TASKSTREAM® Accountability Management

System

Step-by-Step Guide

for

Administrative Workspaces Revised August, 2019

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LOGGING INTO TASKSTREAM ............................. 3

WHERE TO BEGIN ...................................................... 4

STANDING REQUIREMENTS Unit/Area Objectives & Outcomes

Create New Outcome Sets ................................... 6

Create New Operational Objectives ..................... 8

Edit Operational Objectives ................................. 9

Create New Outcomes ......................................... 10

Edit Outcomes ...................................................... 12

Create Mapping .................................................... 12

ASSESSMENT CYCLES Assessment Plan

Create an Assessment Plan .................................. 15

Create and/or Import Measures .......................... 18

Insert Findings ...................................................... 20

Operational/Action Plan Create Operational/Action Plan ........................... 22

Import Action ....................................................... 24

Create Status Report ............................................ 25

Help .................................................................. 26

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LOGGING INTO TASKSTREAM

Please be aware that this guide is meant to assist you in completing and updating your workspaces. Please

feel free to call OAPR with “how to” questions if you need more guidance. You may also contact Watermark directly, as described on page 26 of this guide.

1. Sign on to the NCC Portal and click on the Taskstream icon,

which should be included in your Launchpad. If you do not have the icon on your portal page, please call OAPR so that we can create an account for you.

2. Once you are logged in, the workspaces to which you have

access will appear. You can either click on the workspace of the participating area you wish to address, or use the search function to narrow your options.

3. To open the workspace you wish to view or edit, do not click on the name of the workspace, but the title of the template, i.e., “ADMINISTRATIVE ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN [2]” under the specific participating area you plan to address.

4. You may follow the instructions in this step-by-step guide, but also please take a moment to read the directions included within each section of the workspace, as they contain substantive instructions that will assist you in this process. If the directions are not visible, click on the blue triangle to expand the section.

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WHERE TO BEGIN? Quick Reference Guide

Most users of this Step-By-Step Guide will already have an Assessment Plan in place and will NOT need to start at the

beginning. So, please follow the guidelines below to answer the question, “Where To Begin?”

IF you need to enter the status of actions taken based on

your Action Plan,

GO TO the section entitled “Create Status Report” on

page 25.

IF you need to create an Operational/Action Plan based on

your findings,

GO TO the section entitled “Create Operational Action

Plan” on page 22.

IF you need to enter Findings and/or Recommendations into

an existing Assessment Plan or reflect on previous recommendations,

GO TO the section entitled “Insert Findings on page 20.

IF Operational Objectives and Outcomes have been included

in your Standing Requirements, but you need to create an Assessment Plan and add Measures,

GO TO the section entitled “Create an Assessment

Plan” on page 15.

IF you wish to map existing Outcomes to various goal sets or

standards,

GO TO “Create Mapping” on page 12.

IF existing Operational Objectives and/or Outcomes require

editing,

GO TO “Edit Operational Objectives” on page 9.

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IF Operational Objectives have been included but there are

no Outcomes for those Objectives,

GO TO the section entitled “Create New Outcomes” on

page 10.

IF no Operational Objectives have been included for the

Outcome Set you will be utilizing,

GO TO the section entitled “Create New Operational

Objectives” on page 8.

IF you plan to use an existing Outcome Set in your

Assessment Plan,

GO TO the section entitled “Create New Outcome Sets”

on page 7, #3.

IF no Outcome Set has been created for your program or

department, or you need to create a new Outcome Set,

GO TO the section entitled “Create New Outcome Sets”

on page 6, #1.

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STANDING REQUIREMENTS

This area of your workspace documents the Operational Objectives and Outcomes for your unit/area and is also

where any editing of these components takes place.

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES In this section, you will identify Operational Objectives and Outcomes

for your unit/area and, if appropriate, map those Outcomes to institutional and/or external goal sets.

CREATE NEW OUTCOME SETS

An Outcome Set includes both Operational Objectives and corresponding Outcomes. If you need to create a new Outcome Set,

follow steps #1, below, and #2 on page 7. If you plan to use an already existing set, skip to step #3 on page 7.

1. To begin creating your Assessment Plan, you must first create

an Outcome Set. To do so, click on “Unit/Area Objectives &

Outcomes” under the “Standing Requirements” and

.

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2. Click on “Create New Set.”

Choose the title that appears for your Outcome Set or create a new title. Check off the box to allow mapping, and click

.

3. If you wish to utilize an outcome set that has already been

created, click on “Select Existing Set“.

You may then choose any set that was previously created. You can view the set(s) prior to choosing one by clicking on

on the far right.

4. Once you have created or chosen an Outcome Set, you may begin creating Operational Objectives and Outcomes or you may .

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CREATE NEW OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES

If you have selected an already existing Outcome Set for which Operational Objectives and Outcomes have already been created, you do not need to create additional Operational Objectives/Outcomes. If that is not the case, you may begin as follows:

1. To begin creating your Operational Objectives, click on “Unit/Area Objectives & Outcomes” under the “Standing Requirements” and .

2. Click on and

add the first Operational Objective. (Note: This space

only allows for 140 characters, so be concise. If you need

additional room, or would like to clarify what is written,

you may use the “Description” text box.) Click

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To create additional Operational Objectives, repeat step #2.

3. Once you have included one or more Operational

Objective(s), you may begin creating your Outcomes or you

may .

EDIT OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. To edit existing Operational Objective(s), click on “Unit/Area Objectives & Outcomes” under the “Standing Requirements” and .

2. Go to the Operational Objective you wish to edit, click on on the far right, make any necessary modifications,

and click on . (If the system asks what you wish to update, check only the current assessment cycle, NOT past completed cycles.)

3. Once you have completed your edits, you may or you may continue by making additional edits .

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CREATE NEW OUTCOMES

Outcomes address what the unit/area expects to accomplish that will demonstrate that the Operational Objectives have been achieved.

1. To begin creating your Outcomes, click on “Unit/Area Objectives & Outcomes” under the “Standing Requirements” and .

2. Under the Operational Objective for which you wish to create the Outcome, click on “Create New Outcome.” Add and number the first Outcome. (Note: This space only allows for 140 characters, so be concise. If you need additional room, or would like to clarify what is written, you may use the “Description” text box.) Click

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3. You now have three choices…

a. IF you would like to add additional Outcomes under the same Operational Objective, click “Add another outcome.”

b. IF you would like to add Outcomes under another Operational Objective, click “Back to all outcome sets.”

c. IF you would like to map to specific goal sets (or standards) that are accessible to your workspace, click “Add mapping” and proceed to step #2 of the “CREATE MAPPING” section of this booklet on page 13 for step-by-step instructions.

4. Once you have completed your tasks for the session, click on

“Back to all outcome sets” and .

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EDIT OUTCOMES

1. To edit existing Outcomes, click on “Unit/Area Objectives & Outcomes” under the “Standing Requirements” and

.

2. Go to the Outcome you wish to edit, click on on the far right, make any necessary modifications, and click on

. (If the system asks what you wish to update, check only the current assessment cycle, NOT past completed cycles.)

3. Once you have completed your edits, you may or you may continue by mapping to goal sets or standards.

CREATE MAPPING

You should map your outcomes to the relevant goal sets, strategic

plans, and/or external accreditation standards.

1. You may map your Outcomes to internal and external goals and standards (in Taskstream referred to as Goal Sets) in two ways:

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a. While creating your outcomes, you can click on “Add mapping” as indicated in CREATE NEW OUTCOMES step

#3c on page 11 of this booklet, and proceed to Step #2 below.

b. You can go directly to the Outcome as follows:

i. Click on ““Unit/Area Objectives & Outcomes” and ;

ii. Go to the specific Outcome you would like mapped, and click on on the right of the outcome;

iii. Click on and proceed to step #2 below .

2. Use the drop down menu to “Select Type of Set,” choose “Goal Sets Distributed to {specific area},” and click

NOT .

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3. Select the appropriate Goal Set and click .

(Note, you can only choose one goal set at a time.)

4. Select those section(s) of the goal set that you would like mapped to your Outcome, and Click on the bottom right.

5. Repeat these steps to create additional mapping. Once you have completed your work, .

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ASSESSMENT CYCLES

This area of your workspace outlines your Assessment Plan and documents your assessment results. All of the

unit/area Outcomes included in your Standing Requirements need to be assessed during each four year

Strategic Planning Cycle

ASSESSMENT PLAN

You create an Assessment Plan by describing measures for each

Outcome you have identified in the Standing Requirements. For each measure you create, you should explain the criteria used to delineate

levels of performance e.g., exceeding, meeting, or not meeting expectations. Wherever possible, attach supporting attachments

evidencing your level of achievement.

CREATE AN ASSESSMENT PLAN Once the Operational Objectives and Outcomes have been included in your Standing Requirements, an Assessment Plan must be created by carrying over the Operational Objectives and Outcomes into the appropriate cycle and creating measure(s) for each Outcome. 1. Click on “Assessment Plan” under the appropriate

assessment cycle and .

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2. When entering the “Assessment Plan” section of your workspace, you may encounter one of the following bulleted scenarios:

AN ASSESSMENT PLAN HAS BEEN CREATED FOR A PREVIOUS CYCLE - Typically, your best option would be to click on

as this will carry over all previous Operational Objectives, Outcomes & Measures from the previous assessment cycle. When you choose this option, all existing plans will be listed, including those from other templates within the same participating area, and you can choose the one you would like carried into the current cycle.

You can then edit as needed.

OUTCOME SET(S), INCLUDING OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES, HAVE BEEN CARRIED INTO THE ASSESSMENT PLAN SECTION OF YOUR WORKSPACE, BUT MEASURES HAVE NOT YET BEEN ADDED –

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You may now proceed to create measures for your Outcomes, as outlined in the section on page 18 entitled CREATE AND/OR IMPORT MEASURES.

OUTCOME SET(S), INCLUDING OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES, HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE STANDING REQUIREMENTS, BUT THE ASSESSMENT PLAN SECTION OF YOUR WORKSPACE IS EMPTY AND NO PLANS HAVE BEEN CREATED IN ANY PREVIOUS CYCLES – Click on

Click on on the bottom right;

Click on toward the top right. This allows you to create your Assessment Plan using an Outcome Set (Operational Objectives and Outcomes) that has been created in the Standing Requirements. You may view any existing Outcome Set by clicking on on the far right.

Click on the circle next to the set you wish to choose,

and click .

Next, click on the box next to on

the far right, which carries all of your Outcomes into the

plan, or just select those outcomes you choose to carry

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into this cycle by clicking on the box on the left of each

outcome. Finally, click on

You may now proceed to create measures for your Outcomes.

CREATE AND/OR IMPORT MEASURES

Please note, be sure to read the directions at the top of the screen both before and after clicking on “Add New Measure.”

These directions outline the manner in which measures should be included.

1. Click on “Assessment Plan” under the appropriate

assessment cycle and .

2. Click on under the outcome you wish to address.

3. When creating a new measure, be sure include the following,

as outlined in the directions within the Assessment Plan

section of your workspace:

TO COMPLETE THIS SECTION:

Describe in detail each specific measure and how it is to be

used to evaluate achievement/completion of a

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specific Outcome. Descriptions of measures might include the

following kinds of information:

Type of data-- Quantitative, qualitative, or mixed;

Origin of measure-- Commercial, in-house, or adapted

from another instrument or methodology;

Type of measure-- Direct or indirect.

Describe the plan for implementing the annual unit/area

assessment plan:

Specify a Timeline for implementing

o data collection

o analysis and interpretation

Identify responsible individuals for each part of the plan,

i.e., who is responsible for ensuring data are collected,

analyzed and interpreted.

Identify other administrative units/areas your area may

use as collaborators to obtain or generate data, to

identify or implement modifications, to use as

organizational or functional models, etc., and to achieve

your unit/area Objectives.

When complete, click .

4. If you wish to add a measure identical or similar to one created for another Outcome in this workspace, click on and then

on the right. A window will open. Click in the box indicating

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5. Choose the measure you would like to import by clicking on the circle next to that measure. and click on

6. Make any appropriate changes to the measure, including the numbering, and be sure to include all details requested in #3 on pages 18 & 19.

7. When complete, click .

8. Add or import any additional measures under each Learning Outcome and when finished, .

ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

For each measure, discuss the results/findings for that measure, compare the results to the last time the Outcome was assessed, and

indicate plans to improve that Outcome in order to meet your Operational Objective. Attach substantiating evidence, if appropriate.

INSERT FINDINGS

1. Click on “Assessment Findings” under the appropriate assessment cycle and .

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2. Click on on the bottom right of the

measure you wish to address.

3. In the text box, add all relevant data.

4. In the second text box marked , compare the results to prior assessment of this outcome, and describe the effectiveness of any previous modifications, if applicable. Explain why this outcome was or was not met.

5. If you wish to include any additional information or comments, you may use the third text box marked

6. Finally, indicate the levels to which both the acceptable target and the ideal target were achieved, and

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Once submitted, you will see your findings included and can attach substantiating evidence by clicking on

7. Remember to .

OPERATIONAL/ACTION PLAN

CREATE OPERATIONAL/ACTION PLAN 1. Click on “Operational/Action Plan” under the appropriate

assessment cycle and .

2. If an action plan has not been created, click on and proceed to step #5 below.

3. If an action plan has been created, but outcomes have not

been selected, proceed to step #6 below.

4. If an action plan has been created, and the outcomes you wish to address have already been selected, proceed to step #7 on page 23.

5. Click on on the bottom right and

. The Outcome Set[s] within the Standing Requirements of this workspace will appear. Choose the appropriate set, and click .

6. Choose the outcomes you wish to address or select

in the blue ribbon across the top of the outcome set, and click on .

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7. Click on under each outcome that you wish to address. Note that each action corresponds to a specific outcome. However, an outcome often has more than one measure. Therefore, when you create the action, you must indicate the particular measure the action relates to by checking the appropriate “Findings for Measure” box, and click .

8. You can now add the title of your Action and can see that the

Action is linked to particular findings.

9. To add additional actions, repeat steps 7 & 8, and when you

have included all your actions, .

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IMPORT ACTION

1. Follow steps #1-7 under CREATE OPERATIONAL/ACTION PLAN on page 22 & 23 of this booklet.

2. Click on on the right.

3. Choose the action you would like to import by clicking on the circle next to the action

and click on .

4. Proceed to make any appropriate changes to the action, click on and when you have included all

your actions, .

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CREATE STATUS REPORT 1. Click on “Status Report” under the appropriate assessment cycle and .

2. Click on on the bottom right of the Action you wish to address. Add the current status using the drop down menu provided, and include additional information requested and all relevant data. Click .

3. Once submitted, you may add attachments, if appropriate.

4. Once you have completed your work, please

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If you experience technical problems, you can…

1. Click on at the top right of your screen, where you will be directed to “Help Topics.” This section includes a category entitled “Workspace Participant FAQs,” as well as various topics that may be of assistance to you. Additionally, if you click on “Browse and Search All Topics” there is a search function available.

2. If you are unable to resolve your problems, you may

contact Mentoring Services at Watermark by e-mailing your questions to support@watermarkinsights.com or calling 1-800-311-5656.

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NOTES

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OAPR – 8.27.19