The Selections Process

The selection process take place in three stages:

• Call for nominations
• Public voting
• Academy voting

2013 nominations and voting time line

Establishing nominees, official nominees, and honorees

The Bammy Award nominees are selected by members of the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International and the general education community. Those nominated by the Academy are called "official nominees," which is an honor unto itself. Educator's Voice nominees are made by the general education community. Anyone can register on the Bammy Awards web site and make a nomination. All nominees are rated and seleceted based on category-specific criteria. The criteria, ratings and reviews are all visible online in each category.

Level I: ROUND 1 SCREENING

The first round of screening for all nominees is essentially a measure of public influence and popularity within the education community. Votes, ratings and reviews are collected and tabulated online. Anyone with a valid email address may register and cast a vote. Public voting, ratings and reviews are computer tabulated in real-time and visible online. This part of the process is completely transparent. Parties may cast multiple votes and vote multiple times. Nominees are restricted from voting for themselves. The nominees with the most votes in a category automatically receive the Educator's Voice Awards and become eligible for consideration by the Academy for the Bammy Award in their category. The open nomination and voting for the Educator's Voice Awards allows for the discovery of new people, programs and organizations who are making a difference in education but may be below the radar screen of the education community.

Level II: SCREENING

From the entries submitted during the Call for Nominations, along with recipients of the Educator's Voice Awards, the Council of Peers of the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International define category-specific short lists to be voted on by the Academy Board of Governors.

The Council of Peers is comprised of experts in the category. They have been reviewed, selected and personally invited to be part of the Council because of their demonstrated expertise in the categories in which they review. Membership on the Council is by invitation only. Council members are given access to rate and review nominees. They are barred from judging any entry with which they have a conflict of interest. The process of peer review relies on community self-regulation to identify conflicts of interest. Ultimately, determination of a conflict interest is the sole discretion of the executive committee. Council members who breach the rules, spirit of the awards or are found to be in conflict may be removed from the Council.

Level III: ESTABLISHING HONOREES

The Bammy Award honorees are chosen by members of the Board of Governors with category-specific expertise. They vote on nominees from a short list drawn by the Council of Peers and Educator's Voice winners. In the event of a tie, the executive committee casts the tie-breaking vote. Academy members may not vote in any category in which they have a conflict of interest. A veteran member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences provides vote tabulation review and consulting to help ensure the integrity of the process.

Five nominees are chosen for each category. Other nominees may be selected for special distinctions and honors.

The Board of Governors is comprised of luminaries, visionaries, and evangelists who have realized significant achievements or made major contributions to the field of education. They are all recognized, respected leaders in their areas of expertise.

Academy members may not vote for any entry with which they have a conflict of interest; such situations are closely monitored, depending on both the personal integrity of the judges and the online education community to police such activity. The ultimate arbiter of conflicts of interest is the executive committee and its sole discretion.