Information for Judges and Moderators

Judges and moderators are incredibly value members of the SDSU Student Symposium. We encourage faculty, staff, and community members to participate in the event as judges and/or moderators. The success of S³ is realized when the entire university community comes together to demonstrate their commitment, investment, and enthusiasm.

We are incredibly grateful to the mentors and judges and who have participated in the Symposium for several years in a row.

Judges

Judges help identify winners for awards and provide constructive feedback for student presenters to grow professionally and improve their projects.

How to Register as a Judge

If you're interested in serving as a judge, please follow our step-by-step guide to complete your registration:

1. Create an Account: Visit the SDSU Student Symposium Judge Registration Page and click on the “Sign-up” button. You’ll be prompted to create an account if you don’t already have one.
2. Complete Judge Registration Form: Fill out the Judge Registration Form with your contact information, area of expertise, and availability during the symposium. This information helps us match you with presentations relevant to your field.
3. Select Judging Preferences: In the form, you’ll have the option to specify preferred presentation categories. Please choose the categories most aligned with your background to ensure an engaging judging experience.
4. Review Key Dates:
• Judge Registration Deadline: Friday, January 24, 2025, by 5 PM PST
• Event Date: Friday, February 28, 2025
• Award Ceremony: Saturday, March 8, 2025 
• Note: Judges should be available on February 28 for live presentations, which may include Q&A sessions with students.

Familiarize Yourself with Judging Criteria

After registering, please review our Judging Criteria Documents, which outline the categories, scoring guidelines, and judging instructions. This resource provides a clear framework for evaluating presentations based on research quality, presentation skills, and overall impact.

Each presentation type has a different scoring rubric that will be completed within the Symposium/ForagerOne platform.

Oral Presentations Scoring Guidance

Poster Presentations Scoring Guidance

Oral Presentations Scoring Rubric

Poster Presentations Scoring Rubric

Performance Visual Arts Scoring Guidance

Performance Visual Arts Rubric

Please Note: Faculty members cannot judge and score their mentees' presentation(s). This presents a conflict of interest and scores from faculty mentors will not be included in the final scoring summary from the other judges.

Contact and Updates: Judges will receive email reminders and updates before the event. Make sure the email address you use for registration is active.

Support and Questions: If you have any questions or need assistance during registration, please reach out to our S³ team.

Moderators

Moderators ensure the proper timing and conduct for presentation sessions. They assist in the transition between presenters and keep track of time remaining in a presentation so that presentations start and end when they are supposed to.

Moderators can sign up to participate in the 2025 SDSU Student Symposium following the same instructions as judges, listed above.