Planning & Self-Study Release Notes for July 14, 2026

Overview

This article explains how administrators copy program review templates, set communication preferences, and view synchronized student and course data from external Learning Management Systems (LMS). It also explains how to use the results progress dashboard to track active data collection cycles in Planning & Self-Study (P&SS).

Copying Program Review Templates

Administrators can copy existing program review templates to use as a starting point for new reviews. This feature duplicates all categories, sections, writing prompts, and data connections from the original template into a new, customizable version.

After selecting copy, the administrator types a new title for the template.

This feature saves time during setup. It helps maintain consistency across reviews while letting the administrator quickly adjust requirements for different programs or cycles.

Aligning LMS Data to Measures Directly from Assessment Plans

When an administrator edits a measure within an assessment plan, the Results section includes an LMS Integrations option. This option allows the administrator to manage connections to LMS activities and rubrics without leaving the plan.

Note: Institutions must have an active Advanced Canvas, D2L Brightspace, or Blackboard integration.

• The option appears automatically when an Advanced LMS integration is active.
• The system groups options into clear categories for easier navigation.
• The system renames the option previously called "Collect Results from another system" to "Watermark Suite or Heritage LMS Integrations" for clarity.

Note: If an institution uses both a legacy LMS integration and Watermark Suite integrations (such as Course Evaluations & Surveys or Student Learning & Licensure), the button says "Watermark Suite or Heritage LMS Integrations."

Note: If an institution does not have an active legacy LMS integration, the button says "Watermark Suite."

Aligning by Activity from Within the Plan

Administrators can connect LMS activities to a measure directly from the assessment plan using these features:

• Reporting Period Filtering: The system only shows activities from terms that fall within the plan's reporting year. This means users do not have to look through old terms or course sections.
• Course-Scoped Results: For program plans with a course-based measure, the system only displays activities from the selected course.
• Simple Selection Workflow: The administrator chooses a term from the dropdown menu, views the associated activities, and saves the alignment.

Aligning by Rubric from Within the Plan

Administrators can also connect LMS rubrics to a measure without leaving the plan:

• Filtered to the Reporting Period: The system only displays rubrics used in course sections within the plan's reporting year.
• Course-Specific for Program Plans: When working with a course-based measure in a program plan, the system only shows rubrics from the selected course.
• Quick Save: Once saved, the system returns the administrator to the measure within the plan with updated results.

Editing Existing Alignments from the Plan

After adding alignments to a measure, an Edit Alignment button appears in the Results section. Administrators can click this button to perform these actions:

• Review, change, or remove existing alignments.
• Add new alignments or update the criteria that decide if a measure has been met.
• Save changes to show them immediately in the plan.

Focused Editing Experience

When an administrator moves from an assessment plan to manage alignments, the measure definition fields change to view-only mode. This keeps the focus on alignment changes and prevents accidental edits to the measure definition itself.

• Measure details remain fully editable when accessed directly through Organization Management.
• This view-only behavior only applies when the system redirects the administrator from within an assessment plan.

How It Works

• Open an assessment plan and click into a measure.
• In the Results section, select LMS Integrations.
• Choose Align by Activity or Align by Rubric.
• Select a term and pick the activities or rubrics to align.
• Click Save and Close. The system returns to the measure with the new alignment updated.
• To edit later, click the Edit Alignment button in the measure's Results section.

Viewing LMS Student Mappings

Administrators can view which students from the LMS match users in the system. They can also manually map students who do not have an automatic match. This helps keep data accurate across platforms. A status card on the LMS Mappings page provides a summary of student mappings:

• At-a-Glance Count: Displays how many total students are successfully mapped (for example, "1100/1284"). 
• All Mapped Indicator: Displays a green badge to confirm when every student matches a system user.
• Needs Attention Indicator: Displays an amber badge and a clear count when one or more students require manual mapping.

Student Mapping Details Table

A data table lists every student pulled from the LMS along with their current mapping status. When the list exceeds 25 students, page navigation controls appear automatically.

Search and Filter Tools

Administrators can locate specific students quickly using built-in search and filter tools:

• Search by Name: Enter a full or partial student name to find matching results.
• Search by Email: Search using an LMS email or a system email address.
• Filter by Status: Choose "All Statuses," "Mapped," or "Unmapped" to narrow the view.
• Combined Search and Filter: Use both tools together to narrow down specific records. If no students match the criteria, the system displays a "No results found" message.

Note: The students listed here will be the ones that are enrolled in mapped courses. Students from unmapped courses will not be listed.

Manually Mapping a Student

Administrators can manually map an unmapped LMS student to the correct system user:

• Click Edit on any unmapped student row.
• Review the LMS student details in the editing panel that opens.
• Search for a system user by name or email address.
• Select the correct match from the results. A "Mapped" indicator confirms the selection.
• Click Save Mappings to finalize the change. The system displays a confirmation notification: "Student [Name] has been mapped."

Note on Mapping Permissions: Administrators can only map LMS students who are currently "Unmapped" on this page. Students mapped automatically during a sync cannot be re-mapped here. Similarly, administrators can only edit mappings for students who were manually mapped from this page.

Note on Identifiers: When mapping an LMS student from this screen, the Canvas student email address or the D2L Org Defined ID does not need to match the P&SS user's email address or Person ID. Administrators can select any user even if their identifiers do not match across systems.

Removing Student Mapping

Administrators can remove an existing manual mapping to correct mistakes:

• Open the editing panel for the mapped student.
• Click the Remove icon on the selected user.
• Click Remove Mapping on the confirmation prompt, then click Save Mappings.
• The student returns to "Unmapped" status, and the system confirms: "Student [Name] has been unmapped."

Note: Removing a mapping may affect assessment data that the system already pulled in for that student.

Preservation of Manual Mappings During Syncs

Manual mappings remain intact during data syncs and are no longer overwritten by automated processes. The system tracks whether each student was mapped automatically via an email or identifier match, or manually by an administrator, to protect intentional configurations.

How to Get Started

• Navigate to the LMS Mappings view under Admin > Integrations.
• Review the Students status card for a quick health check of the integration.
• Use the details table to identify unmapped students.
• Click Edit on any unmapped student row to search for and assign the correct system user.

Managing LMS Course Mappings

Administrators can view which LMS courses match PSS course sections from a single interface. This helps identify unmapped courses and map them manually to ensure accurate data synchronization.

Enhanced Integration Card

The LMS integration card on the Admin > Integrations screen displays key details:

• Last Sync Time: Displays when the most recent data synchronization completed.
• Sections Mapped: Displays a count showing how many LMS courses match system sections versus the total available.
• Count of LMS activities: Will only be shown for mapped courses.
• Students Mapped: Displays a count showing how many LMS students match system users versus the total.
• Integration Status: Summarizes whether the integration is fully connected or contains mapping issues that require review.
• Quick Action Buttons: Provides direct access to view the course mappings page.

Dedicated LMS Mappings Page

A dedicated LMS Mappings page is available under the Admin > Integrations menu. This page provides a table view of all LMS courses and their current status.

• Course Sections Indicator: Displays the total number of mapped versus total LMS courses.
• Comprehensive Search: Locates courses quickly by searching for the LMS course name or course identifier.
• Status Filtering: Filters the table to show all, mapped, or unmapped courses.
• Automatic Pagination: Displays page navigation controls automatically when the list is long.

Note on Column Labels: Table column labels adjust automatically based on the specific LMS platform (Canvas, D2L, or Blackboard) to show the correct identifier names.

Course Mapping Table Column Descriptions

Mapping and Editing Course Sections

Administrators can manually map any unmapped LMS courses to P&SS course sections directly from the new mappings page:

• Click the Edit icon on an unmapped course row to open the mapping panel.
• Search for P&SS sections by entering a course name or course code.
• Select the correct P&SS section and click to save the mapping.
• The system displays an on-screen confirmation notification when saved. The system pulls relevant assessment data during the next scheduled synchronization.

Note on Mapping Permissions: Administrators can only map LMS courses that are currently "Unmapped" on this page. Courses mapped automatically during a sync cannot be re-mapped here. Similarly, administrators can only edit mappings for courses that were manually mapped from this page.

Note on Identifiers: When mapping an LMS course from this screen, the Canvas Student Information System (SIS) ID, the D2L Course Offering Code, or the Blackboard Course ID does not need to match the P&SS course section. Administrators can select any P&SS course section even if its Section ID differs from the LMS identifier.

Removing Course Section Mappings

Administrators can remove an existing manual mapping to correct errors:

• Click the Remove icon on a mapped course section within the mapping panel.
• Click to confirm the action on the confirmation prompt to prevent accidental removal.
• Save the changes to return the LMS course to an unmapped status. The system displays an on-screen notification confirming the change.

Important: If an administrator later re-maps the same LMS course to the same P&SS section, the previously collected assessment data and alignments become available again.

Preservation of Manual Mappings During Syncs

The system clearly distinguishes between manual mappings created by administrators and automatic mappings created during synchronization. Manual mappings are preserved during data syncs and are no longer removed or overwritten. The system correctly fetches data for manually mapped courses during both automatic and manual synchronizations.

How to Get Started

• Navigate to Admin > Integrations.
• Review the updated LMS integration card for an immediate integration status check.
• Click View Mappings to open the new LMS Mappings page.
• Use the search bar and status filters to identify unmapped courses, then complete the mapping steps directly from the data table.

Managing Communication Preferences

Administrators can manage their communication preferences through a dedicated interface. Top-level administrators can set account-level opt-outs for non-operational emails, while lower-level administrators can customize their personal notification settings. This feature helps control the volume of incoming messages while ensuring critical operational alerts are still received.

Benefits and Functionality

The new communication preferences interface provides administrators with greater control over the types of messages they receive from the system. This update establishes two tiers of preference management to help reduce notification fatigue across an institution:

• Account-Level Controls: Top-level administrators can set account-level opt-outs for non-operational categories. These categories include product updates and marketing materials.

  

  

• Personal Controls: Lower-level administrators can manage their own personal settings to select which non-operational updates they want to receive. To do this, a lower level admin can select the newly added person icon on the top right corner. It will display the account page with a notifications section to disable or enable notifications. 

  

  

This update ensures a balance between a streamlined user experience and essential system communication. While users can opt out of promotional content, the system continues to deliver critical operational alerts, such as service downtime or security notifications, to all administrators.

Analyzing Results Progress Within Assessment Plans

This feature provides administrators and contributors with an at-a-glance view of which measures in an assessment plan are missing results. This tool helps users identify missing data, follow up with specific programs or courses, and track progress throughout the assessment cycle.

Results Progress Analysis Chart

The system includes a Results Progress Analysis chart under the Insights tab in both Program and Course Assessment Plans. This chart offers a dedicated space for monitoring the collection progress of assessment results.

Visual Tracking of Completed Results

A visual bar chart displays the total count of measures that contain results alongside the measures that do not contain results. This display allows users to evaluate the overall completion status across an entire assessment plan.

Breakdown by Measure Type

The system provides a chart that categorizes measures without results into three distinct types:

• Direct measures
• Indirect measures
• Unspecified measures

This breakdown helps users identify which types of assessment methods lack data so they can focus follow-up efforts.

Breakdown by Outcome Type for Program Assessment Plans

For Program Assessment Plans specifically, an additional chart groups measures that are missing results by their outcome type:

• Learning outcomes
• Success outcomes

If an institution uses customized labels for these outcome types, the chart automatically displays the custom names.

Detailed Panel for Measures with No Results

Users can select a button labeled "View Measures With No Results" to open a detailed panel. This panel lists every measure that is missing results and uses page navigation controls to display 20 records per page.

Organization and Course Filtering

Users can filter the entire view by a specific organization or course to isolate relevant data. When a user applies a filter, all charts and metrics update immediately to display only the selected group.

Note on Comparisons: The system does not display the Results Progress Analysis chart when a user compares multiple assessment plans side-by-side.

How the System Determines Added Results

The system marks a measure as having results if it meets at least one of the following criteria:

• A user manually enters or uploads results into the system.
• At least one faculty member submits results for measures configured to send emails to faculty.
• A user writes a summary or uploads a file for measures configured to upload results and write a summary.
• An integrated source, such as D2L Brightspace, Canvas, or Blackboard, delivers data directly into the measure.

The system considers a measure to have no results only when no data collection method is configured and no data exists from any source.