The problem/opportunity: the need to quickly convert a paper-based review process to a digital experience.

As a founding program of SUNY Empire State College, a distance learning institution, the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies stands out for its longstanding on-site, classroom-based cohort model of education. In 2003, the School of Labor Studies instituted a mandatory, student-facing midterm portfolio review into their curriculum as an academic support and retention imitative. Portfolios were collected in class, stored in a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, and reviewed by writing coaches on printed, triplicate rubric sheets: one copy for the student, one for the instructor and one for the director of academic support, Sophia Mavrogiannis. However, with a student population of approximately 1100, formally aggregating and using that data each term was insurmountably challenging.

In Spring 2020 when COVID-19 shuttered institutions and classrooms across New York state, students and instructors scrambled to survive the sudden move to remote learning and Ms. Mavrogiannis cancelled the midterm portfolio review. Faced with lingering uncertainty about returning on-site and the limitations of a paper-dominated process, the director reached out to the Department of Educational and Emerging Technologies and presented her problem: converting a required, core curricular, a high-touch, paper-dominated, student-facing retention and academic support process involving approximately 1100 students, 60-70 courses, and multiple reviewers to a user-friendly, web-based process that also allows for data collection and analysis.

The solution: two mobile apps: one for student submissions and one for reviewers.

Through trial and investigation of free solutions, we discovered that by utilizing the Microsoft Power Platform, currently included in all O365 educational licenses, we could design and develop two Power Apps that required low code, basic knowledge of Excel-like expression language, and familiarity with user design (UX). None of us were coders or developed a mobile app before. In the end, these two apps, in concert with their Sharepoint home base, provided:

1) a simple interface for the students to attach, comment on, and submit their documents,
2) a robust experience for the reviewers to filter submissions, easily access students’ files, and complete the review using a built-in rubric form,
3) automated emails that were triggered by two actions: after a student submission and after the reviewer submitted a portfolio review.

These apps are highly effective and efficient solutions because:
- They’re accessible on a desktop or any mobile device.
- They’re flexible and can be used together in person or remotely.
- The repetitive nature of the reviewers’ actions allows the app to be simple but powerful.
- O365 automatically identifies the students and reviewers by their log in. Thus, it removes the need to manually input redundant data such as names and email addresses.
- It allows for a more responsive and thorough delivery of feedback to students and faculty.
- Automated emails can be easily set up with triggers and actions to keep students and instructors communicated.
- It is completely paper-free.

To complete this project, we took the following major steps:

We actively listened to and engaged with stakeholders to empathize and understand their needs. A simple example was how the students and reviewers identify their classes. In this case, we noticed they rely heavily on weekdays more than instructor name, class name, or course number. Consequently, that was the first field the students and reviewers got when inputting or extracting the information.

We studied the options, challenges, and constraints before building and promising anything. Initially, our stakeholders had already envisioned a solution (in their minds) on MS Teams and were pushing pretty hard for it. We almost fell into the trap of “give them what they want” until we made a good case for going with PowerApps instead. Cost was also an important constraint we had to abide by. All the information gathered thus far was documented in our project charter after every meeting.

We created a workflow to understand all the tools, offices, and necessary collaborators. After deciding to go with PowerApps, the next step was to bring together offices and expertise from Cloud Computing, Intranet Manager, Service Desk and the Office of Marketing and Communication to ensure we had the right network of support for ourselves and users on all ends of the app.

We sketched a rough draft of what the ideal solution would “feel” like in order to have a point of reference for the apps.

We prototyped directly on PowerApps with the guidance of a Microsoft Customer Engineer to quickly learn about the platform as time was not on our side!

We created a new Sharepoint site to house the student and reviewer data, and started with a new Canvas app from blank adding galleries, objects, etc based on the initial rough sketch and workflow.

We tested, tested, tested.

We finished the project by creating an Active Directory group for the labor students so only they could access the app, and a shared inbox for the reviewers so we could setup automated emails with Power Automate.

At the end, with some room for improvement and iteration, we achieved a high-end product and experience for our students with no additional cost to the college. We modernized and digitized the midterm portfolio review process, created a rich database with student portfolios and review results, removed the need for paper or physical presence, and gave students more mobility and flexibility to submit their portfolios.

App-based solutions like these are no longer exclusive and costly options. It is evident that student services must be as agile as other departments and able to digitize, record, and retain information in a rapid manner. Coupled with the mobilization of our students and the increased reliance on mobile devices, app solutions should be considered as part of the student services repertoire.