For Faculty






 

What is the Student Engagement Roster?

The Student Engagement Roster (SER) is an early feedback tool that allows faculty members to communicate with students about how they are doing in a class and make recommendations to improve or deepen their learning.

The SER system offers various features that facilitate efficient, meaningful communication with students, including:

  • Positive feedback on student performance
  • Personalized comments when adding feedback
  • Ability to provide feedback for multiple students at once
  • Canvas integration to filter students based on gradebook columns—e.g., all students who have less than 70% on quizzes
  • Ability to view when students have viewed your feedback

SER also allows instructors to meet two faculty reporting obligations at IUB: Attendance verification and early evaluation grades. More information on those topics is available in the Help and Resources section.

 

What happens when you make an Observation or Recommendation about student performance?

When you provide feedback about students’ performance via SER—either through an Observation or a Recommendation, two key things happen:

  1. The students receive email that alerts them to the new feedback (unless the only feedback provided is an indication of “attending”). Because of evidence that indicates students are more likely to read email from instructors than from an automated system, the email will appear to come from you, with the wording below:

    I have submitted some information on how you are doing in [Course]. Please take a look at that feedback by accessing yourStudent Engagement Roster through One.IU.edu or by following the link in Canvas. Please do not hesitate to discuss this feedback with me. You'll get a follow-up email from me whenever I submit new feedback for you.

  2. The records of your observations and recommendations are visible by academic advisors, who can look for patterns across all of a student’s courses. This allows advisors to reach out to students in more targeted and supportive ways.

In addition, SER leaders are working on ways to provide academic service units—e.g., tutoring services—with data that will allow them to provide direct outreach to students who received recommendations to use their services.

 

What are the possible Observations and Recommendations, and where are students directed for more assistance?

While SER contains a broader list of Observations and Recommendations, some are specific to each IU campus. The following recommendations include links to related IUB campus resources, and some sites include guidance on how the student can best use those services in response to SER feedback:

Consult with academic advisor
One.IU Advisor tool
Consult with Dean of Students
Dean of Students office
Seek study skills help
Student Academic Center
Consult with writing lab/center for help
Writing Tutorial Services
Consult with math lab/center for help
Department of Mathematics Academic Support page
Consult with tech lab/center for help
UITS Support Center and Help Desk
Consult with a peer coach
TBD
Attend department help session
Seek course tutoring
Academic Support Center Tutoring Resources
Consider honors program
Hutton Honors College
Explore undergraduate research opportunities
Engaged Learning
Consider graduate school
The University Graduate School
Consider getting published
IU Journal of Undergraduate Research
Consider joining student groups in this discipline
beINvolved
Consider study abroad
Office of Overseas Studies
Consult with career services about options
Career Services

 

What can you do to make the Student Engagement Roster useful for students?

Let students know about your use of SER and your commitment to giving them feedback that can help them succeed. Consider including a statement like this is your syllabus:

This semester I will be using IU’s Student Engagement Roster (SER) to provide ongoing feedback on your performance in this course. Periodically throughout the semester, I will be entering data on factors such as your class attendance, participation, and success with coursework. This information will help you see how you are faring in the course and offer you suggestions on how you might be able to improve your performance.

You will be able to access your information via the SER-Student Engagement Roster app in One.IU.

 

Provide feedback throughout the semester, so students have multiple opportunities to improve and succeed. See the Suggested Timeline for ideas of when you can provide feedback.

Remember you are one point of feedback, so even if you think you can resolve an issue directly with a student, consider adding the Observation or Recommendation to SER, so that advisors can see and respond to any patterns that may be emerging across classes.

Keep in touch with students about their progress. SER isn’t a magical system, nor is it a way to hand off responsibility to someone else. Rather, it provides a starting point for feedback and conversation with your students. If you recommend they go for tutoring, for example, follow up to see how it is working for them.

Close the loop on Recommendations to “Consult with instructor’” or “Consult with teaching assistant” by returning to SER and indicating when the students have done so. This step provides useful information to advisors who may be nudging students to attend to SER feedback. Go into SER, click Actions at the top right in the header, check "Consulted with instructor" in the student's row, and click submit twice.  You still need to remove this recommendation in the SER the next time you submit feedback for this student.

Suggested Timeline for SER


Faculty:  Consider explaining the SER to your students and tell them how you will be using it. If students are registered for your class and miss the first class, report them as non-attending in SER.  It will allow outreach that can help clarify their situation. Here's a sample text you could put into your syllabus:  
This semester I will be using IU's Student Engagement Roster to provide feedback on your performance in this course. Periodically throughout the semester, I will be entering information on factors such as your class attendance, participation, and success with coursework, among other things. This information will provide feedback on how you are doing in the course and offer you suggestions on how you might be able to improve your performance.  You will be able to access this information by going to One.IU.edu and searching for the Student Engagement Roster (Student) tile.

Advisors, Student Support/Resource Centers: Check for feedback on non-attendance and follow up with students as needed.

Faculty: Report on student attendance to meet IUB’s Attendance Verification. See Attendance Verification Help for more information.
Advisors, Student Support/Resource Centers: Check for SER feedback relevant to your role and take the necessary outreach to students.

Faculty: Consider giving students a diagnostic task that will help you identify students who may be struggling. It does not have to be factored into your grade. Use it to provide appropriate feedback in SER.  
Advisors, Student Support/Resource Centers: Continue checking each week for SER feedback relevant to your role and take the necessary outreach to students.

Faculty: Follow up with students to whom you gave feedback. See “Closing the Loop” above; Entry of Early Evaluation grades is open through Week Six.
Advisors, Student Support/Resource Centers: Continue checking each week for SER feedback relevant to your role and take the necessary outreach to students. Watch especially for students who are receiving unsatisfactory feedback in multiple courses.

Faculty:Faculty should now submit Early Evaluation Grades through SER (This may also be done via the Faculty Center in One.IU.) Due on the Sunday after the sixth week of classes. See Early Evaluation Grades Help for more information.
Advisors, Student Support/Resource Centers: Continue checking each week for SER feedback relevant to your role and take the necessary outreach to students. Watch for students who received low early evaluation grades.

Faculty:Provide any update feedback as needed in the SER. Continue closing the loop with students by checking in on any recommendations you gave them.
Advisors, Student Support/Resource Centers: Continue checking each week for SER feedback relevant to your role and take the necessary outreach to students. Watch for students who received low early evaluation grades.