Add qualifications

Qualifications pull information from an applicant's data (import file, General Application, etc.).

If an applicant's data matches qualification criteria, it affects:

• Conditional applications:

  • Only applicants with matching qualifications can complete conditional applications

  • Relevant data:

    • Import data (if applicable)

    • General Application data

• Apply-to opportunities:

  • If applicants have matching qualifications, they'll be recommended to complete applications to apply-to opportunities

  • If applicants don't have matching qualifications but still apply, their application will have a 0 under Qualification Points

  • Relevant data:

    • Import data (if applicable)

    • General Application data

    • Conditional application data (if applicable)

• Auto-match opportunities:

  • Applicants with matching qualifications will have applications automatically submitted to auto-match opportunities

  • Relevant data:

    • Import data (if applicable)

    • General Application data

    • Conditional application data (if applicable)

  Tip: To pull in applicants with drafted General Applications, select Match Drafted on the opportunity's Details tab.

• Reviewer groups:

  • If reviewer groups have Only Review Qualified Applicants on their Details tab, reviewers will only be assigned applications with matching qualifications

  • Relevant data:

    • Import data (if applicable)

    • General Application data

    • Conditional application data (if applicable)

    • Apply-to application data (if applicable)

Tip: To learn how qualifications affect awarding, see Offer awards to applicants.

Note: If an opportunity's Source is a conditional application, no applications can be matched to that opportunity until the applicant has first completed its conditional application.

1. On an application, opportunity, or reviewer group, go to the Qualifications tab.

2. Create a qualification group:

   1. Choose a question for qualification.

   2. Based on the question, choose a condition (e.g., must contain, must include, must be greater than).

   3. Choose a value.

   4. Select Add.

      Tip: For some question types (e.g., radio buttons), you can select more than one option per qualification.

   5. Repeat until you've added all qualifications in your group. If an applicant meets all qualifications in your group, they'll receive 1 qualification point.

3. If you need to match additional applicant profiles, create additional qualification groups.

4. Select Update Qualifications.

To earn 1 qualification point, an applicant needs to meet all qualifications in that group, meaning that:

• All qualifications within the group must be true

• The order of qualifications doesn't matter

In order to earn more than 1 qualification point, an applicant would need to match multiple qualification groups. For guidance on advanced qualifications, see Create advanced qualifications.

1. Use appropriate question types: To avoid unexpected inputs (and unexpected qualification results), create qualifications using the following question types:

   • Number - No Decimal

   • Number - With Decimals

   • Reference Requests

   • Radio Buttons

   • Single-select list

   • Checkboxes

   • Multi-select list

   Tip: Think carefully before using Short Answer questions for qualifications. If an applicant has the right answer but makes a typo, they might be disqualified!

2. Make qualification questions required: If a qualified applicant forgets to answer your question, they might be disqualified from an award.

3. Take advantage of projected application matches: Use projected application matches to:

   • Identify problematic qualifications

   • Evaluate potential changes to qualifications

   • Help your donors understand the potential applicant pool

   Tip: Projected application matches only tell you how many applicants are qualified, not how many will apply. Plan for fewer applications than projected when working with apply-to opportunities.

   Note: Projected application matches aren't available on reviewer groups or renewal opportunities.

4. Make changes before the Internal End Date: Though you can adjust opportunity qualifications throughout your opportunity (even after the Public End Date), don't make any changes after the Internal End Date. Otherwise, no outside applications will be matched.

5. Update qualifications as you update questions: Changes to your questions may affect qualifications. For more guidance, see Update application questions.