Judging a Case Competition

Photo of judges interacting at a table

What to Expect When Judging a Case Competition

To provide experiential learning opportunities that challenge norms for students through case competitions, we rely on the support from both faculty and business professionals to serve as judges. The students get practice solving a real-world ethical business dilemma and the judges get inspired by the fresh ideas presented by students. Usually, this is a fun, engaging experience for all involved.

Here are two ways to contribute:

March Debate Madness—An individual head-to-head, single elimination business ethics tournament run each Spring in late February and early March; open to both grad and undergrad students at CU. This is a fast-paced debate lasting 20 minutes per round with no prep, but you may do several rounds per evening. Two debaters arrive and pick a prompt out of a hat and then flip a coin to determine who argues the pro side and who argues the con side. Judges keep track of time as the students have a few minutes to research the topic on their phone. Each student presents opening arguments, next they cross examine and ask each other questions, and wrap up with their closing statements. In the preliminary rounds the judge fills out the judging rubric for each student and awards points based on certain criteria to determine which student advances to the next round. For the Finals there is usually a panel of 3 judges to avoid ties and all debates happen in the same room with a public audience for family and friends to support the finalists. Students win cash awards for various prize levels.

Business Ethics Case Competition (BECC)—A team business ethics case competition run each Fall in late October/early November; open to both grad and undergrad students at CU. We usually pair a faculty judge with a judge representing the business community for broader perspectives. Students form teams of 4 members and must submit a written executive summary to the case. Judges provide written feedback which allows the teams to improve their proposed solution before they present in front of the judges for the preliminary round. After this round the judges determine which teams advance to the Finals Round where cash prizes are awarded accordingly.

If you would like to join us as a judge, please fill out this form and you will be contacted.