Finalsite Explore: Admin Experience

Overview

Finalsite Explore allows families to manage their school search and application process from one location.

Schools can coordinate to form a group based on location and (with the assistance of our team) can enable Finalsite Explore, offering families a more streamlined experience when it comes to searching for and applying to schools.

Finalsite Explore is a free feature. You just need to form a group of schools in your area that would like to participate and connect with our team to begin the setup.

How it works (in a nutshell)

Share the link to Finalsite Explore within your website or include it in your reach-out emails.

How to find your links.

Parents will either log in or create an account for Finalsite Explore. Once logged in, they can explore schools, submit applications, and track their application progress within the portal.

For more insight into what parents experience in Finalsite Explore, please check out the Finalsite Explore: Parent Experience article.
Parents have access to a dedicated help site within the Finalsite Explore to support their understanding. As a best practice, we recommend that you also bookmark this page for easy reference and share it with parents whenever needed: http://www.finalsite.com/explore-help-center

Applications to your school submitted through Finalsite Explore will come into your Finalsite Enrollment site.

Keep an eye on your forms inbox to monitor application progress and submit any inquiries and/or applications that have landed there.
Be sure to include links to your school's parent portal in emails/templates related to your Admissions process.
- How to find your portal link.
- Examples of where to add them:

Setup and Management

Start by getting a group together and connecting with us.

Finalsite Explore is a free feature. All you need to do is form a group of schools in your area and get in touch to get started.

You'll need at least 2 schools to start your group and we'll need to do some backend setup to get you up and rolling. Contact us when you are ready and we'll help you get started.

There are a few things to know about the initial setup - expand this dropdown to learn more.

Student Information Form

When parents first visit Finalsite Explore they start by filling out basic student/parent/household info in an introductory form (the Student Information Form). The form is not customizable, but your group will decide on what to include for the following 2 questions:

- Ethnicity Options: You can list whatever options your group agrees on and our team will add them to your form.
- Gender Options: You can choose from the following options to include: Female, Male, Non-Binary, Self-Identify, Prefer Not To Answer.

Your group can request adjustments to these at any time by contacting support.

Application

When a parent applies to a school in Finalsite Explore, the information collected in the Student Information form will all prepopulate into the application. Keep the following in mind:

When applying, parents will have to complete any additional fields on your application that are not on the Student Information form.
- Reminder: parents only need to submit answers for questions marked as required within a form.
Application Fees remain the same. If you are set up to collect one, parents will be prompted to pay one just as they would if accessing your application from your site or parent portal.

Please check out the Finalsite Explore: Parent Experience article to learn more about what the parent sees when visiting the portal.

Design your Finalsite Explore page.

After you have connected with our team, you can get started on designing your own school's Finalsite Explore experience within your Finalsite Enrollment site. You'll need to check/update the following areas.

Keep in Mind

These are only unlocked after you've taken the initial step of connecting with our team. Once we've enabled Finalsite Explore for you on our end, you'll be able to update the following areas.

Finalsite Explore Content

On the Explore Content Page (under Settings > Portal > Explore Content), you'll update key information identifying your school in Finalsite Explore.

(Only those designated as System Admins or Admins in your site can access this page.)

Expand this dropdown to learn what you can update on the Explore Content page.

School Name
School Information Snippet
- This information is displayed on the top right side of the page once a parent selects a school to explore.

School Info Snippet in the shared portal

500 character limit. Keep an eye on your text. There is no warning to let you know when you exceed 500, the box will just cut off your text.
This area doesn't support emojis.
This area doesn't recognize page breaks.
Tip: Use the drag to expand feature to make this area easier to edit.

Upload School Logo
More Information Hyperlink
- This is the URL that parents will be directed to when they select the More Information button within Finalsite Explore. You may wish to link to your school website or inquiry form here.
Min Grade Level and Max Grade Level*
- Select the lowest and highest grades at your school.
Portal Grade/System Grade:
- Portal Grade: On the left side, you see all grades within your min/max levels selected above.
- System Grade: On the right side, you can choose the grade that corresponds to the grade on your site. Inquires from Finalsite Explore will feed into the grade selected here.
- Out of Range: There is also a grade for Out of range. This is what an inquiry will map to if the student’s grade is not one you offer. For example, if the student selected Pre-K but your school does not offer that grade.
School Address
Enabled?
- IMPORTANT: This is your big red launch button. This button should not be pressed until your group is fully ready. Not sure?
  - Still in onboarding: this will be after you launch. Connect with your onboarding manager for more info.
  - No longer onboarding (your site is already live): Contact support if you are not sure.

*Important notes about Grade levels

Grades in Finalsite Explore will be displayed as Nursery, Pre-K, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, Post Grad.

You can have additional grades set up within your site/available on your application. If you do, parents will be able to select them on the application as long as you have set them to be available on your site.
Grades marked as unavailable on your site don't prepopulate for parents on the application in Finalsite Explore.
- If a grade is marked as unavailable in your site (collect applications toggled to no), and the parent selects that grade as the grade they are applying to when completing the student information form ( the form they complete when they create a Finalsite Explore account), the 'grade applying to' section on the application will be blank. The parent will not see the unavailable grade in the list of options and they'll be required to select from any of the other grades that you are accepting applications for.
  - What's the takeaway? If you mark grades as unavailable, consider adding a note to the application so that parents are aware you are not accepting applications for that grade level.

IMPORTANT: You have to save your changes at the bottom of the page. If you refresh or leave the page without saving, your changes will not be saved.

Parent Portal Content

On the Parent Portal Content page ( under Settings > Portal > Parent Portal Content > Explore Content), you'll update the design of the main area that shows when a parent selects to explore your school.

Best practices for making your Finalsite Explore page shine.

Keep this page up to date.
Be sure to include important deadlines and details that prospective families should know about.
Add links for families to register for highlighted events.
Design your page to stand out.

Reporting

Forms Inbox

Within the Forms Inbox, when you receive a form submitted through Finalsite Explore, you will see it displayed in the Source column.

Shared Portal App in the Forms Inbox.png

Search & Reports

In a search, you can use the Finalsite Explore Application field to pull up a list of all applications that came to your school through Finalsite Explore.

Shared Portal Search.png

You can also use Change Display/Columns to pull in the Application Sources field as a column to a search:

Communications

Automated Communications

There are no additional automated communications for Finalsite Explore. Parents will receive the expected system emails such as the Application Thank You email when submitting applications through Finalsite Explore.

Custom Communications

Any school can create a custom email tailored to those applying through Finalsite Explore.
Those with access to create Automated Communication Plans (schools that have Pro accounts) can use the Application Sources field to create a criteria that ensures the email is sent to families applying through Finalsite Explore(example below).

ACP for Shared Portal setup example.png

FAQs

Setup

How do schools sign up?

All you need to do is form a group in your area and get in touch to get started. You'll need at least 2 schools to start your group and we'll need to do some backend setup to get you up and rolling.

Contact us when you are ready and we'll help you get started.

How are gender and ethnicity options pulled in/ decided on?

During the initial setup, your group will need to decide on which ethnicity and gender options to include in your Student Information form.

Ethnicity Options: You can list whatever options your group agrees on and our team will add them to your form.
Gender Options: You can choose from the following options to include: Female, Male, Non-Binary, Self-Identify, Prefer Not To Answer.

Your options can be updated at any time by contacting support.

Can the questions on the Student Information form be edited?

The Student Information form can not be edited. However, during the setup, your group will decide on which ethnicity and gender options to include in your Student Information form and those selections can be updated at any time by contacting support.

Can you use iframe to embed a school’s website into the parent portal content explore page?

This is possible, but we advise against it as it does not make for a clean user experience.

Student Info Form and Applications

If you are not accepting applications for a grade and you’ve turned the grade off on your Grades page, how does it affect Finalsite Explore process?

If a grade is marked as unavailable (collect applications toggled to no), it will still be available in the Student Information form but it will not be available in your application.
This means that if parents selects a grade that you’ve toggled off, they’ll be required to select another grade when completing the application.
As a best practice, we recommend that you clearly communicate any grades that you are not accepting applications for on your application.

What is the Student Information Form?

The student information form is an introductory form that parents fill out when they first create an account in Finalsite Explore. Within the introductory form, prospective families enter student, address, and parent information.

How does the Student Information form connect to the application form?

Whenever a family applies within Finalsite Explore, the information they entered into their Student Information form is automatically populated within their application.

Does your application form have to exactly match the student information form?

No, your application doesn’t have to exactly match the student information form.
Parents will have to complete any additional fields on your application that are not on the Student Information form since only the data collected in the Student Information form will be prepopulated in the application.
Reminder: parents only need to submit answers for questions marked as required within a form.

Can you still accept Application fees within Finalsite Explore?

Yes, your application fee will remain the same. If you are set up to collect an application fee, parents will still be prompted to pay it when completing their application form.

Additional Resources