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Attendance Scanning & The Student Engagement Database FAQ

Attendance Scanning

What should I do if I cannot log into my CodeREADr Account?

Contact your Student Affairs activity lead to verify the existence of your account. 

What should I do if I forget my password?

You can reset your password at any time by visiting  https://go.sa.northwestern.edu/engagement/user/changepassword.

I want to scan with codereadr at an event, do I need a Student Engagement database account?

No, you need a codereadr account associated with your Northwestern NetID.  Contact your Student Affairs activity lead to verify the existence of your codereadr account.   

How do I get someone access to scan at an event (through codereadr)?

  1. You or your Student Affairs activity lead should log into Student Engagement database (https://go.sa.northwestern.edu/engagement).
  2. Add the netid of the person you want to add to codereadr here: https://go.sa.northwestern.edu/engagement/staff/newcodereadr
  3. An email will be sent to them with password creation instructions.

What should I do if I can't see my activity on the list in the CodeREADr application?

CodeREADr activities appear 4 hours prior to the start time of the activity. If it is more than four hours from your activity, wait to see if it appears. If you are viewing the activities and do not see yours, contact the person or the office who created the activity in the Student Engagement database for assistance. If you are the person who created the activity, verify that the times and date of the activity is correct. If you are still experiencing problems, please contact sa-help@northwestern.edu.

What should I say if someone asks why I am scanning WildCards?

Student Affairs is scanning WildCards as a part of a division-wide practice to understand the attendance and engagement of students at university sponsored activities. Data will be used in the evaluation and assessment cycle of activity and program development to enrich students’ Northwestern experience. You will not* receive outreach from the sponsoring department to assess your experience of that event without being explicitly asked before being scanned in. 

 

*Note to Staff answering question: If subsequent outreach with attendees is intended, this must be communicated to students at the time of scanning so they may opt-out. 

What should I say if a student asks where their data goes?

A student’s ID number is scanned into the codeREADr application and transferred immediately to Northwestern servers. It is not stored or accessible in the application. The Student Affairs Assessment and Planning department will have access to data for use in aggregate activity assessment. 

What should I say if a student asks how their data is used?

Student data are used to explore trends and/or satisfaction in two distinct ways- aggregate reporting and activity assessment.   

Aggregate reporting is used to assess trends in engagement and attendance across the Northwestern student population. For example, all attendee data for Residential Services is disaggregated by race, sex, class year and/or residential area. Student data used for aggregate purposes is never associated with identifying information and is anonymous.  

Activity assessment may* be used by the sponsoring staff member(s) to contact students for follow-up assessment. For example, students who attended a Harm Reduction workshop hosted by Fraternity and Sorority Life and who consented to having their wildcard scanned after being notified of the intent of follow-up outreach may receive a survey about their experience at the workshop. These student data are never associated with an individual's demographic information and only used for activity-level improvements.  

 

*Note to Staff answering question: If subsequent outreach with attendees is intended, this must be communicated to students at the time of scanning so they may opt-out. 

What should I do if a student does not want their WildCard scanned (or manual entry of their ID number)?

Scanning is not mandatory or required. A student can opt out of the scanning. If a student requests not to have their WildCard scanned, do not scan it.

If your event requires attendance, consider a sign in sheet to ensure student privacy. 

What should I do if I can't get a WildCard ID to scan/encounter an error?

  • You can type the person’s NETID into the codeREADr application by tapping on the pencil icon at the bottom of the screen and selecting the Letters and Numbers option from the input options.
  • There are two places where you might find the bar code on a WildCard: check the front and the back of the card.
  • Try tilting the WildCard
  • Please note: Newly issued WildCards may not scan because the student’s data will take some time to upload to the University systems. You will need to enter these IDs manually 

What if I accidentally scan someone more than once?

CodeREADr scans quickly, so there may be times when you scan someone more than once. The application does not register a duplicate scan as an attendee. 

What should I do if I get a question I cannot answer?

Tell the person you are talking to that you do not know, but can find out the answer. Write to the Student Engagement Database support email address (sa-help@northwestern.edu) with your question. 

Student Engagement Database FAQ

This is an FAQ for the Student Engagement Database https://go.sa.northwestern.edu/engagement.

Who can see the activities I create?

Only you and admins for this application can see the activities you have created. If you are planning activities with someone else, coordinate who will enter the activity into the database to avoid duplicates.

Can I enter an activity that has already happened in which I collected attendance through some other means??

Activities can be created historically if you still would like to track them in the system. Please note that any activity with a past date will not show up in the CodeREADr list. If you wish to record attendance for these activities, you can upload an Excel spreadsheet with EmplIDs to the activity once it has been created. 

Can I add a department outside of Student Affairs?

For now, only Student Affairs departments can be added as sponsors.