Create and Manage Position and Selection Approval Templates
Institutional Administrators have the ability to create approval templates that define workflows for approving new positions or selected applicants for those positions. These templates can be configured and assigned to specific position types within individual units and their subordinate units. Approval templates consist of a sequence of steps, with designated administrators at each step responsible for reviewing and approving positions.
If an organization requires position approval before posting new roles, users will be required to submit these new positions for approval as the final step in the creation process. Similarly, if selection approval is needed, the chosen applicant will enter the approval workflow once the position is closed.
Templates cannot be cloned.
Create/Edit Approval Templates
- Navigate to the Templates page and click the Add Template hyperlink within the desired card, or click Add Template in the upper right-hand corner.
If a template already exists, a card for the position type will appear on this page. Select the card to view, edit, or delete the In Use and Disabled templates.
- Select the Position Type and Unit then click Save for the Position/Selection Approval Steps section to appear.
If there is a template at a higher unit that is already used for the given position type, an error message will appear saying “This template could not be created because there is a template at the higher unit that is used.” For example, the template for the position type "Part-Time Faculty" cannot be created for the Division of Literature and Languages unit, because a template for that position type already exists at the higher unit of the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Click Add Step under the Position Approval Steps or Selection Approval Steps tabs.
Who is approving the position at this step?
It is recommended to choose an administrator based on unit and title since Administrators in the indicated unit who hold the title selected will automatically be assigned to approve selections for the unit in which the selection is created. Multiple administrators can be assigned if one or more have the same title in the same unit. If a specific administrator is chosen and later transitions out of that role, the position could get stuck in the approval process waiting for that person to move it forward.
If a unit at or below the unit in which the template is being created does not have one or more approvers with the title selected, the administrator creating the template will see a list of units without approvers and must choose one or more administrators to fill the selected title for each unit without an approver.
As many administrators as necessary can be assigned to approve the step. The administrators selected will receive an email and action item to approve the position.
- Click Save when finished.
When creating a position, the position creator will be notified that the position must be approved before posting, and must submit the position for approval. The approver(s) displayed will receive a message asking them to review the position by filling out the Send Position for Approval form. The creator will receive an email once the position has been approved by all approvers.
Once a position has been approved, administrators can still make changes and edits to the position without requiring the full approval process. You can turn on Position Change Emails to be notified when there are changes made to positions.
FAQs
What are the rules for approval when a position is sent back?
The approval process will move forward going through each step, and it can be sent back to any previous step. If a position is sent back for edits, it will return to the step that it was last on when sent forward again. For example, If a position is at step 3 and is sent back to step 1, the approver at step 1 can send the position back to step 3 again once edits are made.
What are the rules for approval when an applicant is sent back?
All steps must go in order and steps in the workflow cannot be skipped. If a step is sent back to step 1 it must go through the same workflow steps again. For example, if step 5 in the selection approval is sent back to step 2, it cannot be sent back to step 5. The step must be approved again from Steps 2, 3, and 4.
Does an updated approval template for a position apply to positions created prior to the update?
No, the updated approval template will only apply to positions created after the change.