Academic programs in the mathematical sciences are
encouraged to utilize MathPrograms.Org if they are interested in
receiving program applications electronically. There is an annual fee
for using the service. Registering at any time
buys you 365 days of service, and the ability to conduct up to seven
application sets; for instance, if your department runs a summer
program, a conference, plus a small travel grant program, only one
account is needed. Registration may be made by choosing New Program
and following instructions for setting up the payment and choosing a
password. Only one registration per academic department or company unit
is required; the appropriate staff and faculty can be given access to
the system by the original registrant, without additional cost. The
original registrant is a group manager; all subsequent login identities
are either additional group managers or faculty. The faculty role is
intended for those who need to read and rate the applications; they
need not be resident in the department.
Registered program institutions can utilize the following options:
- Post program applications
using the NewProgram screen. (Most group manager
functions are grouped under the Admin menu). For each application
received, you can count on seeing answers to some standard questions on
the "cover sheet" which each applicant is required to complete when he
or she registers (don't duplicate these questions on your application),
and the program description itself can be pasted in. Program Directors
are able to create additional questions for the applicants. They also
choose which additional documents will be required, and can designate
that particular materials should be sent online or by mail. Program
Directors can set a deadline, set dates between which the application
is viewable to applicants and, later, update each listing as withdrawn,
filled or finished. This is done by choosing Edit on the Programs
screen. (Finished will make the list of applicants for that program
disappear, but the program listing itself will remain viewable within
the department.)
- In addition to selecting required documents (for instance,
resume) programs can choose the number of reference letters required
for the application. They can set a minimum and maximum number of
letters accepted. Applicants are responsible to name the references on
their coversheet, and utilize the "email" button they will find there
to send the reference writers a confidential password needed for
uploading the letter. Reference writers should be uploading their own
letters; all the applicants will see is a date that a letter was
successfully submitted.
- Program Directors review applications received for each
program by regularly consulting their List of applicants. They can mark
each applicant as complete when processed. This will not change
anything else about that application on the system. Applicants can be
sorted by clicking on a column heading to sort based on that field. For
instance, sorting by Last Updated will put applicants in order by the
last time they updated their application materials. The Search screen
allows searching among all current applicants. For instance, once
faculty enter ratings for applicants, a search can be done to produce a
list of all who received a certain rating, or, all applicants for a
certain program can be sorted according to the rating. Applicants can
also be looked up by certain details such as a reference writer's or
advisor's name, or by degree institution. A search can also be done
based on answers to a special question asked by the program institution. For
instance, if you ask a question (using the Config screen, or the
NewProgram screen) about which research topic an applicant is
interested in, a search can be made on the answers.
- Examine or print each application by clicking on the name in
the List or after a Search. On the screen that comes up, you can access
different versions of all materials received, and also the reference
letters received. To print out a full application, choose the PDF or
All links in a box near the top next to the address field. There are
boxes to mark that application Processed or Complete. Reference letters
or other materials can be marked as received if they came in on paper,
and, after resubmitting the form with an item marked as received, the
opportunity will appear to upload a scanned or other version of that
document from your desktop, if desired. When faculty members log in and
read an application, there will be boxes on the screen for submitting a
rating or comments, if desired. When staff members log in and examine
applications, there will be a log field.
- To make the candidate selection process more electronic,
program directors will want to utilize several key features in the
system.
- Config is where you add other faculty and staff members to your group
registration, giving them access to the applications. You can also edit
the information you entered about your department, for instance, the
Any Info About Your Dept/univ field which will appear adjacent to your
program listings on the screens viewable by the applicants (often used
for a picture). To add faculty or staff, type the email address :
password. To change a password, type the new one in at the end of the
line following the second colon or, just leave out everything after the
email address on that line, submit the screen, and passwords will be
emailed automatically. Config also is where program directors list
extra questions to be asked for EVERY program, such as asking for
courses taken, or an essay describing an applicant's interests. For
questions to be used in only one of the department's programs, add
those to the "New Program" screen or, later, the program "Edit" screen.
- NewApp allows program institutions to enter the name and email address of those
applicants whose materials came in on paper. Checking the Email? box
there will generate an automatic email invitation to that applicant
suggesting that they enter the system and need to fill out the
coversheet form, and also apply there for your program (this is the way
to get them onto your List.) There are no fees for applicants. You can
view all those you've added to your NewApp list by choosing NoCover.
Once the applicant enters the system and applies for your program, the
name will appear on your master List.
- Download data onto your own computer in two ways:
- Labels is where
you select fields for downloading onto your own computer, for use in
producing labels, lists or merge letters from your own software.
- Snaps allows you to download, in one zip file, all current
application materials. You can store this large file on your own
computer system for safekeeping or viewing. It's best to do a snapshot
when the selection is done and you need to store a record of the
applications for a few years. The screen will tell you when previous
snapshots were taken. There is a limit on how many snapshots may be
stored on this system; eventually you may need to download and delete a
snapshot before you can make a new one.
- The EEO screen shows you a summary report based on the EEO questions
you may have added to all applications on the Config screen. Only
summary results are available, individual responses are not viewable to
group managers or faculty. The system allows you to set up an EEO
officer (NOT a current program director or faculty) to drill down in
the EEO data.
- Mail helps you send emails to a select group of applicants at one
time. Selecting from the various criteria presented on the screen will
fill in the Recipients field. Although you may select numerous applicants
at once, mathprogrammessages are actually sent individually. At the
bottom of the screen, your previous group messages are listed.
- News lets you post announcements for particular sets of users within
your dept or your applicants which will appear on their main screens
when they log in. For instance, you can tell all faculty when the
deadline for turning in ratings is.
The Demo Server accessible from the main MathPrograms.Org screen can be
utilized by the general public, and offers all the same functions as
the real server. Try out all the features of MathPrograms.Org system by
logging in as different users (see the main page there for login info),
but please do not enter any real data there.
Questions and comments can be sent through the Contact Us page or to
mathprograms@ams.org. You may also call the AMS at: 1-800-321-4267,
ext. 4060.
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