Recommendations (Online)

AdmissionPros Online Recommendation Management

Online/electronic letters of recommendation provide an excellent solution to the receipt and management of applicant letters of recommendation.  The following description of the AdmissionPros online recommendation process, and the issues occasionally encountered, is intended to provide insight into how the online recommendation process works, and to offer suggestions/solutions to help you respond to applicant/recommender inquiries as they arise. 

Online Recommendation Process

The online recommender process consists basically of three steps:

1. The applicant provides recommender information, including email address, via the Graduate School’s online admission application.

2. The applicant triggers an email invitation to each recommender from within their application.  This email contains general information & instructions, along with a button for easy access to the recommender portal.

3. The recommender logs on to the online recommendation portal using the logon info provided in the email invitation and completes/submits the online recommendation form. 

These steps are explained in greater detail on the following pages.
Recommender Information – The applicant provides the contact info, including email address, for all recommenders when completing the online application for admission.  Below is a sample recommender page from an online admission application.   A page like this is provided for each recommender required.   

Recommender Email Notification – Recommenders are contacted via email and are invited to complete the recommendation online.  

Sample Email Invitation:

Dear <<recommender name>>,

Applicant Name: <<applicant’s name>>

Program:  <<major>>/<<degree>>

Planned term of entry: <<semester>> <<year>>

This individual is applying to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and has indicated that you will be providing a recommendation.  A secure online recommendation site is available for this purpose, where you will be asked to provide an overall ranking of the applicant and to upload a previously prepared letter of recommendation (if requested).  Before uploading the letter of recommendation please carefully review the document being uploaded for accuracy.  Once the file is uploaded and the ranking has been provided please then proceed to SUBMIT the overall recommendation form.  PLEASE NOTE:  once the recommendation form is submitted the content is final, and neither the ranking provided nor the file uploaded can be edited (overwritten) or removed. 

We hope you will find this process to be convenient, and we do appreciate your efforts on behalf of this applicant.     If you would prefer to complete the recommendation by paper the form is available at http://gradschool.unc.edu/pdf/recform.pdf

Sending of Email Invitation to Recommender

The applicant controls timing of the release of the recommender email notification from within their online application for admission.  AdmissionPros tracks release of the email notifications and will not permit submission of the application until all recommender email notification emails have been sent. 

Recommender Email Reminders

A system-triggered reminder email is generated if the online recommendation form is not submitted within 15 days of initial invitation.  Additional reminder emails can be sent by the applicant via the app status page, or by staff via the recommender management screen and the SEND REMINDER button.

Recommender Responds to Email Notification – In response to the email notification, the recommender connects to the recommender portal by clicking the button provided in the email invitation.  On that portal they will be asked to confirm their identity by entering their email address

Upon successful logon, recommenders will be taken to the online recommendation form (sample form below).

Recommenders do not have to complete the online recommendation in one session.  They can begin the process and save their work (via the SAVE button) in order to return at a later time to complete & submit the online recommendation form. 

Once all information required by the form has been provided the recommender should then proceed to submit the online recommendation form (via the SUBMIT) button.  The recommendation form cannot be submitted until all required information has been provided. 

Once the recommendation form is submitted the content is final and cannot be edited (overwritten) or removed.   Recommenders will, however, be able to return and view the information they provided.  The status of the online recommendation (submitted/not submitted) is displayed prominently on both the top and bottom of the online recommendation form. 

Notification Email Not Received by Recommender

This occurrence is rare.  To trouble-shoot, first verify that the email was actually sent by going into Email Management/Email Log and search for the recommender’s email.  If you see the email in the list then it was sent by AdmissionPros.  We recommend that applicants DO NOT provide a work email address for their recommenders, as some work settings block email sent from external sources.  This is especially true for healthcare and school settings. 

Possible Causes

·     Incorrect Email Address:  applicants occasionally provide an incorrect email address for the recommender ... either by mistake or intentionally in order to bypass the online letter of recommendation process (if they prefer paper).  Solution:  contact applicant and have them provide correct email address.  Then, use the EDIT EMAIL button on the recommender management screen to correct the email and then and click RE-SEND REC REQUEST button.  This will trigger a new recommender email invitation.

·     SPAM blockers:  if the recommender has a SPAM blocker in place this will prevent the AdmissionPros generated email notification from getting through.  Solution:  recommenders can either turn off their SPAM blocker or accept emails from admissionpros.com. 

Recommender reports their login to the portal does not work or results in “RECORD NOT FOUND” error message.

There are a couple of possibilities:

·     Recommender has entered their email address incorrectly on the recommender portal login screen. 

·     A more complicated scenario (beyond the frequent problem of typing in the email address incorrectly) is the problem caused when an applicant changes the recommender name/information AFTER having sent the recommender email notification.  This can occur prior to the applicant submitting their application.  For instance, an applicant specifies John Smith as recommender #1 on their online application, and clicks SEND to generate the email notification to John Smith.  But just before submitting their application the applicant decides to use Sally Jones as recommender #1 instead.  So, the applicant goes into his/her application and changes the recommender #1 info to that of Sally Jones, which results in the logon info sent initially to John Smith being disabled.  But unless the applicant notifies John Smith, John Smith isn’t aware of the change and may continue to attempt to log on and complete the recommendation.  You can investigate/identify such changes by looking at the recommender information listed inside the applicant’s record.  As in the case above, if recommender #1 has been replaced by a new recommender #1, the name of the recommender displayed will be different from the individual making the inquiry.  

What instructions does the recommender receive?

Both the recommender email notification (see sample above), and the online recommender form (see sample above), contain specific instructions for how to access/log on to the online recommender form and how to complete the online recommender form, including instructions for uploading the letter of recommendation and submitting the form. 

What must the recommender do to complete the online letter of recommendation?

After logging on to the recommendation site, the recommender completes the online recommendation by:  

·     Providing any ranking(s) (if requested)

·     Uploading the previously prepared letter of recommendation (if requested)

·     Submitting the online recommendation form (via SUBMIT button) – this is a critical last step sometimes overlooked by recommenders

How is the upload accomplished?

The online letter of recommendation letter upload process is very similar to the steps required to send a file as an email attachment.  Using the instructions provided on the online recommendation site, the recommender uses the BROWSE button to navigate to the appropriate file on their machine.  When the file is located, the recommender highlights the file and clicks UPLOAD.

What document formats are accepted for upload

PDF

Can a letter of recommentation uploaded previously be overwritten?

Once the online recommendation form is submitted, no subsequent (re)upload is possible.  Recommenders may return to the online recommendation form to view their previously uploaded letter, but they may not replace that letter after the online recommendation form is submitted.

The recommendation is not flagged as received on the app status page, but the recommender reports having uploaded the letter of recommendation.

In order for a recommendation to be flagged as received, and to display as received on the applicant’s app status page, the online recommendation form – not just a letter upload - must be submitted.  Recommenders occasionally forget to click the SUBMIT button.  The status (submitted or not submitted) of the recommendation clearly displays prominently on the top of the online recommendation form.

What if an applicant or a recommender prefers to use paper letters of recommendation?

Whether or not to require that letters of recommendation be submitted electronically is a school/program decision.  If your program requires that letters of recommendation be submitted electronically, make that requirement clear on your program web site and in your program’s recommender email notification template.  If you elect to accommodate paper letters of recommendation, those letters will need to be scanned and linked to the appropriate application and recommender.

What are the system requirements the recommender must have in place for the online recommendation form/upload to perform successfully?

The system requirements for the online letter of recommendation process are the same as for the online admission application. 

This application works best with Google Chrome.  Cookies must be enabled for login to work (true for any web login page). 

Applicant is unable to submit application due to outstanding recommender notification, but is unable to send notification

This dilemma is caused by staff editing a recommender record prior to the applicant submitting their application.  If a recommendation is linked to an application prior to the applicant having sent the recommender the email notification, the applicant will be unable to submit the application because the notification is outstanding and the notification cannot be sent because the recommendation has already been marked as received.  Make NO edits to an in progress application.