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Student Engagement Roster

How to give meaningful feedback through the Student Engagement Roster

The Student Engagement Roster (SER) system offers various features that facilitate efficient, meaningful communication with students, including:

Positive options for feedback on student performance
Option of adding personalized comments
Ability to provide feedback for multiple students at once
Canvas integration to filter students based on gradebook columns—e.g., all students who have less than 70% on quizzes
Ability to view when students have reviewed your feedback
Observations and recommendations that connect students with campus resources
Ability to send feedback to the student's academic advisor for follow-up

The IU Knowledge Base has more information about how to use these features.

When you provide feedback about students’ performance via the SER—either through an Observation or a Recommendation, two key things happen:

The students receive an email that alerts them to the new feedback (unless the only feedback provided is an indication of “attending”). Because of evidence that indicates students are more likely to read emails from instructors than from an automated system, the email will appear to come from you, with the wording below:

I have submitted some information on how you are doing in [Course]. Please take a look at that feedback by accessing your Student Engagement Roster through One.IU.edu or by following the link in Canvas. Please do not hesitate to discuss this feedback with me. You'll get a follow-up email from me whenever I submit new feedback for you.
The records of your observations and recommendations are visible to academic advisors, who can look for patterns across all of a student’s courses. This allows advisors to reach out to students in more targeted and supportive ways.

In addition, SER leaders are working on ways to provide academic service units—e.g., tutoring services—with data that will allow them to provide direct outreach to students who received recommendations to use their services.

How to make the SER useful for students

Let students know about your use of the SER and your commitment to giving them feedback that can help them succeed. Consider including a statement like this in your syllabus:

This semester I will be using IU’s Student Engagement Roster (SER) to provide feedback on your performance in this course. Periodically throughout the semester, I will be entering data on factors such as your class attendance, participation, and success with coursework. This information will help you see how you are faring in the course and offer suggestions on how you might be able to improve your performance.

You will be able to access your information via the SER-Student Engagement Roster app in One.IU or on our course page in Canvas.

Give specific recommendations that students can act on, so that they understand what resources they should utilize to improve performance, perhaps including the course team, their academic advisor, other campus resources like tutoring, or specific opportunities that they could benefit from. When writing your recommendation, consider what someone outside of the course would need to know in order to adequately support this specific student.

Provide feedback throughout the semester, so students have multiple opportunities to improve and succeed. See the suggested timelines below for ideas of when you can provide feedback.

Remember you are only one point of feedback, so even if you think you can resolve an issue directly with a student, consider adding an Observation or Recommendation to the SER, so that advisors can see and respond to any patterns that may be emerging across classes.

Keep in touch with students about their progress. The SER isn’t a magical system, nor is it a way to hand off responsibility to someone else. Rather, it provides a starting point for feedback and conversation with your students. If you recommend they go to tutoring, for example, follow up to see how it's working for them.

Follow up on recommendations to “Consult with instructor” or “Consult with teaching assistant” by returning to the SER and indicating when the students have done so. This step provides useful information to advisors who may be nudging students to attend to SER feedback. Go into the SER, click Actions at the top right in the header, check “Consulted with instructor” in the student's row, and click submit twice. You still need to remove this recommendation in the SER the next time you submit feedback for this student.

When to use the SER effectively during the semester

Week 1: Consider explaining the SER to your students and tell them how you will be using it. If students are registered for your class and miss the first class, report them as non-attending in the SER. It will allow outreach that can help clarify their situation. You may include this text in your syllabus:

This semester I will be using IU's Student Engagement Roster to provide feedback on your performance in this course. Periodically throughout the semester, I will be entering information on factors such as your class attendance, participation, and success with coursework, among other things. This information will provide feedback on how you are doing in the course and offer you suggestions on how you might be able to improve your performance. You will be able to access this information by going to One.IU.edu and searching for the Student Engagement Roster (Student) tile.

Week 2: Attendance Verification is now open through Week 6 to report student attendance.

Week 3: Consider giving students a diagnostic task that will help you identify students who may be struggling. It does not have to be factored into student grades. Use it to provide appropriate feedback in the SER.

Week 4: Follow up with students to whom you gave feedback. Entry of Early Evaluation grades for courses with beginner students is now open through Week 6.

Week 6: Early Evaluation grades and Attendance Verification must be completed by the Sunday after the sixth week of classes, either through the SER or through the Faculty Center in One.IU.

Weeks 7-15: Provide any updated feedback as needed in the SER. Continue following up with students by checking in on any recommendations you gave them.

Weeks 1-15: Continue checking for SER feedback relevant to your role and perform the necessary outreach to students.

Starting Week 4: Watch especially for students who are receiving unsatisfactory feedback in multiple courses.

Starting Week 6: Watch for students who receive low early evaluation grades.

Interested in learning more about the SER?

Listen to the voices of faculty, advisors, and students as they speak about how the Student Engagement Roster (SER) can be used to meaningfully support student success.

00:03 Overview of the Webinar and Presenters: Faculty, Advisors, and Students

00:46 What is the “Student Engagement Roster”? A Powerful Tool to Support Student Retention
Voices from Advisors

05:03 What Happens When Instructors Contact their Students with Supportive Feedback?
Voices from Advisors

06:33 Using the Student Engagement Roster to Communicate with Students
Voices from Advisors

10:15 Leveraging the Student Engagement Roster to Make Large Classes Feel Smaller: Providing Feedback in Bulk
Voices from Faculty

17:00 When To Use the “Consult with Advisor” Option
Voices from Faculty

19:44 What Do Advisors Find Helpful for Professors to Include in SER Feedback?
Voices from Advisors

27:30 How Do Program Advisors Monitor SER Feedback?
Voices from Advisors

34:19 Student-Advisor Communication: Student Persistence and Retention
Voices from Students and Advisors

43:26 Q&A
Voices from Faculty, Advisors, and Students

This webinar was sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education as part of its Spring 2026 student retention initiative. I would like to thank the faculty and advisors who support our students through their engagement with the Student Engagement Roster. Through their collaborative efforts, advisors and faculty help promote student retention, persistence, and a stronger sense of belonging at Indiana University. I would especially like to thank the following advising leaders for their valuable input and partnership in conceptualizing this webinar: Mary O’Shea (Director of Advising Strategic Initiatives, Undergraduate Education) and Rebekah Leake (Associate Director of Advising, Media School, College of Arts + Sciences).

~César Félix-Brasdefer, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Student Engagement Roster

How to give meaningful feedback through the Student Engagement Roster

What happens when you make an Observation or a Recommendation about student performance?

How to make the SER useful for students

When to use the SER effectively during the semester

For faculty

For advisors and student support centers

Interested in learning more about the SER?

Timestamps for individual presentations