Page Comparison

Problem / Issue

Colleges have requested access to the In-Progress application database for the purpose of identifying students who have started an application but never completed or submitted one. Outreach to students who appear to have abandoned the application process is a high priority to colleges. In addition, they claim that the legacy Xap system allowed them tthis access and they are requesting CCCApply be modified to allow them access to these applicants for recruitment purposes. Bottom line: colleges want to support students and help them get through the admission application process. 

Per discussions during Steering Committee meetings, Tim Calhoon, CCCTC Exec Director, adds, "Note: If we (CCC) do the notifying to the student about an unfinished/unsubmitted application, then we are all good. BUT the COLLEGE CAN NOT LEGALLY NOTIFY THE STUDNENT and therefore cannot see data or know anything about an unsubmitted application."

The purpose of this change is to implement a way where the system can generate a generic email to all students who have started an application but have not yet submitted it for processing. It is not legal for colleges to have access to the details of the application for the student has provided Consent by electronically signing their application and hitting "submit"; therefore, we will need to gain an understanding of what is permissible and what is legal in order for this generic email to go out to students who have not submitted an application. Patty plans to meet with the Steering Committee to finalize requirements.

Response from CCCApply

When a student starts an application with CCCApply, they are establishing a legal agreement / contract with the CCC Chancellor’s office. When they complete their application and submit, at this point, they are entering into an agreement to release their information to the college.

Proposed Solution

Send a system-generated, generic email from CCCApply (on behalf of the CCCCO) to Applicant who starts an application to a college but does not submit the application after a period of time. The email "nudge" would be repeated after 7 days, providing links to "sign-in, resume app, and submit" or "delete/remove the unsubmitted application" 24 hours of starting the application;

1. Create two generic, merge-field Emails which will be sent to student's email address <email> , using <firstname>+<lastname>
2. System logic is implemented to send Email #1 is sent to student if the application has not been submitted after 24 hours of starting app.
3. Logic is implemented to send Email #2 to Applicant if after 7 days the application still has not been submitted (7 days since start of application and no submission).
4. Phase I: Email Content
   The content of the emails would serve several purposes:
   1. Remind the student that they started an application but have not submitted the application to the specific college
   2. Provide links back to OpenCCCApply for use cases: : 
      1. Link to My Applications page and RESUME the application process. 
      2. Return to My Applications page and delete the application in-progress.
   3. Provide links and information to - alternately - contact the college directly for assistance (to College Admissions contact information that currently appears on the confirmation page, including College name, college URL, Admissions Contact and Admissions phone and email)
   4. Provide links to OpenCCC Helpdesk and CCCHelp.info
5. If after 7 days from start of application process the student still has not submitted the application, send Email #2 with similar links and information.
    
6. Phase II: Allow colleges to submit custom language for the generic email on behalf of their college support services.

Technical Change Specifications

Steering Needs (Nov 4)

1. Confirmation of the legalities that colleges can not access student in-progress application data (which federal or state law, is it FERPA for sure?) (Steering)
2. Content of the generic email message(s) (Steering)
3. Content of the college specific template (we create the template and allow colleges to complete the template) (Steering)
4. Confirmation of the number of days or amount of time that the in-progress app sits before the email goes out (Steering)
5.  Need to understand the use case for wanting the <app id> shown in the email. Perhaps it would be useful for help desk reps. We could also modify the table in My Applications to show the appid as well.
   

Suggestions for language in the email from CCCApply...

Email subject line:  Action Required: Submit Your CCCApply Application
(Patty rec'd an email from a website (Resume builder.com) where I had started a resume on their site, but never finished it. The email nudged me to return to the site and finish the resume. The body of the email included 4 bullet point reasons why it's a good idea to finish the resume, link to the resume, contact information for questions, etc. 
For un-submitted applications we want to make sure we include <college_name> <app_id> personalized email <firstname>+<lastname> and snippet of information to contact the college if they have any questions about college-specific application or registration information. 

Suggestions for language in the email from the individual colleges...

(TBD).

Research & Supporting Documentation

http://www.ideas42.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Nudging-For-Success-FINAL.pdf