How to approve proposals

The content of this page is intended for Kuali Curriculum Management (CM) users who have access as approvers with specific roles during the approval workflow process.

Jump to: Notification frequency | Options at approval stages (for approvers)

Notification frequency

Kuali CM has automatic built-in email notification functionality for approval steps. When a proposal is submitted to workflow, the approver(s) at that step will receive an automated notification. The University of Waterloo does not control the content of these automated approval emails.

User Settings contain user account information where notification frequency can be changed. Two options are available for Action List notifications:

  • All Notifications (default) – Action List email notifications are delivered in real time. This means each request for approval will be sent as a separate email.
  • Daily Summary – all Action List notifications are compiled and delivered into a single email for the day, with a total number of actions and a link to access those actions.

Note: Other notifications, such as comments, will still be delivered in real time.

How to change your email notification frequency

  1. Select your username in the top-right corner of the page. 
    Screenshot highlighting username, to access user settings in Kuali.
  1. Select User Settings from the drop-down menu that appears.  
    Screenshot highlighting how to access user settings in Kuali.
  1. Select the EDIT button, located below the Account Info table.
    Screenshot of the edit button in user settings.
  1. Select the arrow in the pull-down menu next to Action List Notifications.
    Screenshot highlighting action list notification options in Kuali.
  2. Select your preferred Action List Notifications option and select SAVE.
    Screenshot of the Save button when updating user settings in Kuali.
  3. To return to Curriculum Management from User Settings:
    1. Select the bento menu (grid of nine dots) on the lower-left side of the screen.
      Screenshot highlighting bento menu to switch apps in Kuali.
    2. Select the Curriculum tile.
Screenshot of the Kuali CM Curriculum tile.

Options at approval stages (for approvers)

Jump to: Approve | Send Back | Deny | Edit | View previously approved version | Grant edit access to other users

Once a proposal has been submitted for approval, the approver(s) at that step will receive an email notification with a link to the proposal. The proposal will also appear in the approver's Action List within Kuali Curriculum Management (CM).

Approvers should review the proposal thoroughly, review the defined workflow path, determine the next steps, and choose one of the available actions from the right navigation panel.

Approve

Approve will move the proposal to the next step of the defined workflow. Approvers should select Approve if no edits are necessary (or have already been made) and the proposal is ready to move to the next step in the defined workflow.

An approver comment is optional to proceed with approving a proposal, and if added, will be recorded in the Audit Log and Workflow Status. Best practice is to always add a comment (e.g., date of committee approval).

To approve a proposal:

  1. Select Approve.
    Screenshot of the Approve button.
  2. Choose to include a comment, or not, then select the Approve button.
    Screenshot of the Approve and comment box.

Send Back

The approver can opt to send the proposal back to any previous step in the workflow. This option should be used if the proposal needs edits and needs to go back through one or more approval steps. Note: A comment is required when sending back a proposal. 

Once the proposal has been sent back, the proposer or approval delegate for the selected step will receive an email notification. That individual will need to edit as necessary and Approve the proposal again. The proposal will then proceed through all stages of approval again (from the sent back point that was selected).

If the proposal is sent back to the first step in the workflow (i.e., Form Submission), the original proposer will need to edit as necessary and Re-Submit.

To send back a proposal:

  1. Select Send Back.
    Screenshot of the Send Back button.
  2. Select the desired previous step from the options available. Tip: Selecting Form Submission from the list of workflow steps will send the proposal back to the original proposer. The proposal remains in Under Review state, it does not revert back to Draft state. 
    Screenshot of the possible steps in Send Back.

    Note: Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo (AFIW) steps will be visible in all workflows. However, they are not populated with users from faculties and so will always be "skipped" unless an AFIW is selected under Faculty/AFIW Path(s) for Workflow field. Review the Workflow Status to see if AFIW committees are part of the actual workflow (names will appear).
  3. Add a Comment (required), then select the Send Back button. 
    Screenshot of the Send Back comment box and button.

Deny

The approver can opt to deny the proposal. A denied proposal will be removed from the defined workflow and will not be editable by any user. In this scenario, the original proposer will need to start a new proposal, as they will not be able to edit and re-submit the version that was denied.

Caution: Deny is to be used only when the proposal should be permanently stopped (permanently denied). Withdraw, edit, send back may be better options to consider.

To deny a proposal:

  1. Select Deny.
    Screenshot of the Deny button.
  2. Provide a Comment (required) explaining why the proposal is being denied.
  3. Select the Deny button.
    Screenshot of the Deny and comment box.

The proposal will now show a denied message, and the action will be recorded in the proposal's Audit Log.

Screenshot of the denied workflow status.

 Edit

Approvers have access to make edits to the proposal while it is in their step of the defined workflow, unless the workflow step has been designed to exclude this ability. Use this function to make editorial changes or to reflect amendments made at committee meetings. 

To make an edit:

  1. Navigate to the proposal you received for approval.
  2. Select Edit to make a change.
    Screenshot of the Edit button.
  3. The proposal form will become available in an editable format. Make changes in the proposal form as needed.
  4. Select Save and Exit.
    Screenshot of the Save and Exit button.
  5. The edit(s) will be automatically recorded in the Audit Log. Note: The proposer or users that approved the proposal earlier in the workflow will not be notified. If the edit is not trivial, the recommended practice is to notify key stakeholders using the Comments feature.
  6. (optional) Add a Comment to indicate what change was made and the reason why it was made. 
    Screenshot of the Comments button

View previously approved version

If there is a desire to compare the active proposal to the previously approved version, approvers (and other users) can see what was previously approved (i.e., the current record) by selecting the Return to 'X' link (depending on which type of proposal they are viewing).

Screenshot of the Return to Course/Program & Plan/Regulation buttons.

Grant edit access to other users

Approvers can use the Comment feature to send a written message to another user with editing permissions (i.e., proposers) and grant them access to edit while the proposal is at a given step. Reminder: If you grant editing permissions to a user in the system who does not have proposer access and training, that user will not see the Edit button.