Overview

This article describes how an ISSS Admin can import multiple Sponsorship Requests from an Excel file with the Import New Sponsorship Requests tool.

Import New Sponsorship Requests can be created individually via the Dashboard (described in detail in Scholar Admin: Scholar New Sponsorship Request) or en masse via the Import New Sponsorship Request tool. This tool can be particularly useful in situations with large cohorts of scholars come in at the same time. Rather than requiring a Departmental Admin to initiate a request per scholar, the Departmental Admin can simply compile information in an Excel sheet and turn over to ISSS Admin. An ISSS Admin can then upload the list of scholars creating the Import New Sponsorship Requests at the same time.

The upload itself must be completed by ISSS Admin at this time. However, completion of the template can be done at the discretion of your business practice.

• Navigating to Import Data
• Excel Template
• Uploading Excel Template to Import New Sponsorship Requests

Navigating to Import Data

Begin by navigating to Scholar Admin > Site Settings > Import Data. 

Excel Template

The required template can be accessed by clicking on the Excel Template in the upper right corner of the tool.

A new downloaded file will become available with the following columns, anything with * is required:

• Scholar Family Name*: list the scholar's family [last] name
• Scholar Given Name*: list the scholar's given [first] name
• Scholar Middle Name: list the scholar's middle name if desired
• Scholar Email*: list the scholar's email address
• Scholar Gender: list the scholar's gender if known (F/M)
• Scholar Date of Birth: list the scholar's date of birth if known
• Scholar Country of Citizenship*: list the scholar's country of citizenship (FIPS code. In the Terra Dotta site, navigate to Settings > Lookup Tables to see the specific FIPS Country tables.)
• Proposed Start Date*: list the proposed start date for the scholar
• Proposed End Date*: list the proposed end date for the scholar
• Proposed Visa Type*: options include:
  • H-1B
  • H-1B Extension
  • O-1
  • J-1
  • F-1 OPT/STEM
• Hiring Department*: a department must be listed from the existing department list found in Staff Management
• Hiring Contact: a specific departmental contact can be listed if desired. If listed, contact must be an existing departmental contact for the appropriate department group. (format as last name, first name). If the departmental contact does not match, the Sponsorship Request will still be created and the Departmental Admin or ISSS Admin can update that information at a later time.
• Will Scholar be paid?*: enter if desired, values accepted are:
  • 1 = yes, the scholar will be paid
  • 0 = no, the scholar will NOT be paid
• How many hours per week will the scholar be engaged in proposed activities?: include the number of hours the scholar will be working if desired
• Has the scholar ever been a recipient of a J visa before?*: enter if desired, values accepted are:
  • 1 = yes, the scholar has been in J status before
  • 0 = no, the scholar has NOT been in J status before

Uploading Excel Template to Import New Sponsorship Requests

Once the Excel Template has the required columns completed, save the file and then click 'Choose File' within the Import New Sponsorship Request tool. Users will be prompted to select the file from their computer. After the proper file has been selected, click 'Import'.

The next screen will present a list of scholars included in your file with the corresponding data. Results are validated to prevent duplicate users from being imported and ensuring that the required data is present.

From here, the import can be canceled and re-imported (after fixing data) or the successful imports can be created by clicking 'Create Requests' in the upper left corner. Once the requests have been created, a confirmation message will appear indicating how many new records are present.

Finally, the new sponsorship requests are found on the dashboard for both the ISSS admin and the Hiring Contact, if one was entered:

Departmental Admins and ISSS Admins can then access the records as they normally would. The import tool simply is a quicker way to create new requests for larger groups of scholars. The appropriate data contained within the Excel file is then present within each scholar's profile.

Important notes:

• The Import New Sponsorship Requests tool can be used multiple times.
• Scholars imported can have many different start/end dates, they do not necessarily need to be part of a common cohort for the tool to be used.
• The tool does not allow dynamic ability to include custom content and questionnaires.
• The ISSS Admin must still make a processing decision on each profile.