ABOUT THE AWARDS

First Place and Second Place awards will be given in each category unless the caliber of the entries is judged to be unimpressive. (This flexibility ensures the integrity of this competition.) Determinations will be based on the evaluations of all judges assigned to that category. If more than two sites receive high rankings, additional awards might be granted such as Third Place or Honorable Mention.

A panel of judges will be assigned to each category. The decisions will be made based on e-mail discussions among the judges and the competition directors. The directors will send a “short list” to all judges in the category and ask them to choose their two favorites in ranked order. In the event of ties, the directors will decide whether to split the award or to resubmit to the judges to determine places.

Award of Excellence
After winners in each category have been determined, the judges will be asked to select a site for the Award of Excellence. The directors will e-mail a list of the URLs for all First Place sites to all the judges. All the judges will participate in this decision.

Judges are instructed to recuse themselves if they have any conflict of interest in this part of the process. Judges are permitted to choose no site for this award if they do not feel any single site stands out from the rest.

If there is no consensus among the judges, the directors may select a site to receive the Award of Excellence or may choose not to give the award.

The Second Place site in the category from which the Award of Excellence is selected will become the First Place site in that category. If there is no Second Place award in that category, no award will be given for that category. If there is a Third Place or Honorable Mention award in that category, it will become the Second Place award; if not, the judges will have the option to reconsider whether to award Second Place to one of the remaining entries in that category.

Presentation of Awards
Awards are presented at the annual AEJMC national convention. Winners in this competition are expected to attend the convention and to present their winning site as part of a scheduled convention panel. To attend the convention, the winner must become a paid member of AEJMC.