Academic Services in the Graduate School is beginning the process of transitioning our paper GO forms to a digital format.
The benefits of digital GO forms include:
- simplify user experience for students/faculty/staff
- automate workflows in order to accurately route forms
- move forms more quickly through the process
- prevent forms from being lost
- reduce paper usage
Frequently Asked Questions
I am a student trying to access a digital GO form. When I login through Single Sign-On (SSO) I get a message that the login failed. What should I do?
The most likely explanation is that you are off campus and not using Duo Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and PSU's Virtual Private Network (VPN). You can contact PSU's Helpdesk for assistance at 503-725-4357.
What are the roles of the Department Staff and Program Approver?
Department Staff: verifies information and/or performs program checks before the form is routed for approval.
In some programs, staff may not always perform checks before the form is routed for approval; nevertheless, the digital process has been built to route to staff first so an action will need to be taken by staff in all instances.
Program Approver (department chair or program director): reviews and approves (or denies) request.
We recommend that Program Approvers and Department Staff jointly review their own internal procedures and decide which actions the Department Staff person will take when they receive a digital GO form.
How do we change Program Approver and Department Staff contacts?
Send an email to grad@pdx.edu and tell us the name and email address of the new contact AND who they are replacing.
Whenever contacts change it is possible there will already be forms in the workflow that will be routed to the previous Program Approver or Department Staff. If you are aware of forms currently in the workflow that need to be re-directed to the new contacts, please tell us the names of those students in your email to grad@pdx.edu.
What should we do if a Program Approver or Department Staff will be unavailable for a short period of time?
One of the many benefits of digital forms is that people do not have to be on campus to provide a signature. If the contact in question is willing and able to perform their role in the workflow while away from the office, no change needs to be made. If contacts do need to be updated, even for a short period, please see the FAQ immediately above.
Is it possible for two different people to have the ability to approve a digital GO form?
No. While we had that flexibility with paper forms, the digital workflow will not allow for either/or approvers.
Can we use a service account for the Department Staff contact?
No. Permissions in the OnBase system are assigned by Odin username, so the assigned Department Staff must be a real employee and not a service account.
Why did I receive duplicate GO-19 email notifications for the same student?
They are probably not duplicate emails. It’s most likely that the student submitted two separate GO-19s as only one action can be requested per GO-19. Please open the link in each email and review the separate requests.
When I click on the link to a digital form I get a message that the form is locked. What should I do?
A digital GO form is locked when someone else has opened the link to the same form. Close the browser window and try accessing the form again in a few minutes. If after a few minutes the form is still locked, please try again the next day as locks are removed in an overnight process.
I was logged out after leaving the form open too long – how do I get back in?
Return to the notification email you received and click on the link to the form.
Why doesn't the form work? Nothing happens when I click the checkbox/comment box/Approve/Deny/Submit buttons.
The most likely explanation is that we do not have the correct Odin username for you. Please email us at grad@pdx.edu with your Odin username and the name of the student in question.
When I try to submit the form, I get a pop-up box with an error message. What should I do?
You may be able to navigate past the pop-up box and submit the form. If this does not work, please email grad@pdx.edu and describe the situation in as much detail as possible, including the student in question, the text of the pop-up message, and ideally a screenshot.
The form a student submitted is incorrect. Should we deny it with instructions to the student to resubmit it, or can we approve it with a comment?
Best practice would be to deny it and ask the student to resubmit the form correctly. However, if it’s a minor error and the program adds a VERY clear comment about what the correct information should be, the form can be submitted without asking the student to redo it. If you are still unclear as to the best course of action, please contact us at grad@pdx.edu.
GO-19s
Why did I receive duplicate GO-19 email notifications for the same student?
They are probably not duplicate emails. It’s most likely that the student submitted two separate GO-19s as only one action can be requested per GO-19. Please open the link in each email and review the separate requests.
I was expecting two GO-19s for a student but only received one email. What happened?
If you have Conversation View enabled in Gmail, and you receive two emails for one student at the same time, the two emails will be threaded into one; you will need to expand the email in order to access both links.
GO-16s
If my thesis/dissertation title or defense date changes, should I submit a new GO-16 form?
In most cases, no. Graduate Academic Services requests these items for informational purposes while processing your committee appointment, but we usually do not need to know if these items change. The exception is if your estimated defense date changes to a significantly earlier date than indicated on the form; in this case, please notify us at grad@pdx.edu.
Can emeritus faculty serve on thesis and dissertation committees?
Yes, but they may no longer have an active employment status that will auto populate their name in the committee member section of the form. CVs do not need to be submitted for emeritus faculty.
Regular committee member: Begin by entering the emeritus faculty member's pdx.edu email. If they do not have an active employment status, the form will prompt you to designate the member as "off campus" (we will nevertheless still count the member as "on campus" in terms of the required minimum number of PSU committee members). You will then need to manually enter their first and last name.
Committee Chair: Begin by entering the emeritus faculty member's pdx.edu email. If their name does not auto populate - STOP. You will need to contact your department; the faculty member will need an affiliate account in order to be recognized as committee chair. You will not be able to submit your GO-16 form until this issue has been resolved.
How do I attach a courtesy appointment letter for a committee member?
Courtesy appointment letters cannot be attached to the GO-16 form itself as they contain confidential information that should not be available to the student and other committee members. Instead, Department Staff must email courtesy appointment letters to grad@pdx.edu at the same time they complete their checks on the GO-16 form. Please include the student’s last name and “courtesy appointment letter” in the subject line.