Associations are often faced with the challenge of having a single online platform to accept applications and nominations across their form submission program. Programs can include awards, grants, fellowships, scholarships, committee appointments to name a few.
While it is important to keep it simple for applicants and nominators, it is equally important to make it easy for administrators and reviewers who may participate in multiple programs.
There are 3 important factors to keep in mind to ensure a seamless experience for applicants and nominators:
1. Access to Forms and Previous Submissions
- Provide your users with a clear dashboard displaying their completed and in-progress form submissions.
- Giving your users the ability to copy a previous application or nomination form (cloning) to a new cycle, will not only save time, but ensure continued accuracy and consistency of information.
- Leverage profile attributes (e.g. member type, access type, committee, GPA score) through single sign-on to display application and nomination forms relevant to the user. Delivering relevant content to your users is key to enhancing their online experience.
- In absence of single sign-on capability, registration profile attributes can deliver the same experience.
- Ensure forms are pre-populated with profile attributes, saving time and ensuring accuracy of information (e.g. name, organization, member type etc.)
- Include logic-based eligibility questions at the beginning of the form, preventing an applicant from proceeding further if he or she is not eligible. This will ensure the user does not waste time completing an ineligible application, and also saves the administrators time reviewing ineligible applications.
2. Consistent Branding and Layouts
- While it is important to have each of your program uniquely represented online, the layout template and your organization’s branding should stay consistent
- Clearly identify the program there are completed the application or nomination for
3. Copy Option
- Provide users the ability to copy common question values across different programs where it makes sense.