Approval chains
Homework, circulars, leave, certificates, fee structures, concessions, refunds and revaluations go to the right people in the right order. You set the chains up without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A circular goes to 1,200 families with a wrong date because nobody checked it.
- A concession is given at the counter, and at the year end nobody knows who agreed to it.
- Leave requests wait on the principal's desk although the class teacher could decide them.
- A transfer certificate is issued before the accounts and the principal have seen it.
How it works
- Each kind of request has a chain for each school, made by itself with the usual approvers. Nothing has to be set up on the first day.
- Add levels in order, for example the class teacher, then the HOD, then the principal. At each level any one of its approvers decides.
- Add a second chain for some requests only, such as concessions above an amount or one leave type, with Only For. Chains are tried in order and the first that fits is used.
- When a teacher submits homework or the office saves a concession, the first level is told. They find it on the product's screen and under Approvals > To Approve.
- Each level approves or rejects with a reason. After the last level the request takes effect: the circular is published, the concession applies, the leave is approved and the family is told.
Everything it does
Classes and communication
- Homework: the homework coordinators. To start with homework goes out without approval (Approved at Once); a coordinator's own homework never needs it
- Circular: the circular approvers; the circular is published after the last level, and Send Back returns it to its writer
- Student leave: the class teacher, then the HOD. A level whose person is not set is skipped, and when neither is set the leave approvers decide. Add the principal for some leave types with an Only For chain
- Class substitution a teacher asks for, once the colleague accepts: the principal, HODs and education administrators. Cover the office arranges is never approved
Certificates and exams
- Certificate request, after the office confirms it: the principals and education administrators. To start with only transfer certificates need approval
- Revaluation request: the exam cell; choosing the revaluator and Start Review is the approval
- Question paper scrutiny: the question reviewers; the setter never decides their own paper
- Invigilation duty change: the exam cell; the teacher who asks never decides
Fees
- Fee structure, fee concession and fee refund: the fee managers
- With no added levels a fee manager's click approves at once; with more levels it sends the document for approval
- Records brought in by the data import, and concessions whose type needs no approval, have no request
Activities, gate and assets
- Activity enrolment: the activity coordinators. To start with enrolments need no approval; add an Only For chain for an offering that does
- Student exit pass and pickup person a parent adds: the student exit office, with a to-do for each approver. The principal and education administrators have it
- Asset change (revaluation, a new remaining life, sale or scrapping): the asset managers
Who approves a level
- Named users, a group (role), the usual approvers of the request, or a person on the request such as the class teacher or HOD
- Any one approver of a level decides; for two signatures, add two levels
- A parent or another portal user can be named on a level and decides on the portal's Approvals page
- If a level has nobody: name people in Otherwise. Then choose The request cannot be submitted (to start with), Skip the level, or Its usual approvers decide
Rules and record
- The person a request is about never decides it: the student and parents for leave, certificates and fees, the teachers of a substitution
- Requester May Approve: on in every School chain to start with. The office member who raised a request may then decide it at their level; switch it off per chain
- Approved at Once: a chain with no approval, for example one leave type
- A reason is needed to reject; the family or teacher sees it
- An Approvals tab on each request: level, approvers, status, who decided, when and the reason
- A new school copies the chains of the main school, then changes its own
Who uses it
Class teacher and HODApprove student leave at their level, on the web or in the Campus app.
PrincipalApproves certificates, circulars and the leave types you add them to, and can be a level of any chain.
Fee managerApproves fee structures, concessions and refunds, or the levels you give them.
Coordinators and exam cellApprove homework, activity enrolments, revaluations, question papers and duty changes.
Education administratorSets the levels, the approvers and the conditions of each chain, without a developer.
Where you use it
- Web: Master Configuration > Configuration > Approval Chains, Smart Circular > Approval Chains and Fees > Configuration > General > Approval Chains. Approvals > Configuration > Approval Chains lists every chain
- Web: Approvals > Requests > To Approve and My Requests, and each product's own screen (Student Leaves, Homework, Certificates, Concessions, Refunds, Revaluations, Enrolments)
- The Campus app, staff view: student leave under Requests and homework under Classes > Homework. Activity enrolments are under the activity (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- The Campus app and the portal: parents follow their leave and pickup persons, with the step it waits at
- Not in the Campus app: a common Approvals entry; other kinds are decided on the web
What you control
Settings
- Levels and their approvers, per kind of request and school
- If Nobody: cannot submit (to start with), skip, or usual approvers
- Requester May Approve (on), Only For conditions, Approved at Once
- Homework and activity enrolments: Approved at Once to start with; certificates: only transfer certificates to start with
Notifications
- Request to Approve (level): to the approvers of the next level, by app notification or email, and in the inbox. It goes out at once and cannot be switched off
- Leave Requested: to the approvers of the level the leave waits at
- Certificate to Approve: to the approvers, as a phone notification, by email and in the app
- Leave Approved / Rejected, Certificate Issued or Rejected, Substitution Update and Pickup Person Approved or Not Approved: to the people who asked
Questions
Can homework be checked before students see it?
Yes. Set the Homework chain from Approved at Once to a level of coordinators. A teacher's Publish then sends it for approval, and the coordinator approves or returns it with a reason.Can large concessions need the correspondent's approval?
Yes. Add a concession chain with Only For an amount above a value and a level with the correspondent. Smaller concessions keep the general chain.Can the principal approve some leave types only?
Yes. Add a leave chain with Only For those types and a last level with the principal. Other leave stays with the class teacher and HOD.Do approvers get reminders after a few days?
No. Approvers are told when a request reaches them, and it stays in their To Approve list. Reminders and passing on to someone else are not built for School requests.Do we need a developer to change a chain?
No. An education administrator changes levels, approvers and conditions from the Approval Chains menu.Related features
TIMETABLE, HOMEWORK, NOTICESHomework, classwork and study materialTeachers give homework, classwork, projects and study material to their sections from the web or the Campus app. Students and parents hand the work in online, teachers mark it and return it, and late or missing work is flagged by itself.TIMETABLE, HOMEWORK, NOTICESCirculars and noticesWrite a circular once, choose who it is for (parents, students, staff, chosen classes or sections) and how they are told. It is approved before it goes out, and families read it with its attachments on the portal and in the Campus app.ATTENDANCE AND LEAVEStudent leave asked for by parentsParents apply for their child's leave in the Campus app or the portal, for whole days or half a day. The class teacher approves or rejects it with a reason. The leave can then go on to a coordinator or the principal, in the steps you set.CERTIFICATES, LIBRARY, PARENT CONTACTBonafide, conduct and transfer certificatesFamilies ask for a bonafide, conduct or transfer certificate on the portal or the Campus app. They pay its fee, if any, and download it signed. Every certificate carries a QR code that anyone can scan to check it is genuine.FEESFee structures, instalments and concessionsWrite each class's fees for the year once, with term-wise or monthly plans, and every student gets the right dues. Sibling, staff-child and scholarship concessions, waivers and advance credit sit on the same fee ledger.ACROSS SMARTMY SCHOOLNotificationsSmartMy School tells parents, students and staff when something needs them: an absence, homework, a fee due, a result, a child leaving the gate. Every message also lands in one inbox in the Campus app and the portal. Each parent chooses their channels and their informational messages.
See your own school year run in it.
Tell us how many students you have, which classes you run and how you collect fees today. We will show you SmartMy School set up that way.