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Approving a Request for Individual Study

A user guide for instructors approving or denying a request for individual study.

To view a pdf version of this user guide, including screenshots of YES, click here: Individual Study User Guide - Instructor Approval.

The Kuali workflow application has been implemented for undergraduate students and
graduate/professional students in the Divinity School, Graduate School, Law School, Owen Graduate School of Management, Peabody College, the School of Engineering, and the School of Nursing to request enrollment in individual study courses (e.g., independent study, directed research, etc.). A link to the individual study webform is available for students in YES. Instructors will utilize the Kuali workflow application to review individual study requests for their students.

Reviewing the Individual Study Enrollment Request

  1. Once a student has submitted a request for individual study that lists you as the instructor, you will receive an email with information about the student and the course. Click Begin Review to access the form. The form will open to the approval section. Please scroll to the top of the page to see information about the student and course.
  2. Information about the student is pre-populated in the Student Information section.
  3. Details about the course in which the student has requested to enroll will appear in the Course Information section. Course Description and Minimum/Maximum Credit Hours populate from data in the student information system.
  4. The Credit Hours Requested, Year, and Term reflect information provided by the student. In addition, if the student wishes to drop another class if enrolled in the individual study section, that information will also appear.
  5. Students must provide a title of their project, along with a detailed study description. If desired, you can make edits to the title or the information provided in the study description. (You will also have the option to return the request to the student to make these changes themselves.)

Approval Workflow/Timeline

Instructors are the first approvers for all individual study enrollment requests. Once the instructor approves a request, it routes for most students to an administrator in the department (e.g., the Director of Undergraduate Studies) and then to the student’s Office of Academic Services. 

Approving the Individual Study Request

  1. Leave a comment in the Instructor Comments box, if desired. Comments will be visible to administrators (departmental administrator, Office of Academic Services, Office of the University Registrar, etc.), but not to the student.
  2. Click Approve.
  3. The request will now be routed to the department/program’s Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Denying the Individual Study Request

  1. Leave a comment in the Instructor Comments box, if desired. Comments will be visible to administrators (departmental administrator, Office of Academic Services, Office of the University Registrar, etc.), but not to the student.
  2. Click Deny.
  3. The student will be notified via email that the request has been denied. 

Sending the Individual Study Request Back to the Student

If, during the course of your review, you notice something that requires the student to change their request (for example, they entered the wrong number of credit hours), you can send the request back to the student.

  1. Leave a comment in the Instructor Comments box, if desired. Comments will be visible to administrators (departmental administrator, Office of Academic Services, Office of the University Registrar, etc.), but not to the student.
  2. 2. Click Send Back.
  3. The student 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/app/builder/#/actions.

Please contact the YES Help Line at yes@vanderbilt.edu or 615-343-4306 if you have questions or need additional assistance.