M77 - Feedback tracker

What is it?

Feedback tracker is a single page report that allows students to more easily access feedback and see feedback turnaround times.

It allows staff to signpost assessments and indicate when feedback is going to be returned, in what format, and whether the assessment is summative or formative.

Why use it?

It makes it easier to indicate to students which are the most important assessments they should focus on.

It also demonstrates to students that feedback turnaround times are being met.

Who can use it?

Availble on all Moodle courses. It can be configured by Course Administrators or Tutors.

Meeting the baseline

The UCL Connected Learning Baseline suggests the following for assessment :

4.1 Provide an assessment outline with a clear description of the module assessment
The assessment and feedback outline should include the schedule, criteria, submission details, and an overview of how students should expect to receive and make use of feedback.
Moodle could be used to amplify and support that information, perhaps to include sources of advice, etc.

How do I set it up?

The report appears automatically for all Moodle courses with assessments.

Configuring Feedback tracker

There are a series of configurable options that you can edit. The most important is to indicate whether an assessment is summative or not, and to exclude any assessments from the report. You should edit these fields as part of the preparation of your Moodle course for a new academic year.

Written guidance is provided below. You may also like to watch the Feedback tracker staff video guide.

Viewing the Feedback tracker report for your course

Navigate to your Moodle course
Click the Report tab
Click Feedback tracker

By default you will see the Course administrator view of the Feedback tracker.

You can select to "View as" a student to see what the student will see for your course.

Editing the Feedback tracker report for your course

From the Feedback tracker page, toggle Edit mode on.

The interface should change to show editing options.

The following fields can be edited.

Field	Datatype	Description
Feedback due date	Datetime	20 working days after the assessment due date. Turnaround is based upon UCL’s academic policy on Assessment feedback requirement that feedback should be delivered within 20 UCL working days excluding all UCL holidays. This field can be edited, but staff must provide a reason for doing so. This reason is not shown to students.
Method	Optional free text field.	Use to communicate the kind of feedback being returned e.g. written, oral, video, in-class. This helps signpost the different kinds of feedback students are receiving.
Contact	Optional free text field.	Use to communicate any contact staff member or email for students to see alongside their assessment.
Additional information	Optional free text field.	Use to communicate any additional information e.g. updates on marking, link to cohort feedback Moodle forum post.
Cohort feedback provided	Checkbox	Select to indicate cohort feedback has been returned. This will change the feedback status to released for the assessment. Once the checkbox is selected, the option will save automatically.
Assessment type	Drop down Integration from Mark Transfer & Assessment Categorisation	Select to indicate whether the assessment is summative, formative or a dummy activity. The assessment type is displayed to the student from the Feedback tracker report. Once an option is selected, it will save automatically. If an assessment has been mapped using Mark Transfer or Assessment categorisation has been used, the assessment will appear as summative automatically.
Hide from report	Checkbox	Hides the assessment from the Feedback tracker report. Does not hide it on the course from students. Allows for staff to hide practice assessments that they do not wish to highlight in the Feedback tracker report e.g. practice assessments, optional assessments. Once the checkbox is selected, the option will save automatically. Note. If an assessment is hidden on a Moodle course, it will not show on the Feedback tracker report.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to edit the feedback tracker for every assignment?

In general, no. The Feedback tracker will automatically calculate a feedback due date based on the due date of your assessments on Moodle.

Editing the feedback tracker is optional. You can choose to provide students with information on the kind of feedback they will receive, who to contact with follow up questions and any additional information.

If you are releasing cohort feedback, feedback without a grade, or feedback in class for a Moodle submission, you should edit the Feedback tracker. Once feedback has been released, open the feedback tracker and turn on edit mode. Click the checkbox “Cohort feedback provided” this will mark the assessment feedback as released.

What counts as feedback?

The feedback tracker currently registers feedback has been released when a mark has been released to the student.

Can I hide an assessment from the feedback tracker?

Assessments that are hidden won’t appear to students on your course or in the Feedback tracker.

Assessments that are restricted on Moodle will only show on your course and the Feedback tracker to students who have access.

If you want the assessment to remain visible to students, but not show it in the feedback tracker, open the Feedback tracker for your course, and turn on edit mode. Click the “Hide from report” checkbox next to the assessment you want to hide. This will hide the assessment from the tracker. The assessment will remain visible on your Moodle course.

What should I do if I provide feedback via different means e.g. verbal feedback in class?

Once feedback has been released, open the Feedback tracker and turn on edit mode. Click the checkbox “Cohort feedback provided” this will mark the assessment feedback as released.

All my coursework is done ‘off Moodle’ and my feedback is provided in class how can I track this using the Feedback tracker?

The Feedback tracker shows Moodle assessment due dates and feedback due dates on Moodle. In future it will show additional plugins that integrate into Moodle.

If you don’t have any assessments on Moodle, you could communicate your schedule of assessment and feedback via a Moodle forum post.

Alternatively, you could create Moodle assignments but disable submissions options. In the instruction for the assessment, you could explain how the assessment is taking place. The assessment deadlines and feedback due dates will appear in the Feedback tracker for students.

Can I alter the feedback due/provided date?

You can, but you will need to provide a reason for why the feedback due date is changing. UCL policy clearly states that feedback should be returned in 20 working days.

To change the feedback due date, open the Feedback tracker and turn on edit mode. Click the feedback due date to edit it.

I have a draft formative portal where tutors provide feedback off platform, how do I make sure the Feedback tracker goes green?

Once this has taken place, open the feedback tracker and turn on edit mode. Click the checkbox “Cohort feedback provided” this will mark the assessment feedback as released. In the additional information section, you could add a note to students on where the feedback is located so they have a record and can find it easily.

I have a gradebook item and there is therefore no due date. Do I need to set my own feedback date? How does the Feedback tracker know I have released feedback?

A Grade item has no due date in Moodle and so the Feedback tracker will not show one.

Once a grade has been entered into the Grade item, and so long as the Grade item is visible, the tracker will report that feedback has been released.

Alternatively, you could create Moodle assignments and disable submissions options. In the instruction for the assessment, you could explain how the assessment is taking place. The assessment deadlines and feedback due dates will appear in the Feedback tracker for students.

I have students with extensions for Moodle Quiz /Moodle Assignment/Turnitin assignment. Their feedback will be released later than those who submitted at the initial deadline. How do I manage this?

The Feedback tracker will display any student extensions or overrides that are added to Moodle. It will also calculate feedback due date based on these extensions.

You should release feedback for the students who have submitted when it is available. This is easiest to do in Moodle assignment using marking workflow.

The tracker calculates feedback released for each individual student, and so will accurately show “released” to the students who have submitted and who have been marked. Students with extensions will see that feedback has not been released, and they will see an extension for their due date and feedback due date.

I have a separate Turnitin assignment for my students with extensions. Will the feedback tracker be able to identify which students are ‘restricted’ to complete this assessment?

Yes, the Feedback tracker mirrors the restrictions you have added to Moodle. Assessments that are restricted on Moodle will only show on your course and the Feedback tracker to students who have access.

Further information

Feedback tracker launch blog