User Reference

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User Reference fields are designed to help you look up user accounts tracking activities in your system and identify both internal and external collaborators. These fields are especially useful in reports, as they determine if formatting rules need to be applied when creating citations.

When a User Reference field is used to look up a user account, the faculty member's name details (first, last, middle) will default into the individual fields when using a User Reference field. If the faculty member published under a different name or specific version of their name, these fields can be updated within the individual activity.

An example of User Reference field in Faculty Success is in the "Authors" Dynamic Sub-Answer field located on the "Publications" activity screen, which enables a user to associate co-authors with a single intellectual contribution record.

Key Considerations

• How the User Reference field will display Faculty's Name: User reference fields will display the name of the faculty by "Last Name, First Name" followed by their Faculty Success username (such as "Smith, John (jsmith)"). 
• Importing Data to User Reference field: When importing data from other systems, it is not always possible to populate user reference fields since the ability to do this depends on the way in which the systems provide the name data. In order to populate a user reference field, the import file must contain one or more columns of Faculty Success usernames or unique user identifiers. If the import file contains name fields only, we will leave the user reference question empty and the name data will be stored within the corresponding text fields. If a user subsequently tries to edit and save such a record, Faculty Success will ask the user to select their name from a user reference field.

With these key considerations and functionality of the User Reference fields in mind, the following section will address how these fields can be configured as Linked or Non-Linked for Record Linking. This will explain how each setting impacts record visibility, permissions, and collaboration with Faculty Success. 

Record Linking

User Reference fields can be configured as Linked or Non-Linked. By default, Faculty Success has User Reference fields set up as Linked User Reference fields.

Linking Enabled

All collaborators referenced using User Reference will see that record on their account as well and make them a Linked Collaborator. This setting is field-specific, allowing it to be applied differently across multiple screens or within a single activity screen which has multiple User Reference fields. The section Editable User Reference within this article details how linked collaborators can interact with records they were referenced in or be removed from it. 

Linking Disabled

Only the user account who has created the record or had it imported to their profile will have it appear in their profile and reports. Other users may be referenced with the User Reference field, assisting with identification of both internal collaborators as well as allowing reports to easily identify the name of the record owner in the list of collaborators. For example, even with linking disabled your report will be able to bold the name for the faculty member in a full-service report. However, with linking disabled each collaborator at the institution will be responsible for entering and maintaining their own version of the same record.

Editable User Reference

For records using Linked User Reference fields, only the user account that created the initial record is able to edit or delete the record, regardless of how many collaborators are linked. If a faculty member does not want to see a Linked record on their account, the record owner would need to unselect that faculty member from the User Reference field and use only the name fields to reference that faculty member.

Enabling Editable User Reference

There is also an option to make your User Reference fields into Editable User Reference fields. This setting is applied across your instrument and would impact all Linked User Reference fields. It will also limit your ability to customize screens that use a Linked User Reference field since all faculty linked to a record need to see the same fields (i.e., you can’t show AACSB Classification fields ONLY to the College of Business - all colleges would need to see that field). The benefit of this setting, however, is that all linked collaborators can edit the record. If Business has fields, and Engineering has fields, each faculty member can update the appropriate field for their accreditors. Linked collaborators still cannot delete a record, but they could remove themselves as a linked collaborator, and thereby remove the record from their account.

Determining the Record Owner for a Linked Record

Records where the user is a linked collaborator, but not the owner, will appear with a Lock icon in the summary table. If editable user reference is not enabled, changes may not be made by the current user. If editable user reference is enabled, the account may still revise the locked record.

The primary record owner may be determined by adding a column to the Summary Screen table. Use the Select Columns button located on top of the Summary Screen table and search for the "Record Owner" option then select "Save." Once your selection is saved, the column will appear toward the far right of the table (use the arrows to navigate through the columns of the Summary Screen table) and display the name of the record owner. Either this user, or a user with the appropriate Manage Data permissions to manage the user as outlined in Managing Linked Records, may modify the record.

In this example, the first four records were entered by other accounts and appear with a Lock icon. The records must be modified from, or on behalf of, the referenced record owner's account.

Disabling User Reference Linking

After User Reference is disabled (Reminder: This can be set per User Reference field), each user will need to enter his or her own records. For example, if two users co-author an intellectual contribution, each user will need to enter separate publication records in Faculty Success. While Faculty Success relies on primary key matching to mitigate the risk these are counted twice for accreditation reports such as AACSB Table 8-1, differences in how the record is completed by each collaborator runs the risk of them being counted more than once.

To proceed with disabling User Reference Linking for your system or specific screens, consider the number of linked records currently in the system. For users who have access to a record due to linking, removing this feature will create gaps in their profile. If you would like Faculty Success to create records for each referenced user, specifically state this in the Screen Revision(s) work request submitted to disable linking.

User Reference Significance - Populating the Record Owner's Name

When creating a new record for a screen with a single User Reference section on a screen, Faculty Success will auto-populate that field with the name of the user on whose behalf the record is entered. If more than one DSA with a User Reference field exists on a screen, neither field will be auto-populated with the record owner's name. User Reference auto-population does not occur in this instance because Faculty Success cannot know which DSA to populate. However, the name of the record owner must be selected in at least one DSA before the record can be saved. For example, if your Publications screen contains separate authors and editors DSAs with User Reference fields, you must select the record owner as either an author or an editor.

Disabling User Reference Significance

You can request through the Work Request Utility that Faculty Success disable the auto-population feature. We refer to this as removing User Reference Significance. However, one drawback of disabling auto-population is that users will have to enter their own name in the user reference field. These are important outcomes to consider before submitting the request to disable the auto-population feature. 

User reference fields are a valuable feature for linking collaborators to records, improving reporting, and ensuring accurate tracking of activities. Proper configuration of these fields ensures smooth collaboration and supports accurate record tracking across your users.