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Reviewing + Processing Application Decisions
Reviewing + Processing Application Decisions

Dive deeper into reviewing applications with our guide on using the Application Overview and Viewer to enhance your decision-making process.

Michael Stephenson avatar
Written by Michael Stephenson
Updated over 2 months ago

Overview

This article builds on the information provided in All Decisions Page + Searching/Filtering Applications and assumes you have configured your Decision settings. Now, you're ready to dive into the exciting part—reviewing and issuing application decisions.

Accessing Decisions

To start, navigate to Applications > Decisions > All Decisions.

When you open an application decision, you can review and process applications in two distinct ways. We encourage you to experiment with both methods to determine which best complements your workflow:

  1. Application Overview Page

  2. Application Viewer

We'll explain how to use both below:


Application Overview Page

Accessing the Application Overview

  • From the All Decisions page, open an application by:

    • Clicking on the student’s name, or

    • Clicking the more icon (three vertical dots) followed by View.

Anatomy of the Application Overview

Header

The header makes essential information easily accessible:

  • Row 1:

    • Score

    • Student name

    • Status (and the ability to update the status)

  • Row 2:

    • Application name

    • Days since the application was submitted

    • DOB

    • City

    • High school

  • Row 3:

    • Tags (and the ability to add new tags)

  • Row 4:

    • Application major

    • Application term

    • Test scores (if enabled)

  • Row 5:

    • Stage (and the ability to update the stage)

    • Checklist progress

    • Watchers (and the ability to add/remove watchers)

      • Watchers are notified via email of changes/updates to a decision.

    • Assignee (and the ability to add/remove assignee)

    • Last reviewer

  • Top Right Corner: Preview profile, open profile, open application

Tabs


The tabs under the header give you a more comprehensive look at the application and allow you to add scores, notes, and more.

  • Overview: Provides information at a glance: checklist progress, contact information, latest notes, and reviewer scores.

  • Timeline: Documents all activities related to that Decision. Note: Human-managed activities show a name, while activities triggered by IA rules show no name.

  • Application:

    • General Information: Basic information about the application, such as the registration ID, major, term, school, degree, campus, student type, and email address.

    • Account Information: Time stamps for the following activities: account created, app completed, latest login, app started, and app submitted.

    • Application Sections Progress: In a chart, the progress of each section of the application is shown.

    • Total Progress: The application's progress is shown in a chart.

    • Document Download: Opens a preview of the application for you to download, save, or print.

  • Documents: This section provides a list of files submitted as part of the application for you to view, download, or delete.

  • Checklist: Allows you to view and manage the status of items on the student's checklist. Additionally, this is where you would add one-off checklist items.

  • Criteria: The criteria section displays the criteria items you configured in Decision settings. Within each item, you can provide a score.

  • Notes: Add notes to the application decision. Notes can be general or categorized by a specific part of the decision, such as test scores or GPA.

  • Package: In the package section, you can activate the letters you configured in Decision settings (like acceptance and scholarship letters).

  • Test Scores: If self-reported test scores are provided on the application, they will be added here. Additionally, you can manually add test scores.

  • GPA: If a self-reported GPA is provided on the application, it will be added here.


Application Viewer

Accessing the Application Viewer

From the Application Overview page, click the 'Open Application' button at the top right corner of the header.

Anatomy of the Application Viewer

Header

  • Row 1:

    • Navigation back to all applications

    • Score

    • Application name

    • Student name

    • Stage (and the ability to update stage)

    • Status (and the ability to update status)

  • Row 2:

    • Document navigation (change the document in view by using the three horizontal lines icon)

    • Zoom (in, out, reset)

    • View notes (reveals notes added using pin icons; hovering shows the author's name - learn more about adding and viewing notes below)

    • Full-screen mode (activate by clicking the icon, exit by pressing 'ESC').

Reviewing Tabs

The application viewer has three tabs on the right side: review, criteria, and checklist. This layout and design allow you to view the application and supporting documentation while reviewing and scoring.

  • Review Tab

    • Application information like major, term, date submitted, and last review.

    • Test scores and GPAs are also included if they were self-reported on the application.

  • Criteria Tab

    • Notes are listed at the top with an option to adjust the note category via a dropdown menu.

    • Below the notes, each configured criterion item will be displayed, possibly with scoring options depending on settings (global or per reviewer) and all associated notes.

    • If other reviewers have added scores, those will be included along with their notes at the bottom.

  • Checklist Tab

    • Lists all required checklist items with their name and current status.

    • Option to add a one-off checklist item.

How To: Add Notes in the Application Viewer

  • The application viewer lets you double-click while viewing a document to add a comment. When adding a note, you can create a general note or associate it with a criteria item. See the gif below for a demonstration.

  • Notes are marked using a pin icon.

  • Use the 'toggle notes' button in the header to view other notes.

  • Hover over a pin to view the author of the note.

  • Notes added here are accessible everywhere decision notes can be viewed (e.g., the overview page and the criteria tab).


Pro Tips for Efficient Processing

  • Experiment with both viewing methods to see which suits your review style better.

  • Utilize quick actions from the header and use tabs to navigate quickly between application details.

  • Make use of interactive tools in the Application Viewer for a dynamic review experience.

  • Leverage Intelligent Admissions rules to automate some of your manual processes.


The Decisions Module is included with the Element Engage package.

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