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Blue Course Evaluations – Data Integrity Gateway (DIG) – DIG Admins

Contents

UVM adopted Blue by Explorance course evaluation software in Fall 2019. Blue is a centralized online evaluation tool with decentralized control and access. It automates invitation and administration of surveys to students, compiles student feedback anonymously and securely, and delivers private, comprehensive reports to faculty members.

Blue Data Integrity Gateway (DIG) Administration

These instructions are for DIG Administrators only. DIG Administrators review, edit, and approve course evaluation data assigned to them before course evaluations are published to students.

The DIG administrative task periods for each semester are posted on the Registrar’s Course Evaluation information page, as well as a listing of the DIG administrator(s) for each academic unit or department.

View your Blue DIG Tasks

DIG Administrators can

  • View the information on the courses they have been assigned.
  • Edit the following course data fields:
    • Survey ID – select the set of questions used to evaluate a given course
    • Course Evaluation Start Date – within the overall evaluation period
    • Course Evaluation End Date – no later than the end of the overall evaluation period
    • Instructors attached to a course and their role (e.g. ‘Instructor’, ‘TA’, etc.)
    • Evaluate Y/N – whether to evaluate the course or not
  • Batch edit and publish course data to make it available in the associated Blue evaluation period.

DIG Administrators cannot

  • Edit the student roster for a given course.
  • Edit a course already published from DIG.
  • Edit the survey questions themselves. (Opportunities for submitting survey edits to Blue Admins are available each term.)
Know Your Courses and Instructors

  • Familiarize yourself with your department’s courses and instructors, including Cross-Listed courses.
  • If your department evaluates Teaching Assistants (e.g. Biology, Physics, and Psychological Sciences), add your TAs to the Blue database according to the “Procedure to Add TAs to the Blue Database”.
  • Immediately upon logging into Blue to perform your DIG tasks, verify that your course list includes all sections your department intends to evaluate, including the sections to which they are cross-listed.
    If you see any sections missing from your list that should be evaluated with your unit’s survey(s), or if there is an extra course listed that you do not own, please email BlueSurveys@uvm.edu as soon as possible to have this corrected.

Course Status Icons

image of blue DIG task list showing course status icons

  • If a course is marked with a green circle, it is considered Valid, the data is complete and can be published or edited.
  • If a course is marked with a red circle with an exclamation point, it is considered Incomplete, the data cannot be published because one or more required fields are missing or invalid.
  • If a course is marked with a blue circle, it is considered Published, and the data is complete and correct and is now available in the Blue database for use. You may no longer edit this information in DIG.

General DIG Procedure

Access Blue

  1. Visit https://blue.uvm.edu/uvm in your web browser.
  2. Log in using your UVM NetID and password.
  3. Under My Home, locate the Data Validation Task for the appropriate term and click the highlighted title.
    image of Blue My Home web page with a DIG task highlighted

Review and Prepare your Data

Finding and Filtering Courses

  1. Search for any information directly in the search.
  2. Click Add criteria to view search details and include filters for more specific data.
  3. Select a type of criteria and add the necessary information.
  4. Select Add criterion to add the filter to the existing.
  5. Edit the courses as required and select Reset to clear the filter.
    About Criteria Search Filters

    Course Field – allows searching of a specific field in the primary course datasource.
    Course Status – filters courses based on their status in the DIG task.
    Group Member – searches for courses that contain a specific instructor attached to the course
    Group Member Count – filters courses according to the number of related group members (i.e. instructors) assigned to that course for the selected group.

Editing a Single Course

Change Data in a Specific Field

  1. Find a course with information that needs to be modified and click Edit.
  2. Make changes to the data as necessary. You can modify the following Course Fields:
    • Survey ID
    • Course Evaluation Start Date
    • Course Evaluation End Date
    • Evaluate Y/N

    Course Evaluation Start and End Dates

    Evaluation start and end dates function on full-day periods of 07:45 AM – 11:59 PM. If you want something evaluated on a single day, you would make the start and end date the same day.
    Ignore the time stamp in DIG because it does not currently work; even if you do enter a specific time, the evaluation will open at 07:45 AM on the start date and close at 11:59 PM on the end date.

  3. Select Save to update the data.
    image of Blue DIG task with buttons highlighted

Assign Instructors and TAs/Adjust Teaching Roles

  1. Find a course that needs to be assigned an instructor and click Edit next to that course name.
  2. Open the Instructor group by expanding the gray Instructor bar.
  3. Select Assign group member and the ASSIGN GROUP MEMBER window will appear.
    image of Blue Assign Group Member dialog with drop down opened
  4. Enter the name of the instructor and select them from the drop down list. Add as many instructors as required for the course.
    Searching for Instructors

    To search by name, you must search by First name OR
    Last name. You cannot put in the instructor’s full name or Blue won’t return results. You may also choose to select “Email” from the dropdown menu so you may search in the right-hand search bar by email.

  5. Select Apply to assign the instructor(s) to the course.
    image of Blue DIG task with assign group member dialog open and Apply button highlighted

    Verify Instructor's Role as you add them!

    • Instructor – default role and applicable to all surveys
    • TA – Biology, Physics, and Psychological Sciences ONLY
    • Lab Instructor – ANPS ONLY
    • Course Director – ANPS ONLY
    • Course Coordinator – CNHS-Multi ONLY

  6. Select Save to update the course.

Unassign Instructors and/or TAs

Unassign one or more members of the instructor group from a course so that these instructors will not be able to be evaluated for the given course(s). The instructor(s) are not removed from the system.

  1. Find a course that needs to be assigned an instructor and click Edit next to that course name.
  2. Open the Instructor group by expanding the gray Instructor bar.
  3. Find the instructor and click the X on the top right corner of the group member block to remove the instructor from the group for that course.
  4. Select Save to update the course.

Editing More Than One Course at a Time (Bulk Actions)

Change data in a specific course field

  1. Select multiple courses that all require the same update.
    • You may filter by certain criteria as shown in section A. FINDING AND FILTERING COURSES to find the particular courses you would like to edit.
    • You can select all from those within your filter or a limited number of your choosing.
  2. Click Edit Courses.
  3. Select Edit course fields from the drop down menu.
  4. Select a field to change from the drop down list that needs to be updated, then enter the new value.
  5. Select Add Field.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for as many fields as need to be updated for the selected courses.
  7. Click Apply to save your changes.
    image of Blue DIG Bulk edit dialog
  8. The Bulk Edit Confirmation window will appear.
    image of Blue DIG bulk edit confirmation dialog with changed fields highlighted and Yes button selected
  9. Select Yes to confirm the changes. A progress indicator will appear as the records are being updated.

Assign Instructors and TAs

  1. Select multiple courses that all require the same additional group member(s).
  2. Click Edit Courses.
  3. Select Assign group members from the drop down menu. The Assign Group Member form appears.
    image of Blue DIG assign group member dialog with a list of instructors selected
  4. Select the Instructor group from the drop down menu.
  5. Enter the name of an instructor.
    Alternatively, enter a letter to view all instructors whose name starts with that letter.
  6. Select a demographic field from the drop down list to see more information about the instructor.
  7. Click + to add an instructor from the list.
  8. Continue adding instructors as necessary.
  9. Click Apply to save your changes (a Bulk Edit Confirmation Window will appear).
    image of Blue DIG bulk edit confirmation window with Yes button highlighted
  10. Select Yes to confirm the changes. A progress indicator will appear as the records are being updated.

Unassign Instructors and/or TAs / Adjust Teaching Roles

  1. Select multiple courses that all require the same Instructor action.
  2. Click Edit Courses.
  3. Select Unassign group members from the drop down list. The UNASSIGN GROUP MEMBER form appears.
  4. Select the Instructor group from the drop-down list.
  5. Enter the name of the instruction to remove and select the instructor from the list. Continue adding Instructors from your list for unassignment as necessary.
  6. Click Apply to save your changes.image of Blue DIG bulk course editing dialog with Apply button highlighted
  7. A BULK EDIT CONFIRMATION window will appear.
    image of Blue DIG bulk edit confirmation window listing a number of group members selected for deletion
  8. Select Yes to confirm the changes. A progress indicator will appear as the records are being updated.

Restore Courses

Once courses are published, they can no longer be changed in DIG. However, if you make a mess of a course, and have not yet published it, you can use the “Restore Courses” option to return that course to its original unedited data.

  1. Select at least one course by clicking the gray box to the left of the course in the list.
  2. Click Edit Courses.
  3. Select Restore Courses.
    image of the Blue Dig Edit Courses menu open with Restore Courses selected
    image of Blue DIG Confirm Restore window with the Yes button highlighted
  4. Select Yes to confirm the restoration. A progress indicator will appear as the records are being updated.

Zero Enrollment Courses - Spring and Fall ONLY!

Disregard for Summer term!

Because Summer enrollment can change dramatically across the term given the numerous sessions offered, and many courses have zero enrollment at the beginning of the term, this section should be disregarded for Summer term.

If courses with zero (0) enrollment are marked as ‘Y’ for “Evaluate Y/N,” Blue reads this as a course where a report needs to be produced at the end of the period. With a zero enrollment the report will appear on the instructor’s list, but be marked as “Threshold Not Met.” This can be confusing for the instructor.

Therefore, we want to specifically mark those with zero enrollments as ‘N’ for “Evaluate Y/N.” That way, the course does not move into the reporting process at all.

  1. In the Criteria selection area, select Group Member Count from the drop down menu, Student from the Group drop down, IS from the logic drop down and enter a zero in the number field, as below:
    image of Blue DIG Criteria selection area with Group Member Count, Student and a Zero entered
  2. Click Add Criterion.
  3. Select all courses by clicking the checkbox in the light blue header bar.
    image of Blue DIG showing the list header bar with the select all checkbox activated
  4. Click Edit Courses.
  5. Select Edit course fields from the drop-down menu.
  6. Select Survey ID from the drop-down list and enter a value of ‘0’.
  7. Select Add Field.
  8. Select Evaluate Y/N from the drop-down list and enter a new value of ‘N’.
  9. Select Add Field.
  10. Click Apply to save your changes.
    image of Blue DIG edit course fields window open with the Apply button highlighted
  11. The BULK EDIT CONFIRMATION window will appear.
  12. Select Yes to confirm the changes. A progress indicator will appear as the records are being updated.

Publish Courses

Publishing is Final

Publishing data is final. Once a course has been published, it can no longer be edited in the DIG task. Please make sure you have made your final changes before choosing to publish any or all courses for your unit.

Publishing from DIG does NOT mean that the evaluation has been opened to student input. It only means that you are sending your reviewed and edited list of courses to the upcoming evaluation project. This includes courses that you marked with “N” telling the Blue database not to evaluate that course.

If you miss the DIG evaluation period, NONE of your courses will be evaluated, so please pay attention to the deadlines and evaluation periods.

  1. Select one or more courses that have been updated and are now ready to be used in Blue.
  2. Click Edit Courses.
  3. Select Publish courses from the drop-down menu to finalize the data.image of Blue Dig edit courses menu with Publish Courses selected
  4. Select Yes in the confirmation window that appears to publish the final changes to Blue. A progress indicator will appear as the records are being published.

Procedure to add TAs to the Blue Database

TAs must be manually entered into the Blue data

Blue is integrated with Banner and Teaching Assistants are not listed in the Banner schedule of courses as a rule. For those departments who have chosen to evaluate their TAs, there is a new process available in Banner Self-service to allow DIG admins to add their TAs to the Blue database each term.

Note: DIG admins need the ‘DEAN’ attribute attached to their record in Banner to be able to perform this task. See https://www.uvm.edu/registrar/forms/banner-mod-remove to request this attribute.

TAs are added to Blue via an overnight (11 pm) data feed

Because there is a delay between when a TA is added and when that person can be assigned to courses in DIG, we strongly encourage adding all your TAs as one of your first tasks. That way your TAs are all available when you begin editing courses in DIG.

You only need to add a TA once per Term

If you have a single TA who teaches multiple courses, you actually only need to attach them to one of their courses via the above process. As long as they are added to the database at least once, they will be available to attach to the appropriate courses in Blue following the Single Course Actions or Bulk Course Actions procedures in this document for Assigning Instructors and TAs. This is more efficient than adding the TA to each course via myUVM.

Log in to myUVM

  1. Log in to myUVM.
  2. Select the Advising global tab and then the Dean’s and Department Chairs sub-tab.
    image of myUVM with the Advising and Deans and Department Chairs tabs highlighted
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find “Blue Evaluations” listing the selection options.
    image of myUVM Blue Evaluations section

Click on Blue Evaluation Course Select

  1. Click on the link “Blue Evaluation Course Select”.
  2. Select the Term from the drop-down menu and click Submit.
    myUVM showing term selection drop down
  3. Select the course to which you would like to add a TA in the “CRN” drop-down list
    Note: you will only see all the courses from your home college.
    myUVM CRN selection with a course selected in the drop-down listing
  4. You will be returned to the Dean and Department Chairs main menu. Proceed with step C.

Click on TA Blue Evaluation Assignment/Un-assignment

  1. Click on the link “TA Blue Evaluation Assignment”.
  2. The course you selected in part A above will appear. Enter the Banner Student ID (“95 number”) or the netID of the TA you would like to attach to the course.
  3. Leave the “Evaluation” field as ‘Teaching Assistant’ and press Submit.
    myUVM TA Evaluation assignment with student ID field highlighted
  4. You will be presented with a screen that confirms the addition of that NetId to the particular course.
    myUVM TA Blue Evaluation Assignment window with the Evalution drop down open

    1. If you would like to switch the course to which you would like to assign or remove TA(s), choose the link to “Return to Dean Chair Menu” and repeat the instructions in part B.
    2. If you would like to assign another TA to the same course, you may do so via the fields at the bottom of the page.
      1. Enter the Banner Student ID (“95 number”) or the netID of the TA you would like to attach to the course.
      2. Leave the “Evaluation” field as ‘Teaching Assistant’ and click Submit.
    3. If you would like to unassign a TA from the selected course, you may do so via the fields at the bottom of the page.
      1. Enter the Banner Student ID (“95 number”) or the netID of the TA you would like to attach to the course.
      2. Change the “Evaluation” field to ‘Remove TA Blue Evaluation Assignment’ and click Submit.

Select TA Blue Evaluation Assignment Report

If you would like to view the list of TA assignments for all courses in your college to verify your work, you may return to the Dean and Department Chairs main menu.

  1. Select “TA Blue Evaluation Assignment Report” from the menu and the report will appear on your screen.
  2. For advanced filtering and easy viewing, you may export to Excel by clicking the “CSV (Excel) Output” button.
    myUVM TA Blue Evaluation Assignment report with Excel Output button highlighted

Updated on April 21, 2021
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