1. What technological requirements do I need to access and work in the Annual Report System?

• View the technical requirements for the system here. 

2. Who can view my Annual Report?

• Anyone that you have selected to review and/or prepare you report.
• The receiver(s) of your report, once it has been submitted.
• The Office of Planning & Institutional Effectiveness, once it has been submitted.
• The Provost, if you submit a report for an academic department, and your divisional Vice President if you submit a report for an administrative department.
• Data within the assessment plan and reports sections are shared with the Office of Educational Assessment. 
• Data within the personnel requests and budget & technology requests sections are accessed by the Finance Office.

3. Who can modify my report?

• Only the owner (yourself) and any selected preparer can make changes to the report. Once the report has been submitted, no further changes can be made. If the receiver of the report declines it, you and the preparer will once again be able to modify the report.

4. I'm working on my Annual Report. Why can't the person who is to receive my report view it?

• Until your report has been submitted, the receiver will not be able to view it unless you add him or her as a reviewer via the Access Control.

5. I submitted my report. Why can't I change the preparer?

• Once the report has been submitted, the preparer cannot be changed unless the receiver declines to accept the report. 

6. I'm done with my report. What happens when I submit it?

• Once the report is submitted, the receiver of the report (generally, your supervisor) will receive an automated emailing notifying them of the submission. They then have the option to review, and then accept or decline the report.  If the report is accepted, no further changes can be made. If it is declined, you will have the opportunity to make changes to it. When a report is accepted, the data in it will be accessible by the Office of Planning & Institutional Effectiveness for purpose of overall reporting on the University's strategic and tactical plans, and the Finance Office for budget preparation. For academic programs, if assessment data is submitted via the Annual Report system, that assessment information is shared with the Office of Educational Assessment. 

7. I have made a change to the content in one of the sections of my report, but when I return to that page, my change isn't reflected.

• Make sure to verify your browser settings.  Newer versions of pages should be able to be viewed automatically. 

8. I am entering content into a text box area and am getting a message that the content is too long. Why is this?

• Statements of goals and objectives should be brief.  To that end, most text areas have a maximum capacity for 2000 characters, with the exception of the overview section (section IA), which has a length of 32,000 characters. 

9. How can I delete an objective that was "carried over" from last year's report?

• Since one of the purposes of the report is to monitor progress against previously set goals, the report system automatically populates or "carries over" objectives from the last report submitted.  If an objective has changed or is no longer being pursued and you need to delete it, press the Select button next to the objective, which will take you to the Change an Objective page.  Scroll down to the bottom of that page and press Delete Objective.

10. I need to cut and paste information from a word document into a text area, and the formatting from the original document is not preserved in the text box. Why is this?

• Unfortunately, formatting cannot be preserved when cutting and pasting content into the Annual Report System.

11. I have submitted my report, but realize I excluded some important information. What can I do?

• Contact the receiver of the report and ask them to decline the report. Once it is declined, you will be able to make changes and submit it again.

12. I need a printed copy of my report. How do I do this?

• Unfortunately, you can't print a report directly within the system itself. To print a copy of the report, enter the Preview section and using your web browser functions, select File and then Print. Alternatively, in the Preview section, select Edit, then Select All, then Copy, Past Special, and then Unformatted Text into a blank Word document. It is recommended that you then save this file as a PDF if you intend to email it to someone so that no edits can be made to that document.

13. I'd like to email a copy of my report to someone.

• Follow the steps above to create a Word document, which you can then email as an attachment to the desired recipient. Again, it is recommended that you save the file as a PDF so that no edits can be made to the document.

14. I feel that the person to whom my report is to be submitted (the receiver) is the wrong person. What do I do?

• Contact the Planning & Institutional Effectiveness Office to verify the correct person to receive your report. 

15. My department's reporting structure will change with the new fiscal year. Who will receive it?

• The individual who supervised the department over the current fiscal year will be the receiver of the Annual Report when it is submitted, and the supervisor for the new fiscal year will simultaneously be granted reviewer status at the time the report is submitted. 

16. I used to submit information into the Business Continuity Impact System. I don't see that option anymore. Where did it go?

• The Business Continuity Impact System has been deleted from the Annual Report in response to forward development on the University's overall business continuity plan. 

17. I used to submit information about my department's staff and faculty service to the University and the community into the Personnel Activity section of the Annual Report. I don't see that option anymore. Where did it go?

• The Office of Government & Community Relations has created a new process for collecting information related to faculty and staff community service activities. This new process allows every individual to submit their information, rather than placing the burden for collection on department heads. The process is open throughout the year and is voluntary. You can still view information submitted in this section in prior years of the Annual Report by reviewing past reports from the Annual Report system menu. Contact the Office of Government & Community Relations for more information. Department heads are welcomed and encouraged to reflect on their department's contribution to the University and to the broader community via the Overview sections of the Annual Report. 

18. I'm an academic department chair. I used to submit activities related to service of an academic nature to the community. Where should I submit this?

• You should submit this kind of service via the Office of Government & Community Relations online community service form. If the service resulted in particular scholarly activity, like a publication, be sure to add the publication or other outcome to the Faculty Scholarly Activities section of the Annual Report.

19. I'm an academic department chair. I see the options for assessment activity and assessment planning in the Annual Report system, but have also heard that I should submit assessment information to the Office of Educational Assessment. What do I do?

The Office of Educational Assessment has worked with the faculty and deans of each college to determine how their departments and programs should submit data and plans related to program learning outcomes to demonstrate how assessment has been used to improve programs and the student learning experience.  As this process has continued to evolve since the OEA's inception in 2014, we have retained the Annual Report system's options for assessment plans and reports as a backup to these newer means of reporting and to ensure departments can access archived data from prior years. If you represent a department or program within the College of Arts and Sciences, Kania School of Management, or Panuska College of Professional studies, you should skip the assessment-related sections of the Annual Report (Sections ID and 2D) in lieu of your college's process for assessment reporting. However, please note that if you do submit assessment data via the Annual Report system, it will be shared with the OEA - it won't be lost.