicine (SOM) Control Point STAR Administrator submits recommended awardees to HR for review and processing and notifies the award recipients. The supervisor and nominator(s) are copied on the award letter notification email.
    • Please refer to the STAR Achievement Award Best Practices as a guide to help you highlight specific examples of employee contributions in your nomination.

Detailed program information, including payment calendar, is available on the UCSF STAR Program site.

The School of Medicine uses a web-based tool (requires VPN access) for submitting nominations for both the SPOT Awards and Achievement Awards.

HR strongly recommends that nominators contact the employee’s supervisor/manager for input on eligibility criteria prior to submitting a nomination.

For more information about the STAR SPOT Award, contact your department/unit administrator.

For more information about the Achievement Award, contact [email protected].

For help with the STAR Portal, contact [email protected].