Overview

When creating workflow assignments and designating notification recipients in Terra Dotta Study Abroad with features such as Application Triggers and Reviewers Management, administrators can take action using the roles defined with program contacts. This option eliminates the upkeep involved in using specific individuals for these actions each and every time a workflow runs or a notification is sent.

Program Contacts is an interface which provides administrators with a centralized location from which to oversee a site's program contacts.

This article discusses the following topics related to the Program Contact Management feature located in the Admin Console:

• Important Considerations
• Access and Permissions
• Understanding Program Contact Management
• Navigating Programs
• Batch Actions: Programs
• Navigating Contacts
• Batch Actions: Contacts
• Frequently Asked Questions

 

Important Considerations

• Creating a user via Program Contacts does not add that individual to any staff permission groups. All permissions-based configurations should continue to be performed from the Staff > Staff Permissions menu. This menu can be accessed from the Admin Console by selecting "Navigation" from the search bar in the Navigation Menu, entering "Permissions", and clicking on the "Staff > Staff Permissions" option.
• Creating a user via Program Contacts does not generate an account creation notification to the user. 
• There is no address validation that occurs in Program Contact Management at this time.
• The User ID of the individual assigned to a program contact role must match the User ID which that person subsequently uses when logging into your site to take action on a review. See question six in the Frequently Asked Questions section of this article for more details.  
• When using Program Contacts, eight hard-coded program contact roles are available as options. If you would like to create a custom role, then select "Other" and manually enter the name of the custom role in the "Type Role" field that follows. This is a required step. Custom roles should be entered consistently when used in the various program contact interfaces across your site. Failure to enter the custom "Other" role type consistently will likely result in notifications not being sent as expected. 
  • Example: If you need to create a custom program contact role of "Assistant Director", then select "Other" and enter "Assistant Director" into the subsequent field. The custom role of "Assistant Director" must be entered consistently across your site when used going forward. "ASST Director", "assistant director", and "Assistant Dir." are not the same custom role as "Assistant Director".

 

Access and Permissions

The Program Contact Management interface can be accessed as follows:

1) From the Admin Console, navigate to the "Programs" menu.

Note that this menu only appears to users who have any of the following permissions:

• Program Admin: Program Searching and Listing
• Program Admin: Program Wizard

2) Click on "Program Contacts".

Any admin user is able to access the Admin Console. However, only users with any of the following permissions will be able to access the "Program Contacts" link:

• Program Admin: Program Wizard
• Program Admin: Program Builder Contacts

 

Understanding Program Contact Management

Program Contact Management is a centralized location from which admins can create, view, update, and notify their program contacts.

The interface consists of two main tabs: "Programs" and "Contacts". Both tabs use state save and server-side paging. See the Terra Dotta Glossary N to Z article for details on these features.

Program Contact Roles

There are eight hard-coded program contact roles for use in the system that cannot be modified:

• Program Director
• On-Site Contact
• Group Leader
• Advisor
• Emergency Contact
• Housing Contact
• Exchange Partner Contact
• Faculty Leader

The option of "Other" is available if you would like to customize your own contact role. After selecting "Other" as the contact role, a field for "Other Role" will appear in which you'll need to enter the name of the desired contact role. 

Important Note: The option to filter on the contact role of "Other" is available in the "Contacts" tab. Because this role provides admins with the option to enter a custom role name, it's important that the custom name always be entered in the same way across the site. This includes the "Other Contact Role" filter. Otherwise, a search on a custom role that's been used in different iterations or is not entered correctly will return inaccurate results.

• Example: Susie has been assigned the custom contact role of "Judicial Affairs Officer". When filtering on Contact Roles > Other, the admin enters "Judicial Affairs" in the "Other Contact Role" field. After applying the filters, no results are returned. The admin must enter "Judicial Affairs Officer" in the "Other Contact Role" field in order for the expected results to be returned.

Assigning Contacts to Roles & Programs

A user becomes a program contact by being assigned to a contact role for a program. The user can already exist in the system or be manually created by the admin during the contact creation process.

The following principles are true:

1) A contact can hold different contact roles for the same program.

• Example: Samuel Gomide is both the Advisor and Program Director for the Study in Brazil program.

2) A contact can hold the same contact role for different programs.

• Example: Samuel Gomide is the Advisor for all programs in the program group "Summer Programs".

3) A contact cannot hold the same role within the same program.

• Example: Samuel Gomide cannot be listed more than once as the Advisor for the Study in Brazil program.
• If an attempt is made by the admin to add/batch add a contact to a program in a role for which the user already exists, then no update for that contact will occur. If the contact information for the user needs to be updated, then the edit action should be used in the "Contacts" tab.

4) Two different contacts can hold the same role for the same program.

• Example: Janet Sy and Julie Sinclair are both in the role of Exchange Partner Contact for my University of Toronto program.

History Log

The following actions performed in Program Contacts are logged in a program's history log as follows:

• Programs: Batch Add Contact.
• Programs: Updates made via Actions Column > Add User to Program Contact.
• Programs: Updates made via Expand Quick View > Edit Contact Configurations. 
• Contacts: Batch Delete Contacts (logged as "Removed Contact").
• Contacts: Updates made via Actions Column > Delete Program Contact.
• Contacts: Batch Edit Contact Info (logged as "Update Contact Info and/or Phone Number").
• Contacts: Updates made via Actions Column > Edit Program Contact.
• Contacts: Batch Replace Contact. 
• Contacts: Batch Edit Role.

The following actions are not logged in a program's history log:

• Contacts: Batch Send Email. 

 

Navigating Programs

The "Programs" tab includes a central search field which supports keyword and quoted searches. For additional information on search functionality, see the Conducting Searches in the Admin Console Knowledgebase (KB) article.

Filters

To the right of the search field, a triangle "Filter Results" icon opens up a panel from which you can apply filters in addition to "Program Name" to refine your search results.

These filters includes:

• Countries
• Program Groups
• Program Parameters
• Program Types
• Regions

Information on the "Programs" tab is organized into columns (from left to right) as follows:

• Batch-Action Checkbox: Select one or multiple programs on which you'd like to take action. A single click on the top checkbox will auto-select all programs on the current page. When at least one checkbox is marked, a "Batch" drop-down menu will appear above the checkbox column. 
• Program Name
• Program Group
• Program Type
• Locations: This column populates with a program location, if available (i.e. itinerary dates have been entered). When three or more locations exist, this field displays a message of "Multiple Locations".
• Actions: Two widgets appear in this column to give you action-based options. These include "Expand Quick View" and "Add User to Program Contact".

Expand Quick View

Clicking on this "v" widget opens up a broad view of the contacts assigned to the program without having to navigate to the "Details" tab of the program in Program Wizard. From the expanded view, an admin user can view each program contact and the role to which they are assigned. The program contact cards are listed alphabetically from A to Z by contact last name. If a program does not currently have any contacts, then a message of "No Program Contacts Exist" when the row is expanded.

When multiple rows of information are expanded, consider using "CTRL" + "F" to easily search for desired information across the page.

Add User to Program Contact

From the "Actions" column, an admin is able to create a new contact for a program with these steps:

1) Click on the "Add User to Program Contact" icon.  A "Contact Configuration" modal will open.

2) Enter in an applicant name or email address in the "Search by Keyword" field. This step is used to identify whether or not the user already exists in the system.

• If a user profile is located, a row will populate with their ID, user type (internal or external), name, and email address. You should select the applicable row. Next, use the modal's scroll bar to navigate to the bottom of the configuration page. A series of configuration fields related to the contact role will appear. Note that the field for "Program Contact Notes" will appear below the address section.

• If a user profile is not located, click the option at the bottom of the configuration list next to "Manually Create New User".

3) Complete the configuration fields.

Contact Role Information:

• Contact Role
  • This is a required field.
  • Use the drop-down menu to select the desired role. If "Other" is selected, then you must populate the "Other Role" field.
• First Name
  • This is a required field.
• Middle Name
• Last Name
  • This is a required field.
• Email Address
  • This is a required field.
• Institution
• Username
  • If the user is manually added, then the email address will be bused to populate the username field.
• Type
  • This field will indicate if the user type is internal or external.
  • If the user is manually added, then the type will be external.
  • If the user is selected from the search results, then the type will be based on what was returned by the search.

Important Note: The fields for First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Email, Username, and Type will be populated and not editable if this is an existing user. 

Program Information:

• The selected program(s) to which the contact will be added will appear here.

Address Information:

• Address Line 1
• Address Line 2
• City
• State
• Province
• Postal Code
• Country
• Phone

Program Contact Notes:

• Additional information about the contact can be added here. 
• The system does not log any of the activity related to these notes.
• Program contact notes cannot be updated in batch.
• A maximum character limit of 4,000 is used.

4) Click "Save" to preserve your changes and add your contact to the program.

 

Batch Actions: Programs

An admin is able to apply a single action to multiple programs using the "Batch" action column in the "Programs" tab. After applying the desired filters to generate your list of programs, click into the top box next to "Program Name" to prompt the "Batch" menu to appear. 

• Batch Add Contact

Assign a contact to multiple programs at the same time using the "Add Contact" batch action with these steps:

1) From the "Batch" menu, select "Add Contact".

2) Follow steps 2-4 from the "Navigating Programs: Add User to Program Contact" section of this article.

 

Navigating Contacts

The "Contacts" tab includes a central search field which supports keyword and quoted searches. For details, see the Conducting Searches in the Admin Console Knowledgebase (KB) article.

Filters

To the right of the search field, a triangle "Filter Results" icon opens up a panel from which you can apply filters in addition to "Contact Name" to refine your search results.

These filters includes:

• Contact Roles
• Countries
• Program Groups
• Program Parameters
• Program Types
• Regions

Information on the "Contacts" tab is organized into columns (from left to right) as follows:

• Batch-Action Checkbox: Select one or multiple programs on which you'd like to take action. A single click on the top checkbox will auto-select all programs on the current page. When at least one checkbox is marked, a "Batch" drop-down menu will appear above the checkbox column. 
• Contact Name
• Program Name
• Role
• Program Group
• Actions: Two widgets appear in this column to give you action-based options. These include "Edit Program Contact" and "Delete Program Contact".

Edit Program Contact

Click the edit pencil on any row to make edits to that program contact. A "Contact Configuration" modal will appear from which you can make and submit your changes. 

Delete Program Contact

Click the trash icon on any row to permanently remove a program contact. This action cannot be undone, and the admin will be prompted with this reminder before they can click "Delete Contact".

 

Batch Actions: Contacts

An admin is able to apply a single action to multiple contacts using the "Batch" action column in the "Contacts" tab. After applying the desired filters to generate your list of contacts, click into the top box next to "Contact Name" to prompt the "Batch" menu to appear. 

• Batch Delete Contacts

Permanently remove multiple program contacts at once. This action cannot be undone, and the admin will be prompted with this reminder before they can click "Delete Contact".

• Batch Edit Contact Info

Use this option to make updates to the address and phone of multiple contacts.

Important Note:

• Edits made here will override any previous contact information entered. 
• It is not possible to batch edit program contact notes.
  
  
• Batch Edit Role

Use this option to move one or more contacts from their current program contact role to a new one. A "Contact Roles" drop-down menu will appear from which you can select the new role to assign to the contacts. This option can also be used to edit the custom name of an "Other" role.

• Batch Replace Contact

Use this option to remove a contact from their current program contact role and replace them with another contact. A "Contact Configuration" modal allows you to search for a contact to confirm if they are existing or not in the system. Select an existing user or manually create a new one. Click "Submit" to apply the change.

• Batch Send Email

Use this option to send communication to multiple contacts at once. 

Important Note:

• All contacts selected will appear to the admin in the "To" field of the "Send Email" modal. However, the contacts will not see all recipients. 
• Program parameter merge fields are not available in the Program Contacts Batch Send Email WYSIWYG editor at this time.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can my program contacts only be managed from the Program Contact Management interface?

Program Contact Management gives admins a dedicated space from which to create, update, and view all program contacts in their site. However, admins can continue to manage their program contacts via the "Details" tab of desired programs in Program Wizard. 

2. Do I have to have the Applicant Experience enabled on my site in order to use Program Contact Management?

No. It is recommended but not required that you first enable the Applicant Experience before using Program Contact Management.

3. What happens if I attempt to add an existing user to a contact role that they already hold for a program?

No changes will be made to the existing program contact.

Example: Eric East has been assigned to the program contact role of "Advisor" for the Study in Brazil program. An admin then attempts to add Eric East again to the Study in Brazil program in the contact role of "Advisor". The system will allow the admin to attempt this action. However, no changes will be made to the existing "Advisor" program contact role for Eric East for the Study in Brazil program.  

If changes need to be made to an existing program contact role, then an edit action should be used instead.

4. Is it possible to batch update program contact notes for multiple contacts at once?

Not at this time. Program contact notes can be updated by editing an individual program contact.

5. I've created a new user as a program contact and need them to log into the site. How can they obtain login credentials if an account creation email was not sent to them?

To access the site, the program contact can select the option to reset their password from the login modal, or an admin with permissions can select the "Reset Email" option from Maintenance > Edit User.

6. When my reviewer attempts to log into our site and take action on a review, they receive a system message indicating that states "privileges to the area you are attempting to access have not been granted to you". However, there are not assigned DAOs, and the individual has been correctly set up in my system as a program contact assigned to a reviewer role. What is causing this message to appear?

This message might appear if the reviewer has two profiles in the system, one of which was used to create their program contact role, the other of which is being used by them to log into your site. When searching for an existing user in the system to add as a program contact, a column lists user IDs. If someone has two user IDs, this is because they have two different profiles on your site. You must make sure that the user ID associated with the program contact you create is the same user ID that the individual uses when logging into your site to take action on a review that's been assigned to their program contact role.