The Admin Console: Application Finder

Overview

The Application Finder increases the ease and speed by which admin users can locate the applications they need and promptly take action. Essential functions, such as filtering, viewing, batch applying actions to applications, and running a progress audit are performed directly from this enhanced application search results page.

The Application Finder is a feature of the Admin Console.

This article discusses the following topics related to Application Finder:

• Access & Permissions
• Understanding Application Finder
• Navigating the Search Listing
• Applying Batch Actions
• The Progress Audit
• Application Viewing Options
• Dynamic Columns
• Using & Managing Filters
• Editing Saved Filters
• Saved Queries Translation Tool
• Creating a New Application
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Video Instruction

Important Considerations

Keep the following information when using Application Finder:

• The Progress Audit feature in Application Finder is designed for use with rules-based app cycles only and should not be used with applications in process map-based app cycles. 
• Copied questionnaire responses from classic are not recognized in the Application Finder's Progress Audit at this time. 
• The "Requirements Edit" batch action is designed for use with applications in rules-based app cycles only.
• The logic used between two different filter items is "And" logic so that when X filter and Y filter are both applied, both filter conditions are true for the applications displayed in the search results. When multiple value options are selected for one filter item, such as an applicant parameter, then "Or" logic is used between these values. 
• A "complete" flag indicator appears on applications in the Progress Audit. This flag is set for an application by the Reminders scheduled task that is executed daily. When it runs, the task checks active applications to see if the required process elements, including recommendations, have been completed for the current phase of the application. Applications completed on the current date will not display a date in the "Application Completed" column until the following morning after the Reminders task has finished running. At this time, the "Complete" label will appear for the application in the Progress Audit. Offices can also apply the "Application Completed" dynamic column option in Application Finder which displays the date on which the application's "complete" flag was applied. 
• It is not possible to create or designate an application as non-processed in the Application Finder.

Understanding Application Finder

With Application Finder, one or more search filters can be applied to return a listing of applications that meet the defined search criteria. The most commonly used filters are displayed in the main "Filter Results" modal, and clicking on the "+" icon opens up a series of advanced search filters.

For certain filters, such as "Requirements Completed" and "Requirements Incomplete", the results returned will be different depending on whether or not the application is associated with an app cycle that uses deployment rules or process maps.

As an example, imagine that you've applied a search filter in Application Finder such as the following: Requirements Incomplete > Signature Documents > Confirmation of Understanding

The results returned will be as follows:

• For rules-based app cycles: "Incomplete" only returns applications where the process element is both incomplete and a requirement of the program application in that app cycle.
• For process map-based app cycles: "Incomplete" means that the process element has not been received in the application regardless of whether or not that process element was assigned to the program application.

See the Frequently Asked Questions section of this article for related details.

Access & Permissions

Application Finder can be accessed as follows:

1) From the Admin Console, navigate to the "Applications" menu.
2) Click on "Application Finder". 

Any admin user is able to access the Admin Console. However, only users with the following permissions will be able to view the "Applications" card in the Admin Console and access the "Application Finder" link to search for applications:

• Applicant Admin: Applicant Search (simple)
• Applicant Admin: Applicant Search (advanced)

In order to perform a batch or individual status change, the following permission is needed:

• Applicant Admin: Application Admin: Batch Application Status Changes

In order to add and delete application comments, the following permission is needed:

• Applicant Admin: Application Admin: Comments (Add)**

**Again, this permission grants both the ability to add application comments and delete them.  

Important Note: See the Admin Console for Terra Dotta Study Abroad article for information on DAOs (data access objects).

Navigating the Search Listing  

The Application Finder's main search results page includes a central search field which supports the following type of searches:

• Phrase-Based Searches. For details on this functionality, see the Conducting Searches in the Admin Console KB article. 

To the right of the search field, the following icons offer additional tools:

• The triangle "Filter Results" icon opens up a panel from which you can apply filters to refine your search results.
• The "Filter Organizer" icon navigates you to the Search Filter Organizer page from which an admin sees a listing of all their saved filters. After locating a saved filter for use, the admin can click on the ">" icon under the "Actions" column to apply the filter and open the search results in a new tab.
• The "My Applications Only" filter displays only those applications assigned to you based on an application trigger.

See the "Using and Managing Filters" section of this article for more details related to these options.

Information on the main Application Finder page is organized into columns (from left to right) as follows:

• Batch-Action Checkbox: Select one or multiple applications on which you'd like to take action. A single click on the top checkbox will auto-select all applications on the current page. When at least one checkbox is marked, a "Batch" drop-down menu will appear above the checkbox column. For detailed information on batch actions in the Application Finder, see the Applying Batch Actions section of this article.
• Applicant Name: The full name of the applicant appears here.
• Status: This is the current status of the application.
• Program: This is the program for which the applicant has applied.
• App Cycle: This consists of the term and year for the program.
• Location: 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: Three widgets appear in this column to give you options related to how an application can be viewed. This is discussed in more detail in this article's Application Viewing Options section.

By default, names are listed from A to Z but can be sorted to display from Z to A.

The columns for "Applicant Name", "Status", and "Program", and "App Cycle" can be sorted by hovering your mouse over these column headers and clicking on the arrow icon that appears.

Applying Batch-Action Options

If the main batch-action checkbox is marked, all applications on the current page are selected by default. The admin has the flexibility to then select to whom they do or do not want a batch action to be applied before proceeding with applying the desired batch action.

An admin is also able to mark the batch-action checkbox on an individual basis if they do not want to select every application on the page first. 

Select one of the following batch actions to perform directly from the Application Finder's search results page:

Add/Remove Tag 

• The batch actions to add and/or remove an application tag have been combined into one menu option.
• You can choose to add one tag only, remove one tag only, or perform both actions at the same time. 
• It is not possible to batch add more than one tag or batch remove more than one tag at a time.
• These batch actions are recorded in the application's activity log. 

Attach File

• Drag and drop a file from your hard drive to upload and attach it to one or more applications. 
• Designate the document type, as applicable.
• Mark the file for "internal-use only" if desired.
• Choose whether or not to send an email notification to the applicant(s). 

Comment 

• Leave a comment and click "Update" to apply the comment to multiple applications at once. 
• The Application Admin: Comment (Add) permission is needed to perform this action.

Info Edit 

• Select an applicant parameter (from those currently available on your site under Settings > Applicant Parameters) and the applicable value to batch apply to applications.
• If desired, choose the option to apply a null or "no value" to the selected applicant parameter. 

Change Program

• Change an existing application from one program/app cycle to another program/app cycle.
• Changes can be made across app cycle types (i.e. from process maps to Deployment Rules).
• Any completed requirements from the original application will continue to appear on the new application.
• Incomplete requirements from the original application will not appear on the new application unless they are required as part of the new application.
• The option to send an email notification to applicants is available. 

Refresh Requirements

• Use this batch action when you've made a change that needs to be reflected in your applications in app cycles which use Deployment Rules. 
• The batch refresh action flags the selected applications in rules-based app cycles as needing to be "refreshed", or updated. The action does not immediately refresh all of the applications. The refresh action will occur when one of the following actions subsequently takes place (whichever happens first): an admin views the application in full from Application Admin Manager, the applicant views the application from their application page, or the Application Requirements task runs.
• Important Note: If you batch refreshed a group of applications and then immediately ran a report, the updated requirements would not appear unless the Application Requirements task had run or an admin had viewed all of the applications in the batch in Application Admin Manager or the applicants had viewed all of their respective application pages. 

Example:

An admin needs to deploy a new signature document to all outgoing programs in the Summer Study program group for the Summer 2022 app cycle, so the admin adds the signature document as a requirement to an active deployment rule. Next, the respective program group and app cycle filters are applied in Application Finder, and the list of applications to update are generated. The Batch Refresh Requirements action is performed, and the applications are all flagged as needing to be refreshed. The next time an applicant views their application, the admin views the application, or the application requirements task runs - whichever occurs first, the signature document will appear on the application.

Requirement Edit 

Important Note: This batch action option is only available for use with applications in rules-based app cycles. 

• Take action on a requirement for multiple applications at once. 
• When materials and signature documents are marked as "Received", admins must opt-in to sending a notification of receipt email to applicants.
• A confirmation message is displayed after the batch action is performed, giving admins a list of what applications were updated or not, and why. The content in this message is temporarily displayed and is not recorded in the system. However, each application's activity log records when a requirement edit action has been successfully performed.
• If a questionnaire containing submitted responses is subsequently marked as "N/A", then these responses will be removed from the questionnaire and cannot be retrieved. Offices should keep this in mind when making updates to these application requirements. 

Perform the batch requirement edit action using these steps:

1) Select a requirement type.

Choose from Material, Signature Document, Learning Content, Questionnaire, and Assessment.

2) Select a requirement.

This menu is populated based on the requirement type selected in step one. For example, if you chose the requirement type of "Questionnaire", then this menu will display a list of all questionnaires on your site. A keyword search field is provided.

3) Select an action.

The list of actions displayed will vary from one requirement type to another as follows:

Material

• Mark as Received
• Mark as N/A
• Mark as Unreceived

Signature Document

• Mark as Received
• Mark as N/A
• Mark as Unreceived

Learning Content

• Mark as Read
• Mark as N/A
• Mark as Unread

Questionnaire

• Mark as N/A:
  • This action marks the questionnaire as "not applicable" for the application. The progress wheel is updated to reflect this change.
  • If a questionnaire has been marked as "N/A", the system views this as an action taken on this requirement. Therefore, a questionnaire marked as "N/A" would remain on the application if the application were to no longer meet the conditions of the rule which originally deployed the questionnaire.
• Mark as Unreceived:
  • Use this option when an applicant needs to correct something on a previously submitted questionnaire. The applicant should take action and click "Done" to re-submit the questionnaire.
• Erase Responses:
  • This action unreceives and completely resets a submitted questionnaire.  
  • If the responses of a submitted questionnaire are erased, then the newest version of that questionnaire will be deployed if the application continues to meet the conditions of the rule which originally deployed that questionnaire.
  • If the responses of a submitted questionnaire are erased - and the application no longer meets the conditions of the rule which originally deployed that questionnaire, then that questionnaire will be removed from the application the next time that application is refreshed and viewed. 
  • A questionnaire must be submitted in order to erase its responses.

Assessment

• Mark as N/A 

Review Status 

• Change the review status for one or more applications at a time to "Ready for Review".

Send Email 

• Create and send a custom message to applicants. We recommend that you read the Using the WYSIWYG Editor article for full details on options when sending emails.
• Using the drop-down menu in the "From" field, choose to send the email from the admin (i.e. the logged-in user), Contact 1 Email, or Contact 2 Email. Contact 1/2 email addresses are configured under Settings > Account Info.
• The admin sees all of the selected applicants listed in the "To" line of the email configuration modal. However, applicants only see their respective name in the "To" line of the email received. 
• A confirmation report is sent via email to the "From" email address which confirms that an email was sent to each recipient. This is a report and is not a carbon copy of the email sent to the recipients. 
• The Image Library is accessible from email notification editors.

• Merge fields are available, including the option to insert a hyperlink to an application. The link text displayed in the email to recipients will appear as "Go to application".

  • Select the "App Admin Page Link" merge field for admin access to an application. 

  • Select the "Application Page Link" merge field for applicant access to an application. 

Status Change 

• Update the status of one or multiple applications and notify students via email. 
• The "notify student" checkbox is unmarked by default. This means that a status change email will not be sent unless the admin takes action and marks the checkbox. Note the following actions related to this feature:

If you change the status of an application (either via batch action or from the application page) in the Admin Console and check the box to send a notification - and the decision date is the current date or in the past, then the status change email will be sent immediately to the applicant and logged in the application's email log.

If you change the status of an application (either via batch action or from the application page) in the Admin Console and check the box to send a notification - and the decision date is in the future, then the status change email will not be sent until the decision date is reached. This email, once sent, will be logged in the application's email log.

If you change the status of an application (either via batch action or from the application page) in the Admin Console and do not check the box to send a notification, then a status change email will never be sent.

Waive Deadline

• Extend, or "waive", the deadline for multiple applications at once.
• Use the calendar icon to select a new deadline, which must be after the application's current deadline.

Workflow

• Select your workflow and click "Update". This task is now created on the selected applications. 

Progress Audit 

• Select your desired phase. Then open the progress audit to select requirements and run a report.
• Check the "Recommendations" box to include them in your audit report.
• Print your audit report or export it as needed.
• Important Note: This progress audit only supports applications in rules-based app cycles. Results will not be returned for any applications in process map-based app cycles. See the "Progress Audit" section of this article for more details. 

Apply to Full Search Results

If your search results yield 500 applications or less, then an "Apply to Full Search Results" option will populate next to the batch-action column when the "Batch Action" checkbox is marked. By marking the "Apply to Full Search Results" box first, you are able to then apply your batch action to the full search results (e.g. maximum of 500 applications) and not just to those applications appearing on your current results page. 

Important Note: You must select to apply the action to your full search results before proceeding with performing your batch action.

Example: I have my paginated search results set to display a maximum of 100 applications per page. I apply my search filters which returns 400 applications. I want to batch apply a tag of "Earned Academic Credit" to all 400 applications without having to perform the action four times. When I click on my "Batch Action" checkbox, this triggers the appearance of the "Apply to Full Search Results" checkbox. I click this option to enable it and proceed with batch-applying my tag to all 400 applications at once.

The Progress Audit

The Application Finder's Progress Audit is a report that can be executed on the results of an application search to view the status of requirements assigned to those applications by phase.

Important Note: Before using the Application Finder's Progress Audit, consider the following:

• This audit tool is only available for use on sites with the Applicant Experience enabled and with app cycles using Deployment Rules. This means that a report generated from the Application Finder's Progress Audit will only generate results for applications in rules-based app cycles.
• If your office has applications in process map-based app cycles, then you must use the classic progress audit tool (which does not support applications in rules-based app cycles).
• At this time, the following options are not available in the Application Finder's Progress Audit:
  • Process element due dates
  • Reviews

The Progress Audit is accessible from the menu of batch-action options in Application Finder.

After selecting the desired phase for which to run the audit, an admin is presented with a series of options for use when the audit is performed.

These options include:

• The option to "Select All" or "Deselect All" with each requirement (i.e. process element) menu.
  • The "Materials" menu divides requirements into three sections: Materials, Signature Documents, and Payments.
  • If a requirement menu, such as "Assessments", is not listed, it is because none of the applications selected contain that type of requirement.
• A checkbox used to include recommendations in the audit results. These results display a count, such as 1/1, of the number of recommendations received (i.e. completed by the recommender) out of the total number of recommendations required. 

After making your selection, click "Report" to run the audit report. Results are generated immediately in a report which organizes information in columns as follows:

• Applicant Name
  • Clicking into the hyperlinked applicant name will open their application in a new tab.
• Program Name
• App Cycle 
• Status of Application 

It is possible to sort each column using the "arrow" icon.

These additional options are available:

• An "Export to Excel" button to generate a report.
• A "Print" button that opens a preview in a new tab.
• A "Batch" menu from which several actions can be performed in batch for one or more applications.

Progress Audit Display

The audit report output displays as follows:

• Checkboxes for requirements that have not been completed will display as blank/unpopulated.
  • Assessments that were attempted and failed are considered to be incomplete and display in the audit as such.
• Checkboxes for requirements that have been completed will display as a check mark.
• Checkboxes for conditional requirements that have been marked as "Not Applicable" will display "N/A".
• Requirements that are not assigned to an application will appear without a checkbox and marked as "N/A".

The Progress Audit: Complete Indicator

When a progress audit is run in Application Finder, the results will include the indicator of (Complete) to the right of an applicant's name if that applicant has completed all requirements for the application in the specified phase. This indicator corresponds with the complete flag that is set for an application and eliminates the need for an admin to scroll from left to right to view the status of all requirements when multiple requirements have been assigned to an application.

If the audit results are exported, then the complete indicator will appear in the same field as the applicant's name in the export file. 

Important Note:

• The complete flag is based on the current phase of the application. The complete flag is set for an application when the reminders task runs each day. At that time, the task runs a check on all the active applications and determines what requirements have been submitted for the current phase of the application. 
• Internal-use only requirements do not affect the complete status of an application. This means that if an applicant has competed all requirements for the current phase, yet an internal-use only requirement remains incomplete, then the complete flag will be applied to the application the next time the reminders task runs.
• A complete flag is not instantaneously applied to an application at the exact moment the application meets the criteria. Instead, the application is flagged as such the next time the reminders scheduled task runs. This means that applications completed on the current date might not have the complete flag applied until the following morning. 

Progress Audit Alerts

The following alerts may appear to admin users when using the Progress Audit:

• You have not selected any applications in rules-based app cycles. Return to Application Finder to update your selection.
  • This message appears when all of the applications you have selected for the audit are in app cycles that use process maps.

• You have selected applications that are not in rules-based app cycles. They will not be included in this report.
  • This message appears when one or more (but not all) of the applications you have selected for the audit are in app cycles that use process maps. Results will only be returned for the applications you selected that are in rules-based app cycles.

• No matching requirements were found. Return to Deployment Rules to review your active rules.
  • This message appears when there are no rules deploying requirements for the rules-based application(s) in the specific phase selected for the audit. 

Application Viewing Options

The "Actions" column on the main Application Finder page gives admins different options for viewing data.

Open Full Application in Same Tab or New Tab

This square "tab" widget appears at the top of the "Actions" column and gives admins the option to open a full application to view in either the same tab or a new tab.

When the widget appears as a single tab, this means that access to a full application will occur in the same tab (e.g. the current page you are on). 

When you click the widget and it appears as a double tab, this means that access to a full application will occur in a new tab (e.g. a new tab will appear at the top of your screen from which you can access the application).

Expand Quick View 

Clicking on this "v" widget opens up a broad view of the application from your current tab without having to access the application in full. From this "quick" view, an admin user can see key dates and application information, such as phase, progress, application creation date, deadline, and decision date.

Space is given to allow for the display of up to eight applicant parameters. The option can be configured as follows:

1) Navigate to Settings > Applicant Params. Click on the edit pencil for your respective applicant parameter.

2) From the "Applicant Parameters: Edit" page, locate the option "Display in Unexpanded Profile and Application Finder Quick View".

• Selecting "Yes" means that the applicant parameter will appear in the "Quick View" section of the Application Finder, regardless of whether or not a value has been assigned to the parameter. Additionally, if a value has been assigned to the applicant parameter, then it will also display in an admin's classic view of an application after clicking on the "Expand Profile Information" link.
• Select "No" to prevent the applicant parameter from displaying.

Important Note: The Quick View section of Application Finder will only display the first eight applicant parameters that have a configuration setting of "Yes" for the "Display in Unexpanded Profile and Application Finder Quick View" setting. These eight applicant parameters are based on the parameter ordinals (e.g. the order in which they are listed) in Settings > Applicant Params.

Example:

You have 25 applicant parameters. Of these 25, numbers 2, 6, 7, 8, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 25 are set to "Yes" for the "Display in Unexpanded Profile and Application Finder Quick View" setting. Only parameters numbered 2, 6, 7, 8, 14, 16, 19, and 20 will display in the Application Finder's Quick View section. 

Finally, two side-bar widgets allow an admin to quickly send an auto-reminder or write and send an email to the applicant.

Access Full Application
After clicking this widget, the application appears in its entirety. An admin user can examine the information, make any desired updates, and then easily return to the search results by clicking the return arrow located in the top right corner of the page.

By accessing an application in full, an admin reaches the Application Admin Manager, a feature of the Admin Console from which an admin can manage all aspects of an application. Read more detailed in the Application Admin Manager KB article.   

Additional page features allow admin users to navigate through the Application Finder conveniently and take action directly on an application as needed. These features include the following:

State Save

When you click out of your search results to access the full application and then return to your search results, the system will remember the filter you were using. This saves the state of the search results page as you left it before you drilled into an application. For example, if you were on page 3 of 10, then you would still be on page 3 of 10 after leaving/then returning from viewing an application.

Server-Side Paging

Swiftly click your way through large amounts of data through the use of server-side paging. When a search yields 600 applications, the server-side paging tool displays only 10 items per results page, drastically reducing the return time it might typically take to load all 600 results at once. The results listing can be increased to view a maximum of 250 applications per page.

Dynamic Columns

For offices who need to review specific application-related data points as part of their daily business processes and generate quick page exports of that data, the Dynamic Columns feature in Application Finder should be used.

Important Note:

• Dynamic columns are not included in saved filters. 
• The default columns cannot be modified.
• When columns are applied, the state save feature is used. This means that as long as you are still in your same browser session, you can navigate away from the page, log out, and log back in - and the system will remember the columns you were using. This saves the state of the page as you left it.

The main Application Finder page will always list the following columns by default:

• Applicant Name
• Status
• Program
• App Cycle
• Location

By using the "Hide/Show" menu located in the top right of the page, an admin can choose which columns of data to display or remove from view.

Use the "Reset Default Columns" option in the "Hide/Show" menu to clear out all updates and return to a view of these default columns. A minimum of one column must be shown, and a maximum of eight columns can be displayed at once. The "view" icon is used to demonstrate which columns are currently in use. 

Use the keyword search field in the "Hide/Show" menu or the side scroll bar to select from the following options:

• Applicant Email
• Applicant Type
• Applicant Username
• Application ID
• Application Label
• Dual-Year Term
• Exchange
• Home Institution
• In Review
• Non-Processed
• Partner Institution
• Rank
• Rules-Based

Dates-based options:

• Application Completed
• Application Created
• Application Last Accessed
• Application Last Updated
• Itinerary Start
• Itinerary End
• Submitted Pre-Decision
• Submitted Post-Decision
• Requirements Last Updated

A list of applicant parameters will also appear as applicable to each site. 

After columns have been displayed on the Application Finder page, you are able to change their order by clicking into each column header and using the "drag and drop" option.

Important Note:

• Data access objects (DAOs) assigned for a specific applicant parameter are honored in both the Application Finder and Application Admin Manager. This means that if a DAO is assigned for the applicant parameter of "GPA", then this would be the only applicant parameter the admin could view on these pages.
• It is not possible to sort on all column options. For example, the columns of "Location" and "Partner Institution" cannot be sorted. 
• The Application (Custom) Label is now its own column. This column must be selected to view the custom label as it will no longer appear in the column for Applicant Name.

Export to Excel

An admin is able to perform an Excel export based on the data listed on the current page (and not the total items that the admin might have selected). This means that pagination can be used so that a maximum of 250 applications can be selected to export at once.

For offices needing to pull large amounts of data to review, analyze, and share, refer to reporting options available in Analytics. 

To perform a page export in Application Finder:

1) Select your desired columns from the Hide/Show menu.

2) Apply your desired filters to generate your application results.

3) Click on the "Export to Excel" icon in the upper right corner of the page. 

If an application contains multiple locations, then each will be listed within the same cell. 

Using and Managing Filters
Admins can access an array of advanced search filters and options from within the "Filter Results" section of the Application Finder. The "Filter Results" icon appears as a triangle when no filters are applied and as a funnel when at least one filter is applied.

All filters currently in use can be cleared by clicking the "Reset to Default Filters" arrow icon from the main filter bar.

Click on the "Filter Results" icon to view and apply commonly used filters as well as access advanced filters using the "+" icon.

Filters are dynamic and include these options:

• Favorite Filters
• Saved Filters
• App Cycle
  • Enter a year into the search bar to only see app cycles for that respective year.

• Program Type
• Status
  • Use the "Select All with Aliases" button next to a status as a way to auto-select the status and all of its aliases. 

• Open App Cycles Only: Apply this filter to see applications in application cycles that meet all of the following criteria:
  • The app cycle is active.
  • An opening date has been assigned in App Cycle Management that is in the past.
  • A closing date has been assigned in App Cycle Management that is in the future.
• Include Withdrawn: The Application Finder automatically excludes withdrawn applications in search results. If you would like to include applications in withdrawn status in the search results, then you must check this filter box. Then, from the "Status" menu, select your desired withdrawn options which include all withdrawn statuses and their aliases.

To add more advanced filters, click the "+" icon. 

This action will trigger the appearance of a drop-down menu from which advanced filters can be selected.

Each filter item can be expanded to drill down to the specific criteria desired. The options that appear for these filters are pulling from lookup tables. Thus, all available options will appear and not only those options that are available from search results. The expandable filter categories listed are:

Applicant Details

• Phase**
• Tag
• Ready for Review: An application has been marked as "Ready for Review".
• In Review: A review workflow is in progress on an application. 
• Applicant Type
• Partner Institution
• Home Institution
• Gender
• Itinerary Country**
• Itinerary Region**

**Important Note:

• "Itinerary Country" is only looking at applications with itinerary dates.
• "Itinerary Region" is only looking at applications with itinerary dates.
• The "Phase" filter is not based on real-time updates but rather works in conjunction with the Reminders routine running to update applications. This means if an application is in the post-decision phase and is changed back to pre-decision, then the application won't appear when the pre-decision phase filter is applied until after the nightly Reminders routine runs. This action will update the application accordingly in the database, and the application will display in the results listing when the pre-decision phase filter is applied in Application Finder.  

Applicant Parameters

This list displays only those applicant parameters enabled to appear in the simple search and Application Finder filters. When an applicant parameter is selected as a search filter, a menu will appear next to the parameter from which the admin can select their desired operator of "In" or "Not In".

In the example below, the applicant parameter of "Major" has been selected. The operator of "Not In" is in use, meaning that the search will look for those applications where the applicant parameter of "Major" is not "Biology" or "Physics".

The "Not In" operator is supported with the use of the following applicant parameter types:

• Single/Multiple
• Data Lookup
• Data Lookup with Search
• Yes or No

Application Dates

• Application Started
  • The date on which the application was created.
  • This date does not change when applications are assigned to new programs or app cycles.
• Application Completed
  • The date on which all requirements were completed for the application in its current phase. This is unrelated to whether or not the "Submit" button has been clicked.
  • This activity is updated at the beginning of each day and may not reflect requirements completed today.
• Last Status Update
  • The date on which the application last changed from one status to another.
  • This date does not include updates to an application's status made using the data import utility.
• Last Activity
  • The date on which any changes were made to the application, either by the applicant or an admin.
  • This date does not include updates made to an application using the data import utility.
• Last Viewed
  • The date on which the applicant last viewed the application.
• Itinerary Start
  • The date on which the application itinerary starts.
• Itinerary End
  • The date on which the application itinerary ends.
• Itinerary Last Updated 
  • The latest date on which any application itinerary records were added, updated, or deleted by either the applicant or an admin.
  • This date does not include updates to an application's itinerary made using the data import utility.

Program Details

• Programs
• Program Group
• Country
• Region

Important Note: 

• When multiple programs are applied, use your keyboard's arrow keys to navigate through your programs in the filter modal to view and edit as needed.
• "Program Country" is only looking at the program location.
• "Program Region" is only looking at the program location.

The logic between the "Itinerary Country/Region" and "Program Country/Region" filters is "and" as that is consistent with how all other filters operate in the Application Finder. 

With this in mind, if you wanted to conduct a search for all applicants going to one specific region, such as Europe, then you should conduct two searches: one using Itinerary Region of Europe (to ensure you include any Risk Management program applications as they don't use locations) and another using Program Region of Europe.

These filters and their logic function the same regardless of the type of app cycle (i.e. process maps or Deployment Rules) being used.

The options displayed in the remaining advanced filters will vary from site to site:

Program Parameters

Question Items

Requirements Completed

Requirements Incomplete

Important Note: Requirements that have been marked as "Not Applicable" are considered incomplete and will appear in the results with incomplete requirements. The Progress Audit can be used to differentiate between requirements that have not yet been attempted and those marked as "N/A".

Other advanced search filter options include the ability to search on App Tags that have not been assigned to applications. Navigate to Applicant Details > Tags. From the drop-down menu that appears for "Tag", select the desired application tag. Then select "Any Not Assigned". With this filter, all applications that do not have the tag selected assigned will appear in your search results. 

Applicant Parameters

Important Note: Only those applicant parameters that have been enabled to appear in a simple search and the Application Finder's advanced filters will appear as options in the "Applicant Parameters" filter. Based on client feedback, this customization option has been added to allow an admin the ability to pick and choose which specific parameters appear as filters in Application Finder.

To enable the simple search setting for an applicant parameter, navigate to Settings > Applicant Params. Locate your desired applicant parameter to edit. Make sure the value of "Yes" is selected for the "Enable Simple Search" option and click "Update" to preserve your changes. 

If you are in the Application Finder and do not see the option of "Applicant Parameters" from the advanced filters drop-down menu, then this likely means you do not have any applicant parameters with the simple search setting enabled. 

Saved Filters
After you have applied a series of filters that you wish to save, a disk icon will appear in the main filter bar. Clicking this "Save" disk prompts you to name and save your filter to the Filter Organizer.

Within the Filter Organizer, a keyword search field appears from which you can search and locate your saved filter.

Important Note: Admins are not able to share saved filters at this time.

When a filter is in use, a "Filters are currently applied." label will appear. 

Clicking this label will display a list of all search filters that have been applied and are currently in use.

Favorite Filters

When saving a filter, an admin is presented with the option to mark the filter as "Favorite". Once this action is made and saved, this filter will appear under the "Favorite Filters" menu.

A maximum of 20 favorite filters can be added.

Recently Used Filters

Clicking into the "Recent" filters menu will display a list of the most recent saved filters you've applied.

Filter Organizer

Filters and related tools are conveniently stored until needed within the "Filter Organizer". All saved filters are listed from A to Z by default.

A main "search for filter by name" field sits atop the Filter Organizer page. Information is organized by columns as follows:

• Favorite: Click the "star" icon to designate or remove the "favorite status from a filter.
• Name: This is the name of the saved filter. This column can be sorted alphabetically.
• Actions:
  • Use the "delete" icon to permanently remove a saved filter.
  • Click the ">" icon to apply the filter and open the results in a new tab.

Return to the main Application Filter page by clicking on the "Return to Search Results" icon located in the top right of the page.

The Saved Queries Translation Tool is also accessed from this page.

Editing Saved Filters

A saved filter can be modified and re-saved under the same name or a different name. This allows for quick edits without the need to completely re-create a filter that has already been saved.

To edit a saved filter, select the filter from one of the filter menus (i.e. Recent Filters, Favorite Filters, or Saved Filters) or your filter organizer. After the filter has been applied, click the filter results "funnel" icon to open your filter modal. In the image below, let's imagine that I forgot to include some app cycles in my saved filter. I would select the additional app cycles and click "Apply" to view my results.

After viewing my results, I would click on the "Save Filter" icon. This would prompt a modal to appear in which I confirm the name of my saved filter. In the "Save Current Filters As" field, the original name of my saved filter will appear. I can keep the name as it is and click "Update" to preserve my changes, or I could change the original name of my saved filter. 

After clicking "Update", the changes will be preserved. This updated filter will override the existing version of the filter to become the current version in the system.

Saved Queries Translation Tool 

An admin can easily make the move from saved queries to using advanced filters in Application Finder with the use of the Saved Queries Translation Tool. This feature determines if a query contains compatible criteria and then converts the query into a saved filter if the conversion is possible. Incompatibilities are noted for the admin.

Navigate to Filter Results> Filter Organizer and click on the "Saved Queries Translation" utility icon to get started.

A comprehensive list of all saved queries will appear along with several search filters:

• Search query by keyword
• Saved Queries Folder
• Converted Filter: Select "Yes", "No", or "All"

Information is organized in columns as follows:

• Name: Saved query name
• Type: Advanced, Simple, or Profile Search
• Converted: Indicates whether or not the query has been converted. 
• Actions: From this column an admin can determine if a query contains compatible criteria (e.g. check if the query is convertible) and then perform the conversion from a query to a saved filter.

Determining Compatibility

From the Translation Tool's "Actions" column, click on the "check" icon  (the first of two icons displayed) to determine if a query contains compatible criteria.

The utility will perform a review of the query. If the query can be converted to a saved filter, a confirmation message will appear from the bottom of the page: 

If a query cannot be converted, a message will appear which alerts the admin as to why the conversion cannot take place:

An admin would need to modify their original query based on the feedback provided and re-run the compatibility check.

Converting a Compatible Query

After an admin has established that a query can be converted into a saved filter, the next step is to navigate to the Translation Tool's "Actions" column and click on the "arrow" icon (the second of two icons displayed). Once the quick conversion takes place, a confirmation that the saved query has been converted will appear from the bottom of the page.

It is possible to check the compatibility of a saved query and convert that query into a saved filter multiple times if needed. 

Converting Saved Queries to Filters: Unsupported Criteria

The Saved Queries Translation Tool does not currently support queries containing any of the following criteria:

• Home Institution Keyword Search
• Exchange Status: Exchange
• Application Tags: Is Not Assigned
• Attached Documents: Is Attached
• CER Status
• Application is Ready for Review
• Program City
• Include Program Locations
• Home Institution: No Response
• Home Institution: Any Non-Standard Institution
• Partner Institution: No Response
• Gender
• Applicant Parameter: Track History Data Imprints
• Material Submissions: Complete (Exclude N/A Conditionals)
• Material Submissions: N/A Conditionals Only
• Signature Documents: Complete (Exclude N/A Conditionals)
• Signature Documents: N/A Conditionals Only
• Assessments: Complete (Exclude N/A Conditionals)
• Assessments: N/A Conditionals Only
• Learning Content: Complete (Exclude N/A Conditionals)
• Learning Content: N/A Conditionals Only
• Recommendations: Number of submitted recommendations
• Applicant Parameters Not Enabled for Simple Search

Creating a New Application 

An admin with the Application Admin: Create New Applications permission is able to create a new application on behalf of an applicant directly within Application Finder. Consider this option when meeting with an applicant or when an applicant is unable to take action on their own.

Important Note: It is not possible to create an application as non-processed at this time.

From the main Application Finder page, click on the "+" icon located at the bottom of the "Action" column. A "Create New Application" modal will open.

To get started, search for the applicant. This step is used to identify whether or not your applicant already exists in the system.

Enter in an applicant name or email address in the "Search by Keyword" field.

If an applicant profile is located, a row will populate with their profile ID, name, and email address. You should select the applicable row.

Important Note:

• The label of "New User" will appear under the "ID" column if the user is in the SIS file but has never logged in (and therefore does not yet have a user record).
• There is not an indicator of applicant type in this listing. If someone appears twice because they have more than one account, then you can check which ID is external versus internal by navigating to Maintenance > Edit User in a separate tab.

A drop-down menu will appear from which you can select the program and desired app cycle for which a new application will be created. 

If an applicant profile is not located, an option to "Manually Enter New User" will appear. Selecting this option will populate a form for you to complete.

Enter the following information:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address

Then select the program for which a new application will be created. This list will display all active programs.

After a program is selected, determine how you want to create a new program application.

• Use "Create" to generate a new application for the program.
• Select "Create & Go to Application" to generate the application and be taken directly to it in Application Admin Manager.

Notifying the Applicant

If the application is created for an applicant who is new to the system, they will receive an auto-generated "New Account Creation" email from the system to provide them with a User ID, Temporary Password, and a link to the login page. This email is specific to this login information and will not contain any information related to the new application that was created or the program for which the application was created. A separate, manual email should be sent to the applicant to provide them with this information.  

If the application is created for an applicant who already has a profile in the system, then no automatic notification will be sent to the applicant when an application is created on their behalf. A separate, manual email should be sent to the applicant to provide them with this information.  

Emails can be sent to an applicant using the "Batch Send Email" option in Application Finder or the "Send Email" option from the "More Menu" of an application. Using the drop-down menu in the "From" field, choose to send the email from the admin (i.e. the logged-in user), Contact 1 Email, or Contact 2 Email. Contact 1/2 email addresses are configured under Settings > Account Info.

Keep the following WYSIWYG editor options in mind when creating email notifications:

• The Image Library is accessible.
• Merge fields are available, including the option to insert a hyperlink to an application. The link text displayed in the email to recipients will appear as "Go to application".
  • Select the "App Admin Page Link" merge field for admin access to an application. 
  • Select the "Application Page Link" merge field for applicant access to an application. 

It is possible to use the Application Created Trigger to create a customized notification to the applicant using merge fields. If an admin creates an application on behalf of the applicant, then the trigger notification would be sent to the applicant (when the configured conditions are met). This option is a great choice for offices looking for automated notifications and customization options.

Frequently Asked Questions

1 - When searching for incomplete application requirements (i.e. process elements), why are the number of results returned different in the classic advanced search versus Application Finder?

In the classic advanced search, the results are going to return all applications that have the process element marked as incomplete regardless of whether or not that process element was assigned to the program application. The results work the same for any app cycle, regardless of whether or not the application is in an app cycle that is process map-based or rules-based. 

In Application Finder, the results returned will be different depending on whether or not the app cycle is process map-based or rules-based. For process map-based app cycles, "incomplete" means that the process element has not been received in an application regardless of whether or not that process element was assigned to an application. For rules-based app cycles, "incomplete" only returns applications where the process element is both incomplete and a requirement of the program application in that app cycle. Your results are more defined. Because of this, the results will return a lower number of applications in Application Finder than the classic advanced search (because of applications in rules-based app cycles) when you apply the same search filter.

2 - Is there a way to explicitly search on applications that are completed and the "Submit" button has been clicked?

No, when the "Application Completed" filter is applied, this means that all requirements of an application have been completed and is unrelated to the "Submit" button action.

A suggestion would be to create an app tag, such as "Application Submitted". Then, configure your program so that when the application is submitted using the "Submit" button, that app tag is applied to the application. Then you can search for applications containing that app tag.

3 - What is the difference between the column option of "Application Completed" and the application "complete" flag?

The "Application Completed" column will display the date on which the application's "complete" flag was applied. This flag is set for an application by the Reminders task that is executed daily. When this task runs, it determines if all the required materials, signature documents, questionnaires, learning content, assessments, and recommendations have been submitted for the current phase of the application. If the application has met all the process element requirements for the current phase, then it will be flagged as "complete". Applications completed on the current date will not display a date in the "Application Completed" column until the following morning after the Reminders task has finished running.

4 - Can I modify a saved filter?

Yes, you can.

Example: You apply your saved filter for "Pending status applications in the Spring 2022 app cycle". Then you click on the Filter Results modal to add an additional app cycle, that for Summer 2022. You would then click the "Save" icon and be prompted to re-save the updated filter under the same name. It is also possible to re-save the updated filter under a new name. 

5 - Can I share my saved filters?

At this time, it is not possible to share your saved filters.

6 - When a batch email action is performed in the Admin Console, do all recipients appear in the "To" line in the sent emails received?

No. When you select multiple applications in the Admin Console and perform the batch send email action, only the the admin sees all of the selected applicants listed in the "To" line of the email configuration modal. Here's an example where I'm the admin listed in the "From" line, and four applications have been selected for the batch send email action: 

The four students only see their respective name in the "To" line of the email received. Here's an example from one of the student's perspectives (from the email received in their Message Center - you can also look at the emails sent under the Maintenance > Sent Email log):

7 - I need to deploy a new requirement to a group of existing applications and then mark that requirement as received. How can I complete this task with the batch action options in Application Finder?

Let's use an example scenario to demonstrate the suggested steps you can take to accomplish this task. Imagine that you have created a new material in Content Management. 

1) Create a new rule to deploy the material or add the new material to an existing, applicable rule in the Deployment Rules interface.

2) Navigate to Application Finder. From the "Hide/Show" dynamic column menu, select the option for "Requirements Last Updated" so that this appears as a column on your page. 

3) Apply your desired filters (such as "Program Name", "App Cycle", and "Status") and view the returned listing of the applications that you want to update to contain the new material.

4) Select all of the applications, open the "Batch" menu, and perform the "Refresh Requirements" action. Remember that this action does not mean that your applications will be immediately updated. This action will only mark your applications as needing to be refreshed so that the next time the application is viewed in full by the admin, viewed by the applicant, or the rules task runs - whichever happens first - then the application will be updated to contain the new material.

Important Note: You must make sure that all of these applications have been updated so that they contain the new material before you proceed with the "Edit Requirements" action. 

You can use the timestamp in the "Requirements Last Updated" column to determine when all applications have been updated.

If you were to view one of these applications in full in Application Admin Manager and then return back to your filtered listing of applications in Application Finder, then the timestamp in the "Requirements Last Updated" column would be modified to reflect that this application had been updated and now contains the new material. The other applications would would have a different timestamp in this column until the rules task ran, the admin viewed the application in full, or the application was viewed by the applicant (again, whichever action happens first).

5) After you have verified that all of the applications in your filtered listing have been both marked as needing to be refreshed and been updated, then you can proceed with the next batch action. Select all of the applications in your filtered listing, open the "Batch" menu, and select the "Edit Requirements" action. Use the drop-down menus to select your requirement type of "Material". Then select the new material you deployed. Finally, select the batch action to take, such as marking the material as "Received". After the action is performed, a confirmation modal will appear indicating that the material was marked as "received" for each application.    

8 - I need to add a new question item to a questionnaire that my applicants have already started to complete. Will the information that they have already entered in the questionnaire be lost if I make edits?

After an applicant has started filling out a questionnaire - and they have saved responses in that questionnaire, then the questionnaire becomes frozen in this current version. If you needed to make updates and add a new question item to that questionnaire, then you would need to proceed by first erasing the questionnaire responses (in Application Finder or Application Admin Manager) to "reset" the questionnaire, and then updating your questionnaire (in Content Management) so that these changes are cascaded to your existing applications where the questionnaire had not yet been started or completed.

If an applicant already had saved responses to a questionnaire, then it would not be possible for you to deploy additional question items to the questionnaire. In this situation, if you want applicants to respond to a new question item in a questionnaire but do not want to lose previously submitted answers to other questions in that questionnaire, then the suggested action would be to create and deploy a new questionnaire to your applications. 

Video Instruction

Application Finder: An Overview

This 20-minute video provides a virtual tour of the many features of the Application Finder, including the search bar, simple and advanced filters, saved filters, quick view of an application, and the create application tool. 

Advanced Search Filters

This 20-minute video provides instruction on how to access and use the advanced search filters available for use in Application Finder. 

The Progress Audit

This 10-minute video provides instruction on how to access and use the Progress Audit feature (to run a report on the status of requirements assigned to applications in rules-based app cycles) located in the Admin Console's Application Finder.