What is the referee portal?

Applicants can be tasked to provide references to support their applications. Referees use the referee portal to submit references in response to requests for references from applicants. Admissions officers manage requests and references.

The following sections describe the functionality: 

• Applicant - request a reference: describes how requests for references are added to applications and how applicants request references from referees.

• Referee - accept or decline a request: describes how referees register and on the referee portal and then accept or decline requests for references.

• Referee - submit a reference: describes how referees submit references.

• Referee - manage requests: describes how referees with several requests can view the status of the requests, accept or decline requests, and submit references.

• Admissions officer - manage references: describes how admissions officers view the references submitted by referees, resend requests, and cancel requests.

• Settings: summarises the reference data, permissions, and communication templates required for references.

Applicant - request a reference

Applicants have tasks to provide the details of referees. Tasks are added to applications using clearance checks, such as the clearance check Reference from referee 1. The clearance checks to provide the details of referees are pre-defined and are available to be used without editing. However, fields such as the description and applicant instructions can be customised to suit the requirements of your institution. The available clearance checks are:

• Reference from referee 1

• Reference from referee 2

• Reference from referee 3

The clearance checks create a task that prompts applicants to submit the details of the referee. On submitting the referee's details, an email is sent to the referee using the communications template Referee portal registration email. The applicant portal also alerts the email has been sent with a banner.

The video Request a reference shows how clearance checks are added to applications and how applicants can request a reference.

Referee - accept or decline a request

Referees receive an email using the communications template Referee portal registration email. This email explains that an applicant has nominated them to provide a reference and includes the referee's details provided by the applicant, such as the referee's name, position, and email address. The email also contains a link inviting the referee to register on the referee portal. The link opens the sign-in page. This is a Microsoft page that enables referees to sign up for the referee portal or to sign in if they have already registered. The referee portal registration uses Azure Entra External ID for authentication.

If the referee does not register after seven days, a second email is sent to the referee using the communication template Referee portal expired invitation email. This email explains that the request for reference has been cancelled and that the referee no longer needs to submit a reference.

After signing in to the referee portal, referees view the reference request that also details information about the applicant. Referees can then choose to accept or decline the request. If the referee accepts the request, the referee portal can then submit a reference. The applicant portal keeps applicants informed on the progress of the reference.

The table Reference request summary describes the process of requesting a reference and the actions for referees and applicants.

On accepting a reference request, referees can choose to enter the reference manually by typing in the reference or by uploading a document containing the reference. Documents are uploaded by navigating to the document or by using drag-and-drop. Uploaded documents have the document type ApplicationReference, which defines the maximum file size and the allowed file types of the uploaded documents. On uploading a document, the document is scanned for viruses. If a virus is detected, then:

• The reference status is set to Failed and the referee can upload a new document free of viruses. A banner also indicates that the document failed the virus scan.

• An email is sent to the referee using the communication template Referee portal document virus found email informing them a virus was detected. The email contains a link to the referee portal so the referee can upload a new document free of viruses.

• Admissions officers are alerted that the document has failed the virus scan. For more information, go to What are documents?

References entered manually in the referee portal are added automatically on the Statement and reference tab of the application. For uploaded documents, admissions officers must add the references manually. That is, admissions officers must open the document and copy the reference to the application. However, document intelligence can extract references from uploaded documents automatically. For more information, go to What is document intelligence?

After reviewing the reference, admissions officers must pass or fail the associated clearance check.

The video Submit a reference shows how a referee submits a reference, the reference on the Statement and reference tab, and a reference extracted using document intelligence.

For referees that have already registered on the referee portal, any further reference requests are sent with the communications template Referee portal acknowledgement email. This email contains a link to log in to the referee portal. On logging in, the referee portal shows the summary page that displays all the reference requests for the referee. The summary page shows the number of pending requests, which is the number of references requests that have yet to be accepted or have been declined, and details each request as follows:

• Applicant's name and email address. The email address is taken from the applicant's preferred contact method with the type of email.

• Institution's name, if defined on the application's entry point.

• Title of the admissions programme.

• Status of the request, such as Accepted, and the action required by the referee, such as Write reference.

The image Request summary shows the summary page of the referee portal with various reference request statuses and available actions.

Admissions officer - manage references

Admissions officers can view outstanding tasks for providing a reference in desk actions and view the status of references. Admissions officers can also resend, cancel, or reset invitations to register on the referee portal.

Account actions

Admissions officers can view references on the Statement and reference tab. For each reference, admissions officers have the following actions:

Resend invite

Resends the referee portal invitation or acknowledgement email as appropriate. Admissions officers require the permission Referee portal - Resend invite. Admissions officers can resend the referee portal invitation to a different email address for the referee by updating the referee's email address and then resending the invite.

Attention.

Admissions officers can resend an invite if:

• No invitation exists, but there is a history of invitations, and the reference status shows the email was sent, failed, or saved by the referee. In this case, an acknowledgement email can be resent.

• An invitation exists, but is not completed. In this case, the invite can be resent.

• If an invitation exists for the referee and completed, resend the acknowledgement email to ensure future correspondence can continue for this reference.

• The reference status shows that the reference was not saved, accepted, declined, or cancelled.

Cancel invite

Cancels the referee portal invitation or acknowledgement email as appropriate. Admissions officers require the permission Referee portal - Cancel invite.

Attention.

Admissions officers can cancel an invite if:

• No invitation exists, but there is a history of invitations, and the reference status shows the email was sent, failed, or saved by the referee. In this case, an acknowledgement email can be resent.

• If an invitation exists and has been marked as Completed because another referee with the same email address has already completed their reference, the system still allows an acknowledgement email to be resent. This ensures future correspondence can continue for this specific reference.

• An existing invitation is still valid (not completed). In this case, the invite can be resent.

Reset the invitation

After cancelling an invite, the account actions to resend and cancel invitations are no longer available. Admissions officers can then delete the reference or reset the invitation. On selecting Reset invitation, admissions officers are prompted to confirm the action and then a new invite is sent to the referee.

Accept or decline an invitation

Admissions officers can accept or decline an invitation on behalf of the referee. For example, if the referee accepted by mistake, an admissions officer can decline the invitation for the referee.

The video Account actions show the actions available to admissions officers.

Communication templates

The communication templates used with the referee portal, with their corresponding subject templates, are detailed below. For more information, go to What are communications templates?

• Referee portal registration email

• Referee portal expired invitation email

• Referee portal acknowledgement email

• Referee portal reference status updated email

• Referee portal document virus found email