Complete a Recommendation
Review the Request
To begin your recommendation, click the Start button next to the applicant's name on the Requests page. Review the information provided by the applicant on the left-hand side of the page:
- Type: indicates the type of request.
- Access: indicates whether the applicant waived their right to access their completed recommendations.
- Applicant Email: email address provided by the applicant. Use this email address if you need any additional information from the applicant.
- Requested On: the date on which the applicant sent the recommendation request.
- Requested By: the date on which the applicant requests the recommendation be complete.
- Applying To: the programs the applicant is applying to along with relevant association(s), if applicable.
Be sure to also review any notes from the applicant at the top of the page which may contain specific instructions.
Write the Recommendation
Depending on the program(s) the applicant is applying to, you may be prompted to complete one or more of the following assessments.
Relationship
Use the drop-downs and fields to answer questions regarding your relationship with the applicant.
Essay
Use the text box to respond to essay/short-answer questions about the applicant. We recommend typing your response directly into the text box and using simple formatting.
If you are copying/pasting content from somewhere else, be aware that the formatting may not copy over correctly. To fix this, remove the formatting by first pasting the content into a text editor such as Notepad, then pasting it into this text box. Or, if you're using Google Chrome as your browser, right-click the text box and select "Paste as plain text."
Likert Criteria
Provide your ratings for the listed criteria. Click the information icon under each rating to view more details about it. To select a rating, click the blue slider and drag it to the desired rating.
Overall Recommendation
Select your overall recommendation for the applicant from the Recommendation Concerning Admission drop-down.
Upload Letters
You can upload one document to support your recommendation of the applicant. Documents must be in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), Portable Document Format (.pdf), Rich Text Format (.rft), or Plain Text (.txt) format.
You can upload documents in two ways:
- Locate the file on your computer and click and drag it to the field labeled Drop files here to attach, or
- Click the Click to browse link in the field and locate and select the file on your computer.
ResidencyCAS Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE)
If you're completing a ResidencyCAS Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE), you can view more information and download templates from APGO's site.
In the Liaison Letters portal, you'll complete the SLOE using an online form (instead of uploading a PDF). If you need to complete a SLOE for an applicant in both ResidencyCAS and ERAS, you can fill it out in ResidencyCAS first, then download a PDF copy for upload in ERAS.
Note: to help your program manage the evaluation workload more effectively, consider using the delegation feature to assign who handles uploads.
Submit Your Recommendation
Click Preview & Submit to review and submit your recommendation. Your recommendation and, if applicable, letter appear in a preview window. If the recommendation and uploaded document look correct, click Yes, Upload It to proceed. Otherwise, click No, Cancel Upload to return to the request.
Alternatively, click Save or Save & Exit to save a draft version of your recommendation. You can then resume and submit it at a later time.
Reuse Recommendations
Some Centralized Application Services (CASs) collect recommendations through the Program Materials section using specific recommendation types (e.g., academic, personal, etc.). When your CAS uses this feature, you can automatically reuse a completed recommendation for an applicant who requests you complete additional recommendations that are the same type as the original. Once you’ve activated this option, any time the same applicant requests the same recommendation type for an additional program, the system automatically completes the recommendation and submits it.
You can view on the Requests page if the recommendation has been reused, and if so, for which programs. You will also receive an email every Friday with this information. You can turn off this feature at any time.
To use this feature:
- Complete the Write the Recommendation and Submit Your Recommendation steps, outlined above, for an applicant's first recommendation request.
- After clicking Submit on the Recommendation Preview page, select if you want this recommendation to be automatically submitted for any incomplete and future recommendation requests of the same type for this applicant. Note that if you select Yes, you can't review or edit the recommendation before it is submitted for any future recommendation request.
- Click Continue.
On the Requests page, you can choose to activate or deactivate recommendation reuse by clicking Reuse or Stop Reusing, respectively, for each applicant's completed recommendation request.
If you choose to use this feature, we recommend that when you complete the recommendation form, you keep it generic so it can be reused for any program at any school an applicant may apply to.
Waiver
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) gives applicants the right to access recommendations unless they choose to waive their right of inspection and review. Prior to requesting any recommendations, applicants must indicate whether they wish to waive their rights. You can view if an applicant waived their rights under the Access field. Please note that applicants can view your contact information and any information you add to the Profile page (i.e., phone number, email, etc.) in their full application PDF.