AWARDS GUIDELINES

About the 2026 Higher Ed AV Awards

The “Higher Ed AV Awards” are the official industry specific honor ceremony for higher education AV professionals, dedicated to honoring the people, projects, and products of the higher ed vertical.
When: Monday, June 15, 2026, 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
Where: Cabaret Theater at the Westgate Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV.
Attire: Business casual suggested, casual to formal allowed.
In person attendance is not required in order to win, however highly encouraged in order to maintain the prestige of the event. Shortlisted finalists will be notified in advance of the event, and asked to confirm their their attendance status one week in advance of the ceremony to assist with event planning logistics. Winners not present will be mailed their certificate to the address entered on the submission form.

The HEAV Awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments within the higher ed vertical. Write nominations accordingly.
Avoid marketing jargon or sales speak.
Judging period is from January 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026, to qualify. All projects must have been completed, products must have been released, and people must have performed the duties during that time period.
Reference 1 must be from someone currently employed in the higher ed vertical. Reference 2 and 3 may be anyone.
While some entry form fields are optional, all impact final scoring. (See rubric below.)
Only enter categories appropriate to the person, project, or product.
Should the person’s role, project, or product not align with submitted category, the entry will be voided without refund.
All People awards are closed to those currently employed at a higher ed institution with the exception of “Vendor Account Rep” and “Highed Ed Ally” which are closed to those outside higher ed, but serve the vertical.
NOTE: Due to feedback requesting for more advanced notice of shortlisted nominations, the deadline for entries will NOT be extended. Deadline date is final.

Project and product entries are $275/each for early bird (thru April 3, 2026), $325/each after early bird period.
People awards, Hall of Fame, and People’s Choice nominations are complimentary.
HETMA members may request a coupon code to submit their own project complimentary by emailing awards@hetma.org.
Submission of nomination does not include admission to the in person ceremony. Tickets sold separately via individual sales, sponsorship packages, or participation in the HETMA Education Summit.
HETMA InfoComm package sponsors will receive one complimentary submission and two admission tickets to the event.

Complete one submission at a time for best results.
You’ll be prompted to create additional entries after completing your first.
Purchase multiple entries during your first submission to skip future checkouts.
Relevant information will automatically load for future entries.

A closed judging panel evaluates according to the category rubric.
Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and judge will be recused from judging any entries in the category.
All categories will have shortlists announced in advance of the awards ceremony. Winners announced at the in-person event.
Project and product entries are judged against themselves, with a score of 85-100 receiving a “Best in Class” award, 70-84 receiving a “Gold Award,” 55-69 receiving a “Silver Award,” and under 55 receiving no award.
Top overall project score regardless of category entered will be awarded “Project of the Year.”
Top overall product score regardless of category entered will be awarded “Product of the Year.”
People awards are judged against one another, with high scorer receiving the person of the year honor.
All judge’s scores are averaged for each entry, accounting for that entry’s final score.
If any nominee is nominated multiple times for the same category, all nominations will be consolidated to create one “larger” nomination by merging each of the form lines together. Each unique nomination will count for an aditional reference.

Nominations will be scored by judging panel according to standard rubric.
Top 5 high scorers in each category will be opened to a 2-week public vote.
Winners will be announced in-person at the awards ceremony.
AV Smorgasbord: Nominate anything for any reason. A thing, an event, a person, at location, a moment. Just give it enough evidence to be scored well enough to make the top five scores to move on.
Buzzword of the Year: AV loves its buzzwords and jargon. What word had the biggest impact?
Defining Moment of the Year: There’s always big news in higher education and the AV industry, what was it for you?
RIP Dead to Me: What technology, thing, event, etc., finally died over the past year and deserves a proper memoriam?
The Future is Now: What new technology is here, here to stay, and making the biggest difference in higher education and the industry?

Hall of Fame is defined as “The Higher Ed vertical would not be the same if not for their contribution to it.”
3-5 inductees who work or worked for a higher ed institution and 1-2 industry allies will be selected.
Qualified nominees will be scored by judging panel (50% weight).
Final approval by the HETMA Board of Directors (50% weight).
Upon judging, Hall of Fame inductees will be invited to attend the in-person ceremony and offered two complimentary admission tickets.

The “Higher Ed AV Awards” is wholly owned and operated by the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance, Inc.
All decisions are final.