Workflows provide a comprehensive tool for creating and managing review processes. Whether implementing an admission process in Slate for the first time or creating additional workflows for overlapping or distinct processes, it is crucial to break down the process occurring in each workflow. Workflows allow you to assign a record to a specific flow and setup which staff member will take action on that record. Workflows allow staff members to record their results via the use of forms and can read materials associated to the record such as grades, event attendance, and potential academic concerns.

A record can travel through the workflow and reside in a bin. These bins can then be assigned specific materials/data to be displayed, different review forms, or even have security set on them to limit who can view the records within it.

To begin planning the use of a workflow, clearly establish the bounds of the review process (or processes) included in the workflow. Where does one process begin and another end? Records can be in multiple workflows at the same time, but they can only be in one bin for a given workflow. 

Examples of Student Success workflows

• Academic Advising: A review of each student by an advisor or group of advisors to ensure your students are on track to graduate and taking the correct classes. A workflow can be quite helpful as you may wish to review multiple documents saved to that student's record and record the results of your review. 

• Degree Certification: When a student is preparing to graduate and verification is needed, you can use a workflow to review all of the classes a student has taken and authorize or deny a request to graduate.

• Early Alert Review: Depending on your need, you can create different workflows for various early alert types. Perhaps a faculty member fills out a form alerting your staff about an academic concern, or your Residence Life staff notes a behavioral issue which needs attention. These are also candidates for  custom workflows within Slate.

• Student Employment Application Process: Use a workflow to review job applications and notify students of your decision.

Bin structure

Bins illustrate the review process, and each should represent a particular step within the workflow. The movement from one bin to the next should be intentional, and the criteria should be clearly defined in either a bin movement rule or through expectations communicated to reviewers in bins where manual movement is necessary. 

Bins are stacked into columns that define the procedural steps in a workflow. Collectively, bins and columns form a grouping. Most workflows will only need one grouping, but additional groupings can accommodate unique sub-flows or sequential and mutually exclusive processes. 

Take the time to streamline the bin configuration process. Ask and answer your review process questions, and then resolve the desired behavior for each bin in your structure. In most cases, bins should be kept generic and should pertain to stages of review, not who the record is or who the reviewers should be. Views can be configured and applied to all bins in a workflow to display only records that meet filter criteria for a special team of reviewers or for a program. An application can be reviewed by multiple parties in each bin, and different review forms can be conditionally shown based on student/applicant criteria. As a result, processes that require different numbers of reviewers per stage, or different reader review forms, may not need to be separated out across multiple bins. 

Make a plan

Use sticky notes or a dry-erase board to visualize and strategize your workflow structure with your office, and then recreate the structure in the Workflow editor. Design a bin structure that is simple and useful for your basic application reading process. Do not design a bin structure that reflects reading processes that only happen occasionally (such as an Special Dean Hold bin).

For example, a school that has a degree certification process might develop a bin structure like this:

Bin path

Most workflows should have a combination of automated and manual bin movements. Automated bin movements are most helpful in the early columns of the workflow. Once a manual review of the records has started, and bin movements are determined by reviewer discretion, automation should cease. 

Develop a reader workflow that moves records forward through the bins. Some records might skip bins or columns (for example, a degree certification may skip the Advisor Audit #2 bin and go directly to the Registrar's Review bin), but records should generally not be moved backward manually in the bin flow. That is, if a bin has automation associated with it, you should rely exclusively on the automation to move records into those bins. 

Testing the review process

The Review Forms tab in the Workflow editor is helpful in visualizing which forms are used where, and the Summary tab allows for individual records to be run through reader review form criteria to determine the forms that will appear for them in which bin. 

The Bin & Queue Automations tab displays the exclusivity groups used within the reader - if they exist. While building out your workflow, the rules can be dragged into the desired order, and the View Logic tab can run records through the exclusivity group to determine the bin a given record will be moved into automatically.

Tab and material structure

The tabs to the left of the record organize and display information, media, and materials pertaining to that record. Tabs can appear based on individual record criteria, including the bin that the record is currently occupying. Different tab types can display links (URLs, embedded web pages, and Slate portals), Slate-hosted video essays or portfolios, or most frequently, clusters of materials and personal data. One reader tab is often used to host a Dashboard overview of each record that appears in the workflow, in the form of a Reader Portal Dashboard.