1. What is Explorance Blue?
2. When are Surveys Conducted?
3. How Do I Encourage Student Participation?
4. Need Help?

What is Explorance Blue?

Explorance Blue is the online survey system UW-Superior uses to deliver end-of-term course evaluations and midterm feedback surveys.

Everyone with a UW-Superior email address can access Blue by logging in here: uws.bluera.com/uws.

Students use Blue to complete their class surveys, like end-of-term course evaluations or midterm feedback surveys. Instructors can use Blue to add personalized questions to their surveys, monitor their survey response rates, and access reports about their survey results. ADAs and Department Chairs can use Blue to access survey reports and monitor response rates for classes in their department.

How Do I Use the Explorance Blue Homepage?

When you log into Blue, the first page you'll see is the "My Home" page, which allows you to view your reports, customize survey questions, and confirm the schedule of upcoming surveys. This is also where your students begin any open surveys. For more information on how to navigate this page, visit Explorance Blue's Instructor Guide.

Tasks

Explorance Blue defines a "task" as functions a user can complete in the system. For example, instructors will typically see three types of tasks:

• View and manage questionnaire settings: Select these tasks to check the start and end dates of a survey and/or view the response rate.
• Choose the personalized questions: Select these tasks to add custom questions to your survey. For more information on question personalization visit: Explorance Blue - How to Add Personalized Questions to a Survey.

The "Tasks" section at the top of the "My Home" page shows upcoming survey tasks. Students see the course surveys they are invited to fill out listed in this section.

Reports

The "Reports" section is where instructors and ADAs can view the reports for completed course evaluations. For more information about viewing reports, visit: Explorance Blue - How to View Course Evaluation Reports.

Different types of report will be available to you at different times:

• Individual End-of-Term Evaluation Reports: Reports about a specific class and instructor are automatically generated three days after final grades are submitted for that class. Both Instructors and ADAs will receive an email once the reports are available in Blue. Report distribution is to be completed per department practice. There is no end date for report access.
• Department End-of-Term Evaluation Reports: Reports that summarize all end-of-term evaluation results for a given department will be created a few weeks after the term ends. This ensures the reports are as comprehensive as possible.
• Midterm Feedback Survey Reports: If a class opts into midterm feedback survey, a report about that class will be automatically sent to the instructor soon after the midterm survey period ends. The delivery date will vary based on when the survey begins and ends.

When are Surveys Conducted?

Instructors can view the survey start and end dates for their classes by logging into Blue. The general scheduling information below should match what you see in Blue.

End-of-Term Course Evaluation Survey Schedules

Full length class sessions (E, F, MC5) have a 14-day evaluation period ending on the last day of the semester.

Shorter length class sessions (eight weeks or less: 7W1, 7W2, 8W1, 8W2, J-Term) have a seven-day evaluation period ending the last day of class. The J-Term evaluation period ends four days after the last day of class.

Midterm Feedback Survey Schedules

Instructors can use Blue to survey their students during some classes. However, midterm surveys:

• are only an option for fifteen-week courses in sessions E or F
• are opt-in only and can be scheduled by your department’s Academic Department Associate (ADA)
• are not available for classes excluded from end-of-term evaluation

Once enabled, these surveys are available to students for seven days. They can be scheduled to begin at a date of your choosing. However, you must schedule the midterm survey to begin around the middle of the class (often before, during, or after the seventh week).

For example, in the Spring 2025 term, Midterm surveys could be scheduled between February 26, 2025 and March 26, 2025.

How Do I Encourage Student Participation?

Students will receive an email invitation to fill out a survey when the survey period begins. Students can also access their available surveys using Canvas, by clicking the Blue Course Evaluations link in the the course navigation menu of most Canvas courses. For information on how students access surveys, visit: Explorance Blue - How to Complete your Course Evaluations and Other Surveys.

Instructors can view student response rates on the subject management page. For more information on viewing student response rates visit: Explorance Blue - How to View Course Evaluation Response Rates.

For strategies to increase student response rates, visit: Explorance Blue - How to Increase Student Response Rates.

Need Help?

Please reach out to us by emailing courseevals@uwsuper.edu.