FAQs

An Organisation must be a current financial member or a supplier/contract holder of Student Experience Network (SEN) to participate in these awards.

If you are not sure, check with the Head of your Organisation, or contact us here.

There are currently 18 awards. These have been grouped under 6 categories, all relevant to the diverse landscape of student experience services and life on campus.

See the full list of categories here.

The 2023 Awards season covers any member supplier initiatives which took place between February 2022 and June 2023.

To be eligible for the Awards, your initiatives must have occurred between these timeframes, unless stated otherwise.

NOTE: The New or Refurbished building category includes buildings opened between Feb 2022 and June 2023.

*Individual award categories and the SEN Strategic Partner of the Year are excluded from any timeframes. 

Award submissions closed on 30th June 2023 and are now in the process of judging.

Winning entries will be awarded at the SEN Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 23rd November 2023, at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach.

Yes!

1. There is a new tiered entry option that some entrants may not be aware of. The two entry options are the ‘Award of Distinction’ or the ‘Best of the Year’. You can choose to submit in either level for any of the entries you are submitting. The higher level is the ‘Best of the Year’ level and requires additional criteria for Innovation and Leadership to be completed.
2. RUBRICS. Each category is now reviewed and scored against a rubric. Rubrics for each category are available to download on the submissions platform however, you can view an example HERE.

1. Terms and Conditions – Carefully read through the terms and conditions
2. Choose Categories – Familiarise yourself with all of the Awards categories and criteria to identify the most relevant categories for your initiatives
3. Choose an Entry Tier – Decide if you will submit in the Award of Distinction level or the Best of the Year level for each submitting category
4. Seek Approval to Enter – If relevant, seek approval to share the required information from the authorising Head of your Organisation
5. Gather Relevant Content – including information, data, images, videos, and documentation to complete your submissions
6. Register – Register your Organisation on the submissions platform
7. Write Your Submission/s – Complete the submission forms for each Award category you are choosing to enter
8. Cross-check all of your information
9. Submit – complete and submit your entries by the closing date

Yes, you can log in and edit your submissions at any stage, up until the closing date.

You can add multiple initiatives into the same category if they are all relevant to that category however, you cannot submit the same initiative into multiple categories.

You need to decide which category your initiative fits into best and only enter it into that category.

Yes, supporting documents (logos, photos, spreadsheets etc) must be less than 5MB each.

Submitting to the SEN Awards can provide great benefits to organisations as well as individuals.

• Industry recognition – be seen as leaders in the student services sector
• Increase Marketability – add winner logos to email signatures, websites, employment ads, social media, tender applications etc
• Positive Engagement – with staff, students, customers, and suppliers
• Individual Recognition – nominate colleagues, staff, or suppliers for an individual award
• Inspire and Collaborate – showcase your initiatives to inspire and motivate others in the sector, or to collaborate on future projects
• Professional Development – nominate yourself or a colleague for the Joe Curtis Professional Development scholarship (*SEN members only, conditions apply).
• Networking – celebrate the amazing achievements of everyone within our sector at the SEN Awards Gala Dinner

1. Confirm that your organisation is a financial member of SEN or a recognised supporting supplier of SEN member organisations
2. Check the categories to make sure you have the right initiatives to meet the criteria
3. Check that you have the time, resources, data, and information to successfully complete your entry

1. Award Categories – review each award category carefully. Make sure your initiatives fit the category you choose.
2. Terms & Conditions – review the terms and conditions
3. Dedicate someone to be responsible for overseeing all of your submissions. This person will organise the collating of all the details for the proposed entry, work on the narrative, and write the submissions.
4. Submissions Platform – register your organisation on the submissions platform
5. Rubric – to maximise the details of your entry, read through the rubric for the category you’re submitting to
6. Gather Details – schedule meetings with your team to gather all the details you need to make an outstanding submission
7. Collate – check that your details successfully meet all of the relevant criteria.
8. Marketing Collateral – utilise any in-house marketing or graphics to add a professional touch to the submission
9. Leverage Your Brand – consider what you can leverage from your brand and your ‘market following’ (marketing material, photos on file, social media status)
10. Enthusiasm – take time to answer each of the criteria properly and maintain enthusiasm for your story
11. Schedule – don’t leave your submission/s to the last minute! Allocate enough time to complete the submission to the best of your ability, put your efforts into the presentation and the way it looks and reads.
12. Evidence – make sure you provide evidence to verify your claims and your successes.  Support your narrative with facts, figures, feedback responses, and evidence-based data
13. Languaging – refrain from using jargon or acronyms that the judges may not understand
14. Spelling, Grammar, Syntax – get it right!! Write your submission into a word doc first so you can check your spelling, grammar and syntax then copy it into the the templates on the submissions platfrom

We have seen hundreds of wonderful initiatives and individuals participate in the Awards over the years (since CampusLink Awards). The listings on the NEWS page are a great place to view the separate Award winners entries from 2019 to 2022 for some inspiration.

Judging Panels are made up of sector experts and independent industry professionals with expertise relevant to the awards they are reviewing. Judges are given two weeks to independently review all submissions for an award prior to an online conference call where the panel discusses and collaborates on the final outcome.

Each award is allocated to a handpicked Judging Panel, based on their skills, knowledge, and experience.

You can contact the Awards Coordinator via the Contact Form