ARCHIVED: At IU, what are the standards for building forms compatible with evaluation reports in the Oncourse Reports tool?

A suite of reports that aggregate and summarize matrix status and evaluation data is available in the Oncourse Reports tool. In order to run the reports on matrix evaluation results, the evaluation form(s) used in the matrix must conform to the locally defined XML schema definition (XSD) standards below.

To create a custom evaluation form compliant with these standards, download one of the following two templates and follow the instructions in Editing ePort Evaluation Form Templates.

• single_rating_template.xsd: Use this template if your evaluation form will have just one rating field.
• multiple_ratings_template.xsd: Use this template if your evaluation form will have two or more rating fields.

Before deploying new forms in a production matrix, try adding them to a test matrix and run an evaluation report against the matrix (see ARCHIVED: Running a report on portfolio data). If the report does not produce the expected results, your forms may need adjustment. For assistance with creating custom portfolio forms, make an appointment with a consultant in your campus teaching and learning center.

XSD form standards for evaluation reports

General

• The root element of the evaluation form may have any valid element and display name.
• The form may contain any number of fields of any valid field type; fields with element names that do not begin with the string rating or comments are ignored in reports.

Assumptions and requirements for rating fields

• The form may contain one or more rating fields.
• The rating fields may be listed in any order.
• The display name (i.e., ospi.label) for each rating field can be any valid string.
• The element name for the first rating field must be either rating (e.g., <xs:element name="rating">) or rating1 (e.g., <xs:element name="rating1">). The name of each additional rating field must be formed by adding a trailing number to the rating root; i.e., rating1, rating2, rating3, and so on.

  Note: The element name rating is intended to be used as a summary rating for the entire cell. If a summary rating is not desired, the first rating field in the form should be named rating1.

• All rating fields in the same form, with exception of the summary rating field named rating, must use the same rating scale, with the same number of points, and the same values for each point on the scale. However, the display labels for each point on the scale may vary from one field to the next.
• Rating fields must not be repeated (i.e., maxOccurs=1).
• Rating fields must be formatted as a drop-down menu with fixed selections.
• The display label for each select option in a rating field can be any valid string.
• The enumeration value for each rating option must be a number, "n/a", or null ("").

Assumptions and requirements for comments fields

• The form may contain zero, one, or multiple comments fields.
• The comments fields may be listed in any order.
• The display name (i.e., ospi.label) for each comments field can be any valid string.
• The element name for the first comments field must be either comments (e.g., <xs:element name="comments">) or comments1 (e.g., <xs:element name="comments1">). The name of each additional comments field must be formed by adding a trailing number to the comments root, i.e., comments1, comments2, comments3, and so on.
• Comments fields must not be repeated (i.e., maxOccurs=1).