The most commonly used items from ICES Online were identified. A team of survey designers refined that set of items to follow current best practices for survey design.
Category: Administrator FAQ
Can instructors add their own questions to their FLEX survey?
Not yet. Starting as soon as we work out support by the vendor, we will provide a catalog of survey items that instructors may choose to add to their survey. Instructors will be able to add up to three items to their survey. They will be notified by the FLEX system when they are able […]
Can we add items to our core that are not in the provided catalog of survey items?
Not yet. We want to make sure the ability to add pre-written questions works smoothly before providing support for faculty to suggest new items to add to the catalog of survey items. We will provide mechanisms for units to suggest their own survey items after fall 2026 at the earliest.
How do we change our departmental core?
After initial departmental cores are set, UEOs should work with their colleges to approve changes to their departmental core. The college’s dean or designee should send an email to flex@illinois.edu once changes have been approved. Changes must be submitted by the last day of instruction of the term preceding when the unit wants the change […]
Can my unit add a set of survey items to all of our courses (i.e., create a departmental core)?
Soon. CITL will contact UEOs in spring 2026 with a catalog of survey items that they can use to construct their departmental core. A departmental core can have up to a total of six rated items, and colleges may mandate up to three of those items. For example, if a college mandates that two items […]
What information will be shared with Explorance Blue?
The university will share instructor’s name, NetID, title/role (e.g., TA vs. faculty), and UIN; course information (e.g., CRN, subject code, course number, course title, section identifier); course registration (e.g., students’ NetID, class status); and other university staff contact information such as unit executive officers’ name, NetID, and UIN and their designees. This data will be […]
Why use Explorance Blue as a third-party survey provider?
Explorance Blue is the software that best satisfies our campus’ requirements for access control, security, FEPA compliance, and that best accommodates the variety of our course models and structure.
Who will be collecting the feedback from the survey? Who is Explorance Blue?
CITL will administer the Explorance Blue system. Explorance Blue is a feedback analytics and insights platform that streamlines collection and analysis of surveys. Learn more about Blue.
How has the FLEX survey been validated?
FLEX was developed following evidence-based practices for survey design. The scales for the survey were chosen to align with the campus definition of teaching excellence. Initial survey items were drafted and circulated for faculty feedback for importance and applicability. An initial set of items were selected based on faculty feedback. These items were taken to […]
Who will have access to the results from FLEX surveys for courses?
Instructors and their unit executive officers will by default have access to FLEX results. A provost’s task force is being charged to address questions such as whether should students have access to some type of access to FLEX results (i.e., raw or summary data) and whether access to FLEX results can be used as an […]