GradSIS

Reviewing an Application
Application Overview
Evaluate Application
Route Applicant File
Scanning and Uploading Documents

Reviewing an Application

After the Graduate Staff has logged into Grad SIS he/she will be presented with a screen of options. To begin reviewing the applications, select View all Official Applications. It is also possible to view the applications filtered by academic quarter by selecting "View all Official Applications: Winter - 2009."

Only official applications are editable. By selecting "Open Applications" or using the search function to open an application it will open in Read-Only mode and will have only minimal editing options.

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Application Overview

Graduate Staff can view the original application as submitted by the applicant. He/she has the option of viewing it in a summarized format (which can be converted to PDF) or as a detailed HTML page.

View as Form (PDF):

Clicking on the View as Form link displays a formatted summary of the user-submitted application. By clicking on the PDF hyperlink, the Graduate Staff can view this same form in PDF format. To view the PDF, pop up blockers must be turned off.

View Details (HTML Application):

By clicking on the View Details link, the Graduate Staff can view the original application in its entirety as submitted by the student. It is not possible to edit the information or add comments while in this view. In order to edit the fields or add comments, please navigate to the Evaluate Application section.

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Evaluate Application

The overall task of Graduate Staff is to process the application and forward it to the Graduate Advisor or Admissions Committee, depending on deparmental practice. Processing the application involves five general tasks for each application section:

1. Review the information in each section of the application, verifying it against appropriate documents if possible.
2. Make any changes as necessary. For example, if the applicant entered a GPA for her undergraduate institution of 3.7, but her transcripts show her undergraduate GPA as 3.8, this should be amended within the application. The original information entered by the applicant will always remain available for review.
3. Mark each sub-section complete. For example, each test score must be marked complete when verified, and each letter of recommendation must be marked complete when received. Marking each sub-section complete shows the applicant on the Applicant Status Page that this portion of his/her application has been received/processed.
4. Mark Program Review Complete. This indicates to Grad SIS that the review of this section has been completed, and runs any validation on that section (ie., checking to see if transcripts have been marked "Official").
5. Click "Save and Continue". This saves any changes, and returns the Graduate Staff to the main application review screen.

Please note that the Graduate Staff must complete the review of all the application sections, and then may forward the application on to the appropriate party, or may create an admissions recommendation and/or financial offer, depending on departmental practice.

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Sections For Review:

Scholastic Information (Transcript Evaluation)

Initially, the information provided in this section is all self reported. Any errors found in the data can be edited. The data type must be changed from "Self-Reported" to "Unofficial" or "Official" in order for the "Transcript Received and Verified" check box to be successfully checked. Checking this box notifies the applicant that his/her transcript has been received.

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Test Scores

All self-reported scores in these sections must be verified. If the document type is Self-Reported the Graduate Staff will not be able to continue and save this section. Scores are currently verified by staff and advisors and must be marked as "Unofficial". The status "Official" is reserved for scores retrieved electronically from ETS. This feature will be enable in Grad SIS in the future.

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Letters of Recommendation

There must be at least three letters of recommendation submitted for the application. Verify that these three are present. If the letter arrives late, the Graduate Staff can add it using the "Add Another Reference" button. More information about the Letters of Recommendation process can be found here.

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Supplemental Fellowship Information

This area cannot be modified. Graduate Staff can only select Continue. The box will remain crossed out; however the Graduate Staff can still submit the application without it receiving a check mark

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Application Fees

If the applicant has paid using a credit card the payment information will appear on the Application Fee section immediately. If the applicant chooses to pay by check, then the payment information will appear only after the check has been processed by Graduate Division and the applicant has turned in the Graduate Applicant Disclaimer Statement. Under the circumstance that the applicant cannot pay the admission fee there are other options available; either the department can fund the application fee or the applicant can apply for a fee waiver.

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Additional Program Requirements

Sample work, portfolios, and any research information may be uploaded by the applicant into this section.

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Admission Recommendation

Admission recommendations are handled differently depending on the applicant's GPA and GRE scores. This section may be completed by the Graduate Staff or the Graduate Advisor, depending on departmental practice:

If the applicant is above the stated GRE and GPA minimums then the Graduate Staff may recommend admission without a reason.

If the applicant exceeds the minimum GRE and GPA and the Graduate Staff chooses not to recommend the student he/she must provide a reason for denial. It is possible to select more than one reason. The Graduate Staff must also provide justification in the text field below.

If the applicant does not fall within the stated GRE and GPA guidelines, and the Graduate Staff decides to recommend admission, then he/she must state a reason for this recommendation. If the reviewer chooses to recommend the applicant they have the option to change the degree objective if desired. The options available may vary depending on the applicant and the department.

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Financial Support

The Financial Support screen may be completed by either the Graduate Staff or the Graduate Advisor, depending on departmental practice. For more information on Creating a Financial offer, click here.

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Correspondence (Email, Telephone, comments)

If the Graduate Staff wishes to leave his/her contact information (Email, Telephone, etc.) or any comments he/she can use this section to do so. Each time the Graduate Staff hits Continue and Save, it will create a separate entry for each comment. He/she can also return to the comments later and modify or delete the entries. This section will remain crossed out on the main page, but this will not disrupt the processing of the application.

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Attach Documents

Most Grad SIS information is input electronically. However, some documents (ex. transcripts) are still standarly transmitted in paper form and in these instances the Graduate Staff will need to scan and upload the document. Grad SIS supports various document formats and will allow the upload of as many attached documents as necessary. Any document uploaded can be viewed in its original file format or downloaded in PDF format. In order to upload a document the Graduate Staff must click on the "Attach Documents" link in the application review section.

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Routing Comments

Comments entered here will be sent to whomever the application is routed to. Any previous correspondence will be displayed below the comment text box.

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Viewing Options:

View Completed Academic Evaluation (PDF)

Once review of the application is completed, the Graduate Staff can view the completed academic evaluation by clicking on the link provided. This can be viewed as an HTML or downloaded as a PDF.

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View Applicant Status Screen

In order to view the Applicant Status Screen the Graduate Staff must click on the link provided. When applying through the Grad SIS program the user is given access to an Applicant Status Screen that allows them to see which portions of their application have been reviewed and/or submitted. For each section that has finished review the status screen will automatically update and reflect the change.

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View Application Routing History

The routing history tracks the destinations of the application. Along with the date it was sent, the Graduate Staff can see who sent the file as well as what stage it is in.

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Route Applicant File

Once the application has finished review it must be routed to its appropriate destination. Graduate Staff may send it to the Graduate Advisor or the Admissions Committee, depending on departmental practice. If the application is not ready to be routed, it can be held in the current admission pool. The routing history is also available for reference.

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Scanning & Uploading Documents

Most Grad SIS information is input electronically. However, some documents (ex. transcripts) are still standarly transmitted in paper form and in these instances the Graduate Staff will need to scan and upload the document. Grad SIS supports various document formats and will allow the upload of as many attached documents as necessary. Any document uploaded can be viewed in its original file format or downloaded in PDF format. In order to upload a document the Graduate Staff must click on the "Attach Documents" link in the application review section.

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Preliminary Recommendation to Graduate Division

Admission recommendations are handled differently depending on the applicant's GPA and GRE scores. This section may be completed by the Graduate Staff or the Graduate Advisor, depending on departmental practice:

If the applicant is above the stated GRE and GPA minimums then the Graduate Staff may recommend admission without a reason.

If the applicant exceeds the minimum GRE and GPA and the Graduate Staff chooses not to recommend the student he/she must provide a reason for denial. It is possible to select more than one reason. The Graduate Staff must also provide justification in the text field below.

If the applicant does not fall within the stated GRE and GPA guidelines, and the Graduate Staff decides to recommend admission, then he/she must state a reason for this recommendation. If the reviewer chooses to recommend the applicant they have the option to change the degree objective if desired. The options available may vary depending on the applicant and the department

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Creating a Financial Offer

Like all other Application Review screens, the Program Review Complete checkbox is in the upper left corner and must be checked in order to send the file to the Graduate Division.

Some relevant information about the applicant is presented:

• Name
• Application Id
• Degree Objective
• Program
• Term applied to
• Cohort
• Email address

The system will pre-populate at the Applicant's Residency based on earlier input: Resident, Domestic Non-resident or International.  You may override this at anytime.

If the degree objective is Ph.D., the Advancement to Candidacy field is displayed.  This is only relevant for International Applicants.  The default value is retrieved from the Graduate Staff Maintenance screens regarding Program Information.  Choose the term before which the applicant must advance to candidacy.

Several links appear that create pop-up windows containing the following information:

• Applicant Credential Evaluation
• Supplemental Fellowship Information
  • Displays the applicant's Supplemental Fellowship Application
• Fee tables
  • Displays the schedule of fees used in Guideline verification
• TA/GSR Salaries
• Stipend Designations

In the upper right corner there are four buttons:

• Save Without Edit Checks
  • Allows you to save your work, but without running the validation yet.
• Save With Edit Checks
  • Saves the information and executes validation against Financial Support guidelines. A message will appear informing you whether or not any violations against the guidelines occurred. While files may be forwarded to Grad Division in violation of Financial Support guidelines, they cannot be forwarded without having the Financial Support validation run against them.
• Reset Financial Offer Form
  • This will reset the Financial Support screen and return you to the Application Review Menu.
• Return to Application Review Menu
  • Returns to the Application Review Menu without saving any changes

These same buttons appear at the bottom of the screen, under the Financial Support Chart.

Just above the Financial Support chart up to three buttons may appear:

• Enter/View Memo of Justification
  • A memo of justification is required before sending the file to the Graduate Division if Financial Support is given.
• See Student Chart as Proposed
  • A popup window will display the Financial Support Chart that will be sent to the applicant.
• View Exceptions to Financial Offer Guidelines
  • After having clicked "Save With Edit Checks," if there were violations against Financial Support guidelines, this button will appear.  Clicking on it will spawn a popup window that will display the guidelines that were violated.  Clicking on the Exception Code or "(More)" in the explanation will spawn another popup window with the definition of the guideline.

The Financial Support chart is displayed with the Summer Terms and Academic Years as rows and all available support types as columns.  There may be some Support Types that are only available to the Graduate Division (such as Chancellor's Fellowships); those Support Types will not appear to the Graduate Staff or Advisor.  The first few columns will be support allocated by the Graduate Division, followed by the support allocated by the College, followed by support allocated by the Program.

Most support types simply need an amount entered. Do not insert dollar signs or commas into the fields; to view the formatted financial offer, click on the button "See Student Chart as Proposed," mentioned above. After moving from a field, the "Total" field at the end of the row is automatically updated.

On TA/GSR columns, summer rows display only one row of fields and academic years display three rows of fields.  The three rows are to specify fall, winter and spring support, respectively.  First, select "TA" or "GSR" from the pull-down.  Enter the percentage.  The Salary, TA/GSR Benefit and Total fields will update automatically, based on the salary guidelines in the system.

At any time you may click the "Validate" button at the right on any row.  This will perform a "What-If" scenario, validating the row of the button click and the rows above, without saving the chart.  A message will appear informing you whether or not any violations against the guidelines occurred.  The "View Exceptions to Financial Offer Guidelines" will appear if there were violations found.

When you have completed the Financial Support chart, check the "Program Review Complete" checkbox; click the "Program Review Complete" button, then click "Return to Application Review Menu."

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Application Fees

If the applicant has paid using a credit card the payment information will appear on the Application Fee section instantly.

If the applicant chooses to pay by check, then the payment information will appear only after the check has been processed and the applicant has turned in the Graduate Applicant Disclaimer Statement.

Under the circumstance that the applicant cannot pay the admission fee there are other options available. The department may fund the application fee or the applicant can apply for a fee waiver.

Important Note! If an applicant submits their application fee via check or money order along with the Graduate Applicant Disclaimer Statement, the Graduate Division staff MUST indicate that the fee and disclaimer form have been received for the application before the application can be routed to Graduate Division from the departmental Graduate Advisor.

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Grad SIS Search Engine

For quick access and file lookup Grad SIS contains a search engine that allows easy search and retrieval of application files. Please keep in mind that while it is possible to open and view an application, applications opened in this way are still read only. In order to edit an application found using the search engine, please take note of the application ID number from the search record and search for it in the View all Official Applications section in the main menu.

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