WATE Judging process
About the judging process
Each teaching or supporting teaching department is invited to recommend at least one staff member and one student to serve as faculty judges. Judge recommendations need to be mutually agreed between departments and judges. Recommended judges need to be able to commit to both stages of the process (depending on the number of nominations, some judges might then be released from Stage 2 judging).
Upon judge recommendation, the WATE team assigns judging roles as Reviewer 1, Reviewer 2, or Reviewer 3 (an experienced judge who steps in if needed). They are organised into faculty-based teams to reflect disciplinary expertise. Note that judges will not review nominations from their own department, and all allocations are checked for conflicts of interest.
Before reviewing, all judges complete a calibration exercise and meeting to ensure consistency and fairness. Each staff–student pair then reviews nominations independently, gives scores (0–5 per criterion), and, in Stage 2, provides brief feedback for nominees.
The WATE team collates scores and, where needed, involves Reviewer 3 to help finalise decisions and confirm the award winners.
The approximate judge time commitment is 10-12 hours in total.
Student judges (any Faculty/any level of study) may claim Warwick Award (WA) points. Undertaking a WATE student judge role is an excellent experience, developing a range of valuable Employability Core SkillsLink opens in a new window, including Communication, Critical Thinking, and Information Literacy. In recognition for this, student judges can claim 4 Core Skills Points (CSP) Link opens in a new windowthrough the Warwick Award once they've completed the role. The WATE Team will assist them with this process.
