Applications

Applications
The APPLICATIONS MODULE is the central hub for reviewing all applications, submitted, not submitted, eligible, ineligible and withdrawn.

Applications can be sorted and filtered by a number of different data points making it easy to find the application in question. Applications can be manually input through an easy to use interface making manual data entry for paper application digitization simple and effective. The Smart Choice™ system was created in a way that allows for thousands of student applications to be submitted and stored with no real hard limitations to the amount of data that can be housed within the system.

Applications can be reviewed and updated in bulk and the reporting system allows for data to be used in a variety of 3rd party applications like Microsoft Office for creating award letter mail out labels for instance. Applicants are notified directly from the system through bulk e-mailing features, automatic deadline reminders, award or wait list status updates and even real time dashboard messages, keeping parent-district communication open.

School Year Select Menu
This menu can be found in the top right of the applications management screen and is used to filter and view a specific school year’s applications or any archived applications.

Application Filters
There are a series of filters that allow the administrator to fine tune the application list to see a specific segment of applicants based on a number of criteria. The administrator can use these filters individually or combined to specify the pool of applicants further.
 * Any / All – Show applications matching ANY of the filters selected, Show applications matching ALL of the filters selected (only applications that match EVERY filter selected with show up if ALL is used.)
 * Application Status – The status of the actual application based on actions taken by the parent and or administrator.
 * Submitted (there is no one color associated with this status as “submitted” will be combined with other status options) – completed and submitted to the district for review either by the parent or the administrator.
 * Not Submitted – Saved prior to completion by the parent or administrator.
 * Withdrawn – Withdrawn by the parent from their dashboard. Withdrawn applications are not run through the lottery.
 * Eligible – Reviewed by administrators and determined as eligible to run through the lottery.  ONLY ELIGIBLE AND COMPETED APPS will be run through the lottery.
 * Ineligible – Reviewed by administrators and determined as ineligible for placement.  These applications WILL NOT be run through the lottery.
 * In Processing – Submitted by parent or administrator and has not been reviewed and marked as eligible or ineligible.
 * Program – This drop down will allow administrators to see a list of all program’s applications that they have access to in order to filter down to only that program’s applications for review.  If the administrator only has access to one program, this menu will not show up.
 * Grade – This drop down contains all possible grades that an applicant could be applying for.
 * Preferred Communication Method – This drop down will contain the parent’s preferred method of communication.  By default all parent submitted applications will be designated as “Email” but the admin does have access to change this preference for applicants if necessary in the EDIT screen for an applicant.
 * Wait List Release Status – This drop down contains “Yes or No” in reference to if the parent has opted to release their information for the wait list directory.
 * Flag – This drop down contains all possible flag types.
 * Age Verification – An application that has fallen outside of the standard DOB for the grade applying for.
 * Sibling – Sibling verification is needed.
 * No Email – no email address on file.
 * Parent Notes – The parent notes field in the actual application contains a value.
 * Out of District – Applicants that have an address that falls outside of the district
 * Lottery List  - This drop down contains all possible options for location on a lottery list and the status of the student’s confirmation of that list.
 * Accepted – All – All students that have been placed on the accepted list
 * Accepted – Pending – All students who have been placed on the accepted list who have not accepted or declined their seat.
 * Accepted – Accepted – All students who have been placed on the accepted list who have accepted their seat.
 * Accepted – Declined - All students who have been placed on the accepted list who declined their seat.
 * Wait List – All - All students who have been placed on the wait list.
 * Wait List – Pending - All students who have been placed on the wait list who have not confirmed or declined their placement.
 * Wait list – Accepted - All students who have been placed on the wait list who confirmed their placement.
 * Wait List – Declined - All students who have been placed on the wait list who have declined their placement.
 * Not Placed – All students who have not been run through a lottery and or placed on a list.
 * Search – Search for a specific applicant name, SC ID # or SIS ID# by and system will render results that match all other filters alonghttp://smart-choice.wikia.com/wiki/Applications?action=edit with the data in the search box.

Application Counts – Depending on the filters run in the steps noted above, the system will generate a count of applications that are being displayed based on that criteria.
 * Total Students – Total Student Records that are included in the application view based on the filters used.
 * Total Applications – Total applications that are included in the view based on the filters used.
 * Submitted Applications – How many applications that meet the filter’s criteria have actually been submitted.
 * Signatures – N/A

Search All Students
Click the Search All Student link and you will be brought to the Manage Students page where you can search a students name without having to select filters.

Also, by clicking the Edit button, the administrator can edit the student account information such as first name, last name, current grade, grade applying to, as well as parent account the student is connected to. In addition, the administrator can edit the applications connected to the student by clicking on the name of the school corresponding to the application.

View Application
This button is showcased in the right side column for each application. It opens the application “receipt” or record in a printable format. It does open up in a pop up so all pop up blockers will need to be disabled in order to see/print this record.

Edit Application
This button is showcased in the right side column for each application. It opens the application in an editable form. This allows the administrator to complete a series of actions within the application detailed below.

General Information

 * Student_Information.png portion of the application is the student’s basic details like name, gender, grade applying for etc. Any of these fields can be changed by administration.  If the student is being pulled from the SIS, many fields will be “greyed out” meaning that they cannot be changed.

Student Lookup/Merge

 * Student_Lookup_-_Merge.png the student has multiple applications with different student accounts you can merge the application to the same account by clicking on the “Change” link.  This will open a lightbox where the administration can then search for student accounts by First and Last Name or Student ID or SC ID #. Once the student account preferred for the application to be connected to, the administrator will select the radio button to the left of the record and click save.  The application must be saved to complete this change.

Parent Lookup / Connect

 * Parent_Lookup_-_Connect.png the student doesn’t have a parent account on file or the wrong parent account connected to the application in question, the administrator can change the parent account attached or add one by clicking on the “Change” link. This will open a lightbox where the administration can then search for parent accounts by First and Last Name or Parent Pin.  This will bring up all possible matches for parent accounts with a Parent Pin and also accounts that have been created in the Smart Choice system. Once the parent account preferred for the application to be connected to, the administrator will select the radio button to the left of the record and click save.  The application must be saved to complete this change.

Parent / Guardian Information

 * Family_Information.png area is utilized for inputting information about Parent / Guardian 1 and 2.  The form fields follow the standard parent process for inputting Parent/Guardian information.

Sibling Information

 * Siblings.png area is utilized for adding to or reviewing submitted siblings.  Siblings can be added to an existing application in two ways.
 * With Student ID or From Parent Connect – If the application has been submitted using a valid Parent Connect account, all students connected to the Parent Connection Account in question will be listed in the “Add Sibling” Drop down.  This allows administrators to review possible sibling connections and easily add them to the application in question.  Once the sibling is selected from the drop down, the administrator can select whether the sibling is “Attending” or “Applying” to the program in question then click on the “Click to Add Sibling” button.
 * Manual with no Student ID – If the administrator does not have access to the sibling’s Student ID # they can put in the siblings information manually by clicking on the “If Student ID is not available click here to enter student name” link.  This will allow the administrator to put in the following information about the sibling.
 * First Name
 * Last Name
 * Current Grade
 * Current School
 * Attending or Applying?
 * Once this information is completed the administrator will then click on the “Click to Add Sibling” button.
 * Verify_Sibling.pngying Siblings - Once siblings are added they can verified by administrators by simply clicking on the green check next to the sibling’s name.  Once verified, the student on the application will receive sibling preference for the program in question.
 * Upon clicking the green check mark, the system forces the administrator to verify that they want to assign the priority before they can move forward.

Letter Tracking

 * Eligibility_-_Deliverable_Tracking.png section is used for keeping track of non web based actions or letters sent to the student.  This area is simply for keeping track of such letters sent for reference purposes only.

Eligibility / Deliverable Tracking

 * Letter_Tracking.png section is used for keeping track of approval for a ZE form and opt in or out for the Wait List Directory section of the application.

Lottery Priorities

 * New_Lottery_Priorities.png section is used for lottery preferences.  These boxes are automatically assigned based on the information within the application.  If siblings are verified as described above, the sibling preference box will be checked.  If the address in the application is within the attendance zone for the school being applied for, the attendance zone priority box will be checked automatically.

Update Application Status

 * Update_Application_Status.png application status area is used for making changes to applications as their status changes throughout the process.
 * Submitted – Submitted by the parent or admin, completed.
 * Not Submitted – Started and saved by the Parent or admin, incomplete.
 * Eligible – Eligible and Reviewed, these applications will be run through the lottery when run.
 * Ineligible – Ineligible, these applications will not be run through the lottery when run.
 * In Processing – New and has not been reviewed by administrators or marked as eligible or ineligible.
 * Upon updating the application’s status the parent is notified of such an update, the application status is also updated on the parent’s dashboard.
 * Update notes
 * Administrators can put in two types of notes into the application for tracking purposes.
 * Internal Notes – These notes are seen by ONLY administrators who have access to the application in question.
 * Notes to Parents  - These notes are seen by administrators as well as on the Parent Dashboard and the parent also receives an email notification of such notes.

Add New Application
Administrators can input an application manually if the parent has opted out of submitting their own application on the application site. The administrator will click on the “Add New Application” button in the right side of the Applications Module. This will open up a blank application and the administrator will follow all steps described in detail above in the “Edit Applications Area”

Parent Lookup / Connect

 * New_Parent_Lookup.png administrator can also connect the manual application to a parent account on file.  They can do so by clicking on the “Change” link next to the Parent # field.  This will open a lightbox where the administration can then search for parent accounts by First and Last Name or Parent Pin.  This will bring up all possible matches for parent accounts with a Parent Pin and also accounts that have been created in the Smart Choice system. Once the parent account preferred for the application to be connected to, the administrator will select the radio button to the left of the record and click save.  The application must be saved to complete this change.

General Information

 * Application_Management_-_Smart_Choice_2013-08-01_15-39-10.png portion of the application is the student’s basic details like name, gender, grade applying for etc. Any of these fields can be changed by administration.  If the student has a Zangle ID, they can be looked up by clicking on the “Change” link in the Student # field.  This will open a lightbox where the administration can then search for student accounts by First and Last Name or Student ID or SC ID #. Once the student account preferred for the application to be connected to, the administrator will select the radio button to the left of the record and click save.  The application must be saved to complete this change.

Parent / Guardian Information

 * New_Family_Information.png area is utilized for inputting information about Parent / Guardian 1 and 2.  The form fields follow the standard parent process for inputting Parent/Guardian information.

Sibling Information

 * New_Sibling_Information.png new applications, sibling information can not be added until the application is saved.  The administrator will see the message below prior to saving the application.
 * Once the application is saved the administrator can return to the application in question and put in siblings in one of two ways.
 * With Student ID or From Parent Connect – If the application has been submitted using a valid Parent Connect account, all students connected to the Parent Connection Account in question will be listed in the “Add Sibling” Drop down.  This allows administrators to review possible sibling connections and easily add them to the application in question.  Once the sibling is selected from the drop down, the administrator can select whether the sibling is “Attending” or “Applying” to the program in question then click on the “Click to Add Sibling” button.
 * Manual with no Student ID – If the administrator does not have access to the sibling’s Student ID # they can put in the siblings information manually by clicking on the “If Student ID is not available click here to enter student name” link.  This will allow the administrator to put in the following information about the sibling.
 * First Name
 * Last Name
 * Current Grade
 * Current School
 * Attending or Applying?
 * Once this information is completed the administrator will then click on the “Click to Add Sibling” button.
 * Verify_Sibling.pngying Siblings - Once siblings are added they can verified by administrators by simply clicking on the green check next to the sibling’s name.  Once verified, the student on the application will receive sibling preference for the program in question.
 * Upon clicking the green check mark, the system forces the administrator to verify that they want to assign the priority before they can move forward.

Letter Tracking

 * New_Letter_Tracking.png section is used for keeping track of non web based actions or letters sent to the student.  This area is simply for keeping track of such letters sent for reference purposes only.

Update Application Status

 * Update_New_Application_Status.png application status area is used for making changes to applications as their status changes throughout the process.
 * Submitted – Submitted by the parent or admin, completed.
 * Not Submitted – Started and saved by the Parent or admin, incomplete.
 * Eligible – Eligible and Reviewed, these applications will be run through the lottery when run.
 * Ineligible – Ineligible, these applications will not be run through the lottery when run.
 * In Processing – New and has not been reviewed by administrators or marked as eligible or ineligible.
 * Upon updating the application’s status the parent is notified of such an update, the application status is also updated on the parent’s dashboard.
 * Update Notes – Administrators can put in two types of notes into the application for tracking purposes.
 * Internal Notes – These notes are seen by ONLY administrators who have access to the application in question.
 * Notes to Parents  - These notes are seen by administrators as well as on the Parent Dashboard and the parent also receives an email notification of such notes.

Change History
All applications keep track of all changes made by both parents and administrators. To review an application’s change history click on “Edit” for the application in question and click on “View Change History” This will open up a lightbox with details about the application as noted below.
 * Date/Time – Date and Time of the change made.
 * Record – Notates where the change was made.  The Student Record is the basic details that follow the student with each application like name, address etc where as the App Record is for the specific program’s application.
 * User – Shows the User Type (Parent or Admin) as well as actual User Name who made the change in question
 * IP Address – IP Address that the actual change has been made from.
 * Information – If the “I” with the circle around it clicked, the administrator will be able to see all changes to each field within the application for the date/time selected.

Export Applications
If the reports described below in Capture Reports do not meet the needs of the administrator, application information can be extracted from the system to generate other external reports. To begin an application export the administrator must select from a few different groups of criteria and filters.


 * Export_Options.pngams – Programs to be included in the export in question can be double clicked to move them to the selected group on the right.  If the administrator opts to not move any programs over to the right “selected” group the export will be run for all programs.
 * Date Range – This is referencing submitted date of applications.
 * Past 30, 60, or 90 days
 * Specific Date range (to and from a specific date)
 * No Date Range – This will pull all applications regardless of date.
 * Filters
 * Complete (Submitted)
 * Eligible
 * Grade
 * Email Provided
 * Lottery List
 * Accepted – All – All students that have been placed on the accepted list
 * Accepted – Pending – All students who have been placed on the accepted list who have not accepted or declined their seat.
 * Accepted – Accepted – All students who have been placed on the accepted list who have accepted their seat.
 * Accepted – Declined - All students who have been placed on the accepted list who declined their seat.
 * Wait List – All - All students who have been placed on the wait list.
 * Wait List – Pending - All students who have been placed on the wait list who have not confirmed or declined their placement.
 * Wait list – Accepted - All students who have been placed on the wait list who confirmed their placement.
 * Wait List – Declined - All students who have been placed on the wait list who have declined their placement.
 * Not Placed – All students who have not been run through a lottery and or placed on a list.
 * Export Type
 * Complete – Will contain all fields from the system’s back end database.
 * Summarized – Will contain basic fields form the system’s back end database like name, address, phone number etc.

Capture Reports
For all reports, the administrator would use the filters in the top portion of the Applications Management screen to select the pool of applicants they wish to create a report for. Then they will use the select all button or manually select specific applications to generate the following reports for.


 * Email – Send mass emails to selected applicants.  The email messages can be sent directly from the Smart Choice™ system or you can copy and paste the email addresses in question to send them manually from your mail client.  Only applicants who have an e-mail address on file will be contacted.  If one applicant has multiple parents on the application selected with more than one email address, both email addresses will be contacted.
 * Print Letters - This will allow administrators to choose from letters managed in the Settings > Content & Letters portion of the Administrative Component. After selecting desired student(s), choosing the proper letter template, and capturing this information, a printable pop-up window will appear from which administrators can print these letters.
 * Mail Merge – Extract information about selected applicants in order to use within a desktop application like Microsoft Word or Excel.  This is specficially used in Microsoft Word to be used with mail merge tools to assist in dynamically generating letters, labels and more.
 * Contact Information - Extract information about selected applicants in order to use for contacting students or parents. This is specifically used in Excel.
 * Demographic Totals – This report will generate a series of graphs/charts that list out applicants who fall under certain data points like current school, race and gender.
 * Applicant List - Administrators are able to capture a list of applicants in aplphabetical order. This list of applicants can be broken down to a specific pool of students using the application filters at the top of the Application Component. Once this list is generated, users have the ability to choose the number of columns the students are shown in, and the order of their names whether it is firstname then last name OR last name followed by first name.
 * Bulk Update Deliverables - By selecting this option and capturing the desired group of applicants, the user prompted with a new window with an alphabetical list of all the students/applications selected. From this the user can update deliverables student-by-student in alphabetical order rather than going into each application individually.
 * Bulk Update Students - By selecting this option and capturing the desired group of applicants, the user prompted with a new window with an alpabetica list of all the students/applications selected. From this the user can update student information  student-by-student in alphabetical order rather than going into each application individually. Fields that can be edited here are first name, last name, current school, phone number and address. The user can also see the student ID number but cannot edit that field.