WEAVEonline: Technical FAQs

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WEAVEonline:

Technical FAQs

1. What is WEAVEonline?

WEAVEonline is our core product, a powerful software application that addresses the need to develop and maintain continuous improvement processes for both the academic and administrative structures within an institution. It guides and provides for the alignment of multiple processes, such as assessment, planning, accreditation, budgeting and institutional priorities.

Using a classic model of assessment, WEAVEonline allows users to follow a step-by-step process for completing the assessment cycle. This process begins with creating a mission/purpose and establishing goals for achieving that mission. The process takes the user through objective/outcome development, establishing appropriate measures, setting achievement targets for each measure, reviewing applicable data, writing findings of the assessment results, and establishing needs based on current data through planning before repeating the steps in the next assessment cycle.

One of the many strengths of WEAVEonline is the way the application helps users to utilize their results to “close the loop” by developing and implementing action plans. Action plans can be developed based on need as determined by the data the user collects. Once created, action plans are tracked within WEAVEonline and categorized according to level of completion. This method creates a living history of the institution’s assessment work and allows the institution to have a clear longitudinal view of how it has “closed the loop.” Action Plans can also be developed that are not findings-based but are, instead, intended for strategic planning and quality enhancement purposes.

2. Does the system exist or does it have to be designed and built?

The entire structure of WEAVEonline exists already and does not need to be designed. Many institutions begin in academic assessment and expand to administrative assessment, mapping, strategic planning, etc., over time.

WEAVEonline is an externally-hosted application. No institutional IT resources (neither hardware-architectural, configuration, or otherwise—software, nor person hours) are required to employ the WEAVEonline application. It is accessed through web browsers and runs entirely as an online application. Since WEAVEonline is a hosted application, there is no application software download or installation for the institution or for individual client PCs.

Recommended browsers are Firefox 5; Internet Explorer 8/9 with JavaScript enabled; Chrome 11.x. Supported browsers are Firefox 3.x/5; Internet Explorer 7/8/9; Chrome 11.x.

3. Where will the data be hosted, locally or on a remote server?

WEAVEonline is a 100% hosted solution, and all appropriate commercially reasonable disaster recovery procedures are followed. A centralized automated data protection system is used for the backup and recovery of data and applications. Centrieva makes commercially reasonable efforts to

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ensure that all modified data is backed-up every night. Encrypted backup data is stored off-site for disaster recovery purposes. No less than two independent Internet connections are maintained at all times.

Reliability - WEAVEonline is Secure and Dependable, with: • Geo-diverse data-centers: Denver, CO and Louisville, KY

• Continuously sync’d databases and file systems with fully automatic fail-over

• 99.5% up-time: Down-time over last year has been only for scheduled software upgrades and routine patch maintenance.

With triple redundant backups, WEAVEonline has an uptime of 99.5% with 24/7/365 availability.

4. Can we import data on users, courses, and entities to facilitate getting started?

Absolutely. We would be happy to send you a brief recorded video of how this is accomplished if it would be helpful.

WEAVEonline’s Data Import/Export functionality is based on the ability of WEAVEonline to both produce and consume delimited files and XML documents. The Data Import/Export functionality includes the ability to add/edit/remove data in bulk and to exchange and maintain “primary keys” from external systems (e.g. PeopleSoft) such that the add/edit/remove import/export operations are deterministic and repeatable. Currently, this import/export capability is available for users, entities and courses.

5. Is there a separate charge for this bulk import?

No. This is included in our annual membership fee.

6. Please detail the physical location of hosting site, number of years in business, number of clientele housed in the location, emergency preparedness/disaster recovery methodology and plan, detailed schematic of hosting infrastructure and fail-over sites.

The location of WEAVE’s primary data center is located in Denver, CO with a disaster recovery/automatic-fail-over/replica site in Louisville, KY. WEAVEonline is a 100% hosted solution, and all appropriate commercially reasonable disaster recovery procedures are followed. A centralized automated data protection system is used for the backup and recovery of data and applications. Centrieva makes commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that all modified data is backed-up every night. Encrypted backup data is stored off-site for disaster recovery purposes. No less than two independent Internet connections are maintained at all times.

Security:

• Internal - Fine-grained compartmentalization of data via Entity-level Role assignment. • External – Internet Facing

– Dual hardware firewalls: Only HTTP(S) and VPN. – Thawte Extended Validation Certificate

– Security best-practices:

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• Database - All stored-procedures; no dynamic SQL; use of down-level accounts (no system access via database nor web application.)

• Salted, double-hashed user passwords (WeaveDB only) • Extensive server logging and monitoring

• Filtering and sanitizing of user inputs

• Use of built-in ASP.NET protections against XSS and other vectors • Successfully passed penetration/security audit via IBM AppScan

7. Please detail the scalability of WEAVEonline.

• SaaS: Subscribers have no limits on the numbers of users, entities nor supporting documents they can incorporate into their work.

• System can be scaled to multiple web servers (web farm) and multiple database backends with very little change to the application code.

• Existing system is estimated to support 3x-5x current member count prior to distributing the load across a web farm.

8. Please provide a specific description of on-going technical support beyond initial implementation.

WEAVEonline provides maintenance and support for the life of your subscription and it is included in the annual membership fee. We find that our members’ need for support ebbs and flows and is usually focused more on assessment and planning questions rather than the software itself.

Our support is provided by professionals who have first-hand knowledge of assessment and planning and have implemented WEAVEonline on their former campuses. With over 160 members, we have the depth of experience to help ensure your successful implementation and use of WEAVEonline. Support by one of our assessment specialists is provided 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. (Eastern), Monday-Friday.

Because we are committed to your ongoing success, there is no charge to train additional members of your staff should you experience turnover in your WEAVEonline administrative staff.

On-going training with regard to system upgrades:

Features and functionality that expand the range of possible uses for the software are released on an ongoing basis, with advance notice to campus WEAVEonline Administrators. All on-going training is included in the WEAVEonline membership fee.

WEAVEonline user guides/manuals:

WEAVEonline has an internally available and integrated help system as well as an online tutorial. The help system includes page-specific help, assessment 101 documents, as well as technical FAQs. Many webinars, including a Faculty Training webinar, exist within our members-only Online Learning Community. The entirety of the integrated help system is also available within the Online Learning Community.

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The following materials are available electronically: • Implementation Guide

• Glossary* • Tutorial*

• Page Specific Help* • Quick Start Guide* • Assessment Worksheet** • Faculty Training PowerPoint**

• Introductory Faculty Training Webinar** • Mapping Quick Start Guide*

• Mapping - The Nuts and Bolts of Building a Map Webinar ** • Mapping - Many Uses, Great Value Webinar**

*available within application

**available within the Online Learning Community

WEAVEonline acts as a teaching tool for faculty and administrators who are unfamiliar with assessment. The logical step-by-step process promotes successful assessment practice, even from those faculty and staff who are untrained in assessment and planning. For instance, the WEAVEonline data entry screen for adding a measure helps to teach assessment to those without an assessment background by providing sources of evidence lists (Academic Direct Measures, Academic Indirect Indicators, and Administrative Measures) from which to choose. A cursor hovering over each evidence source causes a brief definition to appear so that users can learn more about assessment methods with which they may not be familiar. The simplicity of the software, in tandem with the excellent page-specific help, which defines and explains assessment terms, facilitates the creation of a “culture of assessment” on campus. We also support this with on-going professional development via free monthly webinars and a quarterly newsletter to share best practices.

9. Please describe ownership of all data generated by the system.

Should your institution choose WEAVEonline and, at a later date, elect not to continue as a member, you will retain unconditional rights of ownership of all data generated by WEAVEonline and all data will be submitted to you within thirty days after the contract period ends.

10. Does WEAVEonline support alternative authentication methods?

At present, WEAVEonline supports four authentication methods: 1) its own internal database; 2) Central Authentication Service (CAS) v2 and v3; 3) LDAP v2 and v3; and, 4) Active Directory. The security architecture of WEAVEonline is modular and designed to support an unlimited number of authentication methods and variants. If the WEAVEonline internal database is utilized, then passwords are stored as salted/double-hashed one-way bits. If one of the aforementioned institutional single sign-on solutions is used, then no passwords are stored in the WEAVEonline database. If single sign-on has been configured, then users will be automatically redirected to the institution’s login portal for CAS. In the case of LDAP, the WEAVEonline system will collect the user ID and password and send them to the institutions LDAP server for authentication. There is a one-time $3,000 fee to implement, configure, and test any of the alternate authentication methods.

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Yes. Browser access is unaffected by the presence of an institutional firewall.

12. Does the product write any data to the user’s local hard drive?

WEAVEonline does not write any data to the user’s local machine. However, users do have the option to export and save reports to their local hard drive.

13. Does WEAVEonline store sensitive or confidential data? How is responsibility for sensitive data handled by the system?

Users enter data related to academic or administrative assessments rather than student-level assessments. Most institutions do not classify this information as sensitive or confidential.

Access to data is protected by WEAVEonline ID and password login. Institutions assign users to selected entities and also define each user’s permissions/security access. WEAVEonline security roles permit selective viewing and modification of data depending on the user’s area(s) of responsibility.

14. Is WEAVEonline in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Section 508?

WEAVEonline is designed to meet the regulations governing the accessibility of Federal electronic information products (Section 508). This design also conforms to the access guidelines developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium, in that provisions are made to assure access for those individuals with vision impairments. To ensure this capability, WEAVEonline does not incorporate frames, multimedia presentations, user applets, or plug-ins, bypassing many of the issues outlined in Section 508. Where graphic images apply, the HTML "Alt Text" tag is utilized as a text descriptor to facilitate those individuals who may be using screen readers or other assisting devices.