1. What is Watermark Faculty Success?
Watermark Faculty Success (WFS) is an online application available for faculty to record in- and out-of-classroom activities for the purposes of university reporting, including annual reviews, accreditation needs and personal vitas. Faculty are asked to keep various research and service activities up-to-date, including publications, presentations, college/university committee work and other endeavors.
2. How do users log in?
There is a login link at the top left of the page watermarkfaculty.appstate.edu. It should direct users to the Shibboleth Single Sign-On, at which university username and password is entered.
Upon successful login, the landing page defaults to "Activities". A second page - "Reports" - can be accessed via the menu bar at the top of the page (beside "Activities").
- The "Activities" page is dedicated to information input.
- "Reports" generates reports based on that information entered. Users should see a variety of report options, including annual report.
3. On first login, what should be reviewed?
The "Activities" page displays several screen options - which appear as links - within five groups:
- General Information - Historical information, including current assignments, rank and contact info
- Reports - Information which populate specific reports
- Teaching - In- and out-of-classroom engagement with students
- Scholarship/Research - Publications, presentations, grants and other research
- Service - Committees and other activities that are relevant to annual reports
Four screens are prepopulated with information from Banner:
- Personal and Contact Information
- Permanent Data
- Yearly Data
- Scheduled Teaching
Users should review these screens for accuracy.
The "Current and Past Positions Held" screen allows users to record work history, including position currently held. This should be updated as appropriate.
The “Personal and Contact Information” screen includes an option for users to enter teaching and research interests, as well as teaching philosophy. Some departments use that information within a Watermark produced vita. There is also an option to upload a vita (Long-established faculty may find this option preferable than backfilling years of teaching/research into their Watermark profile).
4. What are options to backfill historical data?
If a user previously worked at a university which maintained a WFS account they can contact the Appalachian State University WFS administrator Rob Robertson (robertsonrw@appstate.edu) with the name of the former institution and request the information be migrated.
Within the Publications screen, users can conduct an automated search of publication databases to find articles they authored. Databases can be searched via date span, journal name or other criteria. If a potential match is found, users can verify the record before adding it to their account.
All scheduled teaching recorded within Banner is uploaded to the system every academic session. Other teaching activities - such as designing/updating a course or program of study, guest lecturing, etc. - will need to be manually input.
With regard to how much information to enter, it is to the discretion of the department chair as to the time span relevant for historical activities. There is also an option - with approval from the department chair - to give someone affiliated with the department, such as a graduate assistant, read/write access to enter faculty data. Contact robertsonrw@appstate.edu for more information.
5. How often should users update WFS entries?
It is recommended that users review and update information at the end of the fall and spring semesters. For departments/colleges using Watermark for annual reviews, the profile should be as current as possible prior to the end of the fall semester.
Some departments use Watermark to generate annual performance evaluations which requires a narrative. These narratives can be input using the "Performance Evaluation" screen.
More Information
If at any time users have questions or comments regarding WFS, they are encouraged to contact the university administrator. Here is a PDF handout based on the information on this page.
Watermark logo
