This article details using the Terra Dotta Agreements Management to propose an agreement with the following topics:
Global Partnerships
The landing page for the public side of the Agreements Module is a Google Map. Clients can control which partners display on this map. The landing page will have the partners, locations, types of agreements, and an option to create a new proposal. The Global Partnerships page also has the login link for users to return to their proposals.
A proposal is the first step of the agreement process. All agreements must first start out as proposals. Once approved, a proposal is designated as an agreement and is available for publishing on the Global Partnerships page.
A - Partner: All of the Partners with which the institution has an agreement will be displayed here. Selecting the filter icon to the right will open a type-ahead filter. Begin typing the name of the Partner and a list of possible options will appear. Filtering by partner will only display the selected partners.
B - Type: Institutions are able to create their own agreement types. This filter allows users to narrow down the list of agreements to the desired type or types.
C - Location: Site visitors are able to filter the list based on the location of the agreement.
D - Create New Proposal: Faculty/Staff visiting the site are able to propose a new agreement by selecting this option.
E - Login Link and Create Proposal Link: The login link (in arrow) will take the user to the login page where they can login with their campus credentials. The create proposal link (add icon) will take the user to create a new proposal; the user will first be prompted to login.
Partner Details
Selecting a partner in the Global Partnerships list takes the user to the Partner Details page. This page displays the list of agreements with the partner, along with a map, and a few additional details about the partner and the agreements. The pin on the Google map represents the location of the partner. If the partner has multiple campuses or addresses in the site, multiple pins will appear.
A - Partner Description: Every partner has a partner description that is entered during the proposal process. When new agreements are created, the partner description can be adjusted as necessary. Although not required, a partner description is strongly encouraged so that site visitors have more context for the partnership.
B - Partner URL: Similar to the partner description, every partner can have a URL assigned that can be modified by administrators when a new agreement is created.
C - Agreement List: The name, type, and established year of the agreements will be listed on the Partner Details page. Clicking into an agreement on this list will allow the user to view details about the agreement. The agreements listed here are agreements that have been marked as “Published” on the administrator side. More information about publishing agreements can be found under Publishing Agreements.
D - Location Map: A Google map will display with a pin for the location of the partner. If the partner has more than one location, the map will resize and multiple pins will display on the map.
E - Create Proposal: As on the Global Partnerships page, faculty/staff are able to initiate a new proposal from the Partner Details screen.
Agreement Details
Navigating from the Partner Details, the user will land on the Agreement Details screen. Similar to the Partner Details screen, details regarding the agreement are displayed. The pin or pins displayed on the map are locations of the agreement.
A - Description: Similar to the Partner Description, every Agreement can have a description. The description is part of the proposal process and is editable by the proposer and administrator. The description will display when a user is on the Agreement Details page. Although not required, an agreement description is strongly encouraged so that site visitors have more context for the partnership.
B - Location of the activity: A Google map will display with a pin for the location of the agreement. If the agreement has more than one location, the map will resize and multiple pins will display on the map.
C - Agreement Details: The agreement type, year established, and sponsoring Department/College will display about the agreement.
Proposal Process
Proposal process requirements are determined by the location and type of agreement the proposer is submitting.
Login
Prior to being able to submit a proposal, users will be prompted to login. Users will be able to login using their institution’s login credentials or using an external login.
A - Internal/Institutional Login Link
B - External User Login
Submitting a Proposal
Step 1 - Proposal Overview
A - Proposal Overview: Information gathered on the overview tab includes the name of the agreement, type, proposed start date, sponsoring college, sponsoring department, agreement description, and partner institution details.
B - Proposal Details: The following fields are required: Agreement Name, Type, Sponsoring College, Sponsoring Department, and Name of partner. The Agreement Name will display as a unique identifier for the agreement, the type will be a drop-down menu of the agreement types that have been pre-created by the site administrator, college and department should be reflective of the sponsoring contacts college and department, and the name of the partner can either be found by searching for a partner or it can be manually added.
C - Add Partner: If the proposal is with more than one partner, selecting the “Add Partner” icon will allow the user to add additional partners to the agreement proposal.
D - Next: If users do wish to submit additional information, they can move forward to the next step by selecting “Next." Although not required, it is recommended that users complete as much information as they can prior to submitting the proposal.
E - Save as Draft: Users are able to save a draft of the proposal and return to complete it at a later date.
Step 2 - Contacts & Information
A - Contacts & Addresses: The second step of the proposal process is to complete address information for the agreement.
B - Sponsoring Contacts: The sponsoring contact field will default to the name of the person that is logged in and submitting the proposal. This information can be edited to change the sponsoring contact for any reason (i.e. proposal approval workflow is based on applicant parameter value for sponsoring contact’s department and/or college). If the person submitting the proposal and the sponsoring contact are not the same, both users will receive future notifications regarding the proposal.
Note: Once a proposal is saved, only the sponsor can see the proposal from the public Agreements site. If the Proposer and the Sponsor are not the same, the proposer can no longer edit the proposal draft after saving it.
C - Partner University Information: If the agreement is with a partner that is already an established partner, the partner’s address will be automatically populated. The address is an editable field. The contact information under the partner university details is also editable. The partner address must be entered before a partner contact can be added. Typing in a location or partner name will automatically populate a list of options, supplied by Google.
D - Primary Partner Contact: One primary contact can be designated for each proposal and agreement. The primary contact is the person who will receive emails sent through the Nominations feature.
E - Exchange(s): This optional section, built to meet Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) requirements (see also: Agreements Management: Agreements Network), provides clients with a place to store proposed exchange details. It includes spaces to indicate term, International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), duration, and number of students. All fields are required but accept freeform text so they can be used as is appropriate for institutional and cooperative needs. This information can be updated at any time, even after the proposal is approved and the agreement is finalized. Possible uses include:
- Term: Indicate periods of study, such as semesters or trimesters.
- ISCED: This standard is most commonly used to indicate an area of study or major.
- Duration: This could be used to indicate length of time per term.
- Number of Students: This could be used to indicate the number of students allowed under the exchange agreement. Following the EWP guidelines, this field is static and does not update from other system functionality, such as exchange balances.
F - Navigation: Once the details on the Contacts & Addresses screen are populated, the user needs to select “Next” to move to the next screen.
G - Save as Draft: the user can save the proposal as a draft to finish at a later date.
H - The user can also choose to submit the proposal on this step without completing any additional details.
Step 3 - Details
The details tab displays the option to add languages necessary for the agreement as well as questionnaires that are applicable to the proposal based on the workflow rules for all proposals, proposals based on agreement type, and proposals based on location. More information about workflows.
Required Language Skills: Required for Erasmus Without Paper, users now have the option to submit language requirements for each proposal. They choose the following and hit the plus sign once all choices have been made:
- Language
- Language Framework, with the options being Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR)
- Language level, automatically filtered to the framework selected
Forms: All of the forms that need to be completed for the proposal will display on one screen, separated by the title of the form. Form titles can be clicked on to collapse and/or expand to more easily navigate the page. The carrot (^) pointing up shows the form is expanded and pointing down denotes it's collapsed. Collapsible forms are reflected in formalized agreements as well.
Navigation: Once the details the screen are populated, just like on previous screens, the user can hit “Next” to move to the final screen, "Save as Draft", or "Submit" the proposal as is.
Step 4 - Supporting Documents
Documents: The last step of the proposal process is for the user to upload supporting documents if they have any. Administrative offices will configure various document templates, deployed via workflows that can be downloaded, completed, and submitted with the proposal.
A card is available for each upload deployed to the proposal. The template can be downloaded by clicking the 3 dots in the card's upper right. Those cards with a red circle in the upper right are denoted as "required".
Supplemental documents could include signed contracts, partner logo images, etc. Users are able to drag and drop supplemental files to upload and attach to the proposal.
Users are not required to complete any of the information in steps 3 (Details) or 4 (Supporting Documents) prior to submitting the proposal for approval. Once the user is ready to submit the proposal, they can hit “Submit." However, if a document is marked as required, it cannot be submitted for approval without the item being submitted.
Returning to a Proposal
Sponsors are able to return to the proposal and make edits/changes as needed. Sponsors can also return to the proposal to view the approval chain for the proposal if the proposal was submitted for approval.
A - Hamburger Menu: Logged-in users have a menu that allows them to access their previously submitted proposals and agreements.
B - Drafts/Proposals/Agreements/Nominations: The last three drafts, proposals, and agreements will display in their respective lists. "Nominations" will show all the Nominations the user has received from partner institutions. From this screen the user can make a decision on the nomination.
C - Create Proposal: Logged-in users have a quick link to create proposal.
D - Logout