Review Groups add flexibility to the review process by allowing you to share scores across scholarships in the same group. The article below includes a full overview of this feature. If you'd prefer to learn about a specific step, feel free to click the links below:

Configure Review Groups in the Review tab (left navigation menu).

The Review Groups page with the left navigation menu in frame, with the Review nav item boxed (leaving its orange active-state accent bar visible) to orient a reader landing on this article.

Creating a Review Group

To create a new Review Group, navigate to the Review tab and click Add New in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

The Review Groups page with the Groups sub-nav item and the Add New button in the upper right corner highlighted.

The Details tab appears, allowing you to start building your review group. Begin by entering a name for the group in the Review Group Name field.

The Details tab of a new review group, with the Review Group Name field highlighted, showing the empty Associated Departments and Scholarships section below it.

Next, select which scholarships to include in the group. Click the Scholarship(s) field to view your list of scholarships, then check the checkboxes for those you want added.

Note: If you are utilizing the Departments feature, you can first select the department that you are creating the review group for, and that will populate a list of scholarships within that department only.

The Scholarship(s) dropdown open on the Details tab, showing an available scholarship to add, with the Department selector narrowing the list.

As you add scholarships to a review group, they will be removed from the dropdown (since they cannot be added to more than one group). Click Save to create the review group.

After you create the Review Group, you'll see additional tabs where you can configure its options—including Rubric Setup, where you can add optional instructions for your reviewers (such as a scoring rubric) that they'll see during scoring.

Note: You'll see the review deadline next to the review group name. You can edit/customize this under Settings > Award Cycles > Award Cycle End Date.

A saved review group showing the additional configuration tabs that appear after saving, with the review deadline shown beside the group name.

If you created the review group by mistake and need to delete it, on the Details tab of the review group, you'll find the Delete button under the list of scholarships that you've assigned to the review group.

The Details tab of a review group with the Delete button below the assigned scholarships list highlighted.

Options for Blinding Applicant Data

The Question Visibility tab allows you to hide applicant names and specific application questions from Reviewers within the selected review group. To access this tab, head to the Review tab and select a review group of your choice.

Note: Blinding applicant names does not hide names in all areas where names may have been used (e.g., document uploads, letters of recommendation, etc.).

Below, in the Question Visibility for Reviewers section, you'll be able to configure which application questions will be visible to Reviewers when scoring applicants, each with its own checkbox and a visible-count indicator. Before you check anything, every section stays hidden, and the count reads zero.

The Question Visibility for Reviewers section before anything has been made visible to Reviewers - every application section and the single Before-Applying question left unchecked, with both visible-count indicators reading zero.

Checking the checkbox next to a question or an entire application section makes it visible to Reviewers; anything left unchecked stays hidden. Changes save automatically—no need to click Save.

The Question Visibility for Reviewers section, listing application questions grouped by section, each with a checkbox and a boxed visible-count indicator - Essay checked (its two sub-questions, Personal Statement and Financial Need Statement, both visible; General/Academic/Financial Information and Activities & Leadership left unchecked) and the single Before-Applying question also checked, demonstrating that some content can be made visible while other sections stay hidden.

Configuring Score Cards

Reviewers use score cards to evaluate and score the applications they review. Select a review group (via the Review tab) and click the Rubric Setup tab to start creating scoring criteria.

The Rubric Setup (formerly Score Cards) tab of a review group, showing the review group's own sub-nav with Rubric Setup already highlighted, the empty Instructions for Reviewers editor, a 'No Score Cards created yet' message, and the Create New Card section with its three real options - For Manual Review (boxed), For Auto-scoring, and For AI-scoring (BETA).

To create a score card, click For Manual Review under the Create New Card section. Enter your Score Card Name (e.g., Financial Need) and a Points value (e.g., 5), then click Save to save your new score card in the review group.

The new score card form filled in with an example name (Financial Need) and points value (5), with Save and Cancel buttons.

You can add as few or as many score cards as you'd like, which will all populate under the Score Cards list, along with a running total of points.

Note: In order for applications to be visible to a Reviewer, you will need to create at least one score card in the review group.

The Score Cards list on the Rubric Setup tab showing three saved score cards - Financial Need (5 points), GPA (5 points), and Essay (10 points) - with the running Total of 20 points beneath them.

To remove a score card from a review group, expand it and click the Delete button.

An expanded score card on the Score Cards tab with its Delete button highlighted.

Configuring Reviewer Assignments

Under the Reviewer Assignment tab, you can add Reviewers to score applicants in the selected group.

To get started, select a review group (via the Review tab) and click the Reviewer Assignment tab.

The Reviewer Assignment tab of a review group, where reviewers are added and applicants are distributed to them.

Next, click into the search box under 'Reviewers & Assignments'. A list of reviewer names will be displayed. Either scroll through the list or start typing a name to find the reviewer(s) you'd like to add. Click the reviewer's name to add them to the group.

Note: If you cannot locate a reviewer in the dropdown list, they don't yet have an account. To learn how to create an account for them, click here.

The reviewer search field under Reviewers and Assignments, expanded to list the reviewer accounts available to add to the group (Ambrose, Bloom, Boschetti, Castellano, Duarte...).

After adding the desired Reviewers, click the dropdown menu that says Select One under How Reviewers are Assigned. This enables you to choose how applicants are distributed to your Reviewers.

The How Reviewers are Assigned dropdown, offering the All, Randomly and Manually methods for distributing applicants to reviewers.

There are 3 assignment methods you can choose from:

All: assigns every applicant to every reviewer (e.g., if you have five applicants in the group and two reviewers, both reviewers will be assigned all five applications to review). After you select this method and click Save, the assignment will automatically update to assign all applicants to all reviewers.
Randomly: assigns applicants to reviewers randomly and equally (e.g., if you have 20 applicants in the group and two reviewers, each reviewer will be assigned 10 applicants). This method lets you set the number of reviewers per applicant by entering a number in the Number of Reviewers per Applicant box. After you do so and click Save, the assignment will automatically update to randomly distribute the applicants.
Manually: allows you to assign applicants manually. With this method, you can also set a number of reviewers per applicant by entering a number in the Number of Reviewers per Applicant box. After you do so and click Save, you can assign applicants to reviewers manually.

In the lower right corner under Unassigned Applicants, you will see a list of applicants who have not yet been assigned to any reviewers.

The Unassigned Applicants panel in the lower right of the Reviewer Assignment tab, listing five real applicants (Callahan, Nair, Ramstead, Reyes, Torres) not yet assigned to any reviewer.

To manually assign an applicant to a reviewer, check the checkbox next to their name and click Assign to Reviewer.

Callahan, Owen selected by checkbox in the Unassigned Applicants list, with the Assign to Reviewer button enabled and ready to click.

Click a reviewer's name to select them as the reviewer for this application, then click Done to complete the assignment.

The reviewer picker opened for an applicant, with Ambrose, Walter selected (checkmark) and the Done button that completes the assignment.

The number of Applicants for the corresponding reviewer will increase.

The Reviewers & Assignments table after an assignment, showing Ambrose, Walter's applicant count increased to 1.

To unassign an application from a reviewer, click the Edit button by that reviewer's name.

The Reviewers & Assignments table with the Edit button beside Ambrose, Walter's name highlighted, used to unassign applications from that reviewer.

A full list of students assigned to this reviewer will be displayed. Select the checkbox next to the applicant's name, then click Remove to unassign them from this reviewer's assignments.

Applicants

This tab lists all applicants in the review group who need to be scored or are currently being scored. An applicant appears here once, even if they applied to one or more scholarships in the review group. Expanding an applicant shows their average score and a per-criterion breakdown, along with a Deny action that marks them denied for every scholarship in the group still in a neutral status.

Reviewer View with Review Groups

Reviewers can access only the applications assigned to them.

Under the Question Visibility tab in a review group, you'll find the option to display the applicant's full name to Reviewers.

List of applicants with blinded names:

A Reviewer's list of assigned applicants with names blinded, showing identifiers instead of applicant names so scoring stays anonymous.

List of applicants with their full names displayed:

The same Reviewer applicant list with full names displayed, as it appears once an administrator enables the full-name option on the review group's Question Visibility tab.

In order for Reviewers to score applicants, upon logging in, they will need to select a review group; there, they will find a list of applicants they were assigned to.

The screen a Reviewer sees after logging in, listing the review groups they belong to so they can pick one and see the applicants assigned to them.

Once they select an applicant, they'll have access to all application questions visible to them and the score board. Their score board includes an optional notes section. Once they finish scoring an applicant, they can click Next Applicant or the Next button.

A Reviewer's view of a single applicant, with the application questions made visible to Reviewers alongside the score board, an optional notes area, and the Next Applicant control.

On every applicant's page, they will also have access to the Instructions tab, where they can read the scoring instructions you've provided.

The Instructions tab on an applicant's page in the Reviewer portal, where a Reviewer reads the scoring guidance the administrator provided.

If you would like to impersonate a Reviewer user, click here to learn how.

Review Groups: A Detailed Guide