For a series of instructional training-based videos on this feature, visit the Study Abroad Learning Channel in the Terra Dotta Support Portal - or check out the Advising Program Learning Resources article.

 

Overview

Terra Dotta Study Abroad offers a comprehensive advising option that supports the common administrative process of assisting students who wish to study abroad but need more information before choosing a program that meets their goals. After creating an advising program type application, an applicant can complete requirements assigned by an admin with use of Deployment Rules. Applicants and admins alike can track programs of interest and use this list as the basis for selecting the program which best meets the applicant's needs. An advising application is then changed to the respective program application, and the applicant can move forward with a solid foundation of knowledge gained during the advising process.  

This article discusses the following topics:

• Understanding the Advising Program
• Creating an Advising Program Template
• Creating an Advising Program
• Configuring Advising in Program Wizard
• Configuring Deployment Rules 
• Creating an Advising Program Application
• Programs of Interest
• Changing an Advising Application to a Program Application
• Reporting Options
• Admin View of Advising Application
• Applicant View of Advising Application
• Video Instruction
• Frequently Asked Questions

 

Understanding the Advising Program

Advising is a unique program type available for use in Terra Dotta in application cycles that use rules-based deployment. It is designed to support the practice of gathering information about an applicant's interests and academic background before they apply to a specific program. Admins should use the Admin Console's Application Finder and Application Admin Manager interfaces to manage advising program applications.

Keep the following information in mind as you explore this feature:

• The advising program is designed for use with sites that meet the following criteria:
  • The Applicant Experience is enabled.
  • The Login is enabled.
  • The site uses rules-based app cycles. This means that the advising program should not be used with process maps.  
• Advising is a program type and separate system from the classic advising feature. This means that the "New Advising Application" notification is not compatible with converting an advising application in the Admin Console. The Settings > Process Options configurations related to advising are for classic functionality only. This setting should be disabled once you fully transition away from the classic system to use the Advising Program. 
• Any program type can be configured to require or request advising.
• For the 21.0 release, the advising program type has been installed on sites as an active program type under Program > Program Types. 
• An applicant is only allowed to have one active advising application at a time when applying via a program brochure. This means that if an applicant applies to a program that requires advising, they will generate an advising application based on the advising program assigned to that program's program group. If the applicant attempts to apply to another program that requires advising, the will be routed to the existing active advising application. See the Frequently Asked Questions section of this article for more details. 
• It is possible for an admin to create more than one active advising program application for an applicant via Application Finder.  
• If your site has the system-level application limits setting enabled that allows applicants to have multiple applications for the same program in the same app cycle, then your applicants will be able to create more than one advising application if the max limit has not been reached. It is highly suggested that you do not use the Direct Apply option for the advising program in this case and instead utilize configuring your programs to either require advising or offer it as a request option from the program brochure page.

The advising program works in conjunction with several other features. It is recommended that you take action setting up configurations as needed for features in the order listed below: 

• Program Template
  • Create a template for an advising program type and assign it to a specific program group for your advising programs.
  • When creating a new advising program in the future, your template can be applied after assigning the new program to the program group.
• Program Wizard
  • Create an advising program from a template, if desired, or from scratch.
  • Assign the advising program to a program group. If this program group uses or requires advising, then advising applications will be created for this assigned advising program.
  • Enable advising for use with a specific program.
• Content Management
  • Create the process elements you wish to use as application requirements with your advising program.
• Deployment Rules
  • Create the rules which will deploy application requirements to your advising program when the designated conditions are met.
• App Cycle Management
  • Configure your app cycles to use deployment rules. 
• Application Page
  • Applicants can view programs of interest from the "Program Info" tab of their advising program applications. From this list of programs, an applicant will work with their advisor to determine the best fit. Admins can "approve" programs to allow applicants the ability to change programs themselves.
• Application Admin Manager
  • Manage programs of interest. 
  • View and create advising comments.

Important Note: Offices should review the permissions noted in the various articles linked above to ensure your system settings are configured as expected for use with the Advising Program in the Admin Console.

Here are some questions that may arise for offices that are currently using the classic advising functionality and want to make the move to the Advising Program:

Why would I transition to the Advising Program?

> Versatility

The classic advising functionality in Terra Dotta was designed for use with process maps and only offers the use of a single, uniform advising application for everyone. With the Advising Program - designed for use with deployment rules, you now have a system that supports multiple advising processes. For example, you can create an advising program application that is catered for use with one program group and a different advising program application that is designed for the needs of another program group. 

> Innovation

Transitioning to the Advising Program will likely coincide with your office's move to using deployment rules. With these streamlined, modern tools that allow you to do more with less constraints, you have the opportunity to rethink how the advising process should operate to best support your applicants. Take a look at the existing process elements that you've been using for classic advising functionality and deploy them now as rules - or evaluate what your office has been doing and why. With the "Programs of Interest" feature, for example, you no longer need to use a questionnaire to capture what programs your applicants are interested in pursuing. They can browse your program catalogue and click to add a program of interest to their advising application. 

Now may be the time to reassess, recreate, and reinvigorate your advising process.

How should I approach transitioning to the Advising Program?

Bring your team together and conceptualize what this change will look like for your office so that everyone can contribute to the conversation and ask questions. Advising will now be a program type, so you may need to shift how you think of advising going forward. As a program, advising will have an app cycle and a deadline. 

When thinking about what term to use for advising, this will depend on your advising process. For offices that create advising applications far in advance of study abroad programs, it might be beneficial to use a distinct advising term. Though the term will appear on the advising program application to applicants, it will only mean whatever the instructions indicate it means for your applicants. Therefore, use a term that works best for your team. Using a distinct advising term might also allow you to better manage these app cycles to ensure they are only using deployment rules and not process maps.

Though it is possible to use the classic advising functionality at the same time as the Advising Program, it is recommended that you make a full transition as soon as possible to avoid confusion. To do this:

• Disable the "Advising" setting under Settings > System Features > Process Options.

You also have the ability to convert existing advising applications to advising program applications. If your applicant has completed process elements in the advising program application, then these will transfer over to the new program application. With the 21.0 release, it is now possible to change a program application in a process map-based app cycle to a program in a rules-based app cycle. 

 

Creating an Advising Program Template

The program template functionality in Program Wizard allows an administrator to build the basic structure of a program once and save it for use with every new program assigned to a specific program group. When creating new programs in the future, you will have the option to apply the advising template when the corresponding program group is selected for the new program. These templates are for use with the Program Wizard functionality.

Below you'll find steps specific to creating a program template for the advising program type. For general information on using templates and Program Wizard, refer to the Program Templates and Using the Program Wizard articles. 

Step 1: Configuration

From the "Configuration" page, take the following actions:

• Assign the template a name. This will be the displayed name of your template and must be unique to the site.
• Select the program type of "Advising".
• Set program terms.
• Choose which types of applicants can apply.
• Determine if the home institution is required.

 

Step 2: Details

The "Details" page allows you to set values for the internal parameter fields for advising programs created with this template. This list is populated by your site’s list of program parameters set in Settings > Program Params.

Important Note: Public search fields do not display for advising programs because this type of program is not available in the public search.

Step 3: Application Lifecycle

From the Application Lifecycle page, take the following actions:

• Set application instructions.
• Modify the default application status. This status will remain "Pending" unless otherwise changed.
  • Important Note: This setting appears in Program Wizard for all program types by default. It is not possible to display status aliases at this time. Most offices will likely not use this setting for advising programs.
• Enable the submit button and configure settings. This button, when enabled, will appear at the top of the application page only after all requirements have been completed by the applicant. 

Important Note: Recommendations are not available for use with advising programs; therefore, no configurations appear for recommendation requirements.

Step 4: Groups

The "Groups" page allows you to choose one or more program groups to which this template should apply. This drop-down menu will be populated with your site’s program groups created in Programs > Manage Groups. Once saved, this program template will automatically be applied to any new program assigned to a chosen program group on the "Configuration" page of the Program Wizard (more below).

 

Important Note: Only one program template can be assigned to a program group. If you choose to assign a new program template to a program group, it will replace the existing template assigned to that group. However, the same template can be used for any number of program groups.

Clicking the “Save” button at the bottom of the page will preserve your changes (given that all required fields have been completed).

An existing template can be edited by clicking the edit pencil to the right of the template name in Templates > Programs. This will display the same configuration wizard. Make a copy of the template by clicking the double sheet icon.

 

Creating an Advising Program

The Program Wizard guides an administrator through the steps of building and configuring the essential functions of a new program and managing edits to an existing program. Because the advising program type is focused on informing applicants of what they need to know before applying to a program and not on promoting a traditional program for specific dates and locations, the Program Wizard will function differently for this program type.

When the program type of "advising" is selected in Program Wizard, note the following:

• In the "Configurations" tab of advising program types, no settings will appear for adding a location and enabling the exchange option. 
• In the "Dates & Costs" tab, no columns will appear for "Start Date" and "End Date".
• In the "Details" tab, no settings will appear for adding a Program Discovery card as advising programs are not included in any public searches, including Program Discovery.
• No "Brochure" tab appears for advising program types. Instead, a "Groups" tab is used from which the advising program can be assigned to a program group.
• There is no phase dial for advising type programs. The only phase displayed is "pre-decision" as advising is always considered to be "pre-decision". 

Below you'll find steps specific to creating an advising program in Program Wizard. For more detailed information on this feature, refer to the Using the Program Wizard article. 

To create an advising program in Program Wizard, navigate to Admin Console > Create New Program and follow these steps:

Step 1: Configuration

From the "Configuration" page, take the following actions:

• Program Name: This will be the displayed name of your advising program. It must be unique to the site. There is a character limit of 100.

• Group: From the program group drop-down menu, select the program group to which you want your advising program to be assigned.
  • If this program group is using a template, then a modal will appear asking you to confirm how you'd like to proceed.

• Type: From the program type drop-down menu, select "Advising". This will modify your Program Wizard display so that the following five tabs appear:
  • Configuration
  • Dates & Costs
  • Details
  • Application Lifecycle
  • Groups

• Terms: Use the drop-down menu to select the period(s) of time during the year when this program will take place. Terms must already exist on your site (Settings > Terms) in order for them to appear in this list. 

• Additional Settings: Use the toggle menu located on the bottom left of this page to take the following actions:
  • Determine which applicants are able to apply to this program.
  • Choose to require that an applicant be associated with a partner institution. When this option is enabled, choose the applicable partner institution(s) from the "Add Partner Institution" field. 
  • Choose to require that an applicant be associated with a home institution

Step 2: Dates & Costs

 

From the "Step 2: Dates & Costs" tab, you can configure the program’s application deadlines and decision dates for the terms selected on the "Configuration" tab as well as manage Cost Sheets for the program.

Though an advising program likely won't have costs associated with it, admins can use Cost Sheets to educate applicants on how to successfully use this feature to manage costs once they apply to a traditional program.

From the year dial at the top of the page, select a desired year to view and edit its related dates. The page will display the two years before and after the year currently selected. 

Important Note: When an applicant applies to a program that requires advising, an advising application will be created for the active app cycle whose application deadline is closest to the current date. Even if this app cycle uses process maps, then the system will generate an advising application. This is why it is important to review your app cycles to ensure those that are active for the desired advising program term are using deployment rules. 

A display panel organizes date-related information into the following columns:

• Term: Displays applicable program terms as they were configured under Settings > Terms.
• Application Deadline: This date will be pre-populated using information from the corresponding application cycle if an application deadline exists for that term/year combination. To edit the pre-populated application deadline to be program specific, click on the date that appears. A calendar widget will appear from which you can select a new deadline.
• Decision Date: This date will be pre-populated using information from the corresponding application cycle if a decision date exists for that term/year combination. To edit the pre-populated decision date to be program specific, click on the date that appears. A calendar widget will appear from which you can select a new decision date.
• Accepting Applications: "Yes" or "No" will be displayed accordingly. "Yes" will be displayed when an app cycle is set to "active" and an assigned opening date is today's date or in the past.
• Cost Sheet: Click the "+" icon to add a cost sheet. Click the edit pencil to make changes to an existing Cost Sheet. An admin can also preview an existing cost sheet. Refer to the Cost Sheets  article for more details on this feature.

Step 3: Details

From the "Step 3: Details" page, add more information about your program. This can be done by setting internal program parameters, managing Foreign Courses, and adding program contacts.

Though an advising program likely won't have courses associated with it, admins can use Course Approvals to educate applicants on how to successfully use this feature for a fully electronic course approval process once they apply to a traditional program.

Step 4: Application Lifecycle

From the "Step 4: Application Lifecycle" tab, you can manage many aspects of the program. For full details, see the "Step 5: Application Lifecycle" section of the Using the Program Wizard article. A summary of settings which appear on this tab are as follows:

• Application Instructions: Add and edit instructions specific to this application using the WYSIWYG editor. Rich-text formatting options are available.
  • There is no phase dial for advising programs. The only phase shown is for pre-decision.
  • Consider using this section to call out features such as the application requirements, the submit button, and the "Program Info" tab. 
  • These instructions will only appear on the main "Requirements" tab of the application.
• Deployment Type: This drop-down menu allows you to view application requirements based on deployment type. Rule Deployments are displayed by default and should be the only deployment type used for the advising program type. All applicable application requirements based on deployment rules for this program are displayed under one of the three requirement sections. 
  • Due dates can be assigned to application requirements. 
• Default Application Status: Use this setting to determine what status an application will have upon creation.
  • As noted above, this setting appears in Program Wizard for all program types by default. It is not possible to display status aliases at this time. Most offices will likely not use this setting for advising programs.
• Applicant Submit Button: The submit button is a feature that, when enabled, will appear at the top of the application page only after all requirements for the application have been completed. At that time, the applicant will be able to submit their application. Additional configuration options appear for use with this feature which include:
  • Custom Submission Message: Create specific messaging to appear to applicants upon the successful submission of a pre-decision application.
  • Pre-decision Application Tag: Choose a tag that will be added to an application upon submission for this program.
  • Pre-decision Status: Select the status for an application once it is submitted for this program.

Step 5: Groups

The "Step 5: Groups" tab only displays for advising program types. This is where an admin will assign the advising program to one or more program groups.

If a program group is selected to use an advising program, this means:

• Any program in this program group that has been configured to require advising will generate an application for this advising program when an applicant clicks on "Apply Now" from the program brochure.
  • Example: Global Summer Paris is a program in the "Global Summer Programs" program group. It has been configured in step one of Program Wizard to require advising. When an applicant clicks "Apply Now" from the Global Summer Paris program brochure, an application for the Undergraduate Advising Program will be created. 

• Any program in this program group that has been configured to enable the advising option will generate an application for this advising program when an applicant clicks on "Request Advising" from the program brochure.
  • Example: Global Summer Paris is a program in the "Global Summer Programs" program group. It has been configured in step one of Program Wizard to enable the advising option. When an applicant clicks on the "Request Advising" button from the Global Summer Paris program brochure, an application for the Undergraduate Advising Program will be created. 

• Any program in this program group that has not been configured to require advising or to enable the advising option will not create an application for this advising program when an applicant clicks on "Apply Now" from the program brochure. The "Request Advising" button will not appear on the program brochure.
  • Example: Global Summer Paris is a program in the "Global Summer Programs" program group. In step one of Program Wizard, this program has not been configured to require advising or to enable the advising option. When an applicant clicks on "Apply Now" from the Global Summer Paris program brochure, an application for the Global Summer Paris program will be created. 

This chart might be helpful in visualizing what program assignments could look like when using the advising program:

Program Name	Program Type	Program Group	(Assigned to) Group	Requires Advising	Request Advising Option	Advising App (Generated for)
Advising for Undergraduates	Advising	Advising Programs	Global Programs	N/A	N/A	N/A
Global Summer Paris	Outgoing	Global Programs	N/A	Yes	No	Advising for Undergraduates
Global Summer Tokyo	Outgoing	Global Programs	N/A	Yes	No	Advising for Undergraduates
Business Leaders	Outgoing	Faculty-Led	N/A	No	No	None

 

 

Configuring Advising in Program Wizard

With the use of the Program Wizard, an administrator can configure a new or an existing program so that it offers the option for applicants to request advising for a program - or automatically generates an advising application (i.e. requires advising). An admin can also ensure that an applicant with an active advising application has access to the "Add Programs of Interest" button that appears on program brochures.

Important Note: Any program type can be configured to require or request advising.

1. Configuring Advising Buttons

From the program's "Configuration" tab, locate the configuration toggles for the following options:

Advising Request Options

• When enabled, an applicant will see a "Request Advising" button on the brochure page for the program. This gives the applicant the option to either generate a program application by clicking "Apply Now" or generate an advising application by clicking "Request Advising".
• When disabled, no "Request Advising" button will appear on the brochure page.

• If an applicant clicks on "Request Advising" from a program brochure to create an advising application, that program is not added to the "Programs of Interest" section of the advising application that is created. The program is only added if the program requires advising and the applicant clicks on "Apply Now" form the program brochure. After an applicant has an existing advising application, they can browse your program catalogue and add programs of interest to their advising application with a click of an "Add to Programs of Interest" button.

Require Advising

• When enabled, an applicant will always generate an advising program application no matter what action they take on the program brochure. When this is the desired result, an office may not want to enable the "Advising Request Option".
• When advising is required and an applicant clicks on "Apply Now", the routing program will be recorded in the "Programs of Interest" section of the advising application.
• If both "Require Advising" and the "Advising Request Option" are enabled, then the applicant will generate an advising application no matter if they click on "Request Advising" or the "Apply Now" button for this program. 

The advising application will be generated for the advising program that has been assigned to the program group to which the program belongs.

Important Note: A program group can only be assigned to one advising program at a time. If you attempt to assign a program group to a second advising program, then the system will honor this action. 

• Example: Last month, the program group of "Global Programs" was assigned to the advising program of "General Advising". Today, I attempt to assign the program group of "Global Programs" to the advising program of "Advising for Undergraduates". This action will be honored; however, it will automatically un-assign my program group of "Global Programs" from the advising program of "General Advising". Why? Because a program group can only be assigned to one advising program at a time. 

2. Enabling Applicant Use of Programs of Interest

When an applicant has an existing advising application, they can browse your program catalogue and add programs of interest to their advising application with a click of an "Add to Programs of Interest" button.

To ensure that this "Add to Programs of Interest" button appears on program brochures, a program brochure must be configured to use the content widget of the "Actions Buttons" or "Apply Now Button". This is done from the "Brochure" tab of the Program Wizard.  

Direct Apply Advising Option

Your office may want to direct applicants to create an advising application without them having to take action through a program's brochure. This "direct apply" option can be configured for an advising program in Program Wizard.

Important Note: If you have enabled the system-level application limits setting that allows applicants to have multiple applications for the same program in the same app cycle, then your applicants will be able to create more than one advising application until the max limit is reached. It is highly suggested that you do not use the direct apply option in this case and instead utilize configuring your programs to either require advising or offer it as an option from the program brochure page.

To continue with the "direct apply" option:

1. Open your advising program in Program Wizard. Click on the triple dot "More Program Actions" menu located in the top right corner of the page. 

2. Click on the link for  "Create Apply Button". The panel that appears offers three embed codes to choose from: URL, link, and button.

3. Copy the desired code and embed it on the desired webpage. From this access URL, link, or button, an applicant will be able to generate an application for this advising program.

 

 

An example of how the button embed code might be used is as follows:

1. Copy the embed button code for an advising program.

2. Navigate to Site > Site Builder > Home Content.

3. Click the "Source" icon in the Home Page Content WYSIYG Editor. Paste your button embed code into the WYSIWYG and click "Update".

From your site's home page, an "Apply Now" button will appear. Clicking on this button will generate an advising program application.

In the example below, the embed code was modified so that "Apply Now" appears as "Create An Advising Application".

 

 

Configuring Deployment Rules

After an advising program is created, you will need to create the deployment rules which will determine what application requirements will appear on advising applications. Keep in mind that you are creating rules that are applicable to your advising program.

In the example below, the condition type has been set as "program type in advising program type". This may look different for your sites, especially if you are using more than one advising program to meet different needs.

Important Note: Advising is always part of the pre-decision application phase. Therefore, you will want to select "Pre-Decision" from the "Applicable Application Phase" drop-down menu when configuring a rule for use with an advising program type.

In step 2 of your rule configuration, you will add the process elements that should appear on this advising program application when the conditions in step 1 are met.

Click "Save & Close" to preserve your changes. 

For more details on using deployment rules, see the Admin Console: Deployment Rules article. 

Deployment rules are used with rules-based app cycles. Admins should review their app cycles in App Cycle Management to ensure they've been set up accordingly. View the Admin Console: App Cycle Management article for full details. 

Important Note: When an applicant applies to a program that requires advising, an advising application will be created for the active app cycle whose deadline is closest to the current date. Even if this app cycle uses process maps, then the system will generate an advising application. This is why it is important to review your app cycles to ensure those that are active for the desired term are using deployment rules.

 

 

Creating an Advising Program Application

When an applicant uses the public program search to look for a program, they will generate an advising program application after one of the following actions are taken from a brochure page:

• The applicant clicks on "Apply Now" or "Request Advising" for a program that requires advising and is in a program group that has been assigned to an advising program.
• The applicant clicks on "Request Advising" for a program that does not require advising but has the advising option enabled. The program is also in a program group that has been assigned to an advising program.

Important Note: Applicants can generate advising program applications from a Program Wizard brochure or classic brochure page. They can use the simple program search or Program Discovery. However, applicants can only access the "Add to Programs of Interest" button from a Program Wizard brochure.

Next, a modal will appear where the applicant will be prompted to select the desired term of study for their program from a drop-down menu.

A prompt lets the applicant know that an advising application will be created and directs them to click "Continue" to proceed. The system will check to see if the applicant has any existing applications in that advising program. If they do, then the system will reroute the applicant to it. If the applicant does not, then the system will create a new advising application and route the applicant to it. 

The system captures the advising program application creation date and the program involved (i.e. the advising routing program).

 

Programs of Interest

Unique to the advising program is the ability to capture an applicant's programs of interest. 

When an applicant applies to a study abroad program for which an advising program is associated, then this program's name and the app cycle for which the applicant had attempted to apply will automatically be recorded in a "Programs of Interest" section located in the "Program Info" tab of the advising application. This program will be marked with a "star" icon to indicate that it was selected by the applicant, and the program name will be hyperlinked for quick access to the program's brochure.

The same information will appear to an admin in the "Advising" tab of the application in Application Admin Manager. 

Applicants can continue to browse the program catalogue and select programs to add to their list of programs of interest by clicking the "Add to Programs of Interest" button on the program brochure.

Important Note: The "Add to Programs of Interest" button only appears on brochure pages to logged in applicants with an active advising application.

An admin has the option of adding programs of interest to an applicant's list as well, and this action is performed directly from the "Advising" tab of the application in Application Admin Manager.

After the advising process has been completed, an admin has the ability to allow an applicant to convert their advising application over to a program application for a program listed in the "Programs of Interest" section. This is done by marking a program as "Approved" from the "Advising" tab of the application in Application Admin Manager so that the option to apply to this program appears on the application page for the applicant.

In the image below, the "Apply to the Program" icon appears next to the program that the admin has "approved" as a viable option for the applicant. A "star" icon appears next to programs that were added to the "Programs of Interest" tab by the applicant.

There will not be a way to know if a saved program of interest is no longer accepting applications. 

As you get started with using the "Programs of Interest" feature, note the following:

• You can save any program type (e.g. Outgoing, Scholarship, etc.) as a program of interest. This feature is not limited by program type.
• It is possible that a saved program of interest might no longer be accepting applications once the applicant is ready to select convert their application.
• When an advising application is changed to a program application, the programs of interest do not carry over to appear in the program application. This data does remain something that an admin can report on using the Advising Program data points in Analytics. See the "Reporting Options" section of this article for details. 

Text Interface

It is possible to edit "Programs of Interest" as it appears to both applicants on the application page and admins in Application Admin Manager using the following identifier:

• 10293 Programs of Interest

This change will not impact the data point of "Programs of Interest" in Analytics. It will always appear under this name for reporting purposes.

 

 

Changing an Advising Application to a Program Application

An advising application can be changed to a program application by an admin in Application Admin Manager or by an applicant if they've been approved to do so from the "Programs of Interest" section of their advising application. During this conversion process, the system will capture the program conversion date. This data point is one which appears in Analytics.

Completed advising requirements will appear under the "Completed Requirements" section of the new program application. Advising is part of the pre-decision phase; therefore, these completed requirements are counted in the progress wheel for the new program application. For example, if my program application consists of two completed advising requirements and four pre-decision requirements that need to be completed, then the progress wheel will read "2 of 6" complete.

Important Note:

• Any incomplete advising application requirements will not appear on the application when the program is changed. If you must ensure that these requirements appear on the application, then a best practice would be to deploy these process elements to both your advising program and other programs for which advising is required or a request option.
• After changing an advising application to a program application in Application Admin Manager, there is not a system notification that will be sent. A suggested practice is to change the program and then batch change the status of your converted applications. If you have an Application Status Change Trigger configured, then that notification will be sent after the status change occurs if the conditions are met.

Advising comments remain recorded in the "Activity & Notes" section of the application as application comments. 

 

Reporting Options

The Analytics tool can be used to report on the following data points related to the advising program:

• Advising Start Date
• Program Conversion Date
• Advising Routing Program
• Converted To Program
• Programs of Interest
• Programs of Interest App Cycles

These data points are accessible from step 2 of "Fields" when creating a query or report in Analytics. Currently, there is not a data point available for tracking the advising program name itself.

See the Analytics for Terra Dotta Study Abroad article for more details on using the Analytics feature.

 

 

Admin View of Advising Application

An admin can create or search for an existing advising application in Application Finder. After accessing an application in full, an "Advising" tab will appear in Application Admin Manager with the following sections:

Comments

Use this section to record any advising-related comment. Once saved, the name of the person who left the comment along with a time stamp are available as details. This information is also recorded in the logs as an application comment. 

Important Note: The Applicant Admin: Application Admin: History Log permission is needed to view application comments in this section. This permission also grants access to viewing the logs in the "Activity & Notes" tab. If an admin needs permission to add and delete application comments, then the Applicant Admin: Application Admin: Comments (Add) permission should be assigned.

Programs of Interest

This section records the program name and app cycle of any program that the applicant has elected to add to this list along with the original program from which the advising application was generated. An admin can also add programs of interest to this list which are viewable by the applicant.

The "Approved" column allows the admin to give the applicant the option to change their advising application to a program application for a designated program.

Important Note: 

• Programs of interest that were added by the applicant cannot be deleted by an admin.
• Programs of interest that were added by an admin can be deleted by the admin.
• Applicants cannot delete a program of interest from their application.

 

Applicant View of Advising Application

An advising application will appear to applicants in the same way as other program applications on sites with the Applicant Experience enabled. For details, see the Application Page article. 

There are, however, a few differences to note:

• The left navigation panel will only display an applicant's profile image and site announcements. No dates or links to a program brochure will appear.
• The "Programs of Interest" section will appear in the "Program Info" tab. 
• Applicants cannot delete a program of interest after it has been added either by themselves or an admin.

Offices are encouraged to leverage the application instructions to highlight key pieces of information for applicants. 

 

Video Instruction

• Lesson 1: Getting Started. This 33-minute video covers site settings and required features, considerations, creating a template, and creating an advising program.
• Lesson 2: Accessing Advising & Managing Content. This 18-minute video discusses how to configure a program to require advising or use the request advising option and how to locate the embed code to create a direct-apply button for a program. We wrap up with an overview in Content Management, including creating prerequisite learning content for use with an assessment. 
• Lesson 3: Setting Up & Deploying Advising Requirements. This 22-minute video walks you through how to create a deployment rule and set up an app cycle for use with an advising program. We end with a look at three different ways to create an advising program application.  
• Lesson 4: Applicant and Admin Perspectives. This 21-minute video shares how an advising program application appears to both an applicant and admin. Learn about programs of interest and how to change the advising program application to another program.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can applicants see the advising comments?

No, the advising comments, which are specific to an application, are internal-only and cannot be seen by applicants. 

2. What is the difference between an applicant adding a program of interest to their advising application versus "liking" a program?

If an applicant has an advising application and searches the program catalogue, then the "Add to Programs of Interest" button will appear on program brochures. Clicking this button adds a program to the existing advising application's "Programs of Interest" section, signifying that this program is one to which the applicant might be interested in applying.

The "heart" icon appears in a program card in Program Discovery. Clicking this icon is equivalent to "liking" the program.  The program is saved under a "View Liked" filter in Program Discovery that a student might reference before they have even started applying to programs. 

3. After a program has been added to an applicant's "Programs of Interest" list, can the applicant apply to the program on their own?

The act of adding a program to the "Programs of Interest" list does not authorize the applicant to apply to that program. An admin would need to "approve" the program from the administrative "Programs of Interest" panel in order to grant the applicant the ability to change their advising application into the respective program application on their own. It is the admin who ultimately controls what program an applicant can or cannot apply to from their application page. 

4. What does transitioning from the classic advising phase to the advising program mean?

The advising program is an actual program type that is not dependent on any classic advising phase functionality. Transitioning from classic functionality means ending the use of the advising phase, designed for process maps, and beginning the use of the advising program, designed for deployment rules. After creating your advising program in Program Wizard and advising process elements in Content Management, you will create rules to deploy your advising process elements to applications created using the advising program when you are ready. We recommend beginning with the advising program at the start of a term. In this way, you can finish up one app cycle using any classic advising functionality that you might have been using and begin the new app cycle explicitly using the advising program.  

5. Can an applicant create an advising application without choosing a program?

Yes, an applicant can create an advising application without having to go through a program's brochure. Navigate to your advising program in Program Wizard and click on the "More Programs" action menu. Here you can access code to create a URL, link, or button for your advising program. Embed this code on a desired webpage, such as your home page. Anyone who accesses this URL, link, or button will be able to create an advising program application.

6. Can I create and use different advising programs?

Yes, it is possible to create different advising programs. However, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• A program group can only be assigned to one advising program at a time.
• An applicant can only have one active advising program application at a time.

Thus, let's say an applicant applies to a program requiring advising, and they generate an advising application for the General Advising Program. Then the applicant applies to a program which is assigned to a different advising program of Summer Advising. As long as the applicant has an active advising application, then the system will not allow them to create a second advising application at the same time - even if it would be for a different advising program. The applicant will always be routed to the first advising application that exists to prevent the creation of multiple active advising applications for an applicant.

Offices wanting to create different advising programs could do so as long as there wouldn't be overlap in the programs to which a student might attempt to apply. Examples: Graduate Advising (for programs uniquely for graduate students), Summer Advising (for programs only available in the summer term), etc.

7. If an applicant clicks on "Request Advising" from a program brochure to create an advising application, is that program recorded under the "Programs of Interest" section?

No, the program is not added to the "Programs of Interest" section of the advising application that is created. The program is only added if the program requires advising and the applicant clicks on "Apply Now" form the program brochure. 

After an applicant has an existing advising application, they can browse your program catalogue and add programs of interest to their advising application with a click of an "Add to Programs of Interest" button.

To ensure that this "Add to Programs of Interest" button appears on program brochures, a program brochure must be configured to use the content widget of the "Actions Buttons" or "Apply Now Button". 

8. How can I create a notification when an applicant has submitted their advising program application and subsequent outgoing program application?

The "Submit" button should be enabled for both the advising program and outgoing program using the setting available for the pre-decision phase in each program's Application Lifecycle step in Program Wizard. Then, an Application Submitted Trigger should be configured for both use with both programs so that when applications are submitted, the desired notification is sent to the respective recipient.

After an applicant completes all requirements of their advising program, the "Submit" button will appear at the top of their application page. Clicking on this button will trigger the notification to be sent as configured in the Application Submitted Trigger for this program.

After an advising program has been converted to an outgoing program, the application remains in the pre-decision phase. After the applicant completes the pre-decision requirements of the outgoing program, a "Submit" button will appear at the top of their application page. Clicking on this button will trigger the notification to be sent as configured in the Application Submitted Trigger for this program.

9. My applicants are attempting to apply to an outgoing program that requires advising. However, when they click "Continue" on the program options modal, they are not being directed to the advising program application. What could cause this?

When applicants click "Continue", the system searches for one of the terms that your associated advising program uses that is actively accepting applications so that the advising program application can be created. If your advising program is not accepting applications for any of its terms, then the system will not be able to route applicants to an advising application.

This means that when an outgoing program requires advising, you must make sure that the associated advising program is accepting applications for at least one of the terms to which it has been assigned. Some offices have found that using a generic term of "Advising" for their advising program makes this process easier to manage.   

10. How can I notify my applicants that their advising program application has been converted to another program application?

After changing the advising program application to another program type in Application Admin Manager, there is not a system notification that is automatically sent to the applicant. If your process involves changing the program and then changing the status, then you could set up an Application Status Change Trigger that would notify the applicant when their status changed from X to Y status. Otherwise, you can manually send an email to the applicant. Remember that it is also possible to give an applicant the ability to convert their advising application to another program.

11. Why are some advising program applications appearing in the "Past Applications" section of the applicant home page?

For an advising program (which does not have itinerary dates), the program year is the year associated with the app cycle - and not the year associated with the program end date. For example, if you are using a unique "Advising" app cycle, then those advising program applications created in the Advising 2021 app cycle are considered in the past as the current year is 2022. In Application Finder, the batch change program action can be used to move applications in the Advising 2021 app cycle to the Advising 2022 app cycle so that these applications do not appear in the "Past Applications" section.