23/01/2019 16:08
Frequently Asked Questions about ‘PG Management’
Accessing PG Management
Q/I don’t have the ‘PG Management’ link on Pegasus?
A/ Access to PG Management is granted on two levels. Departments must firstly identify staff members to take on the roles of ‘PGI Application Form Builder’ and / or ‘PG Manager’ for their department. These two roles are granted by Student Experience Systems team on request.
Persons with either of these roles can in turn assign colleagues in their department other roles and responsibilities associated with the range of tasks within ‘PG Management’ which will consequently give them the ‘PG Management’ link for processing online postgraduate instructional applications.
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Search Page
Q/ When I search for applicants on my programme, I see more results using the ‘Selectors service’ than the ‘PG Management’ service. Why?
A/Different services work in different ways. For example, ‘PG Management’ is designed to default to query back ‘All Live Applications’ only for a Faculty, Department or Programme, unless you choose to change it using the other values within the search option.
In the case of the ‘Selectors Service’ it is designed to default to query back all live and non-live statuses, e.g., Withdrawn Reject etc.You will, therefore, always get more results unless you choose to change itto only bring back ‘Live’ statuses.
Q/In the ‘Restrict to’ field on the Search Screen, it’s confusing to have to select a blank line if we want to bring back all our applications. Can it be renamed to something like ‘ALL applications’?
A/The default value in the ‘Restrict to’ field is ‘All Live Applications’. In most cases, departments will not initially be interested in cancelled, withdrawn or partially completed applications. However, if you want to see these statuses, the option is there by opting to clear out the default and choosing the blank value. You can also opt to specifically search on non live statuses using other search options on the screen.
Q/Can we search for applicants with a specific nationality?
A/No, you cannot manage applications by nationality. However, if you need to collate information on applicants nationalities generally, there is another service the ‘Applicant Extract’ that allows departments to create reports extracted from personal and programme details of an Application Form which includes nationality.
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Results Page
Q/How can I tell which applications have been submitted on paper, and which have been submitted online?
A/Paper (offline) applications are indicated by an asterisk next to the applicant’s name. You can also identify them as they have no live links except on the ‘Name’ column. You can drill down into an offline applicant’s name link where you will be able to see the same applicant detail information that is held in the ‘Selectors Service’.
Q/How can I tell if an applicant requires a VISA?
A/Applicants are identified as requiring a visa by the ‘^’ symbol next to their name. You can also use the ‘Restrict to study visa required’ field on the Search screen to only bring back applicants who require a VISA.
Q/Does this tell me what kind of Visa they have applied with?
A/No. At the moment this will only tell you that the applicant has ticked a box on the ‘Application Form’ saying they require a Visa to study in the UK.
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Processing Decisions
Q/When I’m in ‘PG management’ why do some people have more Buttons and Select Actions on their ‘Key Features /Recommend’ and ‘Application Actions’ tabs respectively?
A/The Buttons and Select Actions that you will see on the screen depend on your level of access. For example, if you are set up with ‘View only’ access, you will not see any of the buttons required to make recommendations or make offers/rejects etc. If you are set up to Recommend decisions, you will only see buttons to Recommend and so on.
To change what you see on the screens you need to amend your access privileges. To do this your roles/ responsibilities require to be amended via either the ‘Build PGI Application Forms’ link or ‘Role and Responsibility Maintenance’ link. You should enquire within your department who has the role of ‘PG Manager’ or ‘Application Form Builder’ as they will have access to these links to amend your privileges.
(Key Features)
Q/What are Key features?
A/'Key Features' are individual fields on an application form e.g. Forename, Surname, Disability, Nationality, Qualifications, English Proficiency etc.
A department can opt to specify certain ‘Key Features’ which they can view from the within ‘PG Management’ as part of their application processing when making offers via the tab ‘Key Features/ Recommendation’. There purpose is to save departments form scrolling through the whole application form and trying to pick out the information they are really interested in.
Q/Where are Key Features set up?
A/Key Features are set up via the facility used to build and publish the application form, ‘Build PGI Application Forms’ link on Pegasus.
Q/Can I change the Key Features if my department’s application form has already been published?
A/Yes. You can update the Key Features that display on the ‘Key Features/Recommendation’ tab at any time without having to withdraw your application. The update will be immediate.
(Recommending Offers)
Q/What are the Recommend buttons for?
A/In some departments it is common practice for administrative staff to look over applications and recommend to an academic selector a particular decision. For example, they might highlight possible rejects or applications they think have met the entry requirements.
The tab ‘Key Features / Recommend’ allows users to make this recommendation online.
Once a recommendation has been made, it can be viewed by the selector before they make the official offer/reject.
NB:-The selector is not required to agree with the recommendation.
- A recommendation is not required before an official offer/reject is made.
Q/When would you make a recommendation of ‘No Recommendation’?
A/If you are unsure you want to recommend an offer, or recommend a reject, you can use ‘No Recommendation’. You would use this to highlight to the selector that you have looked at the application, but you are unsure what to do with it. You also have the option of adding any notes for the selector to explain your choice.
Q/How does the Selector get notified of any decisions that are Recommended to him/her?
A/The Selector does not get any automatic electronic notification that a Recommendation has been made. However, you could use the Messaging system within PG Management to contact the Selector if you want them to go into PG Management to make decisions on applicants for whom you have made recommendations. This means that instead of receiving many emails concerning each individual applicant, the Selector receives only one message advising he/she they have something to do.
(Making Offers)
Q/Why do I have to click on the button ‘Make Offer’ twice when I want to make an offer?
A/ ‘Make Offer’works in two stages. You are firstly taken to a screen to make comments or notes, if you wish to do so. To progress to the tab ‘Application Actions’, to action the actual offer, you are invited to repeat the process by clicking on the ‘Make Offer’ button again. If you opt to make the offer from the ‘Applications Actions’ tab you also repeat the steps as above by firstly choosing ‘Offer’ from the list of available values and then ‘Make Offer’ from the comments / notes page to go back to the Application Actions tab.
Q/I am confused by all the different kind of notes in the process what do they mean?
A/There are different kinds of ‘Notes’ which are used for different purposes.
For example, when an ‘Offer’ or a ‘Recommendation’ is made, you are taken to a screen to type in Department Notes and / or Comments.
Applicants can view ‘Comments’ onlyvia their Progress page on their Application Form.
‘Department Notes’ are for staff only, to communicate between themselves and can be viewed via the ‘Application History’ tab in a tableon the left hand of the screen titled ‘Actions on this Application’. Clicking on the red asterisk will reveal the ‘Department Notes’.These notes are NOT part of the formal offer and cannot be seen by the applicant.
There are other Notes which are part of the formal offer. From withinthe ‘Application Actions’ tab,choose ‘Select Actions’ andyou canopt to amend or add Conditions and / or Notes to those already defaulted onto the screen. These Notes will appear in the table of ‘Conditions’, at the bottom, on the right hand of the screen.
(Alternative Offers)
Q/If the applicant has applied for an MSc but I want to make an offer for a PG Diploma how do I do that?
A/Alternative offers of study should be made BEFORE you consider the ‘Make Offer’ stage, i.e. at the start of the process once the application has been reviewed.
From the Key Features / Recommend’ tab or the ‘Applications Action’ tab choose ‘Make Alternative Offer’ from there you can change the programme so long as it is attached to your ‘Application Form’ and you have associated privileges etc. Once the programme is changed you can then go to the next stage of ‘Make Offer’.
Q/ What happens if I have already made the offer for an MSc programmebut then want to amend the programme to a PG Diploma?
A/If you have not released the offer to Admissions you should do so with an instruction preferably via telephone to amend the offer to the preferred programme. The same applies if you have released the offer.
Q/What happens If I want to amend the conditions of an offer?
A/If you have not released the offer to Admissions you can easily amend the conditions from within the ‘Application Actions’ tab by simply opting to ‘Remove’ them.
If you have released the offer to Admissions then you will need to contact them for advice.
Q/What happens after I release the offer to Admissions?
A/Admissions are notified when an application has been released by a Selector. The Application is checked to see if the applicant has met the Administrative conditions and they and ticked off accordingly.
Admissions will then release the offer to the applicant.
This process should take no more than 3 working days, assuming there are no issues to sort out such as a query about fees, or other issues that require investigation, such as an applicant ticking the criminal convictions boxetc.
Staff members with certain responsibilities for PGI programmes, e.g. PGI Selector among others, can opt to receive an email notification informing them when Admissions has released the offer to the applicant. You will also see changes on the ‘Application History’ tab e.g. (Not Authorised) disappears, fees and Home or Overseas status are conformed etc.
Q/Can we use the online system to make offers for paper applications?
A/No. Paper (offline) applications will be processed as before whereby forms are passed between Departments and Admissions and, offers are relayed to the applicant by letter. Only applications made ‘online’, can be processed online.
(Evidence)
Q/Why do we have to type in evidence for the condition, ‘Provide good quality, authenticated copies of your qualifications as stated in your application’?
A/The requirement for Evidence is mandatory for overseas applicants who need a Visa to study in the UK as UKBA require this information. When Departments tick off this condition for such an applicant they are prompted to provide evidence, as advised by Admissions, as follows:-
•2.2 BEng Product Design Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, From June 2005-Sept 2009.
•English Language Qualification: IELTS 7.5.
NB: The English language qualification should always be added after the award.
Q/Why can’t the system automatically populate this information from the applicants application form? If it’s not correct, the selector could then have the option to edit it.
A/The system does not automatically populate this information, from information provided by the applicant in the ‘Application Form’, asit’s purpose is to prove that the University has seen the documentation required by UKBA. The department therefore MUST confirm this is the case and document it accordingly. Also, it helps keep the text on the letters to UKBA consistent etc., as departments are requested to enter this information in a specific way as stated above.
(Ticking off Conditions)
Q/I can see all the conditions on the screen. Why can’t I tick them off?
A/You are probably on the ‘Application History’ tab. To manage applications (inc. ticking off conditions) you need to be in the ‘Application Actions’ tab.
Q/I want to remove a condition but I can’t see how to do this?
A/The option to ‘Remove’ conditions is only there before you release the offer to Admissions. Once you have released the offer to Admissions you only have the options to ‘Confirm fulfilled’ or ‘Waive’.
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Uploads
Q/I can see the files uploaded by the applicant but why can’t I open them?
A/You are probably in the ‘Application Details’ tab where you can only view uploaded documents. If you want to open the files you can onlydo this in the ‘Application Actions’ tab, by selecting ‘Uploads’ from the ‘Select Action’ drop down list or you can go directly to the uploads portal from the ‘Results Page’ via the ‘Uploads’ column.
Q/When I open an uploaded document why do I find that the document doesn’t always match the Document Type stated?
A/Applicants choose from a range of Document Types when uploading their documents. Sometimes you may find that they incorrectly match the two.
Q/Why are files uploaded against the applicant and the programme?
A/-Files uploaded against the applicant are things like copies of qualifications, CV’s and passports.
-Files uploaded against the programme would be something like a reference and sponsor letter etc.
If an applicant applies for multiple programmes, they are not required to upload their personal files again.
Q/Can we allow applicants to upload CD’s, DVD’s, MP3’s etc?
A/No. There are restrictions on what applicants are allowed to upload. The max file size for a single document is 10MB. Something like a CD could be 700MB and a DVD 4.7GB. There is no limit on how many files an applicant can upload.
Allowable file extensions are as follows: .BMP, .DOC, .DOCX, .GIF, .JPG, .PDF, .PNG, .RTF, .TIF, .TIFF, .TXT,.XLS, .XLSX
Q/ Can the Department upload documents relating to an application?
A/Yes. To do this you must;-
- Save the document (e.g. if you are emailed a document)on your PC.
- Log onto PG Management
- Choose Uploads from the ‘Results’ column or ‘Application Actions’.
- Choose ‘Add File’ for either the Personal or Programme information.
- Choose the ‘Type’ and then ‘Browse’ to find the document in your files
- Upload the document
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Messages
Q/How does an applicant know I have sent them a message through the communications system?
A/When a message is sent to the applicant, they will receive an email instructing them that they have received a new PGI message and they should logon to Pegasus for details.
Q/When I receive a message from an applicant, I get sent an email telling me to logon to Pegasus to read the message. Can the system not display the contents of the email on this initial email so I know if I have to logon to Pegasus to reply?
No. We don’t show the contents of the message in the email. The email is for notification only and a prompt to log into Pegasus to retrieve the message. The purpose of the Message system is to act as a shared portal so that users can see all communications between staff and applicants. If we include the contents of the message in the email, this might encourage staff to contact the applicant using their own email account and the history will be lost.
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References
Q/When I request an online reference, what happens?
A/The referee will receive an email inviting them to act as a Referee for a named applicant on a named degree programme. They are also issued with a username and password to logon to Pegasus to provide the reference online. The staff’s email address, who requested the reference, is also quoted in the email for the recipient’s use, in the event that they may not wish to provide references online.
Q/On the ‘References’ tab, under what circumstances would I use ‘Re-request’?
A/If the referee has failed to provide a reference in a suitable timescale, you can use the ‘Re-request’ option. This will send a second email to the referee reminding them of the initial request..
Q/On the ‘References’ tab, under what circumstances would I use ‘Cancel’?
A/- The applicant instructs you that they want to provide details of an alternative referee.
- You decide that the referee is not suitable to provide a reference. E.g. The referee may be a family member or personal friend.