Forms FAQ Guide

Need some help navigating our Form software? You’ve come to the right place.

General
•    How do I access the Forms (document generation) software?

Employer/Organization
•   How do Employers and Parents/Guardians provide e-signatures?
•   How do I create employer specific expectations for the SCELP form?
•   Tips for Searching Employers 
•   How do I add contacts to an employer profile?
•   How do I add an employer or edit an existing employer?
•   How do I add positions to an employer profile?
•   How do I add employer expectations?

 

Why isn’t an Employer or Parent/Guardian receiving my email to verify hours?

If a Organization/Employer or Parent/Guardian is not receiving hour logs, then please review the following possible reasons:

  • The contact’s email was entered incorrectly
    If the contact’s email has been inputted incorrectly (e.g. spelling errors), then the student’s submission will not go through. Please ensure that students are submitting their logs to the correct email address.

NOTE: You can confirm a contact’s email by reviewing a student’s hour logs to see which email address has been recorded.

  • Verification emails have not been received by a contact or organization    Emails may not be received by the contact or organization as a result of their inbox being full or their email server being down. To check if this is the case, email the organization directly. If they are experiencing issues with their email, please call the organization to let them know.
  • Verification emails have been sent to the spam or junk folders 
    Emails from “noreply@charityrepublic.com” may be directed to spam or junk folders depending on the email firewall in use by a contact or organization. Please ask the contact to check their Spam and/or Junk folders and to add “noreply@charityrepublic.com” to a Safe List. They can also search their Inbox, searching “Hour Republic”, to locate the email message.

If the organizations needs assistance checking their spam folder or adding our email to their safe list, please send them this FAQ.

If none of the above reasons apply, then there are alternate ways to verify hours:

  • Share a direct link of the hour log with an Organization/Employer or Parent/Guardian
    Teachers can share a direct link with an Organization/Employer (or with Parents/Guardians specifically as it relates to volunteer hours) to verify  hours. Simply click on the “Copy hour verification link” and paste that link into any message. That will take an employer directly to an hour summary web page where they can verify hours. This is a helpful alternative when employers have not received an hour submission via email. Or, when you need someone else to verify an hour log (e.g. supervisor who is covering off for a colleague).
  • Re-send the email to a Company or Contact   
    If the company has not verified the hours after a long period of time, then please have the student edit their pending hours and click   to resend the verification email to the company or contact.
  • Teachers can “Save and Approve” the Hours       
    If a student cannot contact their organization and their hours are not being verified, guidance can manually save and approve of a student’s hours without verification from the organization.

Draft Email to Employer

I understand that you are not receiving verification emails from Hour Republic.

Sometimes, emails from Hour Republic (noreply@charityrepublic.com) may be directed to your Spam or Junk folders depending on the email firewall in use by your organization. Please check your Spam and/or Junk folders to locate the message.

If you are still unable to locate the email message, then please search your Inbox,  searching for “Hour Republic”, to locate the message.

Finally, you can add “noreply@charityrepublic.com” to a Safe List. This can usually be done directly in your email account, or via your IT department.

Webinar Schedule

We host live webinars where we walk you through our software (from start to finish), and answer any questions that you may have.

Co-op Hour & Activity Tracking
Tuesdays @ 12:00pm
Wednesdays @ 10:00am

Form & Learning Plan Generator
Wednesdays @ 12:30pm
Thursdays @ 1:00pm

Volunteer Hour & Activity Tracking
Thursdays @ 11:30am

*All times are in EST.

If you are interested in attending, then email us at info[at]charityrepublic.com with the time slot(s) that you are available. Then, we will happily share the webinar details with you.

Creating a Form or Learning Plan in Hour Republic

Below are steps for creating a form or learning plan. These steps apply to all forms.

#1: Click on the Forms tab in Hour Republic to create a new form

#2: Click the Create Forms button in the top right corner
[this is an option if you prefer to select your students first]

or

Select one or more form(s) that you wish to create (e.g. check off Learning Plan, WEA and OYAP)
[this is an option if you prefer to select your forms first]

#3: Click Create Forms (if you haven’t already)

#4: Select one or all of the students that you would like to create a form(s) for, then click Next.

TIP: You can create multiple forms for multiple students at the same time.

#5: Begin filling out or editing the form for your student(s)
We autofill your form with student data that was imported (shared by your school board's IT department)

 

#6: Most forms will have the option to Add Course Details and/or Add Employer Details.

Click the Add button to view and select from a list of all the Ministry of Education courses. Click the Add button again to add multiple courses for a student.

#7: Add the Employer information

There are 2 ways to add an employer. You can either search for an existing employer or add a new employer. Before adding a new employer, please ensure that you have searched for your employer first, in order to avoid duplicates.

Why isn't My Student's Employer Showing Up?
The search bar only shows employers that have the Active status. Any employer created by a teacher is automatically set to this status, however, any employer created by a student is set to Pending.
Add an Existing Employer
The search bar is smart. If you type in a few letters, it will find a match. Once you have selected an employer, select the Contact and Student Position (i.e. Cashier).
Adding a New Employer
If you are unable to find an employer via a search, click the Add Employer button to create a new employer. You can follow this FAQ to add a new employer.

TIP: Remember that if you want to add or edit employer data to click Edit Employer to make auto filling easier for future forms. If you add the data under the Details section, it will not save to the Employer profile.

#8: Fill out the remainder of the form.

#9: Once the form is complete, you can either
– Save, Finish or Export PDF
– Print
– Sign electronically
– Email a request(s) for e-signatures (FAQ here)

Existing and Copying Forms

From the main forms tab (Recent Forms), you can view all recent forms. When you check off the box beside a form, you have the option to Edit, Copy, Export or Delete the form.

If you click the Copy option, a new student page will pop-up. Select a student(s) that you would like to copy the form(s) to. This will copy over the all of the form details from one student to another. Now, you can open up the copied forms and edit them as needed.

How do I add expectations to learning plans?

Select the student learning plan and scroll to the bottom of the learning plan.

1. Click the Choose Expectations button  (under Course Expectations or Employer Expectations groups at the bottom of your plan)

2. From the pop-up menu, select the relevant tab (e.g. Curriculum) and “Choose” from the drop-down:

(i) Course Expectations
– All Curriculum
– Overall Course Favourites

(ii) Employer Expectations
– Occupations (NOC)
– Trades

3. Select the relevant expectation(s) by clicking on the expectation (e.g. A1.2 in the screenshot below)

When you click on an expectation, it will be included in the learning plan and a check mark will appear under the Selected column to indicate this (outlined in green above).

Once you are done selecting expectations, click the Done button and you will see the expectation included.

4. Save the learning plan or Save and Export

RELATED QUESTIONS

What if my expectation is not listed?

(i) You can insert your own expectation by clicking

 

 

How do I copy or re-use an existing form or learning plan?

Copying forms or learning plans allows you to use pre-existing forms rather than creating each form or learning plan from scratch.

We recommend starting with one student and using that student as the model student for OYAP and WEA forms for instance (e.g. for the WEA, copying fields like insurance coverage, placement dates, and schedule from one student to another). For learning plans, the copy feature allows you to copy learning goals, course expectations, employer expectations, etc. from one student to another.

*You can use the copy feature even if a student has a completely different employer and/or course.

#1: Click on the Forms tab in Hour Republic

#2: Click a form that you would like to use then click the Copy button

#3: A separate page will pop-up and allow you to select all the students you would like to copy the form for

#4: Click Copy Forms

NOTES:
  • The form will auto-fill with relevant student information and all other field will copy over (e.g. Placement Start and End Dates).
  • If you are creating an OYAP form, you will need to check off the Registrant box at the top of the form in order to auto-fill sections one (Participant) and two (Registrant) of the form.

Exporting and printing forms and learning plans

In terms of exporting and printing documents, a teacher can:

  • Export and print individual forms for one student (e.g. one WEA, one learning plan);
  • Export and print all forms for a particular student (e.g. a student’s WEA, OYAP, and SCELP);
  • Export and print more than one form or learning plan for their class (e.g. all OYAP forms).

Once exported, the forms are collated into one PDF document, then teachers can print the document.

Export and print forms for one student
(e.g. one WEA, one SCELP)

There are several options to export individual forms and learning plans:

1. When a form or learning plan document is open, click Save and Export (either at the top or bottom of the form)

2. In the main Form section, under Recent Forms, select all or a specific form and type the students name in the search bar. Select one or all the recent forms you want, then click Export Forms

Export and print the same form (e.g. WEA) for multiple students

  1.  In the main Form section, under Recent Forms, select all or a specific form and select all the students you want included, then click Export Forms

Document e-signatures: How do form recipients (students, employers parents/guardians) provide e-signatures?

Teachers can send Employers, Parent/Guardians and Students (the “signee”) email requests to sign documents electronically.

#1. The signee will receive an email requesting an e-signature. The message will include the student’s name and the name of the document.

#2. The signee will click the Review & Sign button in the email message.

#3. A separate tab will open where the signee can review the entire form, e-sign and include their First Name, Last Name, and Email address. The signee will also agree to the terms for e-signatures.

#4. Once the form has been signed, the signee has the option to either download  a PDF version of the form or print  a copy of the form.

TIP: The signee can return to Review a form several times. Each time, if any new updates have been made to the form (e.g. by a teacher), those changes will appear. The signee can download or print the form multiple times.

How do teachers add and send e-signature requests?

Most forms have an e-signature option in Hour Republic. Once a form has been created, you will notice signature fields at the bottom of the form as follows:

1. Click on the ‘Tap or click to sign” line

2. A pop-up window will appear where a signature can be added


*Ask the signatory to add their signature to the line, and to enter their First Name, Last Name and Email address

NOTE:

The signature can be added to any touch screen with a finger or stylus; a signature can also be added via any computer with a computer mouse

3. Click Sign

Once a signature is confirmed, the signature will appear on the web form as follows:

4. Click Save in order to save the signature, or Save and Export the form in order to export the signature to a PDF form. Print the PDF form or save the form electronically when you are ready!

My Signature

You will notice an Insert My Signature checkbox. Teachers can save their signatures to make signing forms quicker

1. Check off the Save as my signature box to save your signature for future forms

2. Now, when you sign a form, you can click the  button to instantly sign.

Email Requests for E-Signatures

Teachers can send Employers, Parent/Guardians and Students email requests to sign forms and plans electronically.

  1. Click on the  tab
  2. Complete a form/plan and scroll to the bottom
  3. The Employers, Parent/Guardians and Students emails are auto filled
  4. Click the Send Email button
  5. Confirm the email address and add an optional message before clicking Send.
  6. You will be prompted to confirm submission details before sending the email request.

How Does Guidance Approve Volunteer Hours?

If you would like to quickly locate your students’ unapproved hours, then please follow these steps:

  1.  Locate the sidebar on the left panel, then click on the Students tab.
  2. Set the filters to the following:
    Category > Volunteer
    Status > Verified
    All Hours > Unapproved
  3. Select a student that needs hours approved
  4. Review the students Verified hours and Select Save and Approve
  5. Guidance counselors can also click the check mark  under the Approve/Reviewed column to approve hours
  6. Once the check mark has turned yellow, the hours have been approved