TracDat 4.6.1.3 Reference Guide
Building Action Plans
Basic TracDat information
NOTE: FOR BEST RESULTS USE THE MOZILLA FIREFOX WEB BROWSER.
Website:
Assessment and Institutional Research
http://www.viterbo.edu/assessment, TracDat Login
Or, from Viterbo, MY VU, Quick Find, select Faculty/Staff >> TracDat
Username:
First initial, middle initial, full last name (same as email)
Password:
Please contact Assessment and Institutional Research if you need to reset
your TracDat password.
Contents
Adding Goals ....................................................................................................................... 1
Relating Goals to Institutional Priorities/Objectives ............................................................ 2
Defining Activities................................................................................................................ 3
Attaching Documents .......................................................................................................... 4
Entering Results................................................................................................................... 5
Assigning Tasks .................................................................................................................... 7
Generating Reports ............................................................................................................. 9
Changing your Password ................................................................................................... 10
For questions or support issues related to TracDat, please contact: Nicole Vidden, at
[email protected], extension 3486, Naomi Stennes-Spidahl at [email protected], extension 3841 or, Vicke Denniston, [email protected].
TracDat – Adding Goals
To add a new Goal to your Action Plan, try following these steps:
1. Click on the Action Plan tab.
2. Select Goals.
3. Click on the Add New Goal button to open the page illustrated below.
4. Provide your Goal with a name and a description. Also, be sure to designate the
position accountable for this Goal, and provide it with a thorough Risk Assessment.
5. Don’t forget to press the Save Changes button when you are finished.
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TracDat – Relating Goals to Institutional Priorities/Objectives
To relate the Goals of your Action Plan to Viterbo University’s institutional Priorities and
Objectives, try following these steps:
1. Click on the Action Plan tab.
2. Select Related Objectives.
3. Use the Goal Name dropdown menu to select the specific Goal which you would like
to relate to Viterbo’s institutional Priorities and Objectives.
4. Scroll through the list of institutional Priorities and Objectives and check the boxes
next to each Priority/Objective which you would like to relate to your Goal.
5. Click on the Save Changes button when you are finished.
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TracDat – Defining your Activities
To add a new Activity to your Action Plan, try following these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Click on the Action Plan tab.
Select Activities.
Use the Goal Name menu to select the specific Goal to be measured by this Activity.
Click on the Add New Activity button.
5. Provide your Activity with a name and a description. Also, be sure to provide it with a
measure for success, a timeline indicating when the Activity should be completed by,
the name(s) of the person responsible for this activity, and a list of the different
resources this Activity will require.
6. Click on the Save Changes button when you have finished defining your Activity.
7. If you are interested in attaching any documents to this Activity that further explain
its purpose or needs, then you may do so by using the Relate Document button.
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TracDat – Attaching Documents
To attach a document to your Action Plan in general, try following these steps:
1. Click on the Documents tab.
2. Select Document Repository.
3. Select the folder in which you would like to store your document. To create a new
folder try clicking on the Add New Folder button located at the bottom of this page.
4. Click on the Add New Document button.
5. In the window that pops up, use the Browse… button to locate your document. Then
enter a name and (if necessary) a description for your document, and press save.
Documents attached to your Action Plan in this way can be linked to your Plan’s Activities
and Results.
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TracDat – Entering Results
To add Results to your Action Plan, try following these steps:
1. Click on the Results tab.
2. Click on the Add Result button.
3. Select the Goal most related to your Result.
4. Select the Activity used to obtain this Result.
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TracDat – Entering Results (continued)
5. Provide your Result with a name, description and a date. Also, please be sure to
indicate whether your Result has met the measure for success defined by the Activity
used to obtain this Result.
Before you can proceed to Step 6, you must press the Save Changes button in order
to save the information you’ve entered so far.
6. Click on the Related Documents tab to attach any documents you may have that
contain data supporting this Result.
7. If the data in your Result has not met the measure for success defined by your
Activity, then you may want to add a new plan for action outlining any actions to be
taken in response to this Result. To create a new plan for action, try using the add
Actions link, as show above.
8. Just as you may add plans for action to your Results, so too may you add follow-up
information to those plans for action. For example, let’s say you have determined
that one of your plans for action has successfully improved the results collected by
one of your Activities. In such a case, you may want to add follow-up information
stating this new development. To add a piece of follow-up information, try using the
add Follow-Up link, illustrated above.
9. Please remember to click on the Save Changes button when you are finished.
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TracDat – Assigning Tasks
TracDat allows you to assign TracDat-related Tasks to yourself or to others. Tasks can be
automatically emailed to the appropriate individual reminding them when Activity data is
due, and providing them with a direct link into TracDat to enter those results. To assign a
new Task, try following these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Click on the Action Plan tab.
Select Tasks.
Select the Goal most related to this task by using the Goal Name dropdown menu.
Click on the Add New Task button to open the page illustrated below.
5. Enter a name and a thorough description of your task in the text boxes provided.
6. Click on the Save Changes button.
7. Click on the Assign Button to open the Task Menu, shown on the next page.
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TracDat – Assigning Tasks (continued)
8. In the window illustrated above, you will need to indicate how much information you
expect this Task to provide for your Action Plan by using the options located under
the heading: Provide. “Data Only” means that you only expect documents to be
attached to your Action Plan, while “Data, Result and Action Plan” means that you
would like to see documents added to your Plan, as well as a formal Result and plan
for action.
Next, you should indicate which folder in your Document Repository you would like to
see documents added to (if any), as well as whom you plan to assign this Task to. If
the person whom you would like to assign the task to is not listed under the Assign to
dropdown list, then you should contact the system administrator to request to have
that person added to your Action Plan.
Next, you should assign a due date and/or frequency for this Task, as well as a subject
line and message body for the email message sent out concerning this Task. Lastly,
don’t forget to check the box located at the bottom of the page in order to send out
an email message (no email will be sent if this box is not checked). Press the save
button when you are finished.
Last of all, once you have returned to the webpage illustrated on the previous page of
this document, you must be sure to click on the Save Changes button again, as
illustrated in Step 6 on the previous page of this document.
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TracDat – Generating Reports
To generate a report containing all the information in your Action Plan, including each of
your Goals, Activities and Results, you should try following these steps to produce an
“Assessment Impact Report”:
1. Click on the Reports tab.
2. Locate the Assessment Impact Report and click on the run link located on the right
side of the page.
3. In most cases you won’t need to make any changes to the report settings. You should
only make changes to these settings if you are interested in narrowing down the
range of data returned by your report.
4. Press the Execute Report button to generate your report.
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TracDat – Changing your Password
To change your TracDat account’s password try following these steps:
1. Click on the Home tab.
2. Select Profile.
3. Click on the Change Password button.
Please note: updating your TracDat password will not affect your Viterbo Email or
Blackboard passwords. Likewise, updating your Email password will not affect your
TracDat password.
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