Educational Innovation Erasmus University Rotterdam
Educational Innovation Erasmus University Rotterdam

HAPP - Harmonized Appraisal

in collaboration with Colin Lee
More information about HAPP
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Harmonized Appraisal (HAPP) is a feedback method that integrates grading and feedback into a single evaluation process. This page explains when to use HAPP, how to implement it step by step, and provides practical tips and resources to help you get started.

What is HAPP?

HAPP is a grading and feedback method, supported by a Canvas application, that integrates assessment and feedback into a single evaluation process. Rather than grading first and writing feedback afterwards, HAPP enables you to produce both a grade and rich, consistent feedback from the same judgement. It is designed for assignments, such as essays, reports, presentations, role-plays, and case studies, and is suitable for any assessment that can be evaluated using an analytical rubric.

Stylized “happ” logo in purple gradient lettering

Why HAPP?

Good feedback helps students learn, but especially in larger courses, providing detailed individual feedback can be a challenge. 

Consider HAPP when you want to:

  • Provide rich, personalised feedback at scale.
  • Ensure consistency across multiple assessors.
  • Assess medium to large cohorts fairly and transparently.
  • Reduce grade disputes through a more structured assessment process.
  • Reuse your evaluation form in future iterations to save time and ensure consistency

Step-by-step implementation plan

Activate HAPP for your Canvas course

HAPP is available as a Canvas application across EUR (except Erasmus MC). To activate HAPP for your course, contact your Canvas application manager with your course code or Canvas URL.

Start from a rubric

First, create or import an analytic rubric in HAPP. This rubric should be based on your assessment matrix. The rubric defines the assessment criteria and performance levels and can be published to Canvas to help students understand how their work will be evaluated.

Build the evaluation form (the instructor rubric)

Deconstruct each criterion from your rubric into specific facets: the independent, observable parts of the student work that you base your evaluations on. For each facet, define checkmark levels (these will be the levels in your dropdowns) and write the default feedback that goes with each level. You can use GenAI within HAPP or import AI-generated content to speed up this process. This setup only needs to be completed once and can be reused for future course iterations.

Add smart personalization (optional)

Customize the feedback message by editing the template, including grade-dependent opening and closing paragraphs (e.g., a congratulatory tone for higher grades). You can also add placeholders for assignment-specific variables for each student, such as a company, country, or analytical technique, to further personalize feedback.

Start grading

HAPP automatically retrieves submissions from Canvas, or you can add links to external submissions. If multiple assessors are involved, you can assign submissions to specific assessors. You evaluate each submission by scoring the facets using dropdown levels, while customising scores and feedback statements where needed. The submission is displayed at the bottom of the screen or can be opened in a separate tab. Once you finalize a submission, HAPP aggregates the scores to the rubric and assignment level and generates a feedback message based on the selected feedback statements and template.

Publish the grades and feedback to Canvas

Once you have completed and finalized the evaluations, you can publish the grades and feedback to Canvas. Before publishing, check the assignment’s posting policy in Canvas to ensure that students can view their evaluations.

Tips & tricks

Creating the perfect evaluation form takes time, and you will often discover improvements while grading. If you are the only assessor, start with a basic version and refine it during the process. HAPP allows you to adjust feedback statements and scores and add new dropdown levels directly from the evaluation form.

When multiple assessors are involved, start by grading a few submissions together and discuss your interpretations of quality and thresholds. This helps align grading decisions, familiarise everyone with HAPP, and ensure assessors know when to adjust scores or customise feedback statements. HAPP also includes a calibration feature that allows you to use external submissions for this purpose. Calibration improves consistency between assessors and helps students better appreciate their feedback.

When reusing HAPP for an assignment, use evaluation reports to identify patterns in your rubric. For example, frequently changed feedback statements or scores can reveal where adjustments are needed.

Write feedback statements that clearly indicate what students can improve. Specific feedback helps students understand not only what went wrong, but also what they can do next (i.e., feed forward).

GenAI can help you create a first version of your instructor rubric and comment bank, reducing setup time. HAPP’s integrated GenAI support can generate facets and feedback statements, allowing assessors to focus on the evaluation itself. The final judgement always remains with the assessor.

Further reading

There are different resources you can use to get started or improve your use of HAPP.

Questions?

If you have any questions or requests, please do not hesitate to reach out to happ@rsm.nl.

HAPP was developed at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, and turned into a Canvas web application by the RSM Digitalization and Information Services (RDIS) team.

Project team

  • Colin Lee
    Colin Lee

    Assistant professor RSM

    Dr. Colin Lee is an assistant professor in Human Resource Management at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). In 2022, he won the RSM Innovative Teaching Award for developing the HAPP methodology. In 2024, his article on HAPP was recognised as the article with the most significant contribution to management education at the annual Academy of Management conference.
  • Jamie Verstraeten
    Jamie Verstraeten

    Educational consultant Risbo

    Jamie is an educational consultant and trainer at Risbo, with a focus on teacher professional development, assessment, and evaluation and research. As a member of the TestEUR team, she enjoys inspiring teachers to explore new assessment approaches and improve their assessment practices.
  • Esther Schut
    Esther Schut

    Educational consultant Risbo

    Esther is an educational consultant and trainer at Risbo, focusing on teacher professional development and evaluating educational impact. As a member of the TestEUR team, she enjoys sharing her knowledge in a practical and engaging way. Through the new TestEUR thematic page, she inspires teachers to further develop their didactic skills.
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