Overview
The Sampling Insights Dashboard provides a data set of instructor activity from the sampling portal, including sample status, engagement, and stuck-request detail. Publishers use it to see whether instructors have accepted and engaged with samples of their content.
Key Questions This Dashboard Answers
How many instructors have engaged with my sampled content recently, and what is the status breakdown of those samples (accepted, pending, declined)?
Which of my assets are available for sampling versus not allowed?
Which sample requests are stuck awaiting instructor verification, and how old are they?
How to Use This Dashboard
Set your filters first — Use the Date Range filter to scope the time period (defaults to the last 7 days). Narrow further by Region, Institution, or ISBN as needed. The dashboard automatically limits results to your own products.
Sampling Insights — Summary tiles showing sample status breakdown, asset availability, stuck sample counts, and instructor engagement.
Stuck Samples — Detail report of sample requests where the instructor has not yet been verified.
Sampling Activity Report — Full data set of instructor activity from the sampling portal.
Read the tiles — KPI and percentage tiles at the top of Sampling Insights give aggregate counts; the Stuck Samples and Sampling Activity Report tabs provide instructor-level detail below.
Drill down for detail — Use the ISBN or VBID filter to multi-search for specific assets. You can paste a column of ISBNs/VBIDs from a spreadsheet, or values separated by commas (semicolons are not supported), for up to 16,000 values at once.
| 💡 Tip: Start on the Sampling Insights tab for a high-level view before moving to Stuck Samples or the Sampling Activity Report for instructor-level detail. |
Filters
Filters apply across the entire dashboard unless otherwise noted.
Filter Name | Description | Required? | Default Value | Applies To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Date Range | Date range based on the latest sampling activity | Yes | Last 7 days | Sampling Activity Report |
Region | Region categorization of the instructor | No | None | Sampling Activity Report |
Institution | Name of the institution, supplied by the instructor | No | None | Sampling Activity Report, Stuck Samples |
Institution Country | Country the institution is located in, supplied by the instructor | No | None | Stuck Samples |
ISBN | ISBN that has been sampled to the instructor. Supports multi-search of up to 16,000 values (paste a spreadsheet column, or values separated by commas; semicolons are not supported). | No | None | Sampling Activity Report |
Item Name | Name of the content sampled | No | None | Stuck Samples |
Dashboard Tiles
Tiles are numbered top to bottom, left to right within each tab.
Tile Name | Tab | Visualization Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samples by Status (Last 7 Days) | Sampling Insights | Percentage / Donut Chart | Percentage of samples in the last 7 days by status. Recommendation values: Accepted, Pending, Declined. Unverified Instructor Request values: Approved, Pending, Denied. |
| 2 | Assets with Sampling Available | Sampling Insights | Percentage / Donut Chart | Percent of all assets where sampling is allowed versus not allowed. |
| 3 | Count of Stuck Samples | Sampling Insights | KPI | Count of stuck samples between 0 and 3 months old. |
| 4 | # Instructors Engaged in Sampling (Last 7 Days) | Sampling Insights | KPI | Count of instructors who have engaged in reviewing their sample in the last 7 days. |
| 5 | Stuck Sample Requests | Stuck Samples | Table | Detailed report of sample requests where the instructor has not yet been verified. Limited to requests between 0 and 3 months old. |
| 6 | Sampling Activity Report | Sampling Activity Report | Table | Data set of instructor activity from the sampling portal, showing whether instructors have accepted and engaged with samples. |
Fields & Metrics
All fields used across this dashboard, listed alphabetically.
Field Name | Description | Data Type | Example Value |
|---|---|---|---|
Annotations | Number of annotations the instructor made in the material | Number | 3 |
Author(s) | Author name(s) of the sampled content | Text | Jane Smith |
Campaign Code | Name of the publisher campaign the sample was sent under | Text | FALL25-PROMO |
Course | Course name or code, as reported by the instructor | Text | BIO 101 |
Course Name | Name of the course associated with the sample request | Text | Introduction to Biology |
Course Start Date | Start date for the course | Date | 2026-08-25 |
Creation Date | Date the sample request was created | Date | 2026-08-01 |
Days Old | Number of days the sample request has been aging | Number | 14 |
Estimated Enrollment | Estimated enrollment for the course | Number | 120 |
Estimated Revenue (USD) | Calculated value based on the US DLP multiplied by reported estimated enrollment, used to help prioritize instructor validation. This estimation is only to assist in prioritizing validation of instructors to unblock sample requests; final enrollments and transaction price may differ. | Number ($) | $4,500 |
Institution | Name of the institution, supplied by the instructor | Text | State University |
Institution Country | Country the institution is located in (2 characters) | Text | US |
Instructor | First and last name of the instructor | Text | John Doe |
Instructor Country | Country the institution is located in, supplied by the instructor | Text | United States |
Instructor CRM ID | CRM ID for the instructor | Text | CRM-00123456 |
Instructor Email | Email address for the instructor | Text | jdoe@university.edu |
ISBN | ISBN that has been sampled to the instructor | Text | 9781234567890 |
Item Name | Name of the content sampled | Text | Introduction to Biology, 5e |
Last Engagement Date | Date of last engagement with the content in Bookshelf | Date | 2026-08-30 |
Last Sampling Activity | Date the instructor was last active in the sampling portal | Date | 2026-08-31 |
Page Views (Overall) | Total number of pages viewed | Number | 245 |
Pages Printed (Overall) | Total count of pages printed | Number | 12 |
Publisher | The content owner (Manage company name) of the item requested for sampling | Text | Acme Publishing |
Region | Region categorization of the instructor. Limited to Australia, United Kingdom, US/Canada. | Text | US/Canada |
Sales Rep Email | Email for the sales rep who requested the sample for the instructor | Text | rep@vitalsource.com |
Sample Status | Status of the sample when Source is "Recommendation" or "Unverified Instructor Request". Recommendation values: Accepted, Pending, Declined. Unverified Instructor Request values: Approved, Pending, Denied. | Text | Accepted |
Sessions (Overall) | Total number of unique sessions | Number | 8 |
Source | Source of the sample activity. Recommendation — sent to the instructor from the publisher. Self-Sampling — instructor requested access. Unverified Instructor Request — stuck request pending instructor approval. | Text | Recommendation |
Term Start Date | Expected start date for the course | Date | 2026-09-01 |
Total Session Length | Amount of time the instructor engaged with the content | Number | 45 min |
USD DLP (Perpetual) | Current Digital List Price (DLP) in USD for the perpetual duration of the item. Null if no US perpetual DLP exists. | Number ($) | $79.99 |
VBID | VitalSource ID associated with the requested sample | Text | VB123456 |
VST Promo Email Opt-In | Indicates whether the user opted in to VitalSource's promotional emails | Text | Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why don't my numbers match what I see in my own system’s sampling report?
A: This dashboard reflects latent sampling portal activity and may differ from local finance or CRM systems that refresh on a different schedule.
Q: What does "stuck" mean for a sample request?
A: A sample is "stuck" when the instructor has not yet been verified/approved for sampling. The Stuck Samples tab covers requests that are between 0 and 3 months old.