Configuration of FWL Automated Approval Notifications

Purpose:  Use this document as a reference to configure FWL automated approval notifications in ctcLink.

Audience:  FWL Administrator.

You must have at least one of these local college managed security roles:

  • ZC FWL Maintain Config
  • ZD FWL View Config

If you need assistance with the above security roles, please contact your local college supervisor or IT Admin to request role access.

In order to support sending notifications to all parties involved with Contract (appointment letter) approval and acceptance and automated notification process was developed as part of the Faculty Workload improvement package #2.  It is not required that colleges use the FWL Automated Approval Notification for contract approvals; however, instructor notifications are also part of this process and therefore would need to be configured if instructor notifications are desired.

FWL Automated Approval Notification configuration is done in the Campus Solutions pillar using the following navigation:

Navigation:  Set Up SACR > Product Related > Student Records > Curriculum Management > CTC Custom > Faculty Workload > FWL Approval Setup > 

Initial setup is done by the State Board, but a college can request assistance through ERP Support to make revisions to their configuration. There are 4 parts to configure FWL Automated Notifications, which must be built in a specific order as each page relies on a configuration established on the page before:

  1. User List Configuration
  2. Process Definition
  3. Email Template Setup
  4. Approval Notification Config

Configuration of FWL Automated Approval Notifications

User List Configuration

User Lists are designed to support a college specific definition to identify the population to be used in the notification process.  User Lists are established by prefacing the institution (or district) identifier, for example WA170 or WA220, followed by a description of the selection population (e.g. HR_UserList, DeanAdmin_UserList).

See Alert at the bottom on this article regarding additional steps when using an email alias for notification and the security role necessary for

Navigation:  Set Up SACR > Product Related > Student Records > Curriculum Management > CTC Custom > Faculty Workload > FWL Approval Setup > User List Configuration

  1. The Setup User Lists search page displays.
  2. Select the Search button to see all available choices.
  3. Search Results display.
  4. Select applicable User List.
  5. The User List Definition page displays.
  6. Select the Custom radio button to view/update the Custom Definition field.

The process to review and update the User List Definition is now complete.

Process Definition

Once the User Lists are established, the next step is to define the college or district specific order for approval notifications.

Process definitions are established by adding a new Process ID value.  The Process ID value is prefaced by the institution (or district) identifier, for example WA170 or WA220, followed by a description of the selection population (e.g. HR_UserList, DeanAdmin_UserList).  

Note: Multi-campus districts can establish one Process Definition Process ID and reference it for each institution for consistency across the district.

In the example below the college desired a 2-step approval notification process.  The first approval stage in the example below is HR. As shown in the sample above HR is notified using a predefined email alias that allows a group of HR department staff to receive email notifications to review and approve contracts.  

Once approved, the notification is triggered to the second stage approval, in the example show Dean/Administrators.  As shown in the sample above, Dean/Administrators notification goes to the person who is listed as the supervisor for the instructor, based upon the Job Data record used when calculating the contract.  

Navigation:  Set Up SACR > Product Related > Student Records > Curriculum Management > CTC Custom > Faculty Workload > FWL Approval Setup > Process Definitions

  1. The Setup Process Definitions search page displays.
  2. Enter the Process ID or leave blank to view all values.
  3. Select the Search button.
  4. The Process Definition page displays.

The process to view the process definition page is now complete.

Email Template Setup

After the User Lists and Process Definitions are established the next step is to define what the standard template will be for each stage of notification.  Using the examples above, the HR and Dean/Administrator notices include boiler plate language and contract/instructor specific variables.

In addition to the contract approval email templates, an instructor notification template must be configured. Similar to the User List configuration, the naming convention for establishing Email Templates begins with the Institution (or district) code, (e.g. WA170_, WA140_, WA220_) followed by an identifier of the population being notified (e.g. HR, DeanAdmin, Instructor).

Navigation:  Set Up SACR > Product Related > Student Records > Curriculum Management > CTC Custom > Faculty Workload > FWL Approval Setup > Email Template Configuration

  1. The Email Templates Setup search page displays.
  2. Select the Search button to see all values in the Search Results.
  3. Select the Add a New Value tab to create a new template using the naming convention described above.
  4. Select the Add button.
  5. The Email Template page displays. Provide a brief description of the template.
  6. Select the default email priority (High, Medium, Low) to send each notification.
  7. Set the Sender to 'System' for a no-reply email source or a specific email alias can be configured as the default sender.
  8. Add the default email Subject Line.  If desired, variables can be used to tailor each notification subject line to help differentiate notifications by inserting the representative value (e.g. %1 = EMPLID) .  
  9. Draft the default email body text, inserting variables as desired to tailor the notification.  

Notification body MUST contain at a minimum the variable to insert link (%9) to the online contract.

  1. The list of available template variables are displayed below.  To include them in the subject or body of the message simply insert the relevant value (e.g. %1).
Template Variables

The process to setup an email template is now complete.

Approval Setup Center

The final step to set up FWL Automated Approval Notification is the Approval Notification Config in the Approvals Setup Center. There must be an Approval Notification Config for each institution where Faculty Workload contracts are calculated.  

Note: For multi-campus districts this is NOT configured at the district level.

Navigation: Set Up SACR > Product Related > Student Records > Curriculum Management > CTC Custom > Faculty Workload > FWL Approval Setup >Approval Notification Config

  1. The Approvals Setup Center search page displays.
  2. Select the Add a New Value tab.
  3. Enter the Institution Code (e.g. WA171, WA172, WA140, WA220).
  4. Select the Add button.

Automated Approval Notification Configuration

  1. The Automated Approval Notification Configuration page displays.
  2. There are two tabs on this page, Approval Notification and Instructor Notification.
    • Approval Notification is where the FWL Automated Approval Notification is 'turned on' and the approval stages are referenced.
    • Instructor Notification is where the Instructor Only Notification Configuration is 'turned on' and the instructor email template is referenced.
  3. Establish the Effective Date: (e.g. 01/01/1901).
  4. Set the Status to 'Active'.
  5. Enter a brief description.
  6. Check the Enable Approval Workflow check box to 'turn on' the Automated Approval Notification.
  7. Use the Look-Up to select the established Process ID (e.g. WA170_SAMPLE).
  8. Select the Save button.
  9. Using the examples above, the Process Definition Process ID "WA170_SAMPLE" was established to represent the desired approval stage order and related user lists.
  10. Select the Instructor Notification tab.
  11. Establish the Effective Date: (e.g. 01/01/1901)
  12. Set the Status to 'Active'.
  13. Enter a brief description.
  14. Check the Enable Approval Workflow check box to 'turn on' the Automated Approval Notification
  15. Use the Look-Up to select the established Process ID (e.g. WA170_SAMPLE).
  16. Select the Save button.

To gain a better understanding of the user experience of the FWL Automated Approval Notification process refer to the article: FWL Automated Approval Notification Overview.

Electronic Address Confirmation

You must have at least one of these local college managed security roles:

  • ZC CC Personal Information
  • ZD CC Personal Information
  • ZD CC Super user
  • ZZ CC Pers Info NID Update
  • ZZ CC Personal Information

If you need assistance with the above security roles, please contact your local college supervisor or IT Admin to request role access.

ALERT: If using an email alias as a means of sending notifications the 'alias' email must be added to the Person Information (bio/demo) record for those who will be responsible for taking action on the email notification for approval.  An additional Electronic Address, under the Address Type of OTHER must be added to the Person Information record.  This can be done in HCM and will automatically synchronize over to the Campus Solution (CS) pillar.

In addition to the email alias being added to the Person Information record for those who are notified via an email alias, anyone (HR, Dean/Security Role: CTC_FWL_APPROVER added to their Security - User Profile to enable access to the Approval/Reject buttons on the Contract Information Page.

Navigation:  Campus Community > Personal Information > Biographical > Addresses/Phones > Electronic Addresses

  1. The Electronic Addresses search page displays.
  2. Enter the Search Criteria.
  3. Select the Search button.
  4. The Electronic Addresses page displays.
  5. Select the Email Type of Campus.
  6. Confirm email alias entered is the same as entered in the User List Definition.

The process to configure FWL automated approval notifications is now complete.

0 Comments

Add your comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.