Deferral Reporting

Deferral Reporting allows you to monitor students' survey deferral behaviors, giving you insight into the frequency and extend of deferral activity. This data can help you better understand student engagement and address any issues related to survey completion rates.  

Prerequisites 

Deferral Reporting works only if the project-level Student Survey Notification Settings are configured. These settings can be found under the Properties tab of each course evaluation type project and are available for institutions that have integrated their Learning Management System (LMS) with Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES). 

Once these settings are configured, students can defer surveys by clicking "Do It Later" in the survey notification or "Come Back Later" within the survey itself. The triggers and limits for deferrals are defined within project-level Student Survey Notification Settings. The report then compiles the instances when a student has deferred a survey, providing you with this data when the report is run. 

Accessing Deferral Reporting 

1. From the Navigation Bar, go to Results and select Deferral Reporting.
2. Choose the project you want to run the report for from the "Project" drop-down field. 
3. Apply filters as needed: 
   • Username: Filter by specific students. 
   • Deferral Date Range: Specify a time period that you would like to view deferral activity for. 
   • Deferral Count: Filter by the number of deferrals. 
4. Sort the data according to your preferences using the options within the "Sort" and Direction" drop-down fields. 
5. OPTIONAL: Check the box for "Only show Incomplete students: Student enrollments who didn't submit or opt-out" to include this data in your report. 
6. Once you are ready to run the report, click the Search button. Alternatively, click the Reset button to clear your search criteria and start over. 

After running your report, the results will appear below the search criteria fields. If you opted to show questions individually, an Excel file will be generated instead of displaying results on the screen. The report can then be exported in Excel, PDF or Word format.

Best Practices for Using Deferral Reporting 

To maximize the effectiveness of Deferral Reporting, consider these best practices: 

• Regular Monitoring: Check the deferral reports weekly or bi-weekly to stay informed about students' engagement with the surveys. This will help you identify trends or spikes in deferrals that may indicate issues with survey timing. 
  
  For example, if you notice a significant increase in deferrals during a specific week, investigate whether the survey timing coincided with midterms or other high-stress periods for students. 
  
  
• Follow-Up Actions: Based on the deferral data, take proactive steps to encourage survey completion. This could include sending reminders to students who have deferred multiple times or adjusting the notification settings to better align with students' availability. 
  
  For example, if certain students are repeatedly deferring surveys, consider reaching out with a personalized message to understand any barriers they may be facing and offer support or accommodations if needed.