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Request, Add, and Manage External Evaluations for a Case

External evaluations are an integral component of the review process, so tools are available to streamline this process and make it easy for Unit Administrators or Case Managers to request evaluations from scholars that are outside of the committee or institution. Unit Administrators, Case Managers, and Committee Managers can request evaluations from scholars who are external to the committee (or even the institution) to help them evaluate a candidate. There are two ways to add external evaluations to a case. An evaluation can be uploaded directly into the candidate's case, or evaluations can be requested from one or more external evaluators through our program by email. External evaluators will receive the email with instructions for submitting the document and can upload it directly to Interfolio without having an Interfolio account. 

 

Request/Add an External Evaluation for a Case

Request an External Evaluation

  1. Navigate to the case by selecting Cases under Review, Promotion, & Tenure on the navigation menu.
  2. Click the Name of the Candidate for the desired case.
  3. Click Request Evaluation under the External Evaluations section.
    External Evaluations section with Request Evaluation button on the right
  4. Enter the Name and Email of the external evaluator(s) on the Request External Evaluation page.
    • Multiple evaluators can be added by clicking the Add Another Evaluator button.
  5. Change the From Name and Reply-to address, if desired. Be sure to give the email request a meaningful Subject line.
  6. Enter the email Message to the evaluator. 

    If you are requesting evaluations from more than one person, use the variables below to automatically fill in the first and last names of each evaluator receiving the message. 

    -  Evaluator First Name = %EV_First% 
    -  Evaluator Last Name = %EV_Last%

     
  7. Click Preview Email to see how the requested email will appear to the external evaluator. This preview does not auto-populate a name if the mail merge function has been used. The names will, however, be populated in the sent message.
  8. Click Add Files under the Files section to attach files from the candidate sections or internal sections to the request if necessary. The files added here can be downloaded by the recipient when they accept the invitation to write an evaluation. You cannot add any files from the external evaluation section.

    If your institution has enabled the integration between RPT and FAR, the candidate's FAR Vita can be uploaded here to share with the external evaluation. The vita will appear as one of the file options to add. 

     
  9. Select a Deadline under the Response Settings section. This is a Hard Deadline, meaning the recipient will not be able to submit an evaluation after the deadline date.
  10. Indicate whether or not the evaluator can submit additional files. If Yes is selected, the evaluator will be presented with the option to add up to ten additional files. 
  11. Select who can access the request and evaluation once it is uploaded using the dropdown.
  12. Click Send Request when finished. 
    • Submitted Evaluations will be added to the External Evaluation section by default. This can be changed by selecting Edit > Edit Settings adjacent to the request.

The sender will be notified if a request for an evaluation is unable to be delivered to the email address entered.

 

Evaluator Notifications After the Request has been Sent

The external evaluator will immediately receive the request in their email. Once they select the View Request button, they will have the option to accept or decline the request. Once they accept, they will be able to view any attached files and see the option to upload their evaluation. They can return to this screen at any time by selecting the link in the email. Automatic reminders will be sent to external evaluators seven days and one day before the set deadline. Please note that this is a hard deadline. No additional reminders are sent after the deadline passes, if the evaluator declines the request, or if the evaluator submits the evaluation before a reminder is sent.

Check out this help article for the evaluator's experience receiving the request and uploading their evaluation.

 
 
 

Upload an Evaluation Directly to the Case

Unit Administrators, Case Managers, and Committee Managers can upload an evaluation file directly to the candidate's case. 

  1. Click Add File under the External Evaluations section.
    External Evaluations section with Add File button on the right
  2. Click Browse To Upload to locate the file containing the evaluation.
 
 

Manage Evaluation Request (View, Edit, Resend Cancel, or Delete)

View Reporting for Evaluation Requests and Uploads

When a Unit Administrator, Case Manager, or Committee Manager uploads an external evaluation, it is recorded in the Activity Log.

 

Click View Activity Log from the Case Options dropdown at the top of the page.
View Activity Log selected from the Case Options dropdown

The Case Activity Log shows:

  • Who requested an evaluation
  • When the evaluation was requested
  • If the request bounced
  • When the evaluation was submitted/added
  • Who uploaded the evaluation

The case activity log does not show when/if an evaluator accepted or declined a request.

 
 
 

View Status of Request

Under the External Evaluation section within the case you will be able to review the status of your request. In the details column you will see one of the following statuses:

  • Requested
  • Accepted
  • Declined
  • Submitted by [uploader name] (with a timestamp)

Once the request has been accepted or declined, you can no longer cancel or delete the request. You can, however, delete an evaluation that has been uploaded.

 
 

Edit Settings of Evaluation (name, section, access settings)

The Edit Settings option allows you to:

  • Edit the file name of the evaluation
  • Edit the internal section that evaluation will be added to
  • Edit who has access to the evaluation
  • Edit & resend the request
  • Add the external evaluation on behalf of the evaluator

To edit the settings of the 

 
 

Resend Request

If you need to make any changes to an external evaluation request, such as the evaluator's name/email address, the message, or the files included, you can Edit & Resend the request. This does not create a new request, but the evaluator will receive a new email each time the request is resent. Evaluators will lose access to any files removed from the resent request. If the request was either accepted or declined by the evaluator, resending the request will not change the disposition.

 

The Edit & Resend option will present the same request screen when the request was originally submitted. From here you can:

  • Edit the name and email of the evaluator
  • Edit the email and message of the request
  • Add files to the request
  • Edit the deadline
  • Indicate if the evaluator can add multiple files 
  • Indicate who within the review committee will have access to the uploaded evaluation
  • Resend the request

 

To resend a request

  1. Select Edit next to the request
  2. Select Edit & Resend Request
  3. Edit/Update the fields of the request
  4. Select Send
 
 

Cancel Request

When you cancel a request, it will remove the request from the case completely. The evaluator will not be notified that you canceled the request until they click View Details from the original request email. They will then be presented with a page that lets them know the request is no longer needed.

External evaluation requests cannot be canceled after they have been accepted or declined by the external evaluator.

 

 

To Cancel a Request

  1. Select Edit next to the request
  2. Select Cancel Request
 
 

Delete Evaluation File

After an evaluation has been submitted by an evaluator, the evaluator cannot delete or replace the file. An administrator, case manager, or committee manager can delete the file by following these steps:

  1. Select Edit next to the submitted evaluation
  2. Select Edit Settings
  3. Select Remove under Files
  4. Select Delete File from the Delete File Confirmation window

This action will change the status of the request from Submitted to Accepted. The evaluator now has the ability to add a new file from the link in their original request. To remove the request from the case completely, follow the steps under Cancel Request in the accordion above.

 
 

FAQs

What happens if the evaluation request is unable to be delivered?

If a request for an evaluation is unable to be delivered to the email address entered, the requester will be notified. The requester will be notified if the email address entered for the evaluation request is invalid or if the email has been blocked from receiving emails from Interfolio. The requester will NOT be notified if the email landed in the user's spam folder.

 
 

Can external evaluations be shared with the candidate?

 Documents added to the External Evaluations section using the Add File button, or evaluations requested through the External Evaluation section using the Request Evaluation button are uploaded as confidential documents that cannot be shared with the candidate, even when they are moved to another part of the packet. 

It is possible, to share non-confidential documents, even when those documents have been moved into the External Evaluations section. For sharing files, what matters is whether they are uploaded as confidential documents. They will remain confidential, no matter where they appear in the packet. Likewise, non-confidential materials will remain non-confidential no matter where they appear in the packet. Unit Administrators, Case Managers, or Committee Managers can share documents with the candidate using the document-sharing feature.

 
 

Are there any reminders sent to evaluators to submit their evaluation?

Automatic reminders will be sent to external evaluators seven days and one day before the set deadline. Please note that this is a hard deadline. No additional reminders are sent after the deadline passes if the evaluator declines the request, or if the evaluator submits the evaluation before a reminder is sent.

 
 

 

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