Review Cycles
Overview
Review Cycles are a structured process for collecting information about students across multiple courses during a specific time period. They enable instructors or designated reviewers to provide feedback or report on student status (such as attendance, performance concerns, or other metrics) in a coordinated, trackable way.
Common use cases for Review Cycles:
Non-Attendance Reviews: Track which students are not attending class in the early weeks of the semester
Mid-semester Progress Checks: Identify students who may need academic support
Participation Reviews: Monitor student engagement across courses
Advising Check-ins: Coordinate outreach between faculty and advisors
Review Cycles provide a centralized system for collecting this information from multiple reviewers, tracking completion, and managing follow-up actions.
Accessing Review Cycles
Navigate to Reviews from the left sidebar navigation menu
On the Reviews page, you'll see a list of all review cycles
Click on a review cycle name to open its details
Understanding Review Cycle Configuration
When you open a review cycle and navigate to the Editor tab, you can view the configuration settings. Here are the key configuration elements:
Date Configuration
Review cycles have three key dates:
Start Date: When the review cycle begins
Due Date: Deadline for reviewers to complete their reviews
End Date: When the review cycle officially closes
Review Scope
Create reviews for: This section defines which courses will be included in the review cycle.
Can be set to specific course sections for a particular term
A "Download course list" link is available to see which courses are included
Eligible Students
Eligible students dropdown:
Can be set to "All Students"
Option to "Allow responses for withdrawn students" if you need to track students who have withdrawn
Instructions for Reviewers
The Instructions field contains the guidance that reviewers will see. This should clearly explain:
What reviewers should evaluate
Any specific criteria or definitions
Timeline or context (e.g., "first two weeks")
What action to take
Example instruction:
"Review your student's attendance and mark the students who have not attended any class in the first two weeks as Not Attended."
Response Options
The Response options section defines what choices reviewers can select for each student. Common configurations include:
OPTION 1
Label (e.g., "Attended")
Follow up action setting
OPTION 2
Label (e.g., "Not Attended")
Follow up action setting
Cycle Summary
The Editor tab also shows a summary box that confirms:
How many course sections will have reviews created
How many instructors will be reviewers
This helps you verify the scope before the review cycle begins.
Understanding Review Cycle Details
When you open a review cycle from the main Reviews page, you'll see comprehensive information about that cycle:
Header Information:
Review cycle name and ID
Status badge: Shows whether the cycle is Completed, Active, or in another state
Semester: Academic term
Review type: What kind of review this is (e.g., "Non-Attendance Review")
Number of reviews: Total count of individual course reviews in this cycle
Creator: Who set up the review cycle
Created date: When the review cycle was created
Due date: Deadline for review completion
Two Main Tabs:
Editor Tab:
View and modify review cycle configuration
Update dates, instructions, and response options
See the cycle summary showing how many reviews will be created
Reviews Tab:
See all individual reviews generated for this cycle
Track completion status for each course/reviewer
Apply filters to find specific reviews
Access bulk actions
Understanding Individual Reviews:
Each review cycle generates multiple individual reviews - one for each course section included in the cycle. Each individual review shows:
Course code and name
Reviewer name (usually the instructor)
Number of students in that course section
Status: "Not Completed" or "Completed"
Due date: When this specific review needs to be finished
Viewing and Managing Reviews
Navigate to the Reviews Tab
Click on the Reviews tab within the review cycle
You'll see a list of all individual reviews in the cycle, organized by:
Course code and name
Reviewer name (the instructor)
Number of students in that section
Status (e.g., "Not Completed" or "Completed")
Due date
Filtering Reviews
You can filter the reviews to focus on specific data:
Available Filters:
Keywords: Search by course name or code using the search field
Course: Filter by specific courses
Reviewer: Filter by specific reviewers
Status: Filter by completion status
To apply filters:
Click the Filters button at the top of the review list
Select the appropriate filter option (Course, Reviewer, or Status)
The review list will update to show only matching reviews
Actions Menu
There is an Actions button in the upper right area of the review list. The specific actions available may include report generation and other bulk operations. Consult your system documentation or administrator for details on available actions.
Troubleshooting
Issue: Can't see the Reviews section or specific review cycles
Solution: Check with your system administrator about your user permissions
Issue: Filters aren't showing the expected results
Solution: Verify you're using the correct filter criteria and that matching data exists
Issue: Review cycle shows unexpected number of reviews
Solution: Check the "Download course list" link in the Editor tab to verify which courses are included in the scope
Common Confusion Points and Best Practices
Understanding the Review Hierarchy
Review Cycles involve multiple levels:
Key concept: A single review cycle contains many individual reviews (one per course section). For example, one review cycle might contain 50, 100, or more individual course reviews depending on how many courses are in scope.
Best Practices
Date Planning:
Ensure Start Date comes before Due Date and End Date
Allow sufficient time for reviewers to complete their reviews
Consider giving at least 3-5 days for review completion
Align dates with your institution's academic calendar
Clear Instructions:
Be specific about what to review and the time period
Include timeframes (e.g., "first two weeks")
Define what actions reviewers should take
Provide examples when helpful
Example:
"Review your student's attendance and mark the students who have not attended any class in the first two weeks as Not Attended."
Response Options:
Keep options simple and clear
Use straightforward labels (e.g., "Attended" / "Not Attended")
Consider what follow-up actions each response should trigger
Typically 2-4 options work best
Scope Verification:
Use the "Download course list" feature to verify which courses are included
Check the summary that shows how many course sections and reviewers will be involved
Confirm the scope matches your intended target before activating
Additional Information
For questions about review cycle setup, configuration options, or permissions, contact your system administrator.
For information on the reviewer/instructor experience and how to complete individual reviews, refer to reviewer-specific documentation.
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