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Learning Environment Survey (LENS) FAQ - For ADAs
Where do I access reports for data retention?
Reports will be available the day after grades are due each semester. An email notification of the report release will be sent from provost@uwlax.edu on the day of the report release. A link in the email will go to the Explorance Blue dashboard; you can also access this dashboard at any time to see a history of any released reports.
Website: https://uwlax.bluera.com/uwlax/ (login with NetID and password, with Okta authentication).
What reports will I see as an ADA?
The full LENS reports are released to instructors, ADAs, and department chairs. Per LENS Policy, these full reports (1) include frequency responses + comments for each class, and (2) department chairs can distribute to the department personnel committee but not to the entire department. ADAs can access full LENS reports for data retention purposes. The LENS summary report is for deans/provost, plus department and university personnel committees. Both full and summary reports are accessible by ADAs and should be downloaded and retained by the department according to document retention and purge standards. The summary report is generated each term to add the current term data to the file; the summary report can be overwritten and current version per instructor saved.
What is a full vs summary LENS report?
Category |
Full LENS Report |
LENS Summary Report |
|---|---|---|
|
Content |
Includes all student comments and detailed response data for every question; responses are reported for each course |
Contains data on the motivation question and then, for each LENS area/question, a single indicator of how many responses relate to the target response/s, as set by Faculty Senate policy; data from different courses per term are not combined but multiple sections of the same course by the same instructor in a term get combined |
|
Purpose |
Primarily for instructor use in improving instruction |
Used in department- and university-level personnel review, including retention, promotion, tenure, post-tenure review, merit, and annual reviews |
|
Audience |
Instructor; department chair; department administrative support |
Instructor; department chair; department administrative support; Deans; Provosts, IAS or Faculty promotion committees for personnel decisions |
|
Distribution |
Automatically shared the day after grades are due via email to instructor, chair, and department administrative support; also accessible via Explorance Blue; full reports are not broadly distributed |
Automatically shared the day after grades are due via email; also accessible via Explorance Blue; manually added to be included in department and university-level personnel review documentation |
|
Access |
Instructor, department chair, and department administrative support have access via Explorance Blue for many semesters; may be accessed by others on a need-to-know basis |
Instructor, department chair, and department administrative have access via Explorance Blue for many semesters; may be accessed by others on a need-to-know basis |
|
Response Threshold |
Results are reported regardless of number of respondents or class size |
Data from courses with fewer than five respondents are excluded |
How do I download LENS reports for a semester?
- Login to Explorance Blue: https://uwlax.bluera.com/uwlax/ (login with NetID and password, with Okta authentication).
- Click on “View the LENS Full Individual Report <<TERM YEAR>> Report”
- Then “Select All” > “Download PDF”
- Complete the download process for the LENS Summary report which is updated each term/semester to add that term/semester data to the report. This file can be overwritten when saved for retention purposes.
Save the PDF files in the department's agreed upon location with appropriate permissions. Purge files at the required time.
Can I search for a specific instructor’s report or a specific course/s?
Yes. Click into the report area for the desired term and enter something in the search field to narrow down what you are looking to find.
What does Threshold Status mean?
On the report list, threshold status refers to the defined threshold for the number of responses needed to generate a report.
- If the status under the "Threshold Status" says "Not Met", that means the course did not receive enough responses to generate a LENS report.
- For full reports, at least 1 response is necessary to generate a report.
- For summary reports, at least 5 responses are necessary to generate a report.
What if I don’t see a report for one of our instructors?
Contact CATL@uwlax.edu.
NOTE as of 1/5/24 - we are reviewing how FYS 100 full reports get distributed to departments – more soon on that.