In the process of award selection, navigating the vast selection of options can be an overwhelming endeavor. Let’s look at the best practices to guide you in crafting an award program judging process that culminates in resounding success.

1. Establishing a Methodical Review Process

Review process is typically defined by three distinct stages:

Elimination stage: During this initial stage, reviewers or administrators undertake a swift prescreening of applicants to ensure compliance with all prerequisites.

Ranking the candidates: Subsequently, reviewers cut down the pool of applicants, identifying those most deserving of the award program.

Selecting the winners: At this point, the committee exercises their discretion in choosing the recipients of the esteemed award program.

To ensure a seamless award program review process that treats all applicants fairly, a well-defined review system must be devised for reviewers to adhere to at each stage. 

It is crucial to provide written guidelines clarifying the expectations for reviewing award program applications. In the absence of specific guidelines, reviewers may resort to formulating their own practices, thereby potentially disadvantaging certain applicants.

Reviewers must undertake the evaluation of scholarship applications in an impartial manner, ensuring that every applicant enjoys an equal opportunity of being selected for the award program.

2. Crafting a Scoring System

Once reviewer have sorted the applications of the top contenders, it becomes vital to construct a user-friendly scoring system that established consistency across all reviewers. Having this in mind, the formulation of a scoring set of rules proves invaluable.

By simplifying and specifying the scoring criteria, such sets of rules prove instrumental in eliminating biases that may potentially taint the selection process. When reviewers consistently employ the set system, the process of selecting a deserving recipient becomes markedly easier.

There is no solitary approach for judging award submissions. It is useful to have different types of review modes at hand, so that they can be further customized to fit the best evaluation method for each application in its entirety. 

Qualification Type

The qualification type facilitates straightforward pass/fail determinations. This type is typically utilized by award program coordinators with an idea to speed up the process in cases of substantial volume of award program entries. It is followed by an in-depth review type, such as ranking type or scorecard type of review.

Ranking Type

The ranking mode is designed to help reviewers rank the applications in quality order. It makes sense to use the ranking method in the first round, and then scorecard review in the second round, when a detailed input is required from the reviewers. For more information about this type of review, see Benefits of Ranking Review.

Scorecard Type

With the right tool, it is possible to automatically assign a specific scoring system to each individual program and have this reflected in the statistic scoring system report for each program. Benefits of Customizable Review Scorecard further describes the characteristics of this type of review.

3. Choosing the Right Judging Tools for Your Awards Program

Tailoring your judging configuration to align with your program's specific requirements is of paramount importance. By leveraging one or more review types, you can establish a judging process that optimally supports your program. These modes can be used in tandem, allowing for multiple rounds of qualitative and quantitative assessment, thereby facilitating the best possible judging outcomes.

Remember, the goal is to provide a superlative experience for your judges and uphold the integrity of your awards program.