Approval Workflow

Merit users with admin permissions can activate the Approval Workflow, a feature in Merit that enables schools to designate which users can publish stories. 

When the approval workflow is activated, you'll be able to designate 2 types of user accounts:

• Approvers: Approvers can write stories, publish them online, and distribute them. 
• Non-Approvers: Non-approvers can write stories, but not publish or distribute them. Instead, "approvers" are notified by Merit when a non-approver submits a story, and then the approver must take the final step of approving and publishing them. 

Why use the approval workflow?

There are many reasons for using the approval workflow, but a common use case is if you have student workers or interns whose job is to write and prepare stories for Merit. These users can prepare all aspects of a story, but an approver can have the final say on publishing and distributing them. It's also a good way to establish a system where one or a few people have editorial control of what gets published.

Activating the Approval Workflow

The approval workflow can be activated from your Merit dashboard by going to Settings > General and checking the "Use the approval workflow" checkbox. You will then be presented with a list of Merit users. Take a moment to select the users that you would like to grant "Approver" permissions to. The people you designate as approvers will receive an email from Merit when a story is in need of review. 






Adjusting Permissions

You can quickly and easily adjust any user's permissions by going to Settings > User Accounts. On this screen you can use the drop down box next to any user who "Needs approval" to choose a default "approver" for that user. The person selected here will receive an email when this person creates a Merit achievement. 





Click the "Edit" button next to any user to change their permissions. This will take you to the user's profile where you can edit their permissions. Here you can use the drop down box to change the "default approver".






Select the mix of permissions you would like to give this Merit user and click Update.

When a Merit user with "Needs Approval" Permissions submits an achievement for approval, the "Approver" that they are connected to will get an email notification with a link to the achievement.

The "Approver" can also access pending achievements from the "Tasks" section on their Dashboard:






The Tasks section will show you all of the stories that are awaiting further action. Click "Review" to view the story in question:




The approver will then be able to review the achievement itself:





Other approver actions: 

• If the "Approver" approves the story and selects "Publish Now!" the story will be submitted for review. The story will appear as "In Review" until it is approved by a Merit editor.  
• If the  "Approver" chooses the "Edit" option, they will advance to the achievement workflow where they can make changes to the story.
• If the "Approver" rejects the achievement the achievement will reappear as a "Draft" in Merit. You can find and edit this draft by searching for it on the Achievements > Drafts page in Merit.