This is a friendly reminder as we approach the Fall hiring season, if you or UA student employee/intern needs additional access rights within Advance and/or Advance training, please remember to complete an Access and Training Request Form found on The Canopy under Quick Links > UA Staff/CSUF/Student Interns.
While you may self-register for training in My Learning, please remember to first submit this form so that Advance rights can be assigned. Otherwise, you will be unable to complete your training. My Learning does not send notifications to ADV Request staff for when someone registers for a My Learning module.
Why this helps ADV Request?
Saves back and forth email regarding the training for you and ADV Request
We have a formal record of the request
Ensures rights are assigned before you begin the training so that practice scenarios, final checkpoints, etc. for the training can be completed in Advance without delay of the training – saving you from having to contact ADV Request
First and foremost – saves everyone TIME!
that Fall is our busiest season for training and access? We would like to keep everyone’s ability to self-register going forward, so remembering to submit this form first will help keep this ability in place.
If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ADV Request.
Hey you – you “got PMATS”? What is PMATS anyway? PMATS stands for Prospect Management and Tracking System. If you are someone who enters Proposals, takes assignment of Prospects, manages a Portfolio, etc. then you have Prospect Maintenance access rights because you went through PMATS training.
But when was the last time you went through a PMATS training? I know…I know…who has time for that? Well, a refresher course could be very beneficial, especially since PMATS has evolved and changed considerably since your initial training 5 or more years ago.
the PMATS I training is now online as a self-paced course with new content and “how to” videos? PMATS II courses are still set up as in-person training, but are now strictly virtual (you do not even need to leave your house or office or wherever your work sanctuary is). This course, however, will become available as an online course in 2022.
Our objectives of the PMATS I training is to cover:
Contact Attempts
Contact Reports
Creating Prospect Assignments
Understanding the difference between primary and secondary Prospect assignment as it relates to Advance
Entering and maintaining a major gift proposal on a Prospect
Notes and Strategies
Entering Tasks
Assigning proxy rights and how to proxy in as someone else if proxy rights were assigned to you
Our objectives of the PMATS II training is to cover:
Reports that feed from data primarily learned in PMATS I
Contact Attempt Report
Portfolio Health Report
Prospect Portfolio Report
Prospect Portfolio Report Toolbar
Integrity Check Report
Development Pipeline Report
Development Forecast Report
Advancement Effort Report
Keep in mind that Prospect Maintenance rights (and PMATS I and II training) are only for University Advancement employees required to have these rights as part of their job responsibilities.
Non-UA Staff do have the capability to enter contact reports (an item of PMATS training) but there are special maintenance rights to accomplish this. If a Contact Report refresher is desired, please review the Contact Report videos within our video library under the PMATS section on The Canopy.
If you have any questions about signing up for a refresher training, please reach out to ADV_Request@colostate.edu.
that we consider ADVANCE data as being highly confidential and that we, as users of the data, have an obligation to protect it against unintentional, unlawful, or unauthorized access, disclosure, or theft?
To access ADVANCE data, you are required to sign a CDIS Data Confidentiality Policy annually. When you sign this document, you are committing to:
Policy compliance – you will abide by the policy
Approved uses of ADVANCE data – in support of programs and priorities of the University and University Advancement
Not violating the policy through the action of prohibited uses – using the data for personal, political, religious, or non-CSU commercial purposes
If a vendor – agree to not sell or transfer information
Data Security is ongoing. Read on…
If using a laptop or handheld device:
DO NOT download or keep sensitive information stored on it or any USB or portable device
Access all information electronically on an “as needed” basis
Sensitive information includes:
Obvious data such as credit card numbers and social security numbers
This also can include personal contact reports/notes, giving history, and non-directory biographical information
Because some sharing of sensitive information is inevitable:
Delete your emails as soon as possible if they contain proprietary information
REMEMBER: The less data stored the better. If a device is stolen and contains sensitive information, the situation can escalate to ACNS and there may be possible repercussions to the unit and/or the University. At the very least, loss of future access to Advance.
a “help desk” is a service that provides information and support, especially within a company?
It functions as a resource intended to provide the customer or internal user with information and support related to a company’s processes, products and services. The purpose of a help desk is to provide a centralized resource to answer questions, troubleshoot problems and facilitate solutions to known problems.
Did you also know that there is a variety of Central UA email help desks available to you where you can ask questions, request information, schedule processes, and/or provide input related to your daily job tasks and responsibilities? Here is a rundown on our current Central UA help desks. Note: I will not publish the links on this site, however, links to the help desks are found on the Canopy under the Help! Tab.
ADVHelp(Owner: IT in ITEA) For assistance with IT (computer, network, hardware, software) problems, services, and/or technology-related issues.
ADVRequest (Owner: SEA in ITEA) For questions related to ADVANCE access and training, programs (e.g. CDIStributor, Gift Acknowledgements, etc.), online giving page requests, surveys/update forms, standard and ad hoc reporting, and general system related questions, enhancements, process consultation, troubleshooting and support. (My all-time favoriteJ💖!)
ADVResearch (Owner: P2D) For requests for prospect research (e.g. background information, estimated gift capacity review, philanthropic history, etc.), requests for prospect lists (e.g. donor prospects who appear to have specific funding interests or reside in certain geographic areas), and help with anything related to assigned prospects (including all concerns regarding assignments and proposals).
ADVCGI (Owner: CGI) For information or questions regarding constituent or gift data. Constituent data includes address, email, phone, employment, name change, marriage, divorce, communication preference, alert, affiliation, etc. Gift information includes at any point in the electronic workflow.
ADVSolicitation (Owner: CGI) If you have a complex solicitation request, solicitation questions, or proposed materials to submit. The Solicitation Approval Request Form is used for submitting new requests.
ADVAdvancementOutreach(Owner: Strategic Engagement) For questions and concerns regarding email communication reports and list builds. The Communication List Build / Review Request Form can be found on the Canopy under UA Engagement>Communication Resources>Email Strategy & Guidelines>List Request and Approval Form.
If you have trouble remembering what each help desk is responsible for, you can now hover over the name and the description will appear.
REMEMBER…
UA staff – that you have “at will” access to a plethora of resources. The Canopy may even provide some answers to your questions prior to you needing to use the Help! Tab. Take some time and review what it has to offer. You will be impressed!
Non UA staff – that you, too, have limited access and have probably already received the link to the specific resources within the Canopy that support your job responsibilities. If you need further assistance with access to these specific sites, please contact ADVRequest.
If you’re utilizing ADVANCE for any communication purposes, you’ve likely heard some form of this question before. More times than not, responses to this question consist of looks of bewilderment – “The what list?”
What exactly is the “seeded” list and what does it do?
The seeded list is simply a list of internal users who have requested to be included on all communications of a certain format (email or mail), type (newsletters, solicitations, invitations) and/or group (college/unit or CSU). Those on the seeded list are seamlessly included on these communication pieces without any additional action taken on behalf of the creator of that message.
Why would anyone want to receive every email or mailing?
“Seed” lists are pretty common in the direct marketing world. One clear benefit is ensuring necessary parties are “in the loop” on all upcoming communications without having to constantly worry about including the right people on the right type of messages. By indicating what YOU would like to receive, this process guarantees you’re aware of activity relative to your role, such as upcoming events, college-specific initiatives, or general news-related updates. It is also an indirect way of monitoring what your area (or an area that directly impacts your role) is sending throughout the year. This can help minimize catching others up or having to send out additional copies of communications when referencing them down the line.
Do I need to be on the seeded list to receive my emails?
No. CDIStributor automatically sends a copy of every email to the owner of that email.
Are there any negatives to being on the seeded list?
While it may seem beneficial to see all the communications activity within ADVANCE, there are some potential reasons why this may not be a suitable option for you.
Some things to consider:
Irrelevant or non-applicable content: Alumni and friends often receive communication pieces based on their affiliation or engagement with the University. We often include merge fields to tailor these messages to reference data specific to the recipient. Since seeded list recipients don’t always have the same affiliation or engagement, that data may not be available to feed the merge fields. This may cause your specific message to present blank or misleading fields where data is not applicable.
Overrides special handling (mail only): If you are on the seeded list but also have personal special handling on record for that same type of communication, your special handling settings will be disregarded and you will receive this communication, however this pertains to mail only. If you have email suppression’s on record and are on a competing seeded list, you will be removed from the email list. For this reason, it’s always good to confirm your personal special handling rules to confirm there are no conflicts.
Busy inbox:
…millions of emails were sent via CDIStributor each year? If you’re already having trouble keeping up with your inbox, please consider the impact of receiving additional emails as a seeded list participant.
Qualification: When receiving additional communications, it’s not always evident what you actually qualify for versus what you receive through the seeded list and there have been many instances where seeded list participants have forgotten that they were on the seeded list. For example, are you actually being invited to a certain event, or is this because of the seeded list (i.e. “Why did I receive this invitation for former CSU athletes when I never participated in CSU sports? The system must be broken?” You may need to reference the mailing log (seeded individuals do not show in email metrics) or reach out to the communicator if there is any confusion.
If there are any concerns about the above considerations, it may be better to reach out to project coordinators or communicators to ask to be included on specific communication pieces.
What seeded lists options do we offer?
We have a variety of seeded list options spanning various colleges/units, as well as some overall options for CSU level communications. Please contact ADV Request if you have specific questions and we can help find the most appropriate list(s) for your needs.
Can I exclude the seeded list from my communication?
Yes! You can control this setting on your Ad-Hoc report (for mail or email lists) or through CDIStributor. This allows either the person creating the Ad-Hoc to control this option, but may also be decided by the author/content creator at the time the email shell is being created.
To exclude via your Ad-Hoc report, go to your report Settings → More Settings → Settings – General → Excluded ‘Seeded List’ (select Yes)
Note: If you exclude via Ad-Hoc, this setting will freeze in your CDIStributor email builder.
To exclude via CDIStributor, uncheck the “Include Seeded List” checkbox and click ‘Save’.
How do I know when to exclude the seeded list?
You generally do not have to worry much about excluding the seeded list, as these individuals asked to be included on communications of this type. However, there may be some scenarios that warrant exclusion:
Multiple Segments
Email: If you have multiple email segments with roughly the same message, you can consider excluding the seeded list on all but one of these. However, those on the seeded list may be interested in seeing all versions, so please use your discretion when making this decision.
Mail: If you have multiple mail segments being sent, this will generate an additional mail piece for each person on the seeded list. As you can imagine, a mailing with 6 segments would generate a considerable amount of excess mail for each seeded individual. Consider including the seeded list on your largest segment to avoid sending additional mail pieces.
Reminders or action-oriented messages: If a mail or email initiative also has reminders built in (common with invitations or opt-in pages), you can consider suppressing the seeded list from your 2nd or 3rd reminders, or if no new information is being presented.
I want to see everything – how do I get added to the seeded list?
Just email ADV Request and we’ll be happy to discuss your options and add you!
that Innovation Technology and Education rolled out a new CDIS (Constituent Data Information System) security policy in July that contained a wide-range of ADVANCE access adjustments to system users. One of the significant changes was the addition of a 90-day inactivity policy where access to ADVANCE is removed from a user after 90 days of inactivity.
Help us, help you! If you are a casual user of the system, set a calendar reminder to log into ADVANCE every 30 days (or set a schedule that works best for you) if you know you may not be logging into ADVANCE on a more frequent basis.
Systems Education and Analysis receives notice of an expired confidentiality agreement, and notice of an account that has reached 90 days of inactivity. Both of these scenarios will result in the loss of ADVANCE access.
Please keep your account up-to-date and log in as frequent as you can to avoid inactivation.
Thank you!
If you have you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact ADV Request.
that Advance/CDIStiller courses are moving to online registration in MyLearning? Well hang on… just not quite yet.
So – help us, help you!
To help the Innovative Technology and Education (ITE) team to keep the ball moving towards our launch date (which is soon), you can help us by continuing to submit your Advance access and training requests by the same process as you have used previously – through the Advance Access & Training Request form (located in My Reference of Advance).
Doing so will help our team to be prepared for any learner that registers for training so that they have all of the necessary rights in Advance on the day of their training as granting access takes time and should be done prior to the start of a training. This will ensure that learners can follow along and have the best learning experience and use of their time as possible.
This is important to know! Once MyLearning registration rolls out for Advance training, we will still require an Advance Access and Training Request form as the first step to registration versus going straight to MyLearning so that we are notified of a registered learner. We want to be prepared and aware for any learner that comes through our door for training and avoid a surprise on the day of training.
As always – if there are any questions about this request, please don’t hesitate to contact ADV Request.
ADVANCE is a powerful tool we use to generate data to analyze our various constituencies, but how are we able to leverage that data to determine averages on a particular data point?
For example, what is the average age of our alumni members? What is the average Engagement Index of recent attendees to an event? What is the average age of our Computer Science alumni?
…you can use your Statistical Analysis format to help get the answers to these questions? All you need is your Ad-Hoc report and a blank Excel document.
Let’s walk through an example. Imagine you were recently asked to pull the average Engagement Index (EI) of graduates from a particular department, but this Ad-Hoc report yields a total of over 5,000 alumni! The Statistical Analysis format has the “CSU – Engagement Index” data point, but this simply shows us the number of alumni for each score. So how can we calculate the average based on the way this data is presented?
To calculate the average:
Retrieve your report as a Statistical Analysis with “CSU – Engagement Index” selected.
Open a blank Excel worksheet.
Copy and paste your Statistical Analysis “CSU – Engagement Index” table into Excel and delete the column with percentages in Column C (we will re-purpose this column).
Column A will show all the various EI scores for all qualified alumni.
Column B will show the number of alumni per score.
Now, let’s calculate Column C. In cell C1, multiply A1*B1.
*Try this formula: =SUM(A1*B1)
You can now carry this formula down the remainder of Column C using the cross icon in the lower right corner of that cell:
(To learn more about this function, click here or search the web for “How to copy a formula down a column”)
You should now have values in column C for all EI scores.
Calculate the SUM of Columns B and C (column B is going to be the total number of entities on your report).
To determine the average, divide the total of Column C by the total of Column B.
You can now easily see the average Engagement Index for our department graduates is 325.
We can track their EI score at this point in time and use it for comparison purposes in the future to determine exactly how our recent outreach initiatives may have impacted their engagement with CSU.
You easily can apply this process for determining the average age of a population as well.
…that a large reason we forget information is because in our everyday lives, we focus on understanding the world, not remembering it. What threatens our efforts as educators is that on average, about 80% of the information received in any given day is forgotten. YIKES!
Let us break it down for you…
We learn
10% What we READ
20% What we HEAR
30% What we SEE
50% What we SEE and HEAR
70% What we DISCUSSED with OTHERS
80% What we EXPERIENCED PERSONALLY
95% What we TEACH TO SOMEONE ELSE
Then, throw in various individual learning styles and learning becomes much more complex. Customer Support and Training (CST) would like to use this opportunity to give you a short (well…ok…long list) of DON’T FORGET items as they relate to ADVANCE and supporting programs. A CHEAT SHEET if you will.
Don’t forget….
to include ‘Lost’ record statuses when building your email reports. While we may not have a physical address for these individuals, we may have their email address on record;
that setting a report to run daily does not prevent your report from archiving if you are not viewing the output of that report within your archive period;
to pass along or add to the system valuable contact information for your relationships with people within organizations and corporations – this affects things like mail file salutations and mailing labels. Without an organizational contact on file, these will be generically addressed to “Friend of Colorado State University” and often wind up in the wrong hands (or no hands at all);
to add Preferred Names for our loyal donors if you know they like to be referred to as something other than their formal first name;
to check the ADV Scheduler before planning your communication around a certain date – it may already be taken;
to check for overlap across email segments;
to spot-check your list after creating, whether you built it or someone else did. It’s always good to affirm the audience in your results is the audience you were targeting. The statistical analysis report is a great tool for this!
to request an appeal code when planning any type of solicitation;
to check the success of your email initiatives by utilizing the Mailing Log;
to plan ahead on your reporting needs;
that CST is happy to review your reports for accuracy;
to watch (and watch again) training videos – the adult short-term memory can only remember about 7 items! The more your practice, the more you retain!
that “Send as Soon as Approved” is only for emergency situations and to always give Betty Grace three business days;
to partner with Alumni Relations to avoid duplicated communication efforts;
to check CSU’s common style errors. One would think being an institute of higher education we’d follow APA, Chicago, or MLA – but we’re unique, and we have our very own CSU style. Get to know it!
to always Email ADV Request before emailing kylan, Janet, Linda or Shay directly! We promise we will get to you as soon as possible, and emailing the queue will ensure the most appropriate person can answer your question in the quickest timeframe;
to schedule training more than 1 week in advance – we are now on a blocked schedule and are booking out 2 weeks in advance.
We understand that just by reading these you are looking at a 10% retention. However, if you practice, discuss with others, and help teach your colleagues, you can learn up to 95% of this material. CST is happy to help you to raise that percentage in any way we can by utilizing additional methods. After all…DON’T FORGET that we are here for you!
We’ve all been there. After much trial and error, you’ve finally crafted the perfect invitation list, stayed within your postage budget, AND vetted the list across all powers that be. But your report seems to have dropped all the wrong people once you’ve turned it into an invitation. So where did they go?
Communication Suppression: Most likely, these missing individuals may have some type of special handling on their record, and have chosen to opt out of this form of communication. Visit the “Special Handling” section of their profile to confirm their communication preferences.
Missing Contact Information: Depending on your communication format, we may be missing the data point required for communication. Without an active email or physical address on file, Advance cannot deliver the message. Try creating multiple forms of communication to broaden your audience.
NCOA Suppression: If you’ve exhausted your troubleshooting methods and determined there is no active special handling and all contact information is active and available, there’s the possibility that someone may have an “undeliverable” address, as deemed by the National Change of Address (NCOA) database.
Aside from our alumni data (98% accuracy), approximately 8% of all mail is undeliverable due to incorrect addresses. Advance routinely runs all address data through the NCOA database to identify any undeliverable addresses, thus saving YOU postage by not having these return to sender.
Occasionally, an address is valid, but marked undeliverable via bulk mail. Please reach out to ADV Request if you feel there may be an address marked as undeliverable but will be sending mail via First Class, as an override can be applied to your report to include this population.
While Waldo is most likely intentionally missing, we are better equipped with some clues to identify his reasons for disappearing!
(To learn more about this function, click 
ADVANCE Innovations 