A Selection Committee is the group of people who make hiring decisions for an organization. The committee should be diverse, bringing different perspectives to the decision making process. This diversity can include gender, age, ethnicity, and functional expertise. The committee should also be willing to devote the necessary time and enthusiasm for this step of the process. Selection errors can be costly and have long-term effects, so it’s important to get it right.
For Selection Committee to be effective, it must discuss applicants thoroughly. Discussions should be held at a meeting set in advance (most likely via teleconference) and open to all committee members. This avoids implicit bias, which results from having to make a quick judgment with limited information.
During a selection process, the committee should focus on written criteria that will serve as a framework for the decision-making process. These criteria should be clearly identified and agreed upon by all committee members in order to minimize bias and ensure that each applicant is considered fairly. The written criteria should be reviewed and updated at each committee meeting to ensure that it is accurate and relevant to the role.
Selection committees must be aware of potential conflicts of interest. It is critical that they disclose any potential conflict of interest before the review and assessment of nominations and that each member understands their responsibility to monitor, handle, and report on conflicts of interest as needed.
The NCAA Selection Committee, which makes the final decisions on the tournament’s bracket, consists of 10 members. Each member submits a ballot of teams they believe should be in the field as at-large bids and those that deserve to be placed in the “under consideration” board. Teams that receive eight or more votes are placed in the at-large field, while those with three or fewer will go into the under consideration board.
A key part of the Selection Committee’s job is to evaluate and debate dozens of teams until the final bracket is created on Selection Sunday. For that reason, the committee members often watch college football games on television to keep up with what’s happening around the country. This can add a subjective element to the process, but it is an essential part of the Selection Committee’s job.
In addition to watching college football, the Selection Committee also looks at the academic reputation of each team and the strength of their schedule. This data is used to calculate an overall team rating, which can be used to determine a seed for the round of 16. The committee also takes into account the number of wins over losses, which helps them identify teams that might have a difficult path to the championship game. Ultimately, the Selection Committee makes the best possible decision using a combination of subjective and objective factors to select the best teams for each round of the tournament. For more information on the Selection Committee process, check out our article: Inside the March Madness Selection Committee Room.