Skip to a section: Overview | Accounts | Forms | Get Started | Data Collection and Retention | Best Practices | Help & Support
Available to
Faculty, Staff, Students (students must have faculty or staff sponsor)
Overview
Formstack is an electronic forms tool licensed to ECU that allows faculty and staff to easily collect data using digital workflows with no-code forms.
ITCS provides support and development services, but Formstack is very intuitive and easy to learn with no formal training.
Formstack is web-based, and users create online forms to replace Word/Excel/PDF documents, then configure workflows, approvals and routing. Formstack is mobile friendly, secure and standards compliant.
Account Types
- Creator. For building and modifying forms or accessing form submission data. This account is restricted to active users and requires a dedicated license.
- Approver. For approving workflows within Formstack. This account is not restricted and is auto-created for ECU employee supervisors.
Account Conditions
- Any faculty/staff member can request an account.
- Students can request an account under guidance of a faculty/staff member for official ECU business. Student accounts are not available for coursework or personal use.
- Accounts inactive for more than six months are deleted.
- Accounts are removed if the employee transfers to a different ECU department or exits the University.
Forms & Workflows
Within Formstack, users create simple forms or more complex workflows that route submissions for review/approval.
Form owners are responsible for maintaining their forms/workflows and complying with all ECU records/retentions requirements.
Specifically, records created in Formstack may be subject to the UNC Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. For more information and guidance, contact Joyner Library Records Management at recordsmanagement@ecu.edu.
Form & Workflow Conditions
- Forms/workflows older than six months with no submissions are archived, then permanently deleted after six months.
- Forms/workflows with no new submission data for 12 months are archived. If the form remains archived, it is deleted after six months.
- Archived forms/workflows where the owner cannot be identified and archived more than 12 months are deleted.
Get Started
Decide first if you need a form or workflow:
- Form. Basic form where one person completes form fields and submits.
- Workflow. A more complex form where multiple people contribute to a single form by adding data and/or reviewing/approving submissions.
Pro Tip: A form cannot be converted to a workflow but can be copied to a new workflow, then workflow steps are added. Copy the form as a workflow and delete the original form.
Build a Form or Workflow
- Using click and drag technology, add all form fields.
- For drop-down lists, create custom “smart lists” to route for approvals.
- Add form logic so only relevant form fields are displayed (if needed).
- Add images and logos to make the form attractive and easy to follow.
- See these resources for form/workflow design:
Customize a Form or Workflow
- Add any welcome or submission messages to be displayed.
- Create confirmation/workflow auto-generated emails.
- Create workflow steps so the document is properly routed for approvals.
- Add security if you want to restrict access to those with a PirateID.
- Configure email notifications for submissions.
Pro Tip: Forms can be configured so name, email, Banner ID and phone number can be pre-populated by anyone with a PirateID. This can help ensure you are getting more accurate data.
Data Collection and Retention
- Data classified as level 1 or level 2 can be freely collected in Formstack. Level 3 and level 4 require approval from the data steward. The university Data Governance website provides clear definitions for data classification levels.
- Examples of data requiring data steward approval are, but not limited to:
- Major/minor field of study
- GPA
- Banner ID (in forms created after July 1, 2026)
- Academic standing/probation status
- Class schedules tied to a student
- Internal financial data (non-public budgets)
- Driver’s license number/passport number
- Bank account/credit card numbers
- Background check results
- Specific questions about data classification can be directed to the appropriate data steward.
- Submit the Formstack Data Collection Approval request form for permission to collect level 3 and/or level 4 data for your form.
- The form owner is responsible for deleting submission data in accordance with the UNC Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. Questions about data retention and disposition can be directed to Alston Cobourn, Head of University History and Records. More information is also available on the ECU Records Management website.
- Formstack is NOT approved to collect PCI or HIPAA data under any circumstances.
- SSN’s cannot be collected in Formstack.
Formstack Best Practices
- Actively manage forms: Regularly review your forms and workflows to ensure they are current and still being used. Delete unused forms.
- Periodically review your smart lists and update as needed or delete unused smart lists.
- Design your forms with accessibility in mind:
- Keep forms simple and clean
- Preview and test forms thoroughly before going live.
Pro Tip: ECU is licensed for Forms but not other Formstack offerings like Documents or Sign. If you need a legally-binding signature, consider using DocuSign.
Help and Support
There are several support options to ask questions or work through a problem while creating your form. When prompted, the account number is 700219.