We’re excited to introduce SpringIQ: Rubric, a new AI feature that brings speed, consistency, and scalability to evaluating essay and open-ended responses in your scholarship review process.
What SpringIQ: Rubric Does
SpringIQ: Rubric acts as an automatic scorecard powered by AI and is designed to evaluate open-ended and essay-style questions with the same care and structure as a human reviewer. It reads each response, applies your rubric criteria, and generates a score aligned with the defined expectations. By interpreting instructions, answers, depth and completeness, it ensures every essay is assessed consistently — no matter how many applications you receive.
Why SpringIQ: Rubric
When you’re handling a large volume of applications, reviewing essays one by one can easily take hundreds of hours. SpringIQ: Rubric feature is here to help.
Think of it as adding a reliable assistant to your review team. You simply choose the question, set the maximum score, and provide clear scoring instructions — just like you would for a human reviewer. The result: consistent, fast, and unbiased scoring that keeps your process moving.
Use Case 1: Offload Some Scoring to AI
If your rubric includes several criteria, you can delegate some of them to AI to save time for your reviewers.
For example, let your reviewers focus on evaluating recommendation letters while AI handles personal statements. This approach is efficient, fair, and dependable, helping ensure consistency across every applicant’s review.
Use Case 2: Combine with Multi-Panel Review
AI Scorecards (as well as numeric auto-scorecards) work especially well when paired with Multi-Panel Review. Together, they can create a smooth, two-stage evaluation process:
Round 1 – Automated Scoring:
Use AI Scorecards for open-ended questions (for example, “Describe your financial need” or “What are your career goals?”) and Auto-Scoring for numeric questions like GPA.Round 2 – Human Review:
Then, promote the top performers (say, the top 30%) to a second panel for more in-depth review by your committee.
This strategy dramatically reduces reviewer workload while ensuring that only the most qualified applicants advance for detailed consideration by human reviewers.
How to Set Up an AI Scorecard
Here’s how to get started:
Go to your Review Group → Rubric Setup tab.
In the Create New Card section, select For AI Scoring.
Complete the setup by providing:
Score Card Name
Maximum Points
Question to Score
Scoring Instructions
Writing Great Scoring Instructions
The Scoring Instructions field is the heart of your AI Scorecard. Write your instructions as if you were guiding a new human reviewer — clearly, simply, and without technical jargon. Describe what makes a strong response and what would earn lower points.
Tip: The Generate button can help you create a starting draft for your instructions. You can then refine it to fit your program’s specific goals.
After adding your instructions, take a moment to validate them. This step ensures your rubric is clear enough for AI scoring to proceed.
Final Steps
Save your AI Scorecard.
Trigger the scoring workflow.
Usually scoring may take a few minutes. Once complete, your AI Scorecard will automatically contribute to each applicant’s average score — just like any other scoring card.
You’ll see the updated application scores anywhere they normally appear, including the Review Groups → Applicants tab and the Scholarships → Award/Deny screen.
Summary
AI Scorecards bring automation, fairness, and scalability to your scholarship review process. Whether used alone or in combination with Multi-Panel Review, this feature helps streamline evaluations, maintain consistency, and save valuable time for your review team.