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Office of the Provost

For Explorance Blue Coordinators

Access the Explorance Blue website

Access the USC Academic Calendar

Training Sign-Up

Register for the session that best fits your schedule:

Friday, March 20th from 12pm-12:45pm

Thursday, April 2nd from 9am-9:45am

What Is Explorance Blue?

Explorance Blue is the university’s official platform for administering course experience surveys, managing survey data, and delivering reports to instructors and academic leadership.

Blackboard Setup

Roles in Blackboard

  • Instructor and TA roles in Blackboard are crucial to ensuring the correct individuals are surveyed for a course.
  • For merged courses, TAs must be placed in their specific section’s Blackboard course. If they are only in the parent course, they will not be surveyed.

Ensuring Evaluative vs. Non-Evaluative Roles

Explorance Blue Setup

Survey Tool Course Download

  • Downloads an Excel file with all courses that fit your college, departmental, or subject selections.
  • You must add survey start and end dates for all courses that are being surveyed.
  • Important:
    • Columns P and Q require edits from Explorance Blue Coordinators. Include the survey start and end dates in these columns.
    • When combining reports, columns V and W require edits. Create a unique cross-listed ID and include in both of these columns for each course you are combining.
    • Do not edit, manipulate, or delete other columns in the file.

FileSub

  • Upload your edited Survey Tool Course Download file to the FileSub. This will prepare the courses to be surveyed. Explorance Blue will pull the survey start and end dates from the uploaded file.
  • When uploading to the FileSub: 1) Go to your campus folder -> 2) Go to your college folder -> 3) Upload in the RTP folder.

FileSub Verification Report

  • This report in Explorance Blue confirms whether submitted FileSub changes were processed successfully.
  • Use this report after a FileSub upload to ensure that all courses uploaded successfully.

System Access

Access for New Explorance Blue Coordinators (Onboarding)

Explorance Blue Coordinators need access to the FileSub, ListServ, Explorance Blue, the FileSub Verification Report, and the Explorance Blue office hours meeting

Survey Core Questions

Each survey will contain all ten of these questions. 

Likert Scale

Strongly Disagree       Disagree      Neutral       Agree        Strongly Agree

1. The course materials were well organized and easy to access.

2. The instructional methods and learning activities were engaging. 

3. The course learning activities increased my knowledge and skills in the subject matter. 

4. The significance and relevance of the course topic(s) were made clear.

5. Overall, the course was effective to my learning. 

6. What aspects of this course impacted your learning experience the most? (open text/qualitative comment area)

7. This instructor treated students with respect and created an environment in which students felt encouraged to participate.

8. I was able to reach my instructor when needed, and they were responsive to my questions and concerns. 

9. Overall, the instructor was effective in teaching this course.

10. What about this instructor impacted your learning experience the most? (open text/qualitative comment area)

Departmental Questions

The Student Course Experience Survey Tool Governance Committee has voted to allow academic units to add three additional questions to the survey. Academic units may have more than one set of questions depending on class type, subject, or other factor, but only three questions can be added to the Student Course Experience Survey. 

For example, a college may want three sets of departmental questions, one set for face-to-face classes, one set for online classes, and the final set for the capstone course. Each set may have three questions but only one set may be applied to a specific survey. A capstone course that meets face-to-face could only have one of the sets of questions.

Honors Block Questions

1. I was satisfied with the Honors experience I received in the course.

Strongly Disagree             Disagree                  Neutral                 Agree              Strongly Agree

2. This course was designed with Honors students in mind.

Strongly Disagree             Disagree                  Neutral                 Agree              Strongly Agree

3. I would recommend this Honors course to other Honors students.

Strongly Disagree             Disagree                  Neutral                 Agree              Strongly Agree

4. I would recommend this instructor to teach future Honors classes.

Strongly Disagree             Disagree                  Neutral                 Agree              Strongly Agree

5. Compared to other Honors courses you have taken, how difficult was this Honors course?

Very difficult                Difficult            Neutral            Easy                Very Easy

6. What specific suggestions do you have to improve the Honors experience in this course?

Question Personalization (QP) 

Instructors will have the option to add up to two questions from the optional question bank and decide whether they would like to include these additional questions in their annual or promotional materials.  

Likert Scale – for questions 1-18

Strongly Disagree       Disagree      Neutral       Agree        Strongly Agree

1. The instructor carefully explained difficult concepts, methods, and subject matter.

2. The instructor encouraged class participation.

3. The instructor's explanations were clear.

4. The instructor communicated information effectively.

5. The instructor gave adequate instructions concerning assignments.*

6. The instructor's presentations and contributions in class engaged me.*

7. The way the instructor conducted class kept me engaged.

8. The instructor was available to students either electronically or in person.

9. The instructor was prepared for each instructional activity.

10. The instructor seemed genuinely interested in teaching the course.

11. The instructor showed a thorough knowledge of the course material.

12. The instructor expressed interest in students' learning approaches (e.g. note-taking, study habits) throughout the course.

13. The instructor encouraged me to take an active role in my own learning.*

14. The instructor made me feel free to ask questions, disagree, and express my ideas.*

15. The course instructor encouraged respect for different opinions and experiences in the classroom.

16. The instructor fostered a classroom environment in which all students could feel free to participate fully.

17. The instructor provided opportunities for students to interact with one another.*

18. The instructor provided opportunities for students to interact with one another on team, group, or collaborative assignments or projects.

19. What advice do you wish someone had given you on the first day of class? (open text/qualitative comment area)

20. How many hours per week did you dedicate to this course, both inside and outside of the class meetings?

Fewer than 4 hours       4-6 hours      7-10 hours       11-14 hours        More than 14 hours


*These questions may be particularly relevant for online instruction.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Survey periods for full-term courses typically begin three weeks before the last day of class and end on the last day of class. For half-term courses, the survey periods typically begin two weeks before the last day of class and end on the last day of class. Refer to the Explorance Blue calendar for dates specific to Explorance Blue Coordinators.

Utilize the Survey Tool Course Download file to set survey start and end dates (found in columns P and Q) for the courses that need to be surveyed. Coordinate with your department and instructors to determine which courses need surveys and which do not.

Role changes are not done directly in Explorance Blue. If an instructor or TA asks you for a role change, submit a support request.

The most reliable way to access surveys is by going through the Explorance Blue website. Students can also access surveys through the links in the reminder emails or via Blackboard.

Yes. Students receive reminder emails until surveys are completed or the survey period ends.

Submit a support request indicating your role and department.

Reports are available in Explorance Blue. You can download survey reports through the Academic Unit Access report.

Note: You will have access to survey reports before instructors. You do not need to provide faculty with their reports. They automatically receive an email letting them know their reports are available. These are released 10 days after the course end date for Columbia campus courses. If faculty are unable to locate their reports, direct them to submit a support request.

To combine reports, go into the Survey Tool Course Download file. Create a unique cross-listed ID to place in columns V and W of each course you are combining. Use the FileSub verification report to ensure that the courses are combined properly.

Cross-listed IDs in the Survey Tool Course Download are used for combining reports for courses. Columns V and W in the Survey Tool Course Download file contain the term “cross-listed” and they are typically used in instances of merged courses or combined reports.

No. Each child course (section) will have its own survey report. You must combine reports using cross-listed IDs in the Survey Tool Course Download file.

Confirm that:

  1. The final grade submission date has passed
  2. The minimum enrollment threshold was met
  3. The faculty member has the correct role in Blackboard.

If you need assistance, submit a support request.

Explorance Blue Coordinators may submit a support request for assistance.

Need Help?

Request Explorance Blue Support by Submitting a Service Desk Ticket.

When submitting a ticket, please include:

  • Course ID and Instructor
  • Description of the issue
  • Screenshots, if applicable

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