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Designate a Person to Upload Letters from Multiple Letter Writers (Proxy)

It is common for institutions and letter services to designate one individual to upload recommendation letters on behalf of multiple letter writers. The individual uploading the letters is referred to as a proxy. Since the proxy is actually uploading the letters, their email address needs to be added to the requester's contacts and will be used when creating and sending a letter request.

 

Note

  • When a letter is added to an Interfolio-hosted position or sent as part of a delivery, the receiving institution will only see the title of the letter and the letter itself. The recommender’s name and email address that is listed in Interfolio is private.
  • A new request will need to be sent to the proxy for each letter that will be uploaded.
  • An individual cannot send out multiple letter requests to the same proxy's email at the same time. Separate requests must be created.
 

Designate a Person to Upload Letters from Multiple Letter Writers (Proxy)

1. Add Proxy’s Name to Contacts

Navigation: Add Contacts > Add Contact > Add

  1. Select My Contacts from the dropdown menu in the upper right-hand corner.
    Name dropdown with My Contacts selected
  2. Click Add Contact in the upper right-hand corner of the My Contacts page.
  3. Enter the name of the letter writer and the email address of the proxy who is going to receive the request.

    Note that the name and email listed here will not be shared when the letter is added to an application or shared as part of a delivery.

     
  4. Click Add when finished.

We suggest titling your letter of recommendation "Letter of recommendation from [letter writer's name].” The letter writer's name should be included in the message to the recommender to ensure the proxy knows which letter writer this request is for.

 
 
 

2. Request Letter

  1. Click Letters on the left-hand menu.
  2. Click the Request a Letter button in the upper right-hand corner.
  3. Select the Request Method; email or printed form. 
Method What To Do
Printed Form You will need to send the cover sheet to your letter writer. The letter writer must include the cover sheet when mailing the letter to Interfolio.
Email

Enter and select the name of the proxy who will receive the request. If the name of the proxy does not appear or is not in your list of contacts, select the Add New Contact tab to add the proxy to your list of saved contacts.

If you are not sure if a name is in your contacts when making a request, start typing, and if the name appears select it.

 

When requesting a confidential document, it is important to acknowledge that all rights of access to the letter being requested are being waived. The requester has access to attach the letter to applications, but will never be able to view the contents of the letter.

 

iv. Customize the auto-generated Document Title by clicking into the Document Title field and adding text before or after the proxy's name

  • By customizing the title, you can let the proxy know what letter should be uploaded to fulfill the request. 
  • Interfolio will create a document title for each letter you request and replace the text variable "%RecommenderName%" with the name of the proxy.  You can customize the name above but please note that you must keep the proxy’s name in the title until the request has been sent.  Once the request has been sent, you are welcome to remove the proxy’s name from the title and replace it with the name of the letter writer.
 

vi. Enter the Information for Your Recommender including due date, description, message to the recommender, and supporting materials.

vii. Click Preview Request adjacent to Message To Recommender to see how the message will look to the recommenders.

viii. Click Send Request when finished.

 
 

3. Indicate if the Request is for a Confidential Letter

Select the checkbox to indicate that this is a request for a confidential letter or evaluation.

Note that by requesting a confidential document, you acknowledge that you waive all rights of access to the letter you are requesting.

 
 
 

4. Enter Information for Your Proxy

The Information for Your Recommender section allows you to customize the request that the proxy will receive. This section is optional and you are not required to add anything in order to submit the request. 

 

Here you can:

  • Provide a Due Date for when you need the recommendation.
  • Specify the Recommendation Type.
  • Provide a Description (website link or text description) of the opportunity for which you are applying or will be using the letter for.
  • Enter a Message to Proxy. Interfolio will personalize the message by inserting the proxy’s name in place of the text variable “%RecommenderName%”. 
    • You can click the Preview Request button to see how the message will look when the proxy reads it.
  • Add Supporting Materials from your Dossier that will be viewable by the proxy.  
    • You can include materials from collections.
    • You are not required to add supporting documents in order to send the request.
 
 

5. Send Request

Click the Send Request button at the bottom of the page when you are ready to submit your request.

You cannot edit a request after it is sent.

 
 
 

6. Review Request

Navigate back to the Letters section.

  • The status of the request will be shown in the Status column as Requested until Interfolio receives the letter.
  • Click View Details adjacent to the desired letter to see information on the request.
    • To remove the proxy's name from the request and add the name of the actual letter writer, change the Title by removing the proxy's name and adding the name of the actual letter writer.

FAQ

How can I remove the proxy's name from the request and add the name of the actual letter writer?

  1. Navigate to the Letters section on the navigation bar.
  2. Click the View Details link adjacent to the desired letter of recommendation.
  3. Change the title of the letter by typing in the Title box. You can change the title to remove the proxy’s name and add the name of the actual letter writer.

    Note that the title is visible when the letter is added to an Interfolio-hosted application or sent out as a part of a delivery.

     
 
 

 

 

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