50 Slate forms have been created to date which collected about 6,818 responses
If you work in higher ed, it’s highly likely that there is at least one form– whether it is a questionnaire, sign-up form, or waiver-that your office manages. This is especially true for student-facing offices.
When it comes to forms, Google Forms and Microsoft Forms are widely used among higher education institutions. The good news is Slate Forms are as easy as creating Google Forms or Microsoft Forms.
What makes Slate Forms unique is that it can be integrated into the student’s records in Slate which can be used for queries and mailings. In other words, Slate Forms is one of the Slate features that is most versatile and easy to use.
This is why I have created over 50 Forms so far and ever since I used Slate Forms, the time that I spent following up with students, uploading documents, and managing the form responses has significantly decreased.
Let’s look at how I utilize Slate Forms.
Real case scenario- Benefits of using Slate Forms:
*Before the CRM (BC) and after the CRM adoption (AD)
BC: The office sent an email to the student when needed confirmation from the student that they understood the institution/office policy or federal rules before granting something.
AD: By outlining policies/regulations as checkboxes in Slate Forms, students can acknowledge related rules in regard to internships, study abroad, insurance waivers, micro-credentials, etc.
- BC: Share a long URL of the Google forms with students.
- AD: Slate allows administrators to customize the end of the URL.
This is especially useful when adding links to forms in emails. For example, by having “forms/ug” and “forms/gr”, higher ed practitioners can change the end of the URL without having to copy and paste each link every time they add hyperlinks in mailings.
- BC: Since submitted responses are not linked to students’ records, what could be done with submitted responses is very limited.
- AD: What students provide in the form can be automatically entered into designated fields in the student’s records. What is more, automatically entered fields can be reorganized and pulled in Slate Queries. In short, once students submit the form, minimal intervention is needed.
- BC: Although most forms including Google Forms allow form submitters to see the “successfully submitted” message, some would reach out and ask if the office received the form. Also, not every form allows users to provide the email address that can be copied on the confirmation email.
- AD: The same form can have different messages (communications) based on the responses.
For instance, when the student selects the field that they would like to apply for an internship, the internship office can be copied on the message. If the student selects that they are not interested, a different message can be sent to the recipient.
Similarly, the office can be notified whenever the form is submitted so actions can be taken accordingly.
Additionally, Slate mailings can be set up based on the form submissions which will send different messages based on the submission without having to go to Forms all the time to check submitted responses.
- BC: It was challenging to identify the recipient when there was a typo in their names, email addresses, or student IDs.
- AD: Since the form can be linked to the application or the student record, it’s easier to identify the recipient and assist them.
- BC: Most Forms can be either activated or inactivated.
- AD: Slate Forms can have different “Scope” which determines who can see which form. For example, anyone with a link can access Slate Forms with the “Person” scope.
On the other hand, Forms with the “Application” scope require login to see if the person has application records in Slate. Form responses that are submitted to the application-based forms will be linked with application records.
- BC: “How to” manuals were written on Google Docs.
- AD: A checklist can be created using Slate Forms which enables staff members to follow step-by-step and better understand the business process.
For example, when there’s a transfer-out student and the staff is not familiar with the transfer-out process, she/he can utilize the internal form named “transfer-out checklist.”
By doing so, staff members can clearly understand the required actions to transfer out a student.
- AD: Various pre-built fields can be used to create a form by double-clicking them or drag-droping them.
- BC: When documents were submitted in the Form, per the office policy, the documents had to be manually downloaded and uploaded to the campus Document Management System (like Banner Document Management).
- AD: Since Slate is expandable and can be integrated with the Document Management system, documents can be coded to be stored in the campus Document Management System. In other words, staff members do not need to be the middleman uploading the documents.
- AD: Another incredible benefit of being able to store submitted responses in students’ records is that multiple form submissions can be pulled into a query or report.
Let’s suppose that the student is required to submit the “New Student Registration Form” where they can note how they found the university/college (= source). They are also required to complete the “Transfer form” when they intend to transfer out or the “Graduation Form” when they graduate.
Since all the responses will be stored in the student’s records, various fields from multiple forms can be pulled to see which source yields a higher graduation rate or transfer out rate. This finding will be enormously useful to see which source is worth putting more financial resources into, etc.
- BC: Forms had to be manually organized in Drive.
- AD: Folders can be designated when creating forms which makes it easier to organize various Forms.
OK, so there are lots of benefits to using Slate Forms, where should you start?
How to create Slate Forms
1. To create Slate Forms, click the Forms icon, then click “New Form.”
2. Type the page title and save it to start creating forms. I like to select the folder so forms can be organized based on the category.
3. Click the “Edit Form” button on the right and you will find the default fields.
4. Hover over to each field to edit it or delete it. To add new fields, drag and drop fields from the right.
Savvy tip: To change the scope, click “Edit Properties” and select the desired scope.
Person-based Forms allow anyone with the form link to complete the form. This is my go-to scope when I create forms that other offices need to review or when the form needs to be shared with students who may not have application records in Slate.
When creating Person-based Forms, make sure to add identifiable fields like student ID, first name, or email address.
Application-based Forms require users to log in and submitted form responses will be tied to the applicant’s records. I use the Application-based Forms to collect data for incoming students as I can pull their application data and connect it to enrollment data.
When creating Application-based Forms, identifiable fields are not required as the recipient’s information can be pulled from the application record. That being said, from my experience having ID, first name, and email address fields makes it easier to set up mailing and follow up with students.
5. To make a field required, check “Required for submission” next to the Options. To make a field visible/invisible based on the previous field selection, add logic under the “Conditional Logic Filters.”
6. Once you are done editing, click the form name on the top. From here, you can customize the URL of the form by clicking “Edit URL” and hitting save.
7. When the form is ready to go live, make sure to make the form active. You can do so by clicking the “Edit” button (Note that it’s not the “Edit Form“ button) on the top, right corner and selecting “Confirmed/Active” from the “Status” drop-down menu.
You can also set the due date to complete the form by adding dates in the “Deadline” field. The form will be in inactive status after the deadline.
In addition, if you or your office would like to be notified upon submission, add your or your office’s email address in the Admin Notify Email.
8. To create a form submission confirmation page/message, click “Edit Communications” then “New Mailing.” Select your desired trigger.
In most cases, I go with “Upon registration or update” or “Upon registration”
- Upon registration or update: When the form often gets updated by students and the office needs to take action
- Upon registration: When the form is submitted once by students the office needs to update the form by filling out internal fields after students submit the form. Since the office does not need to be notified when it is staff who filled the internal fields, I would go with “Upon registration” only.
Communications can be set up based on who enters data (students or admin) by selecting the drop-down menu next to “Groups”.
9. To share the link of the form, copy and paste the customized URL.
To go one step further with Slate Forms, it is critical to understand the concept of mapping. What I mean by that is by mapping the fields, submitted answers are saved globally and can be pulled into other queries, reports, and mailings.
For example, when you click the edit icon to modify one of the default fields “Email Address,” you will notice that the “System Field” says it’s Email field and “Export Key” says “sys:email”.
When the submitter provides an email address in this field, that email address can be pulled where the system field “Record-Email” and export key “sys:email” are used.
By doing so you can unlock the full potential of the Forms.
Slate has several ways to map fields. For text fields, “Field Editor” can be created. When it comes to “Check Boxes,” “Option Buttons,” and “Select List” fields, “Prompts” can be utilized. In terms of documents that can be uploaded through “Material Uploader,” “Material” codes can be mapped.
Not every Slate user can create fields, prompts, and material codes based on the Slate access policy for each institution. Therefore, good practice is to check with your technology team before creating any fields, prompts, and/or material codes.
When I see a need to create a new field, I go to the “Field Editor” and search for a similar, existing field.
For example, if you need a date field, you would search a field that has a date data type. Then, copy the field, modify it, and hit save. By doing so, you can make sure that you create fields that meet the campus policy.
You can do the same with prompts. Remember that prompts should not have spaces between words (e.g. cpt_end_date).
Please comment if you would love to see further information on prompts and/or fields!
Now let’s take a look at how to utilize form responses.
1. Download form responses as a query or report
As you can see on the main screen of the form, you can export data, PDF, or create a new query or report based on the submitted forms.
By clicking the “Export Date,” you can pull all the fields as columns in an Excel spreadsheet, CSV file, etc.
By creating a new query, you can customize the query and pull certain fields as columns. It is worth noting that the edited query will not be saved. This means that if you exit the edited query, changes will not be saved.
There is a way to save changes and I will share details in my next posts about queries and reports.
2. Form as a dashboard
Imagine that you have a dashboard-style form that appears as a tab in the student’s records. This form can have fields that will be automatically updated as students complete linked forms.
This is great for tracking applicant’s application to the enrollment process. The best way to implement this is by working with the Technology team.
3. Form + Portal (=Status page)
When forms are created to work as an application, internal fields that staff manages can work as a trigger for the student to access the portal. I worked with the Technology team on campus to create an internship portal where students can track their internship application process.
Students can find the link to the form for each step in the portal. Moreover, the Forms + portal made it easier for students to track whether the form was approved or denied by the office by logging into the portal.
In combination with Slate mailings, the new internship process with Slate has been rated 4.6 by students and this cut lots of emails back and forth between students and the office.
To learn more about the internship portal, feel free to explore the office’s official webpage where you can see screenshots.
From simple signup forms to applications, there is a lot to do with Slate Forms. I hope you like them as much as I do!
Did you find it helpful?
Click the button below to check out all the Professional series!
© copyright SEVIS SAVVY 2024