Eval25 FAQ

• Can my evaluation responses impact my grade?
  • Evaluations are anonymous. Neither your instructor nor any administrator will have any way of knowing who submitted any specific feedback. Additionally, most schools wait until after instructors have submitted grades before allowing instructors to view the evaluation results, as further protection for you, the student.
    
    
• How is my anonymity protected?
  • Institutions often elect to not evaluate classes with low enrollments, such as less than 10 students (or X amount of students). Demographic data, such as gender or UG/Grad status, can be suppressed so it is not available in faculty reports.  There are no tools available in the Eval25 system for an administrator or faculty to match a set of responses with an individual student, such as yourself.
    
    
• Can I review my responses before submitting an evaluation?
  • Yes. After you have filled out an evaluation, you will be presented with a page to review your responses.  On this review page, you will have the option to go back and edit your responses or to proceed with submitting the evaluation.
    
    
• Can I begin responding to an evaluation and then return later to complete it?
  • Yes. You can begin an evaluation, save it, and return later to finish it.
    
    
• Can I edit my responses before the evaluation close date?
  • Yes. You can edit responses up until the point the evaluation closes.
    
    
• Can I reset an evaluation form?
  • This is up to your institution. If it decides you can reset evaluation forms, you will see a reset button located next to each evaluation on your dashboard. If there is no reset button, your institution decided not to make it available for students.
    
    
• How does the reset button work?
  • After you have submitted an evaluation, the reset button will appear next to the evaluation until the close of the evaluation session.  Once you click on the reset button, all responses on the evaluation will be deleted and you'll be able to fill out the evaluation again.
    
    
• Can I decline participation in the evaluation?
  • Your institution will decide if there will be a decline button available on evaluations. If so, you will see a decline button on the top or bottom of the evaluation form.
    
    
• What happens if I do not respond to any of the questions on the evaluation?
  • In this case, you will see a dialog box when attempting to submit an empty evaluation. It will present you with the following message: “You have skipped all questions. Would you prefer to decline the evaluation instead?” You then have the option to “Decline,” “Proceed,” or “Cancel.”
    
    
• How will I know if my responses to an evaluation have successfully been submitted?
  • Once you submit an evaluation, you will be redirected back to back to your dashboard and will see a confirmation message at the top. The evaluation status will also be updated and the course information greyed out.  An acknowledgment email will automatically be sent to you at the end of the day.

• Can a student decline participation in the evaluation?
  • The institution can decide if they would like to include a Decline button available on the evaluation.  This is an institutional setting that can be turned on by CollegeNET.  If this is turned ‘on,' the student will see a Decline button on the top, or at the bottom, of the evaluation form.
  • Email support@collegenet.com to request this button's availability or unavailability.
    
    
• Is there a way to preview evaluations and settings before the evaluation session starts?
  
  • Authorized users can use the Form Viewer to preview instruction text and evaluations before they are available to students. Announcements can be previewed before they are sent to faculty and students.
    
    
• How do we hold grades for students who do not complete evaluations?
  
  • CollegeNET will provide the Grade Hook web service for customers wishing to hold grades from students who have not completed evaluations.  The web service checks the CollegeNET database to verify that a student has completed all evaluations for a Term or Session.  Once it is determined all evaluations are complete, a student is given access to his or her grades. The length of hold is determined by the customer and can be temporary or until the student completes all evaluations.  It is the responsibility of the customer to implement the Grade Hook web service.  For additional information, please review the attached support documentation, Implementation of Grade Hook for the Eval25 Course Evaluation System, and email support@collegenet.com to request more information. There is no fee to use the Grade Hook web service.
    
    
• Can questions added to the evaluation by the instructor be saved in the system for the next Term?
  
  • Yes, instructor-added questions roll forward to the next Term. Instructor-added questions can also be stored in the application's Question Banks.
    
    
• Is there a way to add an instructor's course learning objectives to a student's course evaluation?
  
  • Yes. An Eval25 Administrator can upload an instructor’s course learning objectives in the XML upload file’s optional <objectives> field. If objectives need to be edited, users can manage this at a course’s Registration page in the Learning Objectives text field.
  • Things to keep in mind:
    • Following an XML upload, learning objectives automatically display on both the evaluation form and reports.
    • To view or edit the objectives in Registration, click the Edit button to the upper right on the page for the course.
    • For the XML upload file, there are no restrictions. However, what you upload should be fine as long as you don't use &,<, and>. Instead, you need to use&, <, and >respectively.
      
      
• Can evaluation results be shared with students?
  • Evaluation results can be made available to students.  An administrator can create a custom report and share all, or subsets of results with students.  Students with this type of access will have a reports tab at the top of their student home page to access results.
    
    
• Can I allow students to reset an evaluation form?
  
  • You can decide if you would like a student reset button. This is an institution setting that can be turned on by CollegeNET.  If this is turned ‘on’, the student will see a reset button next to each of their evaluations on their dashboard.
  • Email support@collegenet.com to request the availability or unavailability of this button.
    
    
• Why do some universities let students reset their own evaluations?
  
  • Some institutions choose to make the reset button available to students in case the student thinks they made an error and filled out the evaluation for the wrong course.  The student can reset the evaluation by themselves, without having to contact the administrator to reset it on their behalf.  The administrator always has the ability to reset an evaluation for a student.
    
    
• Can we evaluate multiple academic terms at the same time?
  
  • Yes, our system allows multiple academic terms to be evaluated simultaneously (or overlapping). It provides the ability to have evaluation sessions within a term that would allow for multiple survey periods within each academic term to run simultaneously.

• Who can use the Form Editor?
  • Any authorized user who has been given the “Form Editor” permission can use the Form Editor.  Access restrictions will apply to the individual’s use of the Form Editor. If a user’s access is restricted to a specific department the user will only be able to bind question sets to courses within that department. For example, a department chair of the Biology department will be able to bind question sets to courses within the Biology department, and not the History department.
    
    
• Who can create new evaluation forms using the Form Editor?
  • A user that does not have access restrictions and has the Form Editor permission can create a new evaluation form. If a user has Form Editor permission and restricted system access, for example, history department only access, the user will not be able to create a new evaluation form, however, they will be able to bind new questions to an existing evaluation form using the Form Editor. Binding options available will be filtered by the user’s access restrictions.
    
    
• Who can add institution-wide (global) questions to evaluations using the Form Editor?
  • A user that does not have access restrictions and has the Form Editor permission can apply the “institution-wide” binding to question categories. If a user has the Form Editor permission and restricted system access, for example, history department only access, the user will not be able to apply the institution-wide binding to question categories. Binding options available will be filtered by the user’s access restrictions.
    
    
• Once an evaluation session starts can the Form Editor be used to change bindings?
  • Bindings can not be changed while the evaluation session is open. Changing a binding mid-session would corrupt the integrity of the data collected.
    
    
• How many pages can an evaluation be?
  • Customers can create an evaluation with as many pages as desired.
    
    
• Do question categories need category titles?
  • It is not necessary to use a category title when using the Form Editor to create a new category of questions. This will not affect reports.
    
    
• Is there a question bank available for instructors?
  • The central admin can add questions to the question bank using the Form Editor. If desired, instructors can select questions from the bank to add to the evaluation for each course they teach.
    
    
• Can our institution have more than one question bank?
  • The question bank is evaluation form-specific meaning that if the institution is using multiple evaluation forms there can be a unique question bank for each form. If the institution is only using one evaluation form for all courses institution-wide, all instructors will have access to the same question bank.
    
    
• How do I add a “demographic question” to an evaluation using the Form Editor?
  • Demographic questions can be added to evaluations using the Form Editor and selecting question type Select One.
    
    

(For questions about evaluating multiple instructors, guests, or teaching assistants, please see the next section: Multiple Instructors)

(For questions about evaluation permissions, please see the section: Permissions and Access Restrictions)

• How does Eval25 handle a course co-taught by multiple instructors at the same time?
  • Eval25 supports co-taught courses in two ways, depending upon if the system is configured to be “Instructor-Based” or “Course-based”:
    • Instructor-based: If the system is using instructor-based evaluations, then the student will fill out a form for each instructor in a co-taught course.
    • Course-based: If the system is using course-based evaluations, then the student would fill out one form for the course.  Any instructor-related category of questions would be repeated for each instructor (i.e. form might have some general categories of questions for the course, and then “Instructor Clarity” category might be repeated for Instructor A, Jane Doe & Instructor B, John Doe.)  The category title can actually include the instructor’s name “Instructor Clarity question for Jane Doe”.  This is controlled in the form editor (when using Course-based evaluations-“categories set to template will repeat instructor-categories”).  
• If a course is team-taught (co-taught), how many forms will a student fill out?
  • If a customer is using course-based evaluations, the student will fill out one evaluation for the co-taught course.  If the customer is using instructor-based evaluations, the student will fill out two or more evaluations (depending upon the number of instructors) for the co-taught course.

• Can we have students evaluate guest lecturers?
  • To evaluate guest lecturers who are not in the institution's database or single-sign on system, the instructor of record for the course should use the Eval25 multi-purpose Survey tool to send a survey for each guest lecturer to their students.  By setting up the survey, the instructor will be the “survey owner” and automatically have access to the survey results.

• How are teaching assistants added to a course in Eval25?
  • Teaching assistants must be added to a course via the Term upload file. The same course_id should be used for the instructor and teaching assistant. Please note: teaching assistants can not be added to a course using the Registration Tool, however, the instructor of record can be added/updated using the Registration Tool.
    
    
• How many teaching assistants in a section can a student evaluate?
  • Multiple teaching assistants can be evaluated in a section.  As the customer, you will decide the number of teaching assistants per section a student should evaluate (one/zero or one/zero or more/one or more) and update this setting by emailing support@collegenet.com to request this. Students will be able to select the appropriate teaching assistant(s) to evaluate from a list on the student homepage.
    
    
• Who can view evaluation results for teaching assistants?
  • If a teaching assistant has institution credentials to log into Eval25, they can view their own results.  The instructor of record for the course can view the course reports available for the associated sections taught by a teaching assistant (optional).  Authorized users, such as department chairs with appropriate access restrictions, can view teaching assistant results.  The system is highly flexible in this regard.  If you have questions about permissions, please email support@collegenet.com.
    
    
• Can we use separate questions to evaluate teaching assistants?
  • Yes. It is common that an institution will use a separate set of questions to evaluate a teaching assistant, rather than the questions they would like students to respond to when evaluating the instructor of record. To set this up, your central administrator should use the Form Editor to create a separate teaching assistant form. The form_code for the teaching assistant form must be included in the Term file and it will be automatically mapped to the appropriate course section when the file is uploaded to the Term.
    
    
• How many evaluations will a student fill out if they are taking a course taught by an instructor & a teaching assistant?
  • The student will fill out one evaluation for the instructor & another evaluation for the teaching assistant. Please note: the same or different evaluation forms can be used to evaluate the instructor and teaching assistant. It is necessary to use a separate evaluation form for the teaching assistant if the goal is to have the students respond to another set of questions separate from the main evaluation form.
    
    
• Why does the enrollment for TA-taught courses look incorrect?
  • Enrollment data for TA-taught courses is stored in a parent course, and noted in Eval25 as an associated course. Students "enroll" in a TA-taught course when they select their TA within the interface. Enrollment for each TA will show as zero until a student selects that TA.
    
    
• Why does status tracking for my TA taught courses show as 100% all the time?
  • Students are not considered "enrolled" in TA courses until they select their TA, so response rates for TA courses will always be 100%. This occurs because the system does not know which TA taught which student until the student selects their TA within the interface.

• Does Eval25 support a reporting hierarchy?
  • Yes, Eval25 supports a reporting hierarchy by providing an institution administrator the tools to configure user access restrictions as needed.
    
    
• Who can access reports?
  
  • By default, faculty can only see evaluation results from courses they have taught.  An administrator can add additional authorized users, such as department chairs, deans, etc. to Eval25 and configure their report permissions and access restrictions as needed.
    
    
• Are permissions configured by user role, or by a unique user?
  • Both. Institution settings can be applied that set system default behaviors by user role, for example: can students view reports, yes/no. Permissions and access restrictions can also be configured by an administrator on a per-user basis for a high level of security control.
    
    
• Describe evaluation management security.
  • Evaluation forms are securely managed by authorized users that have been granted permission to use the Form Editor by a system administrator.
    
    
• If an employee leaves the institution, will they still have access to evaluation results in Eval25?
  • Once the employee’s access to the institution portal is removed they will no longer be able to log in via single sign-on to their dashboard in Eval25.  If access should be removed immediately, an administrator can log into Eval25 and edit the employee’s information so that they can not log in.
    
    
• When an administrator is configuring an individual user’s permissions, which of the permissions are tied to access restrictions?
  • All permissions under “Configuration” and all permissions under “Reporting” are tied to access restrictions.  The permissions under “Administration” are not tied to access restrictions.
    
    
• Can access restrictions be based on instructor characteristics?
  • Restrictions can be based on instructor_type, e.g. tenure, non-tenure, etc.
    
    
• How granular can permissions be?
  • With the new permissions model, it’s possible to set up multiple groups of rules for a user, such as a user who must see “all biology department lab courses” and “all history department clinical courses”.  For assistance with configuring user permissions, please email support@collegenet.com to request assistance.
    
    
• What is the User Permissions Report?
  • A report that shows all users in the system that can view results for courses other than the courses they teach, and users who have higher-level reporting permissions, administration permissions, or configuration permissions.  The report can be exported to Excel and it will also contain Access Restrictions on a separate Excel tab.

• Who can access reports?
  
  • By default, faculty can only see evaluation results from courses they have taught.  An administrator can add additional authorized users, such as department chairs, deans, etc. to Eval25 and configure their report permissions and access restrictions as needed.
    
    
• If a user has access to the Report Browser, can he/she view results for all courses?
  • No.  A user’s filter options for the Report Browser are determined by the user’s unique access restrictions.  For example, if the users' access is restricted to the Biology department, the user will only have the Biology filter option under the department filter.
    
    
• Do you have a response rate report? 
  • Yes.  Administrators can log in and view response rates in real-time, by school, department, and down to an individual course.  Instructors can view response rates for their own courses on their dashboard.
    
    
• Are student declines included in the response rate reports?
  • Yes. Declines are accounted for in the response rate report.
    
    
• What is the User Permissions Report?
  • A report that shows all users in the system that can view results for courses other than the courses they teach, and users who have higher-level reporting permissions, administration permissions, or configuration permissions.  The report can be exported to Excel and it will also contain Access Restrictions on a separate Excel tab.
    
    
• How long does it take for faculty to receive reports?
  • Course reports are generated in the system within 24 hours of the close of the evaluation session.  Reports are released to faculty according to the report release date specified by the system administrator, so it is possible to delay the release according to your institution's policies.
    
    
• Is it possible for users to preview course reports before the report release date?
  • Course reports are calculated overnight the day evaluations close. Administrators and anyone with "preview reports" permission can view the reports right away.
    
    
• If we are sharing course reports with students, when are they available for the students to view?
  • Course reports are generated in the system within 24 hours of the close of the evaluation session.  Reports are released to students according to the student report release date specified by the system administrator.  If desired it is possible to delay the student release date until after the faculty report release date so faculty can preview the reports before students, for example, if your institution is using the comment flagging feature.
    
    
• Which average (course/department/institution) is used when calculating the standard deviation on the Course Report?
  • The course average is used to compute the standard deviation for the Course Reports.
    
    
• When are Rollup Reports available?
  • Rollup Reports are available at the end of the Term, rather than at the end of a session.

• Can I control who has access to a custom report?
  • The Report Builder has tools to specify which groups of users can view a custom report.  Report access can be set for Students (Yes, No), Instructors (Yes, No, Own Courses), Permitted Users (Yes, No), and Administrators (Yes, No).
    
    
• What are the report sections in custom reports?
  • Reports are organized into sections that consist of either HTML or Chart components.  Section names become menu options at the top of each report that users can click on to quickly navigate to different parts of the report.
    
    
• Can I print a custom report?
  • Yes. To generate a PDF of the current custom report, click “View as PDF” at the top of the page. You can also export a custom report's data as an Excel file by clicking the "Export as Excel" link next to the PDF link.

• Can I send emails announcing evaluation start/end dates, reminders throughout the evaluation period, reporting availability, and current response rates? 
  • Yes. The system supports sending announcements for evaluation start/end dates, reminders throughout the evaluation period, reporting availability, however not current response rates.  Administrators can log in at any time and see the real time response rate and even be able break down response rates by school, department, and course.  Instructors can also monitor response rates for their own courses on their dashboard.
• When creating an evaluation reminder email to be sent to students, what URL should be included; the institution’s or Applyweb?
  • We recommend sending the URL to login to your institution portal.  The student will click on a link within your portal to be redirected to their personal Eval25 homepage via single sign-on. 
• What kinds of email announcements can be sent at the Term level/session level?
  • Any announcements that are tied to an event (e.g  start/end dates, report release dates, acknowledgment emails) should be set up at the Term level and will automatically be applied to the sessions (therefore it’s not necessary to set up an acknowledgement email for each session, if you do decide that a specific session requires a special custom date, the date you set up for that session will override the term announcement). Reminder emails are tied to custom dates, and must be set up at the session-level.

• Does Eval25 support student comment signing?
  
  • Yes.  Eval25 supports student comment signing.
    
    
• How does student comment signing work?
  • On the evaluation, there is a question that is flagged as the “signed” question with a Yes/No answer. 
  • For example: 
    • “You have the option of signing your comments on this evaluation. If you click the "yes" button, your comments will be sent to BOTH the instructor and the instructor's supervisor and your name will be identified with the comments (i.e. you will no longer be anonymous). If you click the "no" button, your comments will be available ONLY to the instructor (not the supervisor) and you will NOT be identified with your comment”  
  • If a student responds ‘yes’, comments are added to reports, and the student's name is appended to the comment.  If a student answers ‘no’, we do not show the comments to any users besides the course instructor.
    
    
• What is a flagged comment?
  • A flagged comment is a comment that has been identified as inappropriate/offensive and marked for review.
    
    
• How does an instructor flag a comment they feel is inappropriate for review by an administrator?
  • When viewing a Comments Report or Instructor Report, an instructor will see a box next to each comment that can be checked to flag a comment for review.
    
    
• What happens when an instructor flags a comment?
  • Once a comment has been flagged for review, it will be placed in the Comment Redaction Report.  An administrator with permission to review flagged comments will be able to evaluate all flagged comments in the Comment Redaction Report.  The administrator can take action to redact the comment or retain the comment, and provide an explanation of their decision.  The instructor will receive an email to inform them of the decision made.
    
    
• What happens after an administrator redacts a comment, or retains a flagged comment?
  • After the administrator takes action to redact or retain a flagged comment, an email will automatically be sent to that instructor informing the instructor of the decision.  The email will contain the comment, the decision, and the explanation for the decision.  Redacted comments will be hidden from reports.  Retained comments will remain on reports.  A comment that is retained can not be flagged again. A historical record of flagged comments will be available in the Comment Redaction Report.

• How does a survey respondent access a survey?
  • Surveys can be public (available to everyone) or by invitation only.  If the survey is public, Eval25 will generate a link to the survey that can be posted in an email, a website, social media, etc.  If the survey is by invitation only the survey owner must add the respondent’s first name, last name, and email address for distribution to the intended group.  The email sent as a direct invitation will contain a link that can be customized with a unique URL so respondents can only submit the survey one time.
    
    
• Who can create a survey?
  • Administrators and faculty can use the survey tool.  Faculty ability to use the survey tool is an institutional setting that can be turned ‘on’/ ‘off’.  If you’d like to change this setting email support@collegenet.com to request it.
    
    
• Who is a survey owner?
  • A survey owner is an individual who has created a survey.
    
    
• Who can see survey results?
  • The survey owner automatically has access to view results from the survey they created.  The survey owner can also share results with other users with access to Eval25
    
    
• Can survey availability be restricted to a specific time frame?
  • Surveys can be created that are open year-round or only available for a limited amount of time the survey owner specifies.
    
    
• Can surveys be cloned?
  • Yes.  Surveys can be “cloned” to create a copy.  This is done by clicking the clone icon under “Tasks” on the Survey tab’s landing page.
    
    
• Can survey questions be marked as required?
  • Validation rules can be applied to designate all or some survey questions required. Responders cannot submit a survey until they have responded to all required questions. 

• How does Eval25 support cross-listed courses?
  • A customer can designate courses as merged in the data file you provide from your student information system.  In the data file, there will be a “combined_section” field that is treated as a course attribute. Eval25 will recognize these courses as cross-listed when the data file is uploaded to the Term.  Additionally, cross-listing or removal of cross-listing, can be manually changed through the Registration tool.
    
    
• How are cross-listed courses accounted for in reports?
  • Each report will clearly note that the course is cross-listed, for example, "Literature 201, also known as "Folk Stories of Latin America".  Results for cross-listed courses can not be disaggregated (i.e. separate report for students who enrolled in Literature 201, separate report for students who enrolled in Folk Stories of Latin America.
    
    
• If a course is cross-listed with a course from another department, will both department chairs be able to see the report for the course?
  • Yes. Authorized users from both departments will be able to see the cross-listed report, dependent upon each individual’s access restrictions.
    
    
• How do I associate cross-listed course sections?
  • If each instance of a cross-listed course has associated sections, this must be included within the XML file; the TA association needs to be provided for each of the cross-listed courses.

• How are the following calculated - Course Mean, Department Mean, Course Median, and Department Median?
  • Course Mean: 
    • The sum of all answers for a question in a course or department is divided by the total number of answers for that question in a course.
  • Department Mean:
    • The sum of all answers for a question in a course or department is divided by the total number of answers for that question in a department.
  • University Mean:
    • This is the mean for all evaluations that included the question specified.
  • Course Median:
    • If the center_median option has been turned off or on in a school's Institution Settings, the median is the result that lies in the middle of responses. Half of the responses lie above or equal to the median and the other half lie below or equal.
    • When center_median is turned on, then a center median is calculated as an interpolated median. The result will be close to a normal median, but will be pulled slightly upward or downward depending on whether there are more responses strictly greater or strictly less than the median.
      • If a data set is 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, and 5, then the normal median is 3, but since there is only one response strictly below, while two responses are above, the center median will be slightly above 3, or in this case 3 and 1/6th. This median will be rounded to 3.2, per CollegeNET's system.
    • The exact formula used is:
      • normal median + (number of responses above - number of responses below) ÷ (2 x number of responses equal) 
    • The answer is then rounded to the nearest tenth. The center median is never more than 0.5 in either direction of the normal median.
  • Department Median:
    • If the center_median option has been turned off or on in a school's Institution Settings, the median is the result that lies in the middle of responses. Half of the responses lie above or equal to the median and the other half lie below or equal.
    • When center_median is turned on, then a center median is calculated as an interpolated median. The result will be close to a normal median, but will be pulled slightly upward or downward depending on whether there are more responses strictly greater or strictly less than the median.
      • If a data set is 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, and 5, then the normal median is 3, but since there is only one response strictly below, while two responses are above, the center median will be slightly above 3, or in this case 3 and 1/6th. This median will be rounded to 3.2, per CollegeNET's system.
      • The exact formula used is:
        • normal median + (number of responses above - number of responses below) ÷ (2 x number of responses equal) 
      • The answer is then rounded to the nearest tenth. The center median is never more than 0.5 in either direction of the normal median.
• Is the instructor mean a weighted mean? (Does it take class size into account?)
  • No. It does not.

• How do I submit a request to CollegeNET Support?
  • Email: support@collegenet.com.
    
    
• What is the list of IP addresses used to send out email communications from Eval25?
  • We recommend allowing a range of IPs; at a minimum, 74.122.104.0/24, or even better our entire range of 74.122.104.0/22.
    
    
• Do you provide a separate test and a separate stage version of the application? If so, can Test and stage be cloned from Production upon request?
  • We do not provide a separate instance for test/stage vs production. All test/stage data can either be carried through to production or deleted upon request.
    
    
• Can Eval25 be hosted on-premise on our institution’s servers?
  • CollegeNET is a 100% web-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that is hosted on CollegeNET’s secure servers.  We do not offer an on-premise deployment option.
    
    
• Where are our institution’s course evaluation data collected in Eval25 stored? 
  • In order to safeguard against power failures or natural disasters, CollegeNET stores customer data both on our secure data servers at our headquarters in Portland, OR, and at our backup data center in Arizona.
    
    
• How long will CollegeNET store our course evaluation data, and is there a fee to retrieve data?
  • Data is stored on CollegeNET servers until the customer requests it is deleted.  There is no fee to retrieve or delete the data for customers.
    
    
• Has Eval25 ever had a security breach?
  • No. CollegeNET meets a very high level of security standards.
    
    
• Has CollegeNET dealt with any issues related to student privacy policies or disclosures of any kind for Eval25?
  • CollegeNET collects basic student information such as the student's first and last name, and email address assigned by the institution. CollegeNET does not collect a student’s social security number or any credit card information.  The course evaluation data collected in Eval25 is 100% owned by the institution.  CollegeNET has never sold any of the data or used the data for advertising purposes.
    
    
• How can our institution retrieve the course evaluation data stored on CollegeNET servers?
  • Course evaluation data can be retrieved by an administrator by way of an XML export.  The XML export has all of the raw data we’ve captured within the system and can be exported by Term.
    
    
• When is the XML export for the Term available?
  • The XML export is available 1 day (24 hours) after the Term ends.
    
    
• Does XML upload automatically designate associated courses as "LAB"?
  • Yes, the upload procedure automatically designates associated courses as LAB courses if no type is included. If a type is included for an associated course, that will be used instead of LAB.
    
    
• Is it possible to add a custom_data_field to the XML upload and be able to use it like any other field once it's in the system? For example, access restrictions, bindings, report filtering, etc.?
  • The data dictionary includes options for custom fields (follow the link below). Use these to add whatever data you wish to your instance of Eval25. Once your file, including your new custom_data field(s), has been uploaded into Eval25, open a ticket in the Help Center (email support@collegenet.com) to let us know how the custom_data field(s) should be masked within Eval25. We will then change custom_data_n to appear however you wish. Please note that moving forward, however, the field(s) within your data file should still be loaded as custom_data_n. 

• Is it necessary to manually upload a Term file to Eval25?
  • Currently, it is necessary to upload the data necessary to schedule course evaluations manually through the UI.
    
    
• Can a school upload a Term file with an instructor name of unknown, and then after the evaluation period had closed use the Registration tool to change the instructor name to John Doe, for example? 
  • Yes, you can do this.  The one thing to make sure of is to use the same instructor name and code for all courses where you don't have a name, otherwise, you will be creating multiple instructors in our system.  Once you have a name, you can then go in and change the instructor.
• Does the data import need to be in XML format or can it be in CSV format?
  • Term files imported into Eval25 must be in XML format. We do not support CSV.
    
    
• Can Eval25 accept a full re-upload of Term data? 
  • In Terms and Sessions, a system administrator can upload three different Types:
    • Initial Load: select this Type if this is the first upload of student, instructor, and course data
    • Student Reload: select this Type to overwrite just student data
    • Full Reload: select this Type to overwrite student, instructor, and course data
  • It is important to keep in mind that a Full Reload file will overwrite ALL previous data that has been uploaded to the Term. If the intention is to simply update course rosters, make sure that all other course and instructor data remains the same that was included in the Initial Load file.
  • Courses not included in the reloaded file will be deleted from the system upon reload. During the file upload, the system will provide a warning message alerting you that these courses are being deleted.
    
    
• Can historical course evaluation data from a previous vendor be imported when migrating to Eval25?
  • Yes.  If your institution desires to import historical course evaluation data from a previous vendor into Eval25 email support@collegenet.com to make this request.  Professional services will be required and a separate addendum outlining the scope of work and a fee will be negotiated prior to work commencing.
    
    
• Are there any limitations to what custom data fields can be imported in a Term file?
  • Refer to the Course Evaluation Data Dictionary for the current number of custom data fields and character limits that can be included in the Term file.  For more information email support@collegenet.com to request further details.

• How does your solution manage disparate course time frames such as mini-semesters, weekend and short courses (typically 2-5 days), evening courses, summer courses, and online courses?
  
  • Eval25 was developed to handle highly-flexible calendars. Course time frames of any kind are not an issue for Eval25 and can be easily managed.  Authorized system users can schedule evaluation periods as needed by simply including the disparate time frames with session_ids in the Term file for automated scheduling.  Registration tool enables authorized users to update evaluation start dates and end dates manually, if necessary.
    
    
• Does someone need to go into the system at the beginning of each term to set the beginning & end dates manually?
  
  • Each Term the administrator will need to log into Eval25 to create a new Term and specify Term start/end dates as well as the Report Release date.  Term settings from a previous term can be copied to the new Term including all announcement templates, text settings, evaluation forms, and bindings.  Even if the administrator does not change any of the settings in the new Term, we recommend as best practice taking a quick peek at announcements and text content just to ensure everything looks correct before the Term gets underway.

• Is there an API available to export evaluation data collected in Eval25 to external systems?
  • Yes. Starting with release 2017.02, the Eval25 Data Export API can be used to consume data from Eval25. 
  • The Data Export API is based on REST (Representational State Transfer) principles. It is expected that the API’s users will be technically knowledgeable and know how to consume APIs, as REST APIs in general, require knowledge of programming and web services.
  • To minimize the level of effort on the user side, we employ the following standard technologies and formats:
    • OAuth 2 - for authorization to the API
    • Swagger - for endpoint documentation to copy and form an API call
    • XML/JSON - for request/response formats
  • Creating API consumers is a four-step process and involves:
    • CollegeNET adding your school as an API using institution.
    • Your Administrator adding an API user within Eval25.
    • CollegeNET emailing the API user a unique client ID.
    • Your Administrator emailing them a unique passcode.
  • For more information, please see Add a New API User & Edit API User Details

• How long has Eval25 been available to institutions? 
  • Eval25 (formerly called "What Do You Think?") has been available since 2006.
    
    
• How frequently are product updates and changes made?
  • Feature enhancements and changes are made to the solution multiple times a year.
    
    
• Are upgrades available?
  • Eval25 is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution and all customers will receive new features and upgrades automatically.
    
    
• What factors influence future product development?
  • Feedback from our current customers is a valued source of inspiration for new feature enhancements.  Feel welcome to share your suggestions with CollegeNET by emailing support@collegenet.com. CollegeNET also analyzes industry trends to ensure we are offering the best product for our customers.
    
    
• How are product release updates handled in the middle of an evaluation period?
  • Update changes do not affect a student’s ability to fill out an evaluation.  Changes typically only affect faculty and administrators after the evaluation period has ended.  During development, we will keep customers apprised of pending updates.  If a customer feels an update may conflict with their timeline, we can reserve the right to postpone the update if necessary.

• Can we integrate Eval25 with our Canvas learning management system?
  • CollegeNET has partnered with Instructure, provider of the Canvas platform, to offer our customers an LTI-enabled app which is available in the Instructure EduAppcenter.  For app assistance and additional information, please email support@collegenet.com to request assistance.
    
    
• How do we integrate Eval25 with our Canvas learning management system?
  • Upon request, CollegeNET will provide your institution a Consumer Key, Shared Secret, and Configuration URL to add the Eval25 app located in the EduAppcenter to your Canvas Institution Account.  For app assistance and additional information, please email support@collegenet.com to request assistance.
    
    
• Can both students and faculty access Eval25 through Canvas?
  • Students and faculty can log into Canvas and access evaluations and results without needing to log in a second time to Eval25. Students can complete evaluations for each course directly within Canvas.  A link will be available in Canvas to the instructor’s personal Eval25 dashboard with evaluation results.
    
    
• Can a link to Eval25 be placed in multiple institution portals, such as our Canvas LMS and another institution portal?
  • Links to Eval25 can be placed in multiple institution portals if desired.  Multiple access points provide more convenience for your students. Displaying a link in multiple places is particularly important if an instructor does not have an active Canvas course, or for staff that need access to Eval25 and do not have courses in Canvas.
    
    
• Does adding the Eval25 LTI app to Canvas replace the need to upload a Term file to schedule evaluations?
  • Adding the Eval25 LTI app to Canvas does not replace uploading a Term file to Eval25. Canvas is not the authoritative source of registration data for evaluations.  Registration data from your student information system should be used when creating your Term file.  Depending upon institution policies, there may be cases where courses do not use Canvas.
    
    
• Are Eval25 institution settings, such as evaluation start and end dates, affected when we add the Eval25 LTI app to Canvas?
  • Adding the Eval25 LTI app to Canvas has no effect on Eval25 institution settings.
    
    
• Is there a fee to add the Eval25 LTI app to Canvas?
  • No. There is not a fee to add the Eval25 LTI app to Canvas.