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ISSS Classic: Activities > Templates Follow

Overview

This article describes the Templates feature in the SEVIS Admin - designed to help busy ISSS staff get their tasks done quickly and efficiently.

Clients who use the Templates feature in the IE browser may experience reduced functionality. Template values will not populate in the IE browser. This is a known issue that will be resolved.  

Templates address a common need in ISSS offices. Regular busy cycles generate a large volume of administrative work, such as creating groups of new students and Exchange Visitors in Terra Dotta, or high numbers of initial Forms I-20 and DS2019.  Templates were designed to ease the administrative burden during these busy office cycles.

 

 

Copy Templates

You can now copy and edit existing templates. In Activities > Templates, clicking a new duplicate/copy button will take you immediately to a template duplication process on the edit screen. The duplication process will copy the original template. The template name and description will automatically remain blank until you rename the new duplicated, edited template. After the template is completed and saved, two templates will display in the template list - both the original template and the duplicate template with the new name.

The Template feature is located in the SEVIS Admin, under the Activities tab. From the Templates panel, you can Manage Templates, Export Templates, and Import Templates. Each of these actions is explained in detail below.

Templates.JPG

 

 

Manage Templates

Clicking on this button brings you to a page where you can manage all the templates you have created and add new templates. Each template is grouped under a tab named by the template type.

You can edit, copy or delete existing templates by clicking the edit, copy or delete icon. You can sort the list of existing templates by template name, template description, and date modified. You can also search templates by keyword (for example, Exchange or Undergraduate).

Manage Templates.JPG

 

 

How to Add Templates

Clicking Manage Templates brings you to a dropdown menu to select the type of template you need to create. The template types match the actions available in Activities:

  1. Add Student: Create a Terra Dotta profile, an Academic Objective, and a SEVIS batch update record 
  2. Add Exchange Visitor: Create a Terra Dotta profile, an Academic Objective, and a SEVIS batch update record 
  3. Request Initial I-20: Request Initial I-20s for existing F/M Terra Dotta profiles with Pending status Academic Objectives
  4. Request Initial DS-2019: Request Initial DS-2019s for existing J Terra Dotta profiles with Pending status Academic Objectives

Clicking on a template type button (for example, Add Student) brings you to a page where you are able to name your template (for example, ESL Students Fall 2020) and add a brief description (for example, ESL students admitted for Fall with special Korean cohort.) The fields represent data that is SEVIS-required to create that record type. Complete the fields with the data that broadly applies to all members of the group to whom the template will be applied. Click Create. You now have a saved template for this action type that you can apply to any Terra Dotta records.

Repeat these steps to add templates for each action in Activities. You cannot duplicate template names. Each template must be saved under a unique name.

 

 

Export Templates

Templates can be exported as .xls documents and saved locally for reference. This is useful for periods in which you need to edit templates quickly and easily for later import. For example, at the end of the fiscal year, your institution's estimated cost of tuition and fees for I-20s might change and the saved template could be updated and imported.

 

 

Import Templates

Templates saved as .xls can be imported into Terra Dotta. Updated templates can be easily imported.  For example, at the end of the fiscal year, your institution's estimated cost of tuition and fees for I-20s might change. Administrators can create or update a set of templates from a file upload; each row represents a template. The rows include the template name, and matching logic for a Create Template versus Update Template actions.

 

 

Using Templates

As described above, the template types align to the actions available in Activities:

  1. Add Student: Create a Terra Dotta profile, an Academic Objective, and a SEVIS batch update record 
  2. Add Exchange Visitor: Create a Terra Dotta profile, an Academic Objective, and a SEVIS batch update record 
  3. Request Initial I-20s: Request Initial I-20s for existing F/M Terra Dotta profiles with Pending status Academic Objectives
  4. Request Initial DS2019s: Request Initial DS2019s for existing J Terra Dotta profiles with Pending status Academic Objectives

To use the templates, select a relevant action in Activities - for example, Add Student. You will select the student type (existing or new) and enter the basic information for the student or scholar. Completing this information will make active the  Complete form with template values button.

Add new Student.JPG

Clicking the button displays the available templates to select. The template you select will auto-populate all fields in the form with the template values that you entered and saved under the template name.

Select Template.JPG

If you have entered data in the form prior to selecting a template type, selecting the template here will clear the previously-entered data in all sections, except Core Information.

If you have not created a template for a specific action, the Complete form with template values button will be grayed out, and cannot be clicked.

After inserting template values, the steps to Create Student, Create Exchange Visitor, Create Initial I-20s and Create Initial DS2019s remain the same.