The Custom Question and Document Manager allows ISSS offices to create and manage questions and document types that can be easily inserted in multiple stage configurations. Configuring custom questions and documents allows ISSS Admins to use the same items throughout all stage configurations for all visa types in ISSS Student. When configured questions and documents are added to multiple stages, the information provided by students in these fields automatically carries over from stage-to-stage wherever the same items are present.
Important: Please note that ISSS Admins can still create stand-alone questions and document uploads within individual stages if preferred. Additionally, please be aware that if your office chooses to delete any existing questions or document types from your stage configurations and reconfigure them from the newly created Custom Question and Document Manager, you will lose the existing responses or file uploads provided for the deleted items. It is therefore recommended that you plan to make any transitions from existing custom questions/documents to newly-configured questions and document types during a time period where the existing responses are no longer required by your office.
For example, if you are wanting to have the passport copy uploaded by the student in your invited stage appear in later stages, you will need to transition this document upload to the new manager area and deploy to the various individual stages. You should do this at a time that you do not have many students in the invited stage that have uploaded their passport (perhaps after admissions for the fall admission cycle concludes), that way when you delete the old document upload from the invited stage you are not losing any previously submitted responses.
- Introduction to the Custom Question and Document Manager
- Using Custom Questions and Documents in Stage Configurations
Introduction to the Custom Question and Document Manager
To navigate to the Question and Document Manager, click on the menu in the upper left corner. Open Configuration>Configuration Wizard>Question and Document Manager.
The Custom Question and Document Manager page features two tabs at the top: Custom Question Manager on the left and Custom Document Manager on the right.
Custom Question Manager
The Custom Question Manager tab displays all existing custom questions already configured in a list. The questions are organized alphabetically by the first letter in the first word in the question, and the Type and Subtype of question display to the right of the questions themselves. The Action column to the right of the questions gives ISSS Admin the option to edit or delete existing questions. Questions can be searched by keyword/name in the Search bar located at the top of the page.
Creating Custom Questions
To create a new custom question, click the Plus button located in the bottom right corner of the Custom Question Manager. A Custom Questions modal will open, where the ISSS Admin can enter the Question itself and designate the question Type and Subtype. ISSS Admins can also enter instructions for completing the question by clicking the “Show instruction” button located in the bottom left corner of the Custom Questions modal.
If selecting “Show instructions,” an additional text field will appear in which ISSS Admins can enter additional information and instruction for students on completing the question. Adding instructions is optional; if opting not to add instructions, leave the field blank and click “Hide instruction” in the bottom right corner of the modal.
The Question field is free text that should include whatever the question the ISSS Admin desires. The Type of question is selected from the following options:
- Selection - requires selection of a Subtype (Single or Multiple) as well as a Source. “Select from a source” will provide a list of available lookup sources from which students could select a reply. “Create Custom Options” allows the ISSS Admin to create the selection options available to the students.
- Field - requires a Subtype (Text, Numeric, Short Description, Essay) to indicate the type of response students should provide.
- Yes or No - requires selection of one of 3 Subtypes. “No explanation” means simply selecting “Yes” or “No” will provide a response. “With explanation for Yes” means students must provide a typed response if selecting “Yes,” while “with explanation for No” means students must provide a response if selecting “No.”
- Date - students must provide a specific date.
- Check Box - students must check box to respond to question.
Once the Custom Question is configured, click the Save button in the bottom right corner. Once saved, the question will appear in the list of questions in the Custom Question Manager and is ready to deploy to Stage Configurations.
Managing Custom Questions
Before editing existing questions configured in the Custom Question Manager, ISSS Admins must keep in mind that editing the question will update the question content across all stage configurations in which it appears. This is helpful to ISSS Admins who desire to edit the question in all applicable stages as it allows them to update the question in each stage with a single edit. In cases where the intent is for the question to appear one way in one stage but differently in another, however, ISSS Admins may need to configure an additional question or create a standalone question within a stage itself.
To edit an existing question in the Custom Question Manager, click on the Pencil icon located to the right of the desired question.
The Custom Question modal will open and the ISSS Admin can make the necessary changes to the question content. Once satisfied with the edits, click Save. An Edit Warning will appear reminding the ISSS Admin that “Editing existing questions will update the question in all stage configurations to which it is associated.” Click “Okay” to proceed with the edit; click “Cancel” if not ready to complete the update.
To remove an existing question from the Custom Question Manager, click the Garbage Can icon to the right of the question. A Delete Warning will appear alerting the ISSS Admin that “Deleting this question from the manager will prevent it from being available to add to stage configurations. Deleting will not remove any existing question responses nor will it remove the question from existing stage configurations. Please remove/hide the question from any existing stage configuration to which you no longer want it to appear.”
Note: as noted in the Delete Warning, deleting a question in the Custom Question Manager will prevent it from being available to add to stage configurations moving forward. It does not, however, delete the question from stage configurations in which it was previously added nor remove question responses. ISSS Admins must manually remove or hide the question from the stage configuration(s) directly to stop it from appearing moving forward.
Once a custom question has been deleted, it will be removed from the Active List that displays by default on the Custom Question Manager page. ISSS Admins can view deleted questions by changing the Status at the top of the page to Archived List.
The Archived List, like the Active List, displays a list of deleted questions that includes the question itself, the type, and subtype. Via the Actions column, ISSS Admins have the option to restore the deleted question. To restore a question, click the icon located in the Actions column. A Restore Warning will appear, confirming that reactivating the question will make it available to add to stage configurations again. Once restored, the question will once again appear in the Active List in the Custom Question Manager.
Note: per the Restore Warning, reactivating a question will not add it to any existing stage configurations but will reconnect it to any stage configurations in which the question was not previously removed.
Custom Document Manager
The Custom Document Manager tab displays all existing document types already configured in a list. The documents are organized alphabetically by the first letter in the first word of the Document Type, and the Description of the file type displays to the right of the document types themselves. The Action column to the right of the questions gives ISSS Admin the option to edit or delete existing documents. Document types can be searched by keyword/name in the Search bar located at the top of the page.
Creating Custom Documents
To create a new custom document type, click the Plus button located in the bottom right corner of the Custom Document Manager. A Custom Document modal will open, where the ISSS Admin can enter or select the Document Type itself and provide a Description of the document. The ISSS Admin can also provide Request Instructions to give more detail as to what students should be uploading for this document type.
ISSS Admins can select from a list of potential document types or enter a unique document type name in the Document Type field. When selecting an established document type from the dropdown list (such as Passport ID page, I-94 Record), the Description field will auto populate with a description of the document type. ISSS Admins can edit this description if desired. If entering a unique document type name, ISSS Admins will provide their own description in the Description field.
The Request Instructions field is not required for completing the document type configuration, but gives ISSS Admins the opportunity to write more detailed instructions for what documents students are expected to upload.
Once the Custom Document is configured, click the Save button in the bottom right corner. Once saved, the document type will appear in the list of documents in the Custom Document Manager and is ready to deploy to Stage Configurations.
Note: to avoid creating duplicate custom document configurations, each document type can only be created once in the Custom Document Manager. If attempting to create a document type that has already been configured, an error message will appear indicating that a document with the same name already exists in the configuration and it will not be possible to save the duplicate document type.
Managing Custom Documents
Before editing existing document types configured in the Custom Document Manager, ISSS Admins must keep in mind that editing the document will update the document type content across all stage configurations in which it appears.
To edit an existing document type in the Custom Document Manager, click on the Pencil icon located to the right of the desired document. The Custom Document modal will open and the ISSS Admin can make the necessary changes to the document content. Once satisfied with the edits, click Save. An Edit Warning will appear reminding the ISSS Admin that “Editing existing documents will update the document in all stage configurations to which it is associated.” Click “Okay” to proceed with the edit; click “Cancel” if not ready to complete the update.
To remove an existing document from the Custom Document Manager, click the Trashcan icon to the right of the document. A Delete Warning will appear alerting the ISSS Admin that “Deleting this document from the manager will prevent it from being available to add to stage configurations. Deleting will not remove any existing uploaded documents nor will it remove the document from existing stage configurations. Please remove/hide the document from any existing stage configuration to which you no longer want it to appear.”
Note: as noted in the Delete Warning, deleting a document in the Custom Document Manager will prevent it from being available to add to stage configurations moving forward. It does not, however, delete the document from stage configurations in which it was previously added nor remove uploaded files. ISSS Admins must manually remove or hide the document from the stage configuration(s) directly to stop it from appearing moving forward.
Once a custom document type has been deleted, it will be removed from the Active List that displays by default on the Custom Document Manager page. ISSS Admins can view deleted documents by changing the Status at the top of the page to Archived List.
The Archived List, like the Active List, displays a list of deleted document types that includes the document type and the description. Via the Actions column, ISSS Admins have the option to restore a deleted document. To restore a document, click the icon located in the Actions column. A Restore Warning will appear, confirming that reactivating the document type will make it available to add to stage configurations again. Once restored, the question will once again appear in the Active List in the Custom Document Manager.
Note: per the Restore Warning, reactivating a document will not add it to any existing stage configurations but will reconnect it to any stage configurations in which the document was not previously removed.
Using Custom Questions and Documents in Stage Configurations
Once ISSS Admins have created items in the Custom Question and Document Manager, they can begin inserting them to their various stage configurations. Configured questions and document types can be applied to as many stage configurations as desired. They are also not restricted by visa type, meaning that the same configured custom questions and documents can be used in stage configurations for F-1 students, J-1 students, and any other configured visa types in ISSS Student. The ability to easily insert the same question and document type throughout various stages for multiple visa types reduces duplicative work for ISSS Admins when creating and editing stage configurations.
When the same configured custom questions and documents are present in multiple stage configurations, the information provided by students in response to these items will automatically carry over from stage-to-stage wherever the configured item is present. Thus, students are not required to resubmit the same documents and information multiple times and the data is preserved in the applicable stages.
Adding Custom Questions and Documents
To add a custom question and/or document to a stage configuration, first go to Menu > Configuration > Configuration Wizard and select the desired stage.
Once on the stage configuration dashboard, click on the tabs for F-1 Student, J-1 Student, or Other Visas to view the existing configurations for each. Click to open the desired configuration, or click Create Configuration if opting to create a brand new stage configuration entirely.
Once in the desired stage configuration, locate the section where the custom question or document will be added. Click the Configure button in the bottom right hand corner of the information block where the custom item will be inserted.
The Custom Questions modal will open, containing any existing custom questions and documents already present in the information block. Click the Plus icon in the bottom right corner, which will prompt a selection of File Upload or Question. To add a custom question, select Question. To add a document type, select File Upload.
A blank question or file upload will appear. To apply an existing questions/document type, check the box next to “Use Existing?” in the upper left corner of the blank question/file upload. A Search bar will appear at the top. A link to the Custom Question and Document Manager appears under the Search bar. Clicking this link will open the Custom Question and Document manager dashboard in a separate tab for the ISSS Admin to view and manage existing questions/documents, as well as create new ones.
Note: it is still possible to add stand-alone questions/document types not configured in the Custom Question and Document Manager to stage configurations. To do so, simply leave the “Use Existing?” box unchecked and enter the desired content.
Clicking into the Search bar without typing anything will produce a dropdown list of all the Custom Questions or Custom Documents configured in the Custom Question and Document Manager. ISSS Admins can scroll through the list and select the question/document type they wish to insert. ISSS Admins can also type keywords from the custom question/document type they are looking to insert. Any questions/documents that contain those keywords will appear for the ISSS Admin to select.
Once the custom question/document is selected, the remaining fields will automatically populate with the information configured in the Custom Question and Document Manager. ISSS Admins can Hide the items from students or mark them as Required. Once finished with adding custom questions and documents, click the Submit button in the bottom right corner, then Save the stage configuration.
Managing Custom Questions and Documents in Stage Configurations
When using items configured in the Custom Question and Document Manager throughout stage configurations, ISSS Admins need to keep a few things in mind.
First, the content of custom questions/document types configured in the Custom Question and Document Manager cannot be edited from within a stage configuration. Attempting to edit one of these questions/documents from within a stage configuration will result in a reminder that questions added from the management area can only be edited from the management page, and no edits will be made.
Second, should an ISSS Admin edit a question/document type from the Custom Question and Document Manager, the question/document will automatically be updated in every stage configuration where it is present.
Lastly, ISSS Admins must remember that deleting a question/document from the Custom Question and Document manager moves it to the Archived List and prevents it from appearing as an option to add to stage configurations moving forward. It does not, however, delete the question/document type from any stage configurations in which it was previously added. To remove the question/document from a stage configuration, an ISSS Admin must delete or hide the question/document directly within the stage configuration(s).