CYCLES: What Every WEAVEonline Administrator Should Know Kristin Rice Director of Member Support & Development Management

During this session: Terminology Data Elements ID Numbers Lifespans Enhanced Cycle Functionality New Cycle Creation What happens in Admin Tools What happens in Assessment Orphan Tools and the Lifespan Manager Common Pitfalls

Terminology: Data Element We use the phrase ‘data element’ to refer to: Mission/Purpose Statements Goals Outcomes/Objectives Measures Achievement Targets Action Plans, etc.

Terminology: ID Numbers ID Numbers are visible to WEAVEonline Administrators via a rollover for: Entities Goals Outcomes/Objectives Measures Targets ID Numbers are unique ID Numbers are the same for a data element’s entire lifespan

Terminology: Lifespans Lifespans control in which cycles a data element is active using: Established in Cycle Active Through Cycle Lifespans control if a data element will be copied into a new cycle Select the last cycle in which that Data Element should be Active OR Select ‘Keep Active’ if this Data Element should be copied into new cycles

Terminology : Lifespans Lifespans are like taffy: A B C It is the same piece of taffy, same ID#, and should be the same general idea/theme within the data element

Lifespans: Admin Tools Entities General Education/Core Curriculum Institutional Priorities Strategic Plans Standards & Standards Sets Analysis Questions Annual Report Sections Local News (Start/End dates, not effected by cycles) Lifespans apply to several areas – this first list applies to items the WOA has access to; almost all of these also have lifespans (local news has dates).

Lifespans: Assessment Mission Goals Outcomes/Objectives Measures Targets Findings (single cycle lifespan) Action Plans Documents These data elements on the assessment tab (that users enter) also have lifespans.

Lifespan: Example 1 I have three cycles: If I create an Outcome/Objective that was Established in ‘A’ and is set to ‘Keep Active’ This Outcome/Objective will exist in: When a new cycle is created, it will automatically be copied from the most recent cycle (C) into a newly created cycle (D) This Outcome/Objective will have the same ID number in all cycles

Lifespan: Example 2 I have three cycles: I need to create an Entity that was established in the prior cycle (B), will be in the current cycle (C), and will be in future cycles: Once saved, this Entity will now exist in*: When a new cycle is created, it will automatically be copied from the most recent cycle (C) into a newly created cycle (D) This Entity will have the same ID number in all cycles

Terminology: Enhanced Cycle Functionality Edits made in one cycle are NOT automatically reflected in other existing cycles Small changes, edits, tweaks are therefore accurate to the cycle in which they were made This preserves the data so that the wording/naming is accurately reflected in each cycle The Cycle Text Viewer can be used to review wording in all cycles

Enhanced Cycle Functionality: Example

Copy Edits Forward On the Assessment Tab: If you edit a Data Element in one cycle and you want this identical change made in other subsequent editable cycles you can use the Copy Edits Forward functionality Admin Tools: This feature does not exist in Admin Tools

Enhanced Cycle Functionality: Admin Tools Entities* General Education/Core Curriculum* Institutional Priorities* Strategic Plans* Standards* Analysis Questions* Annual Report Sections* * Enhanced Cycle Functionality

Enhanced Cycle Functionality: Assessment Mission* Goals* Outcomes/Objectives* Measures* Targets* Findings Action Plans* Documents * Enhanced Cycle Functionality

Creating a New Cycle Before creating a new cycle – Review & Plan! Cannot be deleted Start/End Dates must not overlap The Cycle Display is what users will see Cycles cannot be rearranged chronologically New cycles cannot precede existing cycles chronologically

Creating a New Cycle Click on Add New Cycle Enter Details Press ‘Save’

Cycles WEAVEonline Administrators choose which cycle should be the ‘current’ cycle for their institution

What Happens when a New Cycle is Created?

New Cycle: Admin Tools Entities: All existing entities that have their lifespan set to ‘Keep Active’ will be stretched from the most recent cycle into the new cycle If an entity is added to an earlier cycle and is set to ‘Keep Active’ it will automatically populate into all existing cycles After the cycle is added, edits made to an entity in any cycle are NOT made to that entity in any other cycle (Enhanced Cycle Functionality)

New Cycle: Admin Tools Entities: Cycles are meant to be added when needed If you have several future cycles and an entity’s name is edited in the current cycle, this change will need to be made in every future cycle If an entity’s placement in the tree changes in the current cycle, you may drag/drop or cut/paste this entity to its new position, this change will need to be made in every future cycle Use the cycle text viewer to view the ID#, name, and parent for the entity in all cycles.

New Cycle: Admin Tools Entity Tree Editing Tip If you will be making large scale/restructuring changes to your entity tree: Print the entity tree for each existing cycle Mark editing/placement changes on the printout Make edits to entity names in all appropriate cycles within the application Re-parent all child entities prior to ending the lifespan of a parent entity Move entities into correct placement in tree

New Cycle: Admin Tools General Education* Standards* Strategic Plans* Analysis Questions* Institutional Priorities* Annual Report Sections* Each data element in these areas have a lifespan These areas have Enhanced Cycle Functionality Edits made in one cycle STAY in that cycle Use the magnifying glass to see the wording over all existing cycles When a new cycle is created, all data elements that were set to ‘Keep Active’ will be stretched into the new cycle When editing a data element, the edit stays in the cycle where the edit was made Use the Cycle Text Viewer to see the wording in different cycles

New Cycle: Assessment Mission* Measures* Goals* Targets* Outcomes/Objectives* Action Plans* All data elements that are set to ‘Keep Active’ are copied from the most recent cycle into the new cycle If a data element is added to an older cycle and is set to ‘Keep Active’ it will automatically populate into all of the cycles in its lifespan From this point forward, edits made to a data element in one cycle are NOT automatically made to that data element in any other cycle (Enhanced Cycle Functionality)

New Cycle: Assessment Mission/Purpose Targets Findings An entity can only have one Mission/Purpose per cycle You may edit an existing mission or choose to alter its lifespan Targets Can only have one per cycle per Measure/Objective pair You may edit or choose to alter its lifespan If you wish to see Findings from prior years (trend data) then you would choose to edit as opposed to altering the lifespan Findings You must have a Target before you can enter a Finding Can only have one Finding per Measure/Objective pair Findings exist in only one cycle A word about deleting. Deleting – only WOA/EA can do this. We often get questions about why; deleting an item if different that altering a lifespan. When changing a lifespan, we are only changing where the data exists – even if alter such that it disappears from the Asumm screen/reports, it still exists in the database (often as an orphan, more on that soon). However, deleting removes the data permanently from the database forever – there is rarely a way to recover it. A scenario: someone is working in a new cycle and has decided they don’t want to work on ouctome 1 this year (they’ve been working on it for 5 years). Rather than edit the lifespan so that it is retired in the previous cycle, they delete. The outcome and all of it’s data (FINDINGS) are gone in ALL cycles and cannot be recovered. It is for this reason the delete button is not throughout the application for all users.

New Cycle: Assessment When a new cycle is created, the following are automatically copied into that new cycle: Numbering for Goals, Outcomes/Objectives and Measures Associations of Outcomes/Objectives with General Education/Core Curriculum elements, Strategic Plans, Institutional Priorities, and Standards Relationships for Outcomes/Objectives, Measures and Goals Relationships between a Measure/Objective pair and its Achievement Targets and Action Plans Connections with Documents

New Cycle: Assessment If a user is working ‘out of sequence’ (not in the most recent/newest cycle) and makes a change to: Associations (ASSOCIATIONS between and Outcome/Objective and Goals, Standards, Strategic Plans, General Education/Core Curriculum, Institutional Priorities and RELATIONSHIPS between Measure-Outcome/Objective pairs and Targets and Action Plans) Connections (Documents) Those changes can be brought forward into a cycle using:

New Cycle: Example 1 Cycle C is created In the prior cycle (B) a user adds a document that is set to ‘Keep Active’ and connects that document to an existing O/O that is also set to ‘Keep Active’ The document and the O/O have lifespans and therefore exists in cycles B and C But, the connections between the document and the O/O only exist in the prior cycle (B) The document ( ) can be copied into the new cycle by navigating to cycle C and clicking on:

New Cycle: Example 1 Associations, Relationships & Connections are added using check boxes Associations of Outcomes/Objectives with General Education/Core Curriculum elements, Strategic Plans, Institutional Priorities, and Standards Relationships for Outcomes/Objectives, Measures and Goals Relationships between a Measure/Objective pair and its Achievement Targets and Action Plans Connections with Documents These check box choices get copied into NEW cycles automatically But if a user is working out of sequence, these need to be PULLED forward using

New Cycle: Assessment If a user is working ‘out of sequence’ (not in the most recent/newest cycle) and makes a change to: Data Elements (Mission, Goals, Outcomes/Objectives, Measures, Achievement Targets, and Action Plans) These changes can be pushed forward into other subsequent editable cycles using ‘Copy Edits Forward’

Lifespan Manager The purpose of the Lifespan Manager is to allow WEAVEonline Administrators the ability to review lifespan data and relationships within entities The Lifespan Manager is accessed through three different paths: Via Admin Tools> Orphan Tools> Orphan Index Via Admin Tools> Orphan Tools> Lifespan Manager Via Assessment Pages > Lifespan Manager button This tool is currently just for WEAVEonline Administrators WEAVEonline Administrators can use this tool to align data, fix orphans, and view text in multiple cycles

Lifespan Manager Example of aligned data Please view the Orphan Tools Webinar (Online Learning Community) and/or the Orphan Tools Tutorial (Help > FAQs and Other Info) for more details.

Lifespan Manager Use the Lifespan Manager to review wording in all cycles The Cycle Text Viewer can also be utilized

Common Pitfalls Pitfall Example# 1: Changing the Theme/Meaning/Idea of a Data Element that exists in multiple cycles Editing the wording of an existing data element (ex. O/O) into a completely different idea so that it no longer resembles what existed in prior cycles Then editing the lifespan

Pitfall Example #1 Original O/O Changing the Theme of a Data Element

Pitfall Example #1 (continued) Changing the Lifespan : Removes this data element from 2008-2009 Removes all records of the original wording of this Outcome/Objective If you were to extend the lifespan back to 2008-2009, all wording would be copied from 2009-2010

Pitfall #1 Synopsis In this scenario: A Data Element had one underlying ID number, but after editing had more than one theme/concept This can then lead to users making further and more drastic changes such as changing the data element’s Lifespan The consequences can be: Loss of wording specific to a cycle(s) Creation of Orphaned Relationships, Targets and Findings (see next example)

Common Pitfalls Example 2: Changing the Lifespan/Orphaning Data Editing the ‘Established in Cycle’ or ‘Active through Cycle’ dates without regard to data that exists in those cycles and thereby creating orphans

Pitfall Example #2 Original Data

Pitfall Example #2 Original Data in the lifespan manager

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) Original Data Schematically

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) If the lifespan of the Objective is altered

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) Original Data in the lifespan manager

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) If the lifespan of the Objective is altered

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) If the lifespan of the Measure is altered

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) If the M/O Relationship is removed

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) If the M/O Relationship is removed

Pitfall Example #2 (continued) If the lifespan of the Target is altered

Pitfall #2 Synopsis Anytime the lifespan of an Objective, Measure, or Target is altered, there is a potential to orphan data Anytime a relationship between a Measure-Outcome/Objective pair is removed, there is a potential to orphan data A warning exists in the application as well as in the ‘Adding/Editing Data in a New Cycle’ document

Pitfall #2 Synopsis Despite warnings…. users still change the ‘Established in Dates’ of data elements It is hoped that WOAs will be able to choose to either show/hide the Established in Date to their users via a setting

Pitfall #2 Synopsis To prevent orphans, users should work in the following order: Remove un-needed Findings Alter the lifespan of Targets Remove M--O/O relationships Alter lifespans of Measures Alter lifespans of Objectives The following warning exists in the ‘Adding/Editing Data in a New Cycle’ document NOTE: Do not change the ‘Established in Cycle’ without first reviewing related data that may be affected. Please ask your WEAVEonline Administrator if you have questions. WEAVEonline Administrators can find and fix orphans via Orphan Tools

For More Information: Help > FAQs and Other Info > Cycle Primer Help > Getting Started > Adding & Editing in a New Cycle Help > FAQs and Other Info > Orphan Tutorial Orphan Tools Webinar Encore Training - EVERY MONTH (2nd Friday) Contact Support support@weaveonline.com or 1-877-219-7353