Appeals - Type Field
We have added functionality for a “custom type” to be attached to an appeal, via the use of custom dropdown values, which can be configured via the Appeal Types category on the Custom Dropdowns management screen.
Changes to Functionality
We have added visibility of this type field to the Appeal listing screen, the Appeal management screen, the Appeals widget in the the Element/Certification side drawer and the Appeal Summary report. We have also added a filter to the reports and the appeal listing screen to allow filtering on the appeal type.
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As a part of this work, the old The old |
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Appeals- Outcome Field
We have added functionality for an outcome to be attached to an appeal.
Changes to Functionality
We have added visibility of this outcome field to the Appeal listing screen, the Appeal management screen (in the resolution details box), the Appeals widget in the the Element/Certification side drawer and the Appeal Summary report. We have also added a filter to the reports and the appeal listing screen to allow filtering on the appeal outcome.
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Appeals - Assigned User
We have added functionality to allow an appeal to be assigned to a user in the system with the appropriate appeal permission.
Changes to Functionality
When creating a new appeal, or editing an existing appeal, it is now possible to assign a user to manage that appeal. The assigned user will need to have the Update Appeals permission. By default the appeal will be assigned to the person that owns it, as long as they are not an external user.
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We have also added a filter to the appeals listing screen to allow filtering by person assigned to the appeal.
Appeals - element/certification QA name
We have added the name of the EPA/EPAM user that undertook the QA relating to the entity that the appeal applies to (element or certification). As part of this work, we have also made this name link up to the side drawer, so their details can be viewed whilst on the appeal management screen.
Impacted Areas
Reporting, Appeals listing and management screens, side drawer
Permissions
No New Permissions
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This work is live in your Production environment as of 24-05-22 in release 4.25. |
We have created a new Appeals process so that EPAOs can track Appeals from Candidates or Providers so that they can be managed and tracked.
Create Appeal Screen
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The create screen has introduced two new permissions with have been given to some system roles by default. These are detailed below and will need to be applied to any custom roles as required. |
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The create screen introduces two new notifications “Appeal Updated” and “Appeal Closed” for more details on the new notifications please read the release notes forAppeals - Notifications
Creating An Appeal
Appeals can be created from the Manage Element or Manage Certification side drawers. The following criteria are required for this button to show:
Elements:
User has the “Create Element Appeals” permission
There is no currently “open” appeal, this includes the awaiting response statuses
The apprentice has not been submitted to the ESFA
For external users - the last appeal date has not passed, this uses the new Appeal Window field against components see the release notes for Assessment Component Changes
QA has been published
Certification:
User has the “Create Certification Appeals” permission
There is no currently “open” appeal, this includes the awaiting response statuses
The apprentice has not been submitted to the ESFA
For external users - the last appeal date has not passed, this uses the existing setting within epaPRO that controls the certification appeal window, found in Configuration → ESFA → Appeals
QA has been published
Element / Certification Details
This new screen has a very similar layout between an appeal for a certification or an element. The section at the top of the screen will change depending on the entity being appealed:
Elements will show the “Element Details” box which contains summary information about the element and then a button to open the Manage Element side drawer
Certifications will show the “Certification Details” box which, like the elements, will show summary information about the certification and a button to open the Manage Certification side drawer
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Appeal Fields
This screen then allows the user creating the appeal to enter the following details:
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During the creation of the appeal, a user can also attach one or more files. The appeals system uses our recently release Apprentice Files system and so any file already uploaded can be linked or new ones uploaded and linked.
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Alerts / Element & Certification Status
To make it clear when an element or certification has an open appeal, the status of the element or certification will show as “Under Appeal”. An alert will also be shown indicating what elements/certification are under appeal and provide a link to “view details” if the user has permission.
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Permissions
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Two new permissions have been added to control who can create appeals. |
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Create Certification Appeals - This allows the user to create appeals against a certification. The following system roles will have this permission by default:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
provider
Create Element Appeals - This allows the user to create appeals against an element. The following system roles will have this permission by default:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
provider
Notifications
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A new notification has been added that is sent when a new appeal has been created. |
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For more information on this notification please read the release notes for Appeals - Notifications.
Appeals - Details Screen
A new appeal details screen has been added that allows for the full management of the appeal. This is where the bulk of the appeal process will be controlled, with result adjustments being used to link back up the changes with the appeal.
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When an appeal has been closed, a box will show at the top of the appeal details screen indicating the appeal has been resolved. It will show the date it was resolved, along with who and the description they entered. This box will be collapsed on mobile, but can be expanded by tapping.
New Permissions
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Five new permissions has been added to control this screen. |
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Add/Edit Own Appeal Comments - This provides the user the ability to add, edit and delete their own comments on the appeal. By default the following roles have this permission:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
provider
Delete Appeals - Allows the user to delete an appeal, see below for the other criteria needed to delete an appeal. By default the following roles have this permission:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
Update Appeals - Allows the user to update the base details of an appeal, including the title, summary, requested by, requested date and the status (for internal users). By default following roles have this permission:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
Update/Delete Own Appeal Files - Similar to comments this permission allows the user to upload/link and delete files they’ve uploaded. By default the following roles have this permission:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
provider
Read Appeals - This allows the user to read details about an appeal including access to the listing screen (which will pre-filter based on the ones they should see), access to the details screen and the appeals widget on the Manage Element and Manage Certification side drawers. By default the following roles have this permission:
awardingorganisation
owner
epa
epamanager
provider
employer
apprentice
Details Tab
This tab provides some useful actions for the appeal, along with the base information about the appeal, as entered when creating it. This is the first tab shown when viewing the details of an appeal.
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Close Appeal - This will change the appeal's status to “Closed”. This button will only be shown when the appeal’s status is not “Closed” and if the user has the “Update Appeals” permission. A resolution will need to be provided and similar to the summary this is a text field with a maximum character count of 1000. Once the appeal has been closed an “Appeal Closed” notification is sent to relevant users via the methods configured.
Reopen Appeal - This will change the appeal’s status back to “Open”. This button will only be shown when the appeal’s status is “Closed” and if the user has the “Update Appeals” permission.
Edit Appeal - This will take the user to the edit appeal screen, which is the same as the create appeal screen. This will only be shown if the user has the “Update Appeals” permission and the status of the appeal is not “Closed”.
Delete Appeal - This will permanently delete an appeal. This will only be shown if the user has the “Delete Appeals” permission and the appeal meets the following criteria:
The appeal has no comments
The appeal has no files linked
The appeal has no element result adjustments linked
The appeal has no certification result adjustments linked
Comments Tab
The comments tab is an area where all parties involved, will be able to comment on the appeal. Each comment can be up to 1000 characters long and the current length of the message is indicated by the counter under the field.
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When adding a comment, an internal user can choose to automatically toggle the status of the appeal to “Awaiting Provider Response” and external users can automatically toggle the appeal to “Awaiting EPAO Response”. If a comment needs to be added, but the user still needs to action something, they can untick the box to keep the status of the appeal the same.
File Uploads Tab
This tab will be familiar to those that have been using the result, certification or QA screens with the recently released apprentice files work. This allows the user to attach files to the appeal using the same apprentice file system.
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Activity Tab
An appeal requires an audited trail of changes and so this activity tab will keep track of everything that happens with the result. It’ll be shown with the newest first and display what happened, who actioned it and when. The following activity will be logged against an appeal and shown on this tab:
When the appeal is created
When the appeal is updated
When the status of the appeal has changed
When a comment has been added, deleted or edited
When a file has been linked or unlinked
When a result adjustment has been linked
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Notifications
Two new notifications have been added that are sent whenever the appeal has been updated or closed. The notifications are called “Appeal Updated” and “Appeal Closed” by default both are configured as an In-App notification to the following users:
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For more information on these notification please read Appeals - Notifications
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Assessment Element Changes
A new “Appeals” widget has been added to the manage element side drawer. This widget provides a way to create an appeal for the element, providing the creation criteria has been met, and also see a history of past appeals linked to the same element.
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The view adjustments section of the manage element drawer has also been updated to include a link to an appeal if the type of change is “Appeal”.
Assessment Component Changes
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This change requires the assessment components to be updated with the relevant appeal window. By default this value will be 0 days when deployed and so external users will not have the ability to raise an appeal against an element. |
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For certifications the appeals window uses the existing certification appeal window that is found within the Configuration → ESFA → Appeals setting. |
Result Adjustment
The result adjustment functionality has been extended to integrate into the new appeals system. Past adjustments will be unaffected by these changes. A result adjustment for any reason other than an appeal will still work as it did before, no changes have been made for these.
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When the result adjustment is saved epaPRO will automatically change the apprentice’s status as required based on the new state of their assessments and certification.
Certification Changes
The criteria around when a certification can be QAed has been updated to now take into account the new appeals system. A certification cannot be QAed if there is an open appeal.
Manage Certification Changes
A new “Appeals” widget has been added to the manage certification side drawer. This widget provides a way to create an appeal for the certification, providing the creation criteria has been met, and also see a history of past appeals linked to the certification.
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The view adjustments section of the manage certification drawer has also been updated to include a link to an appeal if the type of change is “Appeal”.
ESFA Submission Screen
The ESFA screen has been updated to exclude any apprentices that have an appeal in a non-closed state. Once the appeal has been closed they will then show on the screen.
Appeal Notifications
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The appeals functionality has added three new notifications: “Appeal Created”, “Appeal Updated” and “Appeal Closed”. They all default as an In-App notification that will be sent to Providers, Awarding Organisations and the Subject user. The subject user for all three, is the EPA assigned to the element, or the EPA assigned to the apprentice, if the appeal is linked to a certification. |
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A new report has been added to a new “Appeals” category within reporting. The new report is called “Appeal Summary” and will provide summary details about an appeal. This report can also be filtered by the usual reporting filters, standard, provider, specialism, employer and via a new “Appeal Status” filter.
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Permissions
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A new permission has been added under the reporting heading called “Appeal Summary” this permission has been given to the “owner” and “awardingorganisation” roles by default |
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