Post Implementation: New Administrator Overview

Welcome, New Administrator! 

By now your institution has already implemented and been using Faculty Success by Watermark, and we know your initial system administrator will not be serving in that role forever. The steps below will help you transition into your new role as system administrator, teach you how to use the tool, and help you take inventory of your system usage to date. 

Here at Watermark, your success is our success! Our mission is to provide the highest-quality training services to our clients so that they see quick time-to-value and are well-prepared and informed in using our tools.  

1. Learn the Fundamentals of Faculty Success 

As a new administrator, we recommend that you review the videos and corresponding Help Center Articles in our Onboarding Course in the Watermark Academy. (if you have never before logged in to the Watermark Academy, you will be asked to create an account using your institution email address) The Faculty Success onboarding curriculum covers all of the fundamentals of Faculty Success that you will need as the system administrator. You will have the opportunity to take a quiz at the end of the Onboarding Program article and obtain an award of completion. Keep in mind that the contents of the Help Center are designed for administrators only. Faculty-facing resources and guides are available in our Faculty/Staff Guide.

2. Take Inventory of Your System Usage

As a new administrator you'll want to take inventory of the ways your campus is using Faculty Success. The following are some helpful steps to understanding the foundation of Faculty Success at your institution:

  1. Identify your Users - Since faculty are the centerpiece of Faculty Success, it is important to have an understanding of the faculty in your system. By accessing the Users and Security option within the Tools tab of the navigation bar, you will get a complete list of all faculty and administrators with access to Faculty Success and their assigned permissions. You'll also want to review your security roles and ensure they are still accurate. 
  2. Familiarize yourself with your System’s Configuration - Every institution is unique, and so is your database! To get a comprehensive view of all of the data collection screens within your database, you can download the Configuration Report that outlines all of the key details within the Home option of the Tools tab of the navigation bar. 
  3. Understand Data Entry Options - There are several methods for getting data into Faculty Success, such as manual data entry, CSV Data Imports and Publication imports. With confidence in the variety of features at your disposal for getting data in, you can ensure that activities are recorded seamlessly for you and your faculty.
  4. Run Reports - It will be helpful to understand the data that is currently in your system, and there is no better way to do so than by running reports on your collected faculty activities. As an administrator, you have access to various reports that aggregate faculty activities, such as the Scheduled Teaching by Faculty or Intellectual Contributions by Faculty reports. This will provide both a helpful introduction to reporting within Faculty Success, in addition to serving as a snapshot of key activities by your faculty.

Supplemental Training Options

This outline will prepare you to be a Faculty Success Administrator, and we encourage you to utilize the resources provided to their full extent.

If you would like to be trained by a dedicated Watermark team member, please purchase New Administrator Training through the Watermark Academy or reach out to your Client Success Manager for more information. Below is a sample timeline for New Administrator Training in Faculty Success. 

  Meeting #1: System Overview Meeting #2: Importing Data and Running Reports
Agenda
  • Understand key concepts in Faculty Success from a faculty and administrator persona
  • Practice submitting Work Requests
  • Understand how to get new data into the system in bulk and teach new faculty how to enter data
  • Understand how to run reports and create new ones

Please note that your timeline and agenda items may be adjusted to meet the needs of your institution's use of the tool. Below are optional meetings that may be useful in addition to the two listed above.

  Accreditation Reports  Custom Reports
  Review sample and base report templates specific to your accreditation needs such as AACSB, ABET, and more. Learn how to build a report template for Annual Review, Promotion & Tenure, or other reporting goals.

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