Medical Student Administration System Course Grade Sheet Course Director s User Guide Fall 2010
Table of Contents General Information 3 Accessing MSAS & Course Grade Roster 5 Navigating the Course Roster & Grade Sheet 7 Submitting Course Grades 8 Submitting Competency Assessments 9 Submitting Comments for Optional Competencies 11 Record Statewide Final Exam Scores 12 Finalize Course Grades, Competency Assessments, Competency Comments 12 Submitting Course/Competency Information at the Student Level 13 Frequently Asked Questions 14 MSAS Guide: Abbreviations, Grades, Assessments & Codes 16 Contact Information & Technical Support 17
Page 3 General Information on Using the MSAS Course Grade Sheet Which Web Browser to Use Windows Internet Explorer 7.0. Apple/Mac Firefox 3.0 or Camino. Other browsers are not actively supported by the site but may allow use of the site with the notable exception that Internet Explorer should not be used by Apple/Mac users. Auto Time-Out For security purposes, the application will automatically time-out after 60 minutes of non-use. Users will receive a reminder when 5 minutes are left. Users are encouraged to click on Save while completing the grade sheet to ensure no data is lost due to the auto time-out. Overview The Course Grade Sheet screen provides a tab index view that represents each section of the grade roster. Each of the nine competencies are represented by a three-letter abbreviation. Move your mouse/cursor over the tab to expand the name of the competency. A green tab indicates the current section you are viewing Blue tabs are the required sections for your course (final course grade and formally assessed competencies) Yellow tabs are the competencies not formally assessed within your course Online Legend An online legend is available on the course roster screen to help identify the abbreviations and codes used within the application. A copy of the legend is available on page 16. Notify MSAS Development Team of errors and suggested changes Each page on MSAS has a Feedback link in the upper right corner. Selecting this link will take you to a page that allows you to communicate errors and/or suggestions to the MSAS Development Team.
Page 4 Evaluation Components Evaluation of first and second year medical students performance at IUSM uses both traditional grades as well as measures of proficiency in the School s nine competency areas. The new combined grade and competency evaluation system reflects both types of assessment and reporting. The different components of evaluation included in the new online system are: 1. Traditional medical school course grades H (Honors), HP (High Pass), P (Pass), F (Fail), I (Incomplete), W (Withdrawal) 2. Global comments representing the students overall performance in the course 3. Exam scores 4. Competency assessment S (Satisfactory), Sc (Satisfactory with Concern), U (Unsatisfactory), and I (Incomplete) 5. Comments specific to the Competency being assessed: a. Formal Comments that will be included in all official course evaluation information for the student (e.g., forwarded to students eventual advisor for possible inclusion in student s Dean s letter) b. Informal Comments that will be forwarded to the Competency Director and will available for review by the student and the Dean s Office; but will not be considered as an official part of the student s record. These comments are intended to allow Competency Directors to monitor the students progress through the competency curriculum. As in the past, there are different deadlines associated with the different components of the evaluation. Because of the necessity of quick review of students performance by School committees, the typical deadline for submission of the standard grades is approximately one week following the course s final exam. The remaining parts of the evaluation (global comments, exam scores, competency assessments both formal and informal) are typically due approximately one month following the course s final exam. (Note that all evaluation components are due within a week of the course s final exam for students who have failed the course). The online evaluation system is flexible enough to allow faculty to submit traditional grades for the course separately from the global comments and competency assessments.
Page 5 Accessing the Medical Student Administration System and Selecting the Course Grade Roster: Go to https://apps.iusm.iu.edu/msas and enter your IU network ID and password. From the menu bar, select Courses.
Page 6 From the Course Offering List screen, find the specific course and select the Course Section icon Then select the Course Roster icon
Page 7 Navigating the Course Roster & Grade Sheet: Overview: The Course Roster screen provides a tab that represents each section of the grade roster. A green tab indicates the current section you are viewing Blue tabs are the required sections for your course (final course grade and formally assessed competencies) Yellow tabs are the competencies not formally assessed within your course. To assign course grades, competency assessment and/or comments on the Course Grade Sheet, please click the Assign Grades/Assessments button on the roster. Please note that due to amount of data, you may experience a delay with your web browser loading the screen. Please do not click on the Back or Reload buttons which will delay or cancel your request. It is highly recommended that you do not use the Back button during data entry activities and use the Cancel button instead. You may apply a grade first and then return at a later time to assign a comment. Please remember to click on Save periodically to ensure no data entry is lost. To view or enter grades by student, click on the student s name to open up the individual grade sheet. See page 13 on using the individual student grade sheet.
Page 8 Submitting Course Grades via the Course Grade Sheet: To apply the same grade and/or comment to all students: 1) Choose a grade from the drop down menu. 2) You may also include a default/generic comment in the text box to apply to all students with this grade. 3) Click on Set to apply default comments to students listed on course grade sheet for the grade listed in the drop down box. Grades H = Honors HP = High Pass P = Pass F = Fail I = Incomplete W = Withdrew To edit those students who have a different grade than the default grade applied: 1) Find the student from the list and select the correct grade from the drop down window (i.e. Selecting HP for High Pass). 2) You may also edit the comment at this time to reflect a custom comment for this student. 3) Once an individual grade or comment is changed, it will not be affected by an assignment of another grade or comment in the Default window at the top of the tab. Remember to click on Save at the bottom of the screen.
Page 9 Submitting Competency Assessments Via the Course Grade Sheet: Each of the nine competencies have a tab on the course grade sheet. Blue tabs indicate a formally assessed competency (required.) Yellow tabs indicate the competency is not formally assessed (optional) in the course. Competencies are abbreviated on the tabs and moving your mouse/cursor over the tab will expand the full name of the competency. To assign competency assessment and comments: 1) Select the appropriate competency tab (only those in blue require a formal assessment.) 2) Choose an assessment value from the drop down menu (i.e. S for Satisfactory). Once selected, the assessment will apply automatically to all students on the course grade sheet. 3) You may also include a default/generic formal comment in the text box to apply to all students with this assessment. This comment will populate the Course Director s Formal Competency Comments for Final MSA Record column and will be included in Dean s Letter file. See page 5 for more information on comments. 4) Click on select Set to apply formal assessment comments to students listed on course grade sheet. Competency Assessments S=Satisfactory U=Unsatisfactory** Sc=Satisfactory with Concern* I=Incomplete *Appears as S on student s competency transcript. A formal comment is required when issuing an assessment of Sc. Course directors are encouraged to select an assessment of Sc even if a low-level of concern of student competency performance exists. **A formal comment is required when issuing an assessment of U. Course directors are encouraged to include the remediation plan in comment to Competency Director. To edit those students who have a different assessment than the default grade applied: 1) Find the student from the list and select the correct assessment from the drop down window (i.e. Selecting U for Unsatisfactory.) 2) You may also edit the default formal comment at this time to reflect a customized formal comment for this student. A formal comment is required for assess-
Page 10 ments of Sc or U. These comments are included in the Dean s Letter file and are available for review by the competency director. 3) Once an individual student assessment is changed, it will not be affected by an assignment of another assessment in the Default window at the top of the tab. You may apply a default assessment first and then return at a later time to assign a default formal comment for that particular default assessment (i.e. S.) 4) Course directors can also submit comments regarding a student s competency performance by using the Course Director s Informal Competency Comments to the Competency Director. These comments are used by the competency director in reviewing and assessing the student s competency progress. This information will not appear in the information provided for the Dean s Letter. In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, all evaluative comments and notes contained on this report are open to student review upon request. To view the grade sheet by student, click on the student s name to open up the individual grade sheet (please refer to page 14 for more information). Competency curriculum information on the course grade roster is based on data in the IUSM Database of Competency Curriculum (DoCC) at http://meca.iusm.iu.edu/ DoCC. To view your course information in DoCC, please log in to the MECA Faculty Education System at: http://meded.iusm.iu.edu/fes/. If a competency is incorrectly represented on your course grade sheet, please contact MECA at (317) 274-4556 or email meca@iupui.edu to update the information. To view the Level 1 criteria for each competency, please visit the MECA Competency Curriculum website at: http://meded.iusm.iu.edu/programs/comptcurriculum.htm.
Page 11 Submitting Comments for Optional Competencies: Although a competency may not be formally assessed within a course (i.e. optional), the course director can submit both formal and informal comments relating to student performance. These comments are not just limited to area of concerns, but also to recognize exemplary performance as well. The Course Director s Formal Competency Comments will be in the student s final MSA reports, including information for the dean s letter file. Competency directors do have access to formal comments so duplicating comments in both columns is not necessary. The Course Director s Informal Comments are sent to the competency director to track the student s progress in the competency and will not be included in the final MSA reports. In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, all evaluative comments and notes contained on this report are open to student review upon request. To assign competency assessment and comments: 1) Select the appropriate competency tab. 2) Find the student in the list. 3) Enter your comment(s) in the appropriate column(s). 4) Click on Save at the bottom of the screen.
Page 12 Record Statewide Final Exam Scores (Department or NBME) The course grade sheet allows course directors to record student exam scores for Statewide Final Exam. To enter scores: 1) Go to the first student and from the Type drop down menu, select the type of Statewide Final Exam used in the course (NBME or Departmental.) Once selected, the exam type will be populated for the entire roster. 2) Enter scores for each student. 3) Click on Save at the bottom of the screen. Finalizing Course Grades, Competency Assessment and Comments Once you have completed all required sections in the course grade sheet, please remember to finalize the data by going to the roster screen: 1) From the course roster screen, select which section you wish to finalize. Grades: Course grades only Comps: course comments, exam scores, competency assessments, formal competency comments & informal competency comments 2) Click on the Finalize button.
Page 13 Submitting Course Grades and Competency Assessment at the Student Level Course directors can submit course and competency evaluation at the student level within MSAS. From the course roster, click on the student s name to bring up their individual course grade sheet for your class. The sections in the student grade sheet are identified similarly to the course grade roster: Blue sections are the required elements Yellow sections are the optional elements Individual statewide final exam scores (department or NBME) can be submitted. Course directors can submit both formal and informal competency comments for assessed and non-assessed (optional) competencies. Please remember to click on Save!
Page 14 Frequently Asked Questions How do I assign final grades & competency assessments? To assign final course grades, competency assessments, etc: On the Course Roster screen, click on the Assign Grades/Assessments button in the course roster screen. Why is there a delay in loading my Grade Sheet? Faculty may experience a delay in the roster loading in the web browser and will receive a notification indicating the information is loading. The delay is due to the amount of data your web browser must organize. Do not hit the back button or click the Reload button this will only cause a delay in loading your course grade sheet. Why are there three different comment boxes? There are three types of comment boxes within the course grade sheet to increase feedback to students and track competency progress: Course Comment Provide comments on student performance. Formal Competency Comment Provide comments relating to the specific competency that will be included in student s dean s letter file. This comment box is also used when submitting an Unsatisfactory or Satisfactory with Concern competency assessment. Comments can be submitted for both formally assessed and non-assessed competencies. Informal Competency Comment Provide comments relating to the specific competency that is submitted to the competency director for use in the student s competency performance review. Comments can be submitted for both formally assessed and non-assessed competencies. In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, all evaluative comments and notes contained on this report are open to student review upon request.
Page 15 How do I finalize grades and assessments? Once all course grades, competency assessments and comments are entered for a course, you may finalize (i.e. certify) by selecting the Finalize button on the main Course Roster page. Once you finalize grades and/or assessments, you can not change them. In the Faculty Grading system, why do students grades not appear on the Course Roster List page after I enter them? This issue typically occurs from the use of the Back button on the browser in conjunction with Save & Next button on the Student Evaluation pages in order to return to the Course Roster List page; in using the Back button, the page is loaded as it originally appeared to you and does not reflect any changes made to student grades. It is recommended to either: 1) Click the Refresh or Reload button of the browser if the Back button is used to navigate to the Course Roster List page or 2) Preferably, select Cancel on the Student Evaluation page once you wish to return to the Course Roster List. In general, it is NOT RECOMMENDED to use the Back button to navigate within the application during data entry activities. On the Individual Student Grade Sheet, why are there two Using Science (or other competency) sections? If a student receives an Unsatisfactory assessment for any competency, a second section or record is automatically created to allow for the subsequent reporting of the competency remediation. This feature allows IUSM to track and report when the student has successfully remediated a competency.
Page 16 MSAS Guide: Abbreviations, Grades, Assessments and Codes GRADES: H = Honors HP = High Pass P = Pass F = Fail I = Incomplete W = Withdrew COMPETENCY ASSESSMENTS S = Satisfactory Sc = Satisfactory with Concern (Appears as S on student transcript) U = Unsatisfactory COMMENT TYPES (CMT Column) D = Default/Generic Comment C = Custom Comment COMPETENCY TAB ABBREVIATIONS EFC = Effective Communication BCS = Basic Clinical Skills USG = Using Science to Guide Diagnosis, Management, Therapeutics & Prevention LLL = Lifelong Learning SSP = Self-Awareness, Self-Care and Personal Growth SCC = Social & Community Context of Health Care MRE = Moral Reasoning & Ethical Judgment PRS = Problem Solving PRR = Professionalism & Role Recognition
Page 17 Contact Information & Technical Support MSAS Website: https://apps.iusm.iu.edu/msas For questions regarding course grades and statewide final exam information, please contact: Dennis Deal Dean s Office Medical Student Affairs (MSA) MS 164 (317) 274-1970 ddeal@iupui.edu For questions regarding competency assessments and comments, please contact: Sandra Herrin Dean s Office Medical Education & Curricular Affairs (MECA) EF 202 (317) 278-8471 sgherrin@iupui.edu For technical support or to report problems, please contact: John Armitage Dean s Office Information Services & Technology Management (ISTM) CL583 (317) 278-8449 jarmitag@iupui.edu Or the ISTM Help Desk at (317) 274-5336