Important Note: This article discusses classic functionality. For information on the modern applicant experience, refer to the Applicant Experience Knowledgebase article.
This tool enables you to construct, edit, and retire application materials specifically for a program or a group of programs. Material Submissions and Signature Documents are considered 'Materials' in Terra Dotta software.
Jump to Video
To manage application materials, go to Process > Materials.
Materials on this page are grouped by program phase and listed alphabetically in those groups. This list displays which applicant types to which the material applies (internal or external), what type of material it is (physical material or signature document), whether or not the material is program or term specific, and whether or not it is active and visible to applicants. Elements can be filtered by name or process element tag (see below) using the keyword fields at the top of the page.
The envelope icon present in the Type column for some materials indicates that mailing instructions have been provided for the material.
An "internal use" indicator will be displayed next to the creation date of any material that is set to be for internal use only.
Click the name of the material to view or the pencil icon to edit.
By default, this list will open to display materials for the program type you've chosen as your default in Programs > Program Types. You can choose to view materials for other program types by selecting the corresponding type from the dropdown menu on the top left.
To manage application materials, go to Process > Materials.
Materials on this page are grouped by program phase and listed alphabetically in those groups. This list displays which applicant types to which the material applies (internal or external), what type of material it is (physical material or signature document), whether or not the material is program or term specific, and whether or not it is active and visible to applicants. Elements can be filtered by name or process element tag (see below) using the keyword fields at the top of the page.
The envelope icon present in the Type column for some materials indicates that mailing instructions have been provided for the material.
An "internal use" indicator will be displayed next to the creation date of any material that is set to be for internal use only.
Click the name of the material to view or the pencil icon to edit.
By default, this list will open to display materials for the program type you've chosen as your default in Programs > Program Types. You can choose to view materials for other program types by selecting the corresponding type from the dropdown menu on the top left.
Creating a New Application Material
To Create New Application Materials, click the "New Material" button in the top right of the page.- Enter a name for your material, select the type, which type of applicant the material applies to, provide a delivery date, and select a phase during which the material is to be displayed.
- Note: Materials intended to be used to advising applications need to be set to display during the advising phase at this point. A material that has already been deployed to a different phase cannot later be changed back to advising.
- Note: Two materials/signature documents cannot share the same name. An error message will be displayed if you attempt to create a material with the same name as an existing material.
- Click Add to create new application material. Remember that you will still need to apply the material to a process map for it to be deployed to applicants. This can be done in the cascade wizard that appears after creation or by going to Process > App Cycles.
The following are other options you have when configuring the material:
- You can make the material internal-use only. If enabled, this material will not be displayed to the applicant on their application and will not be required for application completion or submission. Only administrators will be able to interact with the material through the applicant admin tools.
- You can make a material conditional for the applicants. This means that the material is available to the applicants only if they fulfill certain conditions. Select the radio button Yes for the option Is this a conditional submission? A text box appears where you can include the conditional question. This question is provided to applicants before they submit the material.
- You can make the submission option available only to the applicants who respond or do not respond to the question by selecting the appropriate radio button for the option Submission applies to applicants who respond. Example: Do you receive financial aid? If the student replies 'No' they will see an 'n/a' in their checklist. If they reply 'Yes' they will be taken to the material that requires they sign an additional document because they receive financial aid.
- If have built out process element tags in Settings > Tags, you assign as many of them as you need to the material. Process element tags allow for easier searching and organization of your materials. Refer to "Editing Process Element tags" below and Managing Application and Process Element Tags for more information about this functionality.
You can select if the submission is applicable to specific terms, programs, or applicant parameters.
Applicant Parameter Filter: if you click Yes in response to Apply applicant parameter filters you can choose which applicants will see the material. For example, you could choose to deploy that material only to applicants who are not a US citizen. You can only filter by one parameter and it must be a single selection, multi-selection, yes/no, data lookup, or data lookup w/search parameter.
WYSIWYG Editor: You can create the content for your material using the WYSIWYG editor. Content merge is available when editing signature documents and materials. Refer to our article on Using the WYSIWYG Editor for more information.
Modifying an Application Material
To make any modifications to an application material, perform the following steps.- Click the edit pencil icon to the right of the name of the material that you want to modify.
- Make the necessary changes and click Update at the bottom of the page to save the changes.
Note: Each time a material that is currently deployed in an application cycle is updated, a new version is created and can be applied to existing application cycles by utilizing the Update Process Maps for Application Cycles wizard that appears after clicking the update button. The prior versions of the material can be viewed by clicking the View Retired Materials link in the upper right corner.
This opens a page on which you select the desired tags and update the list.
If a material is no longer necessary, it can be removed from future application process maps when new application cycles are created. The material will still exist in the process map for the older applications. This process is known as retirement of material.
To retire a material, perform the following steps.
Editing Process Tag Elements
You can see which process element tags have been applied to an element by clicking the tag icon to the right of the element's name. You can edit which process element tags have been applied by clicking the tag icon in the Actions column of the list.This opens a page on which you select the desired tags and update the list.
Retiring an Application Material
The materials included here form a part of the process map that is unique for an application cycle. The process map includes all process elements that are applicable to the applications in that cycle.If a material is no longer necessary, it can be removed from future application process maps when new application cycles are created. The material will still exist in the process map for the older applications. This process is known as retirement of material.
To retire a material, perform the following steps.
- Click the retire icon to the right of the name of the material that you want to mark as retired. A dialog box appears asking you to confirm the action.
- Click OK to proceed with the action or Cancel to abort the action.
You can view the retired materials by clicking the link View Retired Materials at the top-right side of the Materials home page. It displays a list of materials that have been marked as retired. Retiring a material does not pull it out of application cycles that already include it. Retiring a material simply means that it will not be included in future application cycles. To remove a material from an application cycle in which it is already deployed, you must go to Process > App Cycles and remove it from the process map for that app cycle.
Click OK to proceed with the action or Cancel to abort the action.
Reinstating Retired Application Material
Click the reinstate icon to the right of the material you want to reinstate. A dialog box appears asking you to confirm the action.Click OK to proceed with the action or Cancel to abort the action.