Summary: Client is requesting the ability to "blind" reviews (remove name and any identity distinguishing info) on a scholarship by scholarship basis, instead of global, as it is today.

Customer Definition of Business Problem:

As for blinding and rubrics, I certainly understand a rubric is designed to increase impartiality. However, rubrics are not absolute in their ability to achieve this goal. Certain rubrics in certain instances may be able to get close to being completely impartial, but scholarship applications aren't really a good example of that. A rubric and point-based system still leaves room for a certain degree of subjective variation, particularly in ill-defined areas. Such ill-defined areas are often inescapable (or at least not completely escapable) when using a rubric, and that's all good and well, but it is ideal to ensure any variation that might result therefrom (or from the simple act of using a rubric per se) is random and not systematic. Blinding would help accomplish this. Again, I consider myself a very impartial person, and I certainly have no concerns about my committee members, but I still think it's something worth heavily considering. I certainly realize the all-or-none option is presently an impediment to blinding (this was the issue last year as well), but just based on what I know about computers and programming, it doesn't seem impossible or unreasonable to look into making blinding an option on a departmental basis or even scholarship by scholarship. I certainly hope I don't seem like a nuisance, and I also don't mean to belabor the issue, but I do think it would be an area we could improve. Again, though, this is just my two cents (...though at this point, it may feel more like twelve dollars).