Introduction

This guide will focus primarily on setting up reports that share the results of course evaluations including instructor commentary to the students, specifically for end-of-term evaluations where courses are evaluated at different times. Student feedback can drive the improvement of your institution's teaching and learning, but the value of reporting results back to the students is typically overlooked. Institutions often assume that applying the evaluation results to improve student engagement is enough to ‘close the feedback loop’. However, the loop begins with students and closing the loop should end where it began: reporting the results to the students.

Our Choices

The following parameters will be applied throughout this guide:

Project Setup Recommendations

• Two projects required:
  • Create separate projects for student feedback and instructor commentary
  • First project collects student feedback
  • Second project collects instructor responses
• Relative dates in projects: Used to accommodate different course evaluation timelines
• Instructor reports workflow:
  1. Share student feedback reports with instructors first
  2. Allow time for instructors to review results
  3. Instructors respond via the second project's survey
• Main lecturer only: For team-taught courses, only the main lecturer provides feedback to ensure cohesive commentary
• Student reports: Final reports include:
  • Student feedback
  • Instructor responses
  • Shared with students, instructors, and academic leaders
• Project mapping: Combines questions from both projects to display:
  • Student feedback
  • Instructor commentary
  • In final student reports

Closing the Feedback Loop Timeline

Project Mapping Considerations

When mapping Projects 1 and 2 for final reports:

Project Requirements

• Matching confidentiality levels
• Same Definition type
• Identical audience settings (both private or public)
• Only groups with fillout privilege can be mapped

Subject Requirements

• Reports only include subjects present in Project 1
• Subjects exclusive to Project 2 won't appear in reports
• Merged subjects cannot be used

Question Requirements

• Only questions of these types can be mapped:
  • Single selection
  • Single selection table
  • Multiple selection
  • Multiple selection table
  • Comments
• Questions must have:
  • Identical scale (same number of options)
  • Matching score values

Limitations

• Text analytics unavailable
• Filters cannot be used (except when mapping survey projects)

Configure the Student Feedback Collection Project (Project 1)

First, we will configure Project 1 to collect student feedback. This project will closely resemble an end-of-term course evaluation.

General Overview of Steps for Project 1

1. Add Datasources
   Include data for:
   • Courses being evaluated
   • Participants in the feedback process
   • Their relationships
2. Create the Definition
   Select the appropriate evaluation structure type.
3. Define Groups and Privileges
   • Create participant groups
   • Assign evaluation privileges
4. Create the Project
   Configure:
   • Project Definition
   • Audience type
   • Confidentiality level
   • Automatic group update option
5. Verify Subjects and Members
   Confirm correct inclusion of:
   • Subjects
   • Group members
6. Build the Questionnaire
   • Create and configure mandatory survey instrument
   • Optional: Allow coordinators/instructors to:
     • Create questions
     • Select from validated questions
7. Configure Tasks
   Apply initial task settings.
8. Schedule Tasks
   Set timelines for:
   • Feedback collection tasks
   • Reminders
9. Publish Project
   • Set overall evaluation schedule
   • Publish the project
10. Create Instructor Reports
    Analyze student feedback in reports that provide:
    • Summary of evaluations
    • Record for instructors

Step 1 - Add Datasources (Project 1)

The first step in creating the student feedback collection project is to add datasources containing:

• Course information
• Participant data
• Relationship mappings

Required Datasources:

Step 2 - Create the Definition (Project 1)

After adding datasources, create the Definition that will be used for both projects.

Definition Requirements:

Step 3 - Define Groups and Privileges (Project 1)

As part of the Definition setup, create participant groups and assign evaluation privileges.

Groups and Privileges Configuration:

Key to Privileges:

• FO: Fillout
• QP: Question Personalization
• RV: Report Viewing
• SM: Subject Management

Step 4 - Create the project (project 1)

The next step after defining groups is to create the feedback project.

Settings for the project:

Step 5 - Verify Subjects and Group Members (Project 1)

Blue automatically populates subjects and group members when automatic update is enabled. However, you should verify the included subjects and members are correct.

Verification Process:

1. Navigate to:
   MEMBERS → EXPORT/IMPORT tab
2. Select Export Members to download a CSV file containing:
   • All courses
   • Associated group members

   📘 Reference:
   For detailed instructions, see Export or Import Project Members.

Example Exported Data:

Key Points:

• Verify all expected courses appear in SubjectID and SubjectName
• Check each course has the correct:
  • Instructors listed under Instructors group
  • Students listed under Students group
• Confirm all member IDs and names are accurate

Step 6 - Build the Questionnaire (Project 1)

After creating the project, construct the questionnaire containing:

• Core questions (standard for all evaluations)
• Personalized questions (from instructors/coordinators)
• Comment questions (for main instructors' feedback)

Questionnaire Components:

Implementation Notes:

• Use the question bank for standardized items
• Enable personalization features where appropriate
• Configure visibility settings for comment questions
• Test questionnaire flow before publishing

Example of setting up project 1's questionnaire:

Step 7 - Configure Tasks (Project 1)

Configure evaluation tasks for each privilege group, following standard end-of-term evaluation settings.

Task Configuration Summary

Legend:

• ✅ = Enabled feature
• Enabled = Configurable option
• • = Individual setting

Notes:

• All tasks require authentication (*)
• Task owner removal consistently deletes the associated task
• Question quotas apply per course/instructor level

Step 8 - Schedule tasks (project 1)

Once the tasks are configured, the next step is to schedule when each task starts and ends.

Example of student feedback collection project schedule (your schedule may vary):

Step 9 - Publish Project (Project 1)

Publish the project to activate tasks for all groups.
Navigation: PUBLISH tab
Reference: Publish a project

Pre-Publication Checklist

After Verification:

• Set project start date → Earliest course start date
• Set project end date → Latest course end date/semester end

Step 10 - Create Instructor Reports (Project 1)

Analyze student feedback in reports that:

• Provide evaluation summaries for instructors
• Allow instructor comments (included in final reports)
• Will be shared with students, instructors, and academic leaders

Report Configuration

Example of published instructor report with a summary and comment block:

After creating your report, you will present the student feedback to instructors using report blocks.

Example of two report blocks used for instructor reports:

After you have added content to your report, it is time to set the distribution time frame that instructors will be able to access the report. To learn more, see Set distribution schedules for reports.

Settings for the report's distribution schedule:

The final step in creating the instructor reports is to publish the report which finalizes how and which data is reported. Navigate to the PUBLISH tab to start publishing the report. For more information, see Publish a report.

Critical items to verify before publishing the project:

Configure instructor commentary project (project 2)

Once the student feedback collection project is set up, the next thing is to configure the second project which will collect feedback in response to the student feedback. This second project will be much simpler to configure since you can copy the first project and modify the necessary groups, subjects, questions, and schedules.

Project 2 Configuration: Instructor Commentary

General Workflow Overview

1. Project Creation
   Copy Project 1 to maintain consistent:
   • Definition
   • Audience type
   • Confidentiality level
   • Groups structure
   • Subjects
   • Questionnaire
2. Group Cleanup
   Remove all groups except:
   • Instructor Commentary group
3. Definition Filtering
   Add demographics-based filter to:
   • Restrict feedback to main instructors only
4. Questionnaire Modification
   • Unhide instructor comment questions
   • Hide all other questions
5. Task Scheduling
   Configure fillout task timeline for:
   • Instructor feedback collection
6. Publication
   Set evaluation schedule and:
   • Publish project
7. Report Generation
   Create final student reports by:
   • Copying instructor reports

Step 1 - Create Project by Copying

Objective:
Establish Project 2 by duplicating Project 1 configuration.

Procedure:

1. Locate Project 1 in project management interface
2. Select "Copy Project" function
3. Assign new project name (e.g., "Instructor Commentary - Term")
4. Confirm duplication of all shared elements

Key Benefits:

• Preserves all existing relationships
• Maintains questionnaire consistency
• Saves configuration time
• Ensures data compatibility for reporting

Step 2 - Delete all groups except instructor commentary (project 2)

The next step is to delete all groups in the Definition except for the instructor commentary group. You will then assign the instructor commentary group the fillout privilege.

Step 3 - Add group filter to Definition (project 2)

Since this is a team-taught Definition, there will be multiple instructors for one course. Thus, the feedback we want to collect is from the course's main lecturer.

Example of exported data (courses, teachers, and their role in the course):

Step 4 - Modify the questionnaire (project 2)

The next step is to modify the questionnaire. We recommend showing the hidden instructor comment questions and hiding the rest.

Step 5 - Configure fillout task schedule (project 2)

The next step will be to schedule when the instructor fillout task starts and ends.

Example of instructor commentary schedule (your schedule may vary):

Step 6 - Publish the project (project 2)

The next step is to publish the project. Navigate to the PUBLISH tab to get started. For more information, see Publish a project.

Critical items to verify before publishing the project:

Post-Verification Actions:

• Set project start date: Earliest course start date
• Set project end date: 2-3 weeks after latest course end date

Note: All verifications should be completed before publishing Project 2.

Step 7 - Create student reports (project 2)

The final step in configuring the second project is to create reports shared with the students. This report will include both the student and instructor feedback in a report to close the feedback loop.

Basic settings for the student reports:

Example of published student report with a summary block and three comment blocks:

After mapping both projects, instructor comment questions, and fillout groups to the student reports, add a Question - Comments type report block for each mapped instructor comment question.

Settings for adding report blocks:

After you have added the necessary comment blocks and group element to your report, it is time to set the distribution timeframe that students, instructors, and academic leaders will able to access the report. To learn more, see Set distribution schedules for reports.

Settings for the report's distribution schedule:

Before publishing the report, you will activate Dynamic Role Access for academic leader groups in the evaluations. This is so they can receive the final student reports.

Publish Student Reports (Final Step)

Purpose: Finalize report data and distribution settings

Navigation:
→ Go to PUBLISH tab
→ Reference: Publish a report

Pre-Publication Checklist

Final Configuration

• Publish Date: Set to earliest course start date
• Expiry Date: Set to 2-3 weeks after latest course end date

Important: Verify all checklist items before publishing.