CALENDAR
PORTAL 4 comes with the new module, CALENDAR. It has robust functionality that allows you to set up an interview schedule based on your team’s availability, and then schedule child and family interviews and visits in a calendar format.
Tracking Interview Information
All information relating to the interview process is available on the Interview tab in INQUIRIES. This screen is often adjusted during implementation to reflect the school’s individual process.
In general, it is assumed that an interviewer will have write access to the appropriate fields so that the information can be entered here directly, rather than written on paper and input later by a staff member. PORTAL ships with one password that allows Admission officers to edit only this information, while not altering biographical or other information.
The Interview screen is not intended for printing, as are any of the other tabbed screens in PORTAL. If the office wants to print a page for the folder that contains the interview write-up and other pertinent information, then such a form should be constructed. A sample write-up form is included in PORTAL.
As part of the interview experience, it helps to have the family verify and add name, address and other information. Rather than having families complete another blank sheet, it is both efficient and impressive to present visiting families with a Pre-Interview Form showing the current information. A sample form is available via the Pre-int. Form button on the Interview screen.
The Interview checkbox is checked when the interview occurs and could be checked when the write-up is being entered. There is a separate field for the Interview Date and Interview Time, and it is therefore possible to find interviews that were scheduled where families did not appear. The Interview checkbox should not be checked simply because the date is past.
Interview Ratings
PORTAL ships with a suggested scheme for ranking interviewees. This is just a suggestion, but it is recommended that an office at least consider a scale. Ranking interviews by a known scale can help balance decisions when the interviews are conducted by multiple people. The suggested categories are Academics (AC), Character (CH), and Extracurriculars (EX). These are not the same as similar fields on the App/Decision screen used during the reading and Committee Recommendation process. These interview ratings can be used as appropriate, and the scale can be edited to be “A-F”, “1-5”, or whatever is deemed useful.
