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  4. Doctoral Actions Workflow User Guide - Graduate School

Doctoral Actions Workflow User Guide - Graduate School

The Kuali workflow application has been implemented for graduate students to request to appoint or modify their Ph.D. committee, schedule or modify their qualifying exam, schedule or modify their dissertation defense, request to extend the deadline to enter candidacy, and/or request to extend candidacy. School administrators will utilize the Kuali workflow application to review doctoral workflow requests for graduate students. Students and administrators should refer to the Graduate School catalog for academic regulations.

To view a pdf version of this user guide, including screenshots of YES, click here: Doctoral Actions Workflow User Guide - Graduate School Approval.

Graduate School Tier 1 Review

Once a request for doctoral workflow has been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, you will receive an email. Click Begin Review to access the form.

Approval Workflow/Timeline

The Tier 1 Review is the third step in the Doctoral Workflow approval process. Once the Tier 1 approval is finalized, the form routes to Graduate School Tier 2 for final reviews and approvals.

Reviewing the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Scroll to the top of the form to see what the student submitted. (The form opens at the Graduate School Comments box.)
  2. Review the form for compliance with Graduate School policies.
Approving the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments left in this box will be part of the student’s academic record but not visible to the student.
  2. Click Approve.
  3. The request will now be routed to the Tier 2 approver.
Denying the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments will be included in the denial notification email sent to the student. Unless edited by a later user, these comments will appear whether the request is denied during the Tier 1, Tier 2, or Dean’s approval step.
  2. Click Deny.
  3. The student will be notified via email that the request has been denied. 
Sending the Doctoral Workflow Request Back

If, during the course of your review, you notice something that requires the student or previous reviewer to change the request, you can send the request back.

  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments left in this box will be part of the student’s academic record but not visible to the student.
  2. Click Send Back.
  3. Select to whom the form should be sent back: Form Submission (student), Program Administrator Approval (program administrator), or Director of Graduate Studies Approval (DGS).
  4. Add comments if desired. These comments will be included in the notification to the recipient.
  5. Click Send Back. The user will be notified via email that the request has been sent back for additional action.

Graduate School Tier 2 Review

Once a request for doctoral workflow has been approved by the departmental administrator, you will receive an email. Click Begin Review to access the form.

Approval Workflow/Timeline

The Tier 2 Review is the fourth stop for Doctoral Action requests. The form routes to the associate dean for final review and approval, or to the URO for processing.

Reviewing the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Scroll to the top of the form to see what the student submitted. (The form opens at the Graduate School Comments box.)
  2. Review the form for compliance with Graduate School policies.
Approving the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments will be part of the student’s academic record but not visible to the student.
  2. Answer the Degree Audit Exceptions question.
  3. Determine the next step for routing (either Approve, next step: URO, or Approve, next step: Dean review).
  4. Click Approve.
  5. The request will now be routed to either the URO or the associate dean, depending on the selection in step 3. 
Denying the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. NOTE: For requests where the action = Deny, comments will be included in the denial notification sent to the student. Comments included in this box will be sent to the student whether entered in the Tier 1, Tier 2, or Dean’s approval step.
  2. Answer the Degree Audit Exceptions question.
    • NOTE: For requests where the action = Deny, the workflow ends at this step. Any degree audit exceptions will need to be sent via other means.
  3. Select Reject as the Tier 2 Routing Option.
  4. Click Deny.
  5. The student will be notified via email that the request has been denied.
Sending the Doctoral Workflow Request Back

If, during the course of your review, you notice something that requires the student or previous reviewer to change the request, you can send the request back.

  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments will be part of the student’s academic record but not visible to the student.
  2. Answer the Degree Audit Exceptions question.
    • NOTE: For requests where the action = Send Back, the workflow re-starts. Any degree audit exceptions will need to be re-added during the later review or sent via other means.
  3. Select Reject as the Tier 2 Routing Option.
  4. Click Send Back.
  5. Select to whom the form should be sent back: Form Submission (student), Program Administrator Approval (program administrator), Director of Graduate Studies Approval (DGS), or Graduate School Tier 1.
  6. Add comments. These will be included in the notification to the recipient.
  7. Click Send Back. The user will be notified via email that the request has been sent back for additional action. 

Graduate School Dean Review

Once a request for doctoral workflow has been approved by the departmental administrator, you will receive an email. Click Begin Review to access the form.

Approval Workflow/Timeline

Dean Review is the final approval stop for Doctoral Action requests. Once approved, the form will route to the URO for processing.

Reviewing the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Scroll to the top of the form to see what the student submitted. (The form opens at the Graduate School Comments box.)
  2. Review the form for compliance with Graduate School policies.
Approving the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments will be part of the student’s academic record but not visible to the student.
  2. Click Approve.
  3. The request will now be routed to the URO. 
Denying the Doctoral Workflow Request
  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. NOTE: For requests where the action = Deny, comments will be included in the denial notification sent to the student. Comments included in this box will be sent to the student whether entered in the Tier 1, Tier 2, or Dean’s approval step.
  2. Click Deny.
    • NOTE: For requests where the action = Deny, the workflow ends at this step. Any degree audit exceptions will need to be sent via other means.
  3. The student will be notified via email that the request has been denied. 
Sending the Doctoral Workflow Request Back

If, during the course of your review, you notice something that requires the student or previous reviewer to change the request, you can send the request back.

  1. Leave a comment in the Graduate School Comments box, if desired. Comments will be part of the student’s academic record but not visible to the student.
  2. Click Send Back.
    • NOTE: For requests where the action = Send Back, the workflow re-starts. Any degree audit exceptions will need to be sent via other means.
  3. Select to whom the form should be sent back: Form Submission (student), Program Administrator Approval (program administrator), Director of Graduate Studies Approval (DGS), Graduate School Tier 1, or Graduate School Tier 2.
  4. Add comments if desired. These comments will be included in the notification to the recipient.
  5. Click Send Back. The user will be notified via email that the request has been sent back for additional action.

Accessing Your Work Queue

In addition to clicking on the Begin Review button embedded in the notification emails, you can access your work queue at the following web address: https://vanderbilt.kualibuild.com/.

Questions

Please contact the YES Help Line at yes@vanderbilt.edu if you have questions or need additional assistance regarding this application.