Technical Details

Current Release Version: FY24.2.1

Release Date: 02 Oct 2023 

Security Roles: SPS Advising

Requested Features

Current Cycle

Features to Complete

• Career Design Lab (CDL) Integration
  
  • Advisor Scheduling Portal - Build a portal similar to Slate + Advising for students to schedule sessions with CDL advisors.
    • The portal homepage will list all advisors as well as their:
      • Headshot
      • Bio
      • List of the program(s) they represent
      • List of the types of meetings they conduct.
      • Calendar to click to schedule a meeting.
    • Each advisor will have two schedules: in-person and virtual
    • Upon scheduling the session, students will complete a form asking them questions about:
      • The purpose of their meeting (from a drop-down list of meeting types)
      • Their career goals (i.e. preferred industry, location, etc.)
      • Upload resume
    • Students and advisors will receive confirmation emails with the details of their meeting.
    • A reminder email will go to students ___ hours before the meeting.
    • Remote coaching sessions will take place using Slate’s Share video platform.
    • A follow-up email will be sent after the meeting takes place with a link to a survey.
  • Communications
    • Move CDL's aliases from Front to Slate.
    • Provide CDL advisors with Bcc email addresses to include in all of their messages with students.
    • Create mass email template.

Features to Consider

• Security & Access Management
  • Define role-based security model and assign users to appropriate groups based on role
    • CONSIDER: Create program-level realms for segmenting individuals by program
  • Students should be allowed to view personal records and student-facing forms and events only
    • Dependent on the Student Portal implementation
• Unregistered Student List
  • Advisors will have a list of eligible students who are not registered on their main portal screen.
  • Advisors can click into a student’s record to find out why s/he might not be registered.
  • Advisors will be able to send form emails to students (either sent automatically or  triggered by the advisor after assessing the student’s status).
• See Icebox for additional considerations

Previous Releases

Release FY24.2.1 [April 2024]

• Incomplete Grade Request Form
  
  • If a student wants an extension in a course and therefore receive a temporary grade of "Incomplete," the following steps occur:
    • The student logs into a portal at https://advising.sps.columbia.edu/portal/incomplete_grade_requests where they can see a list of Incomplete grades they have requested (if any) and the statuses of those requests.
    • The student can click on a link to bring up the Incomplete Grade Request form. If the student has courses eligible for an incomplete grade, the form will pop up. If not, an error will appear stating that the student does not have available classes.
      • When the student selects the appropriate course from a drop-down list of courses, a set of fields including the term, instructor name, and instructor email address will be populated.
      • The student also uploads a document stating the reason for the request.
    • Upon completing the form, a confirmation email goes to the student, the spsadvising alias, and the instructor.
    • The instructor informs a representative of the SPS Advising team of the following information: what assignments the student needs to complete in the class, a date by which they need to be completed, and the grade that the student will receive if the work is not completed on time. 
    • The SPS Advising representative accesses the form on the back-end at https://advising.sps.columbia.edu/manage/form/form?id=c5e2d7aa-67d1-4453-a43d-2df63d598024. There they enter the information supplied by the professor along with the professor's name (as an electronic signature). 
    • A confirmation that this information has been entered is sent to the student and the spsadvising alias.
    • The student logs back into the portal. All of the information about the request will now be displayed in the table at the top of the screen. The student clicks a link in the signature column.  The form appears below, and the student can now provide an electronic signature showing that they understand the expectations.
    • A confirmation email is sent to the student, their advisor, and the spsadvising alias.
• Change of Modality Request Form
  
  • Students enrolled in a remote program who want to change to in-person (or vice versa) complete a Change of Modality form.
  • The student receives a confirmation email upon completion. The email also goes to the student's advisor and spsadvising@columbia.edu
  • The request must be approved by the program director and advisor.
  • Once approved, it should get sent (manually) to Andy Hrycyk for processing.
• FERPA Release Form
  
  • The FERPA  Release form designates one or more people who can speak on behalf of the student. Students complete a form that grants permission to an individual who or an organization whose representatives can speak about their record on their behalf.
  • Students receive an email confirming that their request was received. The confirmation e-mail also goes to spsadvising@columbia.edu.
  • Information about the individual's designee(s) are displayed on a FERPA Release tab on their profile page in Slate. 
  • Students will have the ability to revoke a a FERPA release by emailing their advisor. In that case, the advisor can access a form to change the status from active to inactive.
  • The FERPA Release tab has separate sections for FERPA releases that are active and inactive.

Release FY24.2.0 [March 2024]

• Leave of Absence Fully Executed Communication
  • When the status of a student's Leave of Absence request becomes fully executed, if "Suppress Communications" is set to "no", and it has been approved by the program rep, the advisor, and, in the case  of a medical LOA, the wellness representative, a confirmation email automatically goes to the student and a copy goes to:
    
    • If the leave was for a medical reason: his/her advisor and the wellness alias.
    • If the leave is voluntary or military: his/her advisor.
• Return from Leave of Absence Form
  
  • Students complete a form in Slate when they are ready to return from a Leave of Absence.
  • The form asks the reason for the leave of absence, the term they plan to return for, and whether they are applying for on-campus housing. It also requires a letter about the reason for their leave and how they plan to return successfully.
  • Students receive an email confirming that their request was received. The email also goes to the student's advisor (if they have one) and spsadvising@columbia.edu.