Judging Procedures
Thank you so much for helping us select this year’s MIPA Student Journalist Staff!
This page (hopefully) contains everything you need to judge Student Journalist Staff portfolios. Judging panels must have their assigned portfolios reviewed and scored no later than the end of the day Thursday, March 8, 2024. You will turn in your scores to your judging panel chair (listed below).
PLEASE REVIEW THIS WEBSITE AND ALL MATERIALS BEFORE STARTING.
Judging panel chairs will report your picks to MIPA’s board, which will review your picks for Student Journalist Staff, finalize All-MIPA selections and make the selection of Michigan’s candidate for JEA’s national Student Journalist of the Year competition. The MIPA office will notify all candidates. This is a tight window of time in which to complete your work. Your judging panel chair will help organize a timeline for your group.
JUDGING PANELS
Judges have been divided into judging panels based on their expertise, whether they have students competing in this contest and the number of portfolios in each area. If you have a student in the area in which you are assigned to judge please let the MIPA office know ASAP so that you can get a new assignment.
Each judging panel will include at least TWO members. Each portfolio must be scored by at least two members of the judging panel.
No adviser should judge any category in which they have a student competing. Please contact the MIPA office ASAP if there is a conflict so that you may receive a new assignment.
Each judging panel has been assigned a head judge, responsible for overseeing judging, resolving disputes and/or determining consensus. This head judge will also be the point person for the following tasks:
Answering any inquiries about portfolios after judging day.
Giving the All-MIPA “induction speech” at the spring awards celebration. (Jeremy will provide you with some guidance on that.)
JUDGING PROCEDURES
You may not need to read every portfolio - but each portfolio must be read by at least two judges on your panel. Coordinate with each other and your judging panel chair to divide work!
Please, no ties. (Unless they’re bow ties. Ha!)
Each portfolio should be evaluated by at least TWO judges and scored using the MIPA rubric. Each judge will award points in each of the five rubric categories. A portfolio’s total score is determined by the total of the two judge’s scores.
ALL JUDGES FOR A CATEGORY should look at the three highest scoring portfolios (or any portfolios coming within two total points of the top) and come to a consensus as to which portfolio should be the All-MIPA scholarship recipient.
If there is a close cut-off between the last in/first out for Student Journalist Staff winners, all judges in the category should look at all portfolios within one point of the cut line and come to a consensus.
Directions for what students should include in their entry can be found here.
JUDGING/SCORING FORMS
Work with your judging panel colleagues to divide up the portfolios so that each is viewed by at least two judges. Each judge will record his or her own scores in the judging form, which includes the Student Journalist Staff rubric.
You will record your scores and comments in an online judging form. We suggest you type out any comments in your favorite word processing program (so that you can easily save and edit them) and copy and paste them into the form. We've provided a Word version of the judging form to guide you. These written comments are a HUGE help to the process and to the MIPA office when we inevitably get questions from advisers or students about how portfolios could be improved. (We do not ever share raw, unedited comments. We summarize for key themes.)
Upon completing a form, a copy will automatically be sent to your judging panel chair, who will compile scores. Your judging panel may choose to have a conference call, do a video chat or have additional email conversations to discuss selections.
Please do not share your feedback or information from other judges on your panel with students or other advisers.
The MIPA office will use a summary of your scores and comments to give feedback to those applicants who request it. We do not share raw judges’ comments with anyone outside the selection process.
Download the Word version of the judging form to prepare your scores comments.
HOW TO ACCESS PORTFOLIOS
Grade transcripts, essays, resumes and letters of recommendation will be distributed via email since they contain information that should be kept private.
On the page for your judging area, click on a student's name to view their portfolio. Portfolios may be a website or a PDF file hosted in a service such as Issuu. You should not have to download a portfolio or need any special software to view it.
Once you have reviewed a portfolio and accompanying materials, record your scores and comments within the judging form.
QUESTIONS?
Call, text, email. 517-353-6761 or ask@mipamsu.org
Happy judging!