When Opus users start a case that requires review by multiple departments, the department that starts the case grants access to personnel from the other department(s). They do this by creating an ad-hoc committee for the case, adding someone from the other department to this committee, and assigning the committee to the relevant case review steps in Interfolio. When the case is sent forward to one of these steps, the personnel from the additional department can log in and work with the case.
This article tells you how to access Interfolio cases that have been started in other departments. The instructions assume your permissions allow you to access the relevant features.
Summary
Background
Step 1. Log into Interfolio
Step 2. Access the Case
Step 3. Access the Packet/Dossier
Step 4. Upload Case Materials
Step 5. Communicate with the Initiating Department
Optional Steps
Step 6. Make Case Materials Available to Others
Step 7. Grant Committee Manager Status
Step 8. Email Committee Members to Notify Them of Access
Background
There are a few things you'll want to know before starting with the below steps. You should consider starting with the article, What Should I Know Before Working on a Case With Another Department? linked near the bottom of this page. Regarding the question of who should have access to these cases, administrators have a few options at their disposal, as outlined in the article, What Options Do I Have When Working with Multi-Department Review Cases in Interfolio?
For this example, we’ll use a Merit action. For Merits, the primary department starts the case, but personnel from the additional departments need to be involved at particular steps. For certain other actions, an additional department may start the case, which would mean personnel from the primary department would follow the steps in this guide — this guide is meant for personnel working on a case that was started in a different department.
Terms Used in This Article
Primary Department means the primary department at UCLA. Nearly all academic appointees have one and only one primary department.
Additional Department means a department other than an appointee’s primary department in which an appointee has an additional appointment.
Initiating Department means the department that starts a particular case. This can be either the primary department or an additional department, depending on the case.
Auxiliary Department means a department that works on a case that was started by another department.
This Also Applies to Schools
The approach we outline below is described as occurring at the department level, but schools need to perform the same routine for “school steps” in Interfolio. For example, when a case that applies to a Joint or Split Appointment goes to a dean’s office, the school administrator (SA) from the initiating school adds an ad-hoc committee to their step, and then adds an SA from the auxiliary school as a committee manager on this committee, as shown in a departmental context in the steps below.
Step 1. Log into Interfolio
Because cases that were started in other departments won’t show up on your Cases page in Opus, you can’t use the “Go to Interfolio” button in Opus to access the case. Instead, you can either click the link in a notification email you’ve received about the case from Interfolio, or you can log into Interfolio and find the case on the Interfolio Cases page. For important information about how to access Interfolio, see the article linked near the bottom of this page.
Step 2. Access the Case
If you click the link in a notification email, you should automatically be taken directly to the case after you log in, and you can skip to Step 3. If you instead logged in through Interfolio’s homepage, you’ll need to click the “View Cases” button on the dashboard:
The Interfolio Dashboard page with the “View Cases” button. Click this image to view a larger version.
Click your case in the screen that opens (not pictured). This opens the Case page with the Case Materials tab showing:
The Case Materials tab of the Case page in Interfolio with the “Read” button. Click this image to view a larger version.
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Note that this page has a different feature set when viewing a case started by another department, as compared to cases started in your department. There is no “edit case” button (pencil), for example. This is because auxiliary departments don’t have the same level of case access as initiating departments.
Step 3. Access the Packet/Dossier
Click the “Read” button as shown in the screenshot above.
The Read Case view opens to show packet contents. The list on the left allows you to click through the documents in the packet to read them, or you can request a download by clicking the “Download” link, as shown:
The Read Case page in Interfolio with the Download link. Click this image to view a larger version.
When you download the file, you’ll have to select which type of download you wish to receive — either an individual file, or the packet. If you download the packet, you will be asked to choose which files to download, and whether to receive them as a ZIP archive or as a PDF. The ZIP archive option provides a single file that holds all the files in the packet as separate PDFs. The PDF option compiles all the documents you select into a single PDF.
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Note: Some users report that the PDF option preserves the order of the packet contents as shown on the Read Case page, whereas the ZIP does not.
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Note: The download packet feature does not initiate a download directly in the browser. Instead, a download link will be emailed to you.
Step 4. Upload Case Materials
Once your department has completed their activities in connection with the case, you may have documents you need to upload to Interfolio. Follow Step 1 and Step 2 above to access the case, then click the “Add File” link in the appropriate section on the Case Materials tab:
The Case Materials tab of the Case page in Interfolio with the “Add File” link. Click this image to view a larger version.
This opens the Add Document modal window. Click the “Browse to Upload” button or just drag files from your computer onto it:
The Case page in Interfolio with the Add Document modal window. Click this image to view a larger version.
Step 5. Communicate with the Initiating Department
Once you’ve uploaded your materials to the case, the last thing you’ll need to do is let the initiating department know that you’re ready to lose case access when they send the case forward. You can do this through Interfolio’s built-in emailing features, through your own email or via telephone.
Optional Steps
Use the steps below to grant case access to others from your department. For a discussion on this topic, see the article What Options Do I Have When Working with Multi-Department Review Cases in Interfolio? linked near the bottom of this page.
Step 6. Make Case Materials Available to Others
Click the Case Details tab:
The Interfolio Case page with the Case Details tab. Click this image to view a larger version.
The Case Details tab displays the committee that was created for you by the initiating department. Click the “Edit” link to add someone else to the committee for the current step:
The Interfolio Case page displaying the Case Details tab with the “Edit” link. Click this image to view a larger version.
Click the “Add Member” link:
The Interfolio Case page displaying the Case Details tab with the “Add Member” link. Click this image to view a larger version.
Search for the person you want to add in the search box that is displayed, and click the “+ Add” button next to them to add them to the committee. Repeat this process for each person you want to have access to the case:
The Interfolio Case page displaying the Case Details tab with the Add Member link. Click this image to view a larger version.
Anyone you’ve added here will now have access to the case when they log into Interfolio, as long as the case isn’t sent away (most likely forward) from the current step by the initiating department.
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Note: Everyone you add to the ad-hoc committee will be able to access the case at any step where this committee has access. If you want to restrict access for someone — or a goup of people — to particular step(s), you may consider asking the initiating department to create multiple ad-hoc committees. See the What Options… article linked near the bottom of this page for more information.
Step 7. Grant Committee Manager Status
When you’ve added all the people who need access to the case, click the Edit link again to designate them as committee managers as necessary. Doing this grants them several privileges with the case, including the ability to upload documents in the Case Materials tab — for more information about reasons to make someone a committee manager, see the article linked near the bottom of this page. To designate people as committee managers, click the checkboxes next to their names:
The Interfolio Case page displaying the Case Details tab with the Manager checkbox. Click this image to view a larger version.
After you’re done setting up committee manager privileges, click the “Done” link, as seen above.
Step 8. Email Committee Members to Notify Them of Access
The final step is to email the committee members to let them know they can now access the case. Click the “Email” link to do so:
The Interfolio Case page displaying the Case Details tab with the Email link. Click this image to view a larger version.
This opens a dialog where you can compose a message to the committee. Fill in the text boxes with your subject and message, and delete or add users to the recipients list as necessary:
The Message to Committee page. Click this image to view a larger version.
For information about the options on this page — among which is the ability to share files from the packet (dossier) with the “Share Files” button — see the Interfolio Help Center article about emailing committee members linked below.
Once you’re done, click the “Send” button. With that completed, you’ve now granted case access to others and sent them an email that includes a link where they can access the case. Once your department has completed its portion of the review process, be sure to get in touch with the department that started the case so they can send the case forward.
See Also
Opus Support Site Articles
What Should I Know Before Working on a Case With Another Department?
How to Access Interfolio for Administrators
How to Set up a Case for Review in Multiple Departments
Why Does a Case Sometimes Fail to Open in Interfolio Directly?
Why Do I Sometimes Get an Error About an Email Address When Trying to Go to Interfolio?
What Are the Different Types of Committees in Interfolio?
What Kinds of Notifications Can Opus and Interfolio Send?
Why Should I Star Someone as a Committee Manager?
Interfolio Help Center Articles
Add Committees or Individuals to a Case Review Step
Edit the Membership of an Ad-hoc Committee
Edit Committee Instructions, Document Requirements, and Membership