Teacher Feedback System

The HOD's end-to-end online feedback platform. Design custom questionnaires, assign them to specific teachers and subjects, collect anonymous student ratings, analyse results question-by-question, and export printable PDF reports — all without a single paper form.

graph LR
    A[feedback/index.php
Dashboard] --> B[create-form.php
Design Form]
    A --> C[bulk-allocate.php
Assign Teachers]
    A --> D[view-form.php
Preview Form]
    A --> E[submission-report.php
Response Tracking]
    A --> F[view-analytics.php
Analytics Charts]
    A --> G[teacher-ratings.php
Ratings Summary + PDF]
    

How the Feedback Cycle Works (End to End)

Page 1: Feedback Dashboard (`feedback/index.php`)

The central command for all feedback forms. Every form the HOD has ever created appears here, grouped logically by academic year and then by term.

• Academic Year Tabs:
  Forms are grouped into clickable year tabs (e.g., 2024-25, 2023-24). Switching tabs instantly filters the form list and recalculates all four live stats counters for that year. An "All Years" tab shows the complete library.
• Term Sections (Collapsible):
  Within each year, forms are further grouped by term — Term I, Term II, Mid-Term, End-Term, Annual. Each term section can be collapsed to reduce clutter when managing large libraries.
• Four Live Stats Counters:
  Always visible above the form list: Total Forms (all forms created), Active (forms currently open for student response), Allocations (how many teacher-class assignments exist), and Responses (total unique students who have submitted). These update automatically when switching year tabs.
• Form Row — Compact Table Layout:
  Each form appears as a compact row showing: status dot (green = active, grey = inactive), form name, description, allocation count, response count, and an action toolbar with View, Submission Report, and a ⋮ dropdown for Allocations, Bulk Allocate, Teacher Ratings, Activate/Deactivate, and Delete.
• Live Search:
  A search box at the top filters visible form rows in real-time as the HOD types. Useful when managing 10+ forms across multiple terms.
• Activate / Deactivate Toggle:
  Any form can be switched active or inactive without deleting it. When inactive, students cannot see or fill it. Reactivating makes it immediately live again.
• 3-Step Safe Delete:
  Deleting a form requires passing a 3-step modal confirmation:
  1. Initial warning (click Continue)
  2. Impact notice — lists everything deleted: form, allocations, responses, analytics (click "I Understand")
  3. Type the word DELETE in all-caps to unlock the final button
  Core Benefit: Accidental deletion of a term's worth of feedback data is impossible. The 3-step typed confirmation is a hard guardrail against irreversible data loss.
• Department Isolation:
  The dashboard only shows forms created by the logged-in HOD. Forms from other departments are never visible, and all allocation/response counts are scoped to only the HOD's own classes.

Page 2: Create Feedback Form (`feedback/create-form.php`)

The form builder. The HOD designs a custom questionnaire from scratch — specifying the academic context and writing every question.

• Form Metadata Fields:
  • Form Name (required) — e.g., "Mid-Semester Teaching Quality Survey"
  • Description — brief summary visible in the dashboard
  • Academic Year (required) — selected from a dropdown of 5 years (current year ± 2)
  • Term (required) — Term I, Term II, Mid-Term, End-Term, or Annual
• Dynamic Question Builder:
  Click "Add Question" to add a question card. Each card has a text area for the question and shows a live preview of all 5 scale options below it. Delete any question with the red trash icon. Cards auto-renumber when one is removed. A minimum of 3 questions is required.
• Customisable 5-Point Scale (Edit Once, Apply to All):
  The default scale is Strongly Disagree → Disagree → Neutral → Agree → Strongly Agree. The HOD can rename any of the 5 labels (e.g., change "Strongly Agree" to "Outstanding") and click "Apply to All Questions" to update every question card's preview simultaneously.
  Core Benefit: One change updates all question previews instantly — no need to edit each question individually. The HOD designs the scale once and it applies globally to the entire form.
• Duplicate Submission Prevention:
  The system uses a one-time session token — once the form is submitted successfully, the token is consumed. Refreshing or pressing Back cannot resubmit the form. This prevents accidental duplicate forms appearing in the dashboard.
• Auto-Start with 3 Questions:
  The builder auto-adds 3 blank question cards on page load so the HOD starts from a usable baseline, not an empty screen.

Page 3: Bulk Allocation (`feedback/bulk-allocate.php`)

Once a form is created, it must be assigned to specific teachers before students can fill it. Bulk Allocate is the fastest way to assign one form to many teachers across multiple classes in a single operation.

• Class-by-Class Teacher Selection:
  For each of the HOD's classes, a teacher can be selected from a dropdown and a subject name entered. Each class-teacher-subject combination becomes one allocation — a unique token that links the form to that specific context.
• Special Allocation Detection:
  If a teacher in a class has a "Special Allocation" in the system (e.g., visiting faculty teaching a cross-department subject), the allocation automatically inherits the special allocation name and displays a gold "Special" badge throughout the feedback system.
• Allocation = Student's Portal Entry Point:
  Each allocation creates a unique form entry on the student's portal. A student in Class FY-A sees separate feedback entries for each teacher-subject combination assigned to their class — they rate each teacher independently.

Page 4: Form Allocations Manager (`feedback/allocate-form.php`)

A management table listing every teacher-class-subject allocation for a specific form. The HOD uses this to audit, filter, and clean up allocations.

• Allocation Table Columns:
  Teacher name + email, Class, Subject (with Special badge if applicable), Response count (green if responses exist, grey if none), Allocation date, and action buttons (Analytics, Delete).
• Class Filter Dropdown:
  If a form has allocations across many classes, the HOD can filter the table to one specific class using the dropdown in the header — useful for large departments.
• Safe Delete Guard:
  An allocation can only be deleted if it has zero responses. Once any student has submitted feedback for that allocation, the delete button disappears. This protects collected data from accidental removal.
  Core Benefit: Collected feedback responses are permanently protected. Even the HOD cannot delete an allocation that has received student responses — ensuring data integrity throughout the review cycle.

Page 5: Submission Report (`feedback/submission-report.php`)

A real-time completion tracker. For each allocation, the HOD can see exactly which students have submitted feedback and which haven't — and the overall completion percentage.

• Completion Rate per Allocation:
  Each allocation shows: total students in the class, number who responded, and a percentage completion bar. A class with 45 students where 32 have responded shows "32/45 — 71%".
• Student-Level Status List:
  For each class allocation, a list of every student is shown with either a green "Submitted" or amber "Pending" badge next to their name — the HOD can identify exactly who hasn't responded.
• Anonymous but Trackable:
  Students know their submission status is visible to the HOD (so the HOD can follow up), but the actual responses they selected are anonymous — the HOD sees that a student submitted, not what score they gave.
  Core Benefit: The HOD can chase non-responders by class or name without compromising the anonymity of ratings. This maximises completion rates while maintaining feedback integrity.
• Export to CSV/Excel:
  The submission report can be exported as a spreadsheet listing student names, roll numbers, class, and submission status — useful for departmental review meetings.

Page 6: Feedback Analytics (`feedback/view-analytics.php`)

The deepest insight page. For any one teacher-class-subject allocation, the HOD sees a full breakdown of student responses for every question — with bar charts and pie charts.

• Teacher Selector — Accordion by Class:
  All allocations for the form are displayed in a collapsible accordion grouped by class. Clicking any teacher card loads their analytics instantly without a full page reload. The selected teacher's card is highlighted with a blue border and a green checkmark.
• Four Summary Stat Cards:
  At the top of the analytics panel: Total Responses (unique students who filled this allocation), Questions count, Overall Average score (out of 5.0), and a colour-coded Performance Rating card:
  • Excellent — Score ≥ 4.0
  • Very Good — Score 3.5–3.9
  • Good — Score 3.0–3.4
  • Average — Score 2.5–2.9
  • Needs Improvement — Score < 2.5
• Question-by-Question Breakdown:
  Each question appears as its own card with the question text, its average score (e.g., "Avg: 4.2 / 5.0"), horizontal progress bars for each of the 5 scale options showing response count and percentage, and a mini pie chart on the right for a quick visual distribution snapshot.
• Print Report Button:
  A browser print button at the top of the analytics page triggers a printer-friendly layout — all charts and breakdowns render correctly for physical records.
  Core Benefit: The question-level breakdown tells the HOD exactly what students rated well and what needs attention — not just an overall number. A teacher might score 4.5 on "explains clearly" but 2.8 on "gives timely feedback", enabling targeted faculty development conversations.

Page 7: Teacher Ratings Summary (`feedback/teacher-ratings.php`)

The executive summary view. All teachers who were allocated to a feedback form are ranked by their overall average score — with the complete picture visible in one scrollable screen. This is also where the official PDF report is generated.

• Year → Term → Form Folder Tree (Left Panel):
  A collapsible folder navigation on the left lists all feedback forms organised as Year → Term → Form. Clicking a form loads its ratings in the main panel. The active form is highlighted with a navy border and a green checkmark.
• Overall Performance Bar Chart:
  A horizontal bar chart plots every allocated teacher's overall average score side-by-side. Bars are colour-coded to match the rating label (green = Excellent, red = Needs Improvement). For departments with more than 20 teachers, the chart becomes horizontally scrollable.
• Expandable Teacher Cards:
  Each teacher appears as a collapsible folder card. The closed state shows: teacher name, email, number of classes they teach, total responses, overall average score (e.g., 4.1/5.0), and a colour-coded rating badge. Clicking a teacher's card expands it to show a tree of every allocation — subject, class, responses, per-class average, mini progress bar, and a link to that allocation's full analytics.
• Special Allocation Badge:
  Teachers with special subject assignments are marked with a gold "⭐ Special" badge throughout — from the ratings summary down to individual allocation rows.
• Professional PDF Report Generation:
  Clicking "Report" generates a fully formatted PDF document using jsPDF — entirely in the browser, no server processing required. The PDF includes:
  • Official college letterhead (name, address, logo) from system settings
  • Report title: "TEACHER FEEDBACK RATINGS REPORT" in gold on navy header
  • Form name, academic year, and term
  • Generation timestamp (IST)
  • Summary stats bar (Teachers, Allocations, Responses)
  • Teacher Summary Table — colour-coded Grade column
  • Per-teacher subject-wise detail tables on subsequent pages
  Core Benefit: The PDF is NAAC/IQAC-ready — it carries institutional branding, structured data, and timestamps. HODs can submit it directly for accreditation reviews or internal faculty appraisals without any manual formatting.
• Rating Scale Legend (Always Visible):
  A permanent legend in the left panel shows the scoring thresholds — so anyone reviewing the page understands the grading criteria without needing to look elsewhere.

Department Security Architecture

• HOD-Scoped Form Ownership: Forms are tagged with created_by = HOD's user ID. A HOD can never see, edit, or delete another department's forms.
• Allocation Class Verification: Every allocation and analytics query checks that the class belongs to the requesting HOD — cross-department data cannot be accessed even by manipulating URL parameters.
• Student Response Privacy: Response data is stored per option choice, not per student-rating pair. The system knows that a student submitted (for completion tracking) but not which score they individually selected.
• Data Permanence Guard: Allocations with submitted responses cannot be deleted. Forms can only be deleted through the 3-step typed confirmation. This ensures feedback data collected during a term is never lost accidentally.

Why This Replaces Paper Feedback Entirely