General ASP General ASP Blog<![CDATA[Tip of the Week: 11/16/09]]>ApplliTrack can now manage your Volunteer tracking and management process!  Considering adding a new job category titled "Volunteers" and collecting all of your volunteer information directly through AppliTrack.

A brief demonstration video can be viewed here.

]]><![CDATA[Tip of the Week: 11/9/09]]>We are excited to announce a new user resource called the "AppliTrack Tip of the Week"!  Each week, we will post a short video which will demonstrate some clever and interested ways to use AppliTrack.

This week, learn how to create powerful and attractive reports using AppliTrack data.

Click title below to view the video:

Generating Powerful and Attractive Reports using AppliTrack

]]><![CDATA[Training Webinars: Week of 10/19/09]]>Please consider attending one of the following FREE AppliTrack Training Webinars this week:

Tuesday
What's new with AppliTrack?
AppliTrack and TalentFilter

Wednesday
Guided Setup of AppliTrack
AppliTrack and TalentFilter

Thursday
Routine Maintenance in AppliTrack
AppliTrack 201 for Principals and Hiring Managers
AppliTrack 101 for Principals and Hiring Managers

Friday
AppliTrack in 30 minutes...or less!

Register here:  http://www.generalasp.com/home/support.webinars.aspx

]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Version Now!]]>What in the world is AppliTrack Version Now!?
 
AppliTrack Version Now! is both our philosophy and General ASP’s commitment to providing you with a piece of software that is enhanced and improved with new features and updates on an ongoing basis.

AppliTrack Version Now! means that you are always using the latest and greatest technologies, when you need them. More importantly, each upgrade and feature fits seamlessly with AppliTrack (even when you customize it) so you never need to learn a new “version” with each update.

In the world of web-based software, “versions” don’t exist. Think about Google, for example. Nobody knows what version of Google they use…it just works and gets better each day. AppliTrack is the same way! 

Remember, versions don’t exist in web-based software!

All New Features and Functionalities

1-Click Advertising
Broadcast your vacancies to the world through K12JobSpot.com and other leading national and regional job boards throughout the country.

eForm Manager
Distribute, collect, and review your electronic forms and reference surveys from the Applicant Dashboard.

Interview Scheduler (coming November 2009)
Automated interview scheduling, tracking, and management.

AppliTrack TotalSupport Team
Our team approach to support means that help is just a phone call or e-mail away for all of your users. Our response time averages less than 1 minute!

Applicant Watch List
Flag existing, past, or future applicant names with special codes to easily identify them in your applicant pools.

Audit Trails
Review all of the e-mails that your district has sent to your applicants through AppliTrack.  Also, access each application version submitted by your applicants.

Applicant Dashboard
View a summary of an applicant’s materials and utilize the NotePad and other tools from one, easy-to-read, screen.

uDesign Tool
Create custom application pages, pre- and post-hire forms, and reference surveys with ease!

]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Upgrade Notice: 10/1/2009]]>The weekly deploy of AppliTrack’s new functions and enhancements went off without a hitch!
New functions worthy of note are:
 
·         The ability to filter and search for a maximum number of years of experience. While we believe that most users want to know about applicants that have at least a certain number of years of experience, there is still a need to search for applicants with at most a certain number of years. A Min/Max field group has been added to the filter and search form.
·         A new field type has been added to the notepad. A district may now show a drop down such as “user that interviewed” or “job this person interviewed for” .  To utilize this function, simply e-mail your request to support@generalasp.com.
]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Upgrade Notice: 9/9/2009]]>

Since our last upgrade notice on 7/7, AppliTrack has seen a couple of large, exciting updates- a completely revamped applicant experience, and the powerful new eForms functionality.  We have also made a number of smaller improvements which we’d like to share with you.

 

On the administrative side, we have made improvements to our recently introduced Download Applicant Data tool.  It will now be possible for districts to set up custom data sets to be downloaded- if there is a set of fields you need to export every time, these fields can now be pre-selected.  Any data on an applicant can be used in these exports, including applicant’s answers on custom pages, and notes left by administrators.

 

The NotePad has seen another significant improvement - it is now possible to print the NotePad for an applicant.  You’ll now see a “Print NotePad” link in the lower, right-hand corner.

 

We’ve also made a few improvements on the Users tab.  We’ve introduced new permissions- CanForwardApplications, which controls users’ ability to forward applications to other users, and CanMarkWithNotes, which determines a user’s ability to leave notes for an applicant.  By default, both of these permission are set to true for standard users- but by removing these permissions, you can prevent your users from accessing this functionality within the system.

 

Additionally, it is now possible to sort your list of users by their login count- and behind the scenes, we’re tracking a lot more information on user logins.  While this change isn’t visible to our users, it will assist with our security and support efforts.

 

For consortium users, there have been a few updates to the Job Posting Only accounts.  These are special accounts within consortia that allow for the posting of jobs, but do not allow for collecting and viewing applications.  These accounts have been quite successful in expanding and promoting the consortia, as well as allowing them to offer a more robust service.  We hope that this most recent round of updates will make the Job Posting Only accounts easier to use and more functional still.

 

The first two changes will be noticed by the Job Posting Only account users themselves.  If a consortium chooses to allow it, Job Posting Only users will now be able to create accounts and begin posting vacancies entirely on their own.  When Job Posting Only users log in, they will now see a Status Bar along the bottom of the screen.  This status bar will communicate consortium information to the user, and provide the user with a link to explore becoming a full consortium member.  On the back end, these Job Posting Only events are being logged and retained in our databases.  This will provide a valuable resource for the growth and support of the different consortia.

 

On the applicant side, there is an update that deserves mention.  After receiving feedback on the applicant side revamp, we have made a few adjustments to the confirmation page.  Now applicants will see a large submission status notification at the top of the page, and the Finish and Submit button at the bottom has been grayed out.

 

Lastly, on the subject of partner integrations- you’ve probably seen updates on this subject in the last couple of months, but AppliTrack now offers integrations with the AESOP sub placement system, the Haberman assessment tool, and Education Week’s TopSchoolJobs recruitment site.  We here at General ASP continue to develop new partnerships to make using AppliTrack as easy- and even enjoyable- as possible!

]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack and TopSchoolJobs Integration]]> 
Skokie, IL (PRWEB) August 31, 2009 -- General ASP, the company behind AppliTrack, the leading web-based applicant tracking and recruiting solution in the education market, today announced a new partnership with TopSchoolJobs.org, the premier recruitment solution from the publisher of Education Week and edweek.org.  TopSchoolJobs.org provides K-12 recruiters access to Education Week's premier audience of talented education professionals.

The partnership will simplify recruitment processes for more than one thousand school districts across the country that use AppliTrack by providing job posting delivery between AppliTrack and TopSchoolJobs.org.

Recruiters will easily post jobs via the AppliTrack interface directly to TopSchoolJobs.org and to Education Week's Recruitment Marketplace, gaining access to the gold standard audience for K-12 recruitment. Ultimately, K-12 talent acquisition will become easier and more cost-effective for AppliTrack clients. AppliTrack is the first web-based applicant tracking system to offer a seamless integration with TopSchoolJobs.org.

"It makes perfect sense for General ASP to partner with TopSchoolJobs.org as the recruitment goals of our respective and mutual customers are the same. This seamless integration will save our users time and money while providing incomparable exposure for their vacancies on a national level," said Abe Reese, President and Founder of General ASP.

"Our partnership with General ASP will advance our ongoing commitment to improving the quality and efficiency of education recruitment. This functionality will help school districts recruit top candidates--including superintendents, administrators, and teachers--from our readership of more than one million education professionals," said Virginia B. Edwards, Editor of Education Week and President of Editorial Projects in Education, the non-profit company that publishes TopSchoolJobs.org.

]]><![CDATA[eForms and Reference Surveys - Official Release]]>  
In summary, here’s what you’ll see:
  1. An entirely new section on the applicant dashboard just for managing eForms. This new feature makes it easy to attach an electronic form, send a form to an applicant, send a form to another user or send a form to any email address!
    ---Limitless possibilities exist.---
    Forms such as a New Hire Checklist, Telephone Reference Survey, Interview Questionnaire and Emergency Contact Information can all be sent and attached to any application.
  2. A new references data collection form that captures much more data and allows an unlimited number of references to be entered.
  3. Some new options on the edit position category dialog. Authorized users can specify if applicants to specified categories are required to supply email addresses for their references and if a reference survey should be automatically sent upon the application submission.
  4. A few changes to the applicant dashboard to better display references. Reference surveys can be sent via email and their responses received through AppliTrack.
  5. An improved edit forms screen that allows authorized users (typically HR) to create their own forms. In addition, a great new Edit Form Properties screen was added which gives authorized users access to all the great configuration options available with eForms.
  6. Those customers who have not yet used reference surveys will find four professionally designed reference surveys installed. We also installed several post-hire and screening forms which can be used as is or tailored to meet your needs. And, remember, these are just the start. If you’ve ever added a Per Posting Question to a job, then you know how to create a new eForm! Just click Edit Forms to begin.
Please plan on attending one of the informational webinars about the eForm Tool.  Find an event and register now.  
 
Drop us a line at support@generalasp.com  if you have any questions.
]]><![CDATA[An updated applicant experience for all users]]>
Here are some improvements you’ll notice right away:

An updated look: The previous version was developed back in 1998 when users had limited screen size, bandwidth and processing power. The new version takes advantage of a modern web browser’s ability to render elegant graphics and quickly communicate with the AppliTrack servers “out of band”. To insure widespread compatibility, we also continue to support older browsers such as IE6 and Safari 1 side-by-side.

A new “applicant home tab”: Applicants get a dashboard-like display when logging back in. They immediately see if and when their application and supplemental materials were submitted. In addition, we show their next logical action, whether it is to edit or print their application, rendered as easy-to-read icons.

And here are some improvements that aren’t immediately visible, but will make AppliTrack even more useful:

Vary by condition pages: While our customer’s have enjoyed the ability to vary applicant content based on the job type since 1998, some users need to vary content based on other conditions, such as a NotePad entry as well. Each page within AppliTrack can now display (or not) based on multiple, arbitrary, conditions.

Increased security and logging: Even though we’ve never had a security breach in the past, we can never be too safe. AppliTrack now logs the IP address and server-side “global unique identifier” for every applicant log-in. Upon successful login, a security token is placed on the applicant’s computer. With each operation, the security token from the applicant’s computer is compared to the security token stored on the AppliTrack server. If any discrepancy is found, the applicant is forced to log back in. With this said, we have also taken measures to ensure that we do not kick legitimate applicants out because we know how frustrating that could be.

Key to the success of a major overhaul such as this is backwards compatibility. To insure a smooth transition, we wrote the new code to run side-by-side with “legacy code” and keep the system that has been running for 11 straight years intact.

To see the new version in action, just go back to your homepage and click-through as an applicant would. If you’re itching to see it now, have a look at our sample school district.

Finally, a note on version numbers: we’re referring to this as version 2, but that’s mainly a metric to help us keep track of changes internally. We don’t give too much weight to version numbers and will continue to roll out useful updates as often as possible.
]]><![CDATA[Aesop and AppliTrack Now Integrated]]>
With this new integration, school district personnel can automatically import new hires and new substitutes into Aesop from AppliTrack without having to manually enter their data.

To read about this new integration, view these documents:
Loading New Employees into Aesop from AppliTrack
Loading New Substitutes into Aesop from AppliTrack]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Upgrade Notice: 7/7/2009]]>We've been updating AppliTrack quite a bit recently and have a nice list of new functions, options and enhancements for you. Most of these come directly from our users.

In this update, you'll find some nice changes to the Edit User screen. For those customers with a long list of vacancies, we've added the option to group Routings by Location (new) or by Category (the default). The new location groups make it a cinch to route multiple vacancies in the same building to a user. We've also added three new System Permissions:

  1. Can Inactivate Applicants - Allow Standard users to inactivate applicants via the Notes screen. The default is "no".
  2. Can View Action History - Allow Standard users to view the actions taken by others. The default is "no".
  3. Can View Inactive Postings - Allow Standard users to view job posting that have been inactivated. The default is "yes".

We also overhauled two major features within AppliTrack. We expanded the "applicant emailer" so you can merge in any field in your applicant list. For example, if you wanted to include the last date an applicant submitted their application in a message, simply add that column to your list of applicants, start an email to an applicant(s) and select "Date Completed" from the new "Insert Merge Field" dropdown. The date a person completed their application will be merged into the outgoing messages.

We also rewrote the Job Posting screen so updates to your postings are synchronized with K12JobSpot.com automatically. To see the update, edit any posting and flip to the Advertise tab. You'll see a reduced set of options, which is a good thing, because AppliTrack and K12JobSpot.com now automatically figure out when and how your posting should be displayed based on the settings from the Job Posting's "Main" tab.

You'll see several new enhancements and format improvements in the applicant list:

  1. We added the date someone was added to a folder, as well as the username that placed an applicant in the folder, to the "Action History".
  2. We reformatted the Notes column to make it easier to read.
  3. We added an Address column to the Watch List for easier identification of watched names.

You'll also see a few new options on other screens:

  1. We added a new list, "Requisitions Approved By Me", for Requisition Approvers on the Job Postings tab
  2. We added convenient search fields on the Search Form to make it easy to find applicants with scores from third party assessment systems such as Polaris, Gallup and Ventures for Excellence.
  3. We added a new "Internal Catch All" field on the Edit Preferences screen for all of you that use the Internal Application.
  4. We added a new option to expire (but not delete) notes after a certain number of days. If you'd like to use this, please email our support team as this is currently a preference that we must administer.

You'll also find AppliTrack generally faster and more stable thanks to the almost dozen small bug fixes that have gone in over the past several weeks. We hope you enjoy some of the added and updated functionality!

Links: AppliTrack's Online Manual, Advertise a Posting

]]><![CDATA[7/1/2009: AAEE Partnership Announced]]>General ASP Partners with the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) to Reinvent the Teacher Placement Process.

New partnership to streamline the way college and career placement centers connect their graduates with education jobs that exist within AppliTrack school districts throughout the country.

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) July 1, 2009 --General ASP, the company behind AppliTrack, the leading web- based applicant tracking and recruiting solution in the education market, today announced a new partnership with the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE), the premier job resource center for education in North America. AAEE provides information and research to connect teachers with jobs and school districts with qualified teachers.

This partnership exists to provide school districts across the country with immediate access to recent or soon-to-be college and university graduates who are looking for employment in education. Additionally, this partnership will provide college or university members of AAEE the opportunity to electronically send their education graduates' credentials to any of nearly 1,000 school districts who use AppliTrack to manage their online employment application process.

AppliTrack school districts will benefit from this partnership as their ability to have immediate access to recent college and university graduates will spare them the expense of recruiting educators to their school districts through more traditional means. School district administrators will be able to easily sort, filter, and identify those graduates who most meet the qualifications that they require for employment in their school systems.

Colleges and universities will benefit from this partnership also as their graduates will be able to view vacancies, apply for them and have their application materials sent to school districts instantly through an online Career Placement Center Education Job Board that will be provided to each AAEE college or university member, free of charge, by General ASP.

"We are living in a world of immediacy where information is obtained and communicated instantly and easily. We have the technological capacity and the professional opportunity to align traditional teacher recruitment and placement processes with today's lifestyle in a way that will benefit everyone in the educational community," said Abe Reese, President and Founder of General ASP.

"Information travels at an unprecedented rate in today's technology era. With timely information and resources, school districts and educators can provide 'staffing excellence for the world of education.' This partnership will help meet that goal," said Neil Shnider, Executive Director, AAEE.

The Northern Illinois University Career Placement Office will be the first university to participate in this initiative beginning in August 2009, with other users set to begin in late fall 2009.

About General ASP:
General ASP is a technology company built by education and sustained through innovation. Founded in 1998 by Abe Reese, General ASP has been designing web-based software that is easy-to-use and completely affordable. Their flagship product, AppliTrack, is a web-based applicant tracking system. AppliTrack's companion website, the national education job board, K12JobSpot, provides AppliTrack users with the ability to advertise job postings at no additional expense to the district. Currently being used in over 975 school districts throughout 35 states in the United States, General ASP has proven to be a leader in the educational technology market.

About American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE):
AAEE is a resource information center to help education candidates find a job and school districts to fill positions in education K-12. Since 1934, AAEE, the American Association for Employment in Education, has provided members with direct access to research, publications and networking opportunities with colleagues - all focused upon the highest standards in educator preparation, recruitment, hiring and retention. For membership information, go to www.aaee.org.

]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack/K12JobSpot Update: 6.24.2009]]>It looks like people are starting to notice K12JobSpot.com, and YOUR jobs!

We just came across a link to a nice "plug" from an education blogger:  http://instructify.com/2009/06/22/monday-by-the-numbers-53/

As of June 24, 2009, K12JobSpot.com:

*  Has been visited by over 300,000 job seekers.

*  Has a monthly average of 75,000 unique visitors

Moreover, school districts throughout the country are reporting a large number of applicants listing www.K12JobSpot.com as their referral source when applying for a position.

General ASP is thrilled that our national job board for education, which is exclusive to AppliTrack users like you, is getting noticed.  Our efforts to help recruit the best candidates for our users will continue.

]]><![CDATA[Illinois State BOE and K12JobSpot.com Unite!]]>The Illinois State Board of Education has decided to link K12JobSpot.com to their website.  Now, visitors to the ISBE Education Employment page will be referred to K12JobSpot.com.

Not only will Illinois jobs be exposed to visitors, but jobs in ALL of our districts will be seen.  Since the link was added on June 17, 2009, ISBE has sent 500 job seekers to K12JobSpot.com!

View the ISBE Education Vacancy page.

 

]]><![CDATA[How General ASP keeps AppliTrack so Affordable]]>Although we think a better question is, "why do other systems cost so much more than AppliTrack?” we've given this question some serious consideration. 
So, how are we able to provide the leading web-based applicant tracking system on the market at such an affordable cost?
Software is free, people cost money. 
AppliTrack is built with many “hooks” so that customization for each school district happens quickly and efficiently. As a company, we understand the power of systems and have put processes in place that allow us to complete support and customization requests faster and at a lower cost than any other vendor. Our savings are offered back to our users.
Training
AppliTrack was designed to allow administrators to quickly discover how to use its features, basic and advanced, with little to no training. However, we include two-hours of web-based training in all subscriptions. Of course, you may desire more training or onsite training. We are not going to require you to commit to any additional training as part of your service agreement with us. If you want additional training, we are confident that you will let us know but we will certainly not obligate you to a financial commitment to training beyond what is included in your price. Less than 2% of AppliTrack school districts purchased additional training from General ASP last year! 
Implementation
Because we’ve implemented AppliTrack in so many school districts, there is literally nothing that we haven’t seen. We can anticipate district requirements and implement district specific customizations in a much speedier fashion than other applicant tracking systems. 
Our Technology
Why is Google so great? Their developers, like our developers, write software that allows Google to run more efficiently and cost-effectively than any other search engine. AppliTrack is built the same way. Our programmers make extensive use of caching which results in your ability to access your applicants immediately upon request. Other applicant tracking systems throw hardware and money at a programming error, while we use our skills and experience.
Fairness
Look around. iPhone Apps, websites, games, etc...the list goes on. Software is becoming more and more “free” and the movement is to actually NOT charge for software. Our low prices are a reflection of the times. Do we want to make money, yes? However, we also want to reduce the financial burdens that school districts face. For example, if a school district requests a new feature that we know would benefit others; we will develop that feature and release it to everyone at no charge because we will use it as a competitive advantage over other applicant tracking systems. We don’t appreciate how other applicant tracking vendors charge such exorbitant fees for what we know to be such simple tasks. 
AppliTrack is Stable
AppliTrack has been serving school districts for over 10 years and is a stable and mature product. It does not require a team of engineers to hover over errors and malfunctions that may be present with other applicant tracking systems. AppliTrack’s stability saves General ASP money and we pass the savings along to our users.
Marketing Advantage
General ASP is a for-profit company that is interested in building long-term relationships with our customers. Because AppliTrack presents a school district with a very low financial risk, we find our standard rates to be a competitive advantage.   Most importantly, we know that a low price means very little if the product and the service are not impeccable. School districts may initially look at us because of our prices, but they stay with us because of our product and our service. We currently boast an over 99.9% customer renewal rate over 10 years!
]]><![CDATA[Advanced WEBINARS - Thursday 5/21]]>Two advanced topics are being presented in webinars on Thursday 5/21/2009. They are:
  • Recruitment Efforts and the Job Fair Quick Form
  • Designing Custom Pages in AppliTrack
Go to our Webinar Page for the full schedule. Don't delay. Register today.
]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Upgrade Notice: 5/11/2009]]>The latest AppliTrack update introduces some great user interface enhancements, as well as a number of behind-the-scenes improvements.

 

Most noticeably, we’ve completely redesigned the “Edit User” screen. New tabs including “Application Permissions”, “System Permissions” and “Routings” make it easier to use and prettier to look at. The expanded user interface is great for our customers and our developers alike. Developers now have a platform to build all kinds of new security layers upon. Look for additional security options in the weeks to come.  

 

In this update, you’ll find options to control a user’s access to applicants by group (Pooled applicants and Vacancy applicants) as well as by Location. Consider using this to give your users access to most categories while restricting them to vacancies within their building. This can be a nice alternative for all of your Routings Only users out there.

 

You’ll also see noticeably faster load times. AppliTrack’s entire security layer was updated to load applicants up to 90% faster. During the update we discovered that most screen counts excluded applicants visible only through shared folders, routings and forwards. So, we updated everything to show, and count, all applicants your users have permission to view.

 

See Edit a User's Permissions and Create a Routings Only user for more information.]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Partners with Safe Schools Project]]>AppliTrack has partnered with the Safe Schools Project through which background checks can be ordered directly from the AppliTrack system installed at your school district.
 
The Safe Schools Project provides different levels of background checks including a Criminal Record and Sex Offender Data Center search of more than 200 criminal record and sex offender databases that contains sex offender data coming from all 50 states, as well as numerous other state and county criminal history record databases from across the U.S.
 
A unique aspect of the Safe Schools Project Program is that it has several options available to meet the budgetary requirements of any school district including fixed annual fee options. The program includes free consultation on HR policies related to criminal records and utilizes the internet for ordering and accessing the results of the criminal record checks.
 
For more information, contact us at support@generalasp.com or 866.667.1277 x3.
 
 
 
]]><![CDATA[Polaris Job Fit Inventory Free Trial]]>Polaris Education Systems has partnered with General ASP to allow AppliTrack users the opportunity to use their Job Fit Inventory for Teachers (JFI-T) for six months free when the feature is enabled by June 1, 2009.

The JFI-T is a validated teacher assessment tool which helps you identify and hire the best teachers for your schools.

To enable the Job Fit Inventory for Teachers, following these easy steps:

1.  Log into AppliTrack
2.  Click the Setup Tab
3.  Click Edit Preferences
4.  Scroll down to Polaris Assessment
5.  Click the Enable Polaris Integration button

You will then have the opportunity to review Polaris Best Practices and the Terms of Service.

Testimonials
"Polaris provides the best combination of quality and price we've seen in the marketplace." 
Christine Barnet, Asst. Supt., HR, Bloomfield Hills (MI) Schools

"Polaris's emphasis on research and continuous improvement makes them a uniquely valuable resource for NTEC's assessment needs." 
Joe Kazielski, COO, National Teacher Education Center


 

]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Upgrade Notice: 4/2/2009]]>AppliTrack was upgraded April 2, 2009 to include the following new features:
 
1. Advertising Tab - "Email This Posting"
Job Posting users of AppliTrack now have the ability to easily email a professionally formatted version of their posting to a group of recipients. The body of the email conveniently contains the same information presented on your job board. In addition, an "Apply Online" link is included to direct recipients to your job board. This function is commonly used to notify college career placement centers, internal staff groups and others of a new vacancy with your organization. SuperUsers can also save a default group of email addresses to include by altering a preference within the Setup tab.
 
Read about this functionality in detail in the online help system.
 
2. Job Posting Statistics
A new "Date Filled" field has been added to the Office Use Only section of the Job Posting form. Job Posting users may record an mm/dd/yyyy formatted date for record keeping purposes. A new column, "Time To Fill", has been included in the Jog Posting List to work in tandem with the Date Filled and Date Posted values. The column automatically reports the number of days it took your organization to fill each posting.
 
In addition, new reporting columns have been included to give users instant insight into the applicant demographics for each posting. The new columns will be especially valuable to recruiters. The new columns have been designed with flexibility in mind and may be customized by our support team at your direction. The new columns are: AppCount (the number of completed applicants), MinorityCount, FemaleCount and MaleCount.
 
Read about this functionality in detail in the online help system.
 
3. Other tweaks and additions
a: The Job Fair Quick Form now automatically resets after 15 seconds. In addition, the "Close Window" button (which appeared after an applicant filled out the quick form) was replaced with a "Start New Job Fair Quick Form" button. This change will benefit the high volume environment of our customers' job fairs by streamlining and automating the initial the applicant experience.
 
b: The title of the AppliTrack window now includes the logged in users' ID. This change will help HR and tech users who commonly log in as other users to test standard user folders and functions.
]]><![CDATA[Become a Featured Employer]]>Featured Employer
Get your jobs seen first on K12JobSpot.com! 
 
K12JobSpot.com’s new Featured Employer option allows your district to advertise your vacancies to the over 10,000 job seekers who visit K12JobSpot.com each week.
 
What do you get?
·         Receive a webpage linked to each job posting that showcases your district.
·         Jobs are displayed in a different color than all other K12JobSpot postings.
·         Your District is featured on the K12JobSpot.com homepage.
The cost to feature your postings on K12JobSpot.com is $500.00 a month.  Sign up by 4/17/2009 to receive a 50% discount!
 
E-mail sales@generalasp.com for more information.
]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack User in the News!]]>
Every day we hear news stories about the number of people who are looking for employment.  Therefore, allowing applicants to apply online for jobs in your organization is essential.

Click the link below to watch a news story about one of our users, Timberlane Regional School District, and how they've managed to navigate the recent influx of job seekers with the help of technology.
  
 
 
]]><![CDATA[K12JobSpot on NBC Chicago]]> 
NBC Chicago has included K12JobSpot.com as a featured web resource for job seekers. 

Take a look here:  NBC Chicago Job Resources


About K12JobSpot.com
K12JobSpot is an indispensable online resource for employers and job seekers alike. Employers in the education field can post job openings and find highly qualified candidates, especially for difficult to fill positions. Job seekers can search a broad database of employment opportunities thoroughly and efficiently, based on geography, school district, and type of position. K12JobSpot was developed by General ASP, the company behind AppliTrack, as a way for AppliTrack users to advertise vacancies on a national level.
]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Upgrade Notice: 3/12/2009]]>AppliTrack was upgraded on March 11, 2009 to include the following new features:
 
1. Batch Action - “Download Applicant Data”
SuperUsers of AppliTrack now have access to a function that converts an applicant list into a tab-separated text file for download. This function is commonly used by integration partners and district staff when generating custom reports. Expect to see more about this “download” feature in the future – in the mean-time keep an eye out for the “Download Applicant Data” link that now shows in all installations (for SuperUsers.)
 
Read about this functionality in detail in the online help system.
 
2. New title for login screen
The login screen of AppliTrack will now have a title following the pattern of “AppliTrack Login – Berea City School District”. Previously it had been “District Login.”
]]><![CDATA[General ASP Advisory Board]]>  
The General ASP Advisory Board is:
 
Robb Boyer
Director of Staffing and Recruiting, Anchorage School District, Alaska

Debbie Cummings
Coordinator, Personnel/Certification Services, Region 9 ESC, Texas
 
Steve Cummins
Director of Human Resources, Stevenson High School District, Illinois
 
Dr. Dane Delli
Superintendent, River Trails School District, Illinois
 
Becky Dorman
Human Resources Supervisor, Sioux Falls School District, South Dakota
 
Linée Ferguson
Education Human Resource Manager, SRPMIC Education Division , Arizona
 
Jason George
Personnel Coordinator, Kern High School District, California

Dr. Lowell Ghosey
Executive Director of Secondary Personnel Services, Olathe District Schools, Kansas

John Holland
Director of Technology, Timberlane/Hampstead Regional School District, New Hampshire
 
Lynda Hurlow
Director of Human Resources, Berrien RESA, Michigan
 
Dr. Travis T. Hux
Assistant Director of Human Resources, Raytown Quality Schools, Missouri
 
Randall Kanter
Director of Human Resources, Scotch-Plains-Fanwood Public Schools, New Jersey
 
Robyn Klinker
Human Resources Coordinator, Minnetonka Public Schools, Minnesota
 
Dr. Shelly Martin
Director of Licensed Personnel, Wichita Public Schools, Kansas
 
Meg McMahon
Human Resources Manager, Oakland Schools, Michigan
 
Phil Morris
Director of Technology, Kane County ROE, Illinois
 
Maria Mucha
Recruiting Specialist, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, Alaska
 
Tim Neubert
Director of Staff Services, St. Charles School District, Illinois
 
Dr. Sandra Stringer
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Park Ridge-Niles School District 64, Illinois]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Training Webinars]]>General ASP provides an ongoing webinar series so that AppliTrack users can continue to learn about AppliTrack after their initial training. 

In addition to our existing course offerings, new courses titled, "Guided Setup of AppliTrack" and "AppliTrack Orientation for Consortium Members" are now offered.

AppliTrack Learning Webinars are:

•  FREE

•   30-60 minutes in length

•   Targeted towards different audiences (office staff, Principals, Technology Directors, Superintendents)

•   Offered an convenient times

All Webinars are facilitated by:

Chris Hoehn, AppliTrack developer/Former school district Technology Coordinator
Dr. Sam Reese, AppliTrack trainer/ Retired Asst. Superintendent and Professor

To register for an upcoming webinar, click here.

]]><![CDATA[Introducing the News Section]]><![CDATA[LDAP Authentication]]>Did you know that AppliTrack can hook into your existing network's user ids and passwords?  This is possible through the cooperation of our support team and your IT staff. You still create the User IDs within AppliTrack - and maintain AppliTrack permissions - as usual. The bonus is that you no longer need to remember another password!
How does it work?
  • Your IT staff must install and configure a .NET webservice we developed.
  • Your IT staff must allow AppliTrack access to this webservice.
  • Your IT staff must install a valid SSL certificate on the server hosting the service.
As an added bonus internal applicants can be authenticated -- they must have a valid network user id and password to be considered internal.
Please have your IT staff send an email to support@generalasp.com to kick off the process.
Requirements: An IIS webserver with access to your Active Directory server, a trusted SSL certificate.
]]><![CDATA[AppliTrack Adopts the Latest Technology]]>Technology Platform
 
AppliTrack runs on cutting-edge hardware and software.  General ASP’s Information Systems Team (IST) strives to use the latest, stable technologies.  When new database and application technologies are released, we began evaluating these technologies to determine how they can benefit our services.  In December and early January, we implemented two new technologies.  These new technologies, along with a brief overview of their benefits, are as follows:
 
Microsoft .Net 3.5 SP1 – The latest Microsoft development framework
  • A Windows component that allows our developers to build next generation applications.
    • Eases the development of interactive and rich internet applications by providing built-in technologies and tools. 
    • Rapid and flexible database programming. 
  • Future plans – this is part of the foundation for our planned upcoming applicant-side redesign.
SQL Server 2008 x64 – The latest Microsoft database server
  •  
  • Data redundancy – If disaster strikes, we have a secondary database server  up and running.
We will continue to monitor and research available technologies to see how they can benefit our clients.  Keep you posted!
Allows us to take advantage of our top-shelf hardware.   We can now maximize use of our 64-bit processors and the whopping 32 GB of memory available on our servers!]]><![CDATA[K12JobSpot]]>General ASP is excited to announce K12JobSpot.com, the new national job board for education.
AppliTrack users now have an additional way to advertise their job postings…for FREE! K12JobSpot is a national job board that is available exclusively to AppliTrack subscribers like you.

As you know, advertising on a national job board can cost several hundreds of dollars each month. And, you don’t even know if you’re going to reach the best candidates!
K12JobSpot will compile every current job posting, from all AppliTrack users, into one searchable database.

Job seekers will be able to search open jobs by posting date, geographic location, position type, and district. School administrators will be able to gather statistics about your posting to see exactly who is viewing your posting.

K12JobSpot is being promoted to teacher prep schools throughout the country. To post your vacancies to K12JobSpot, simply visit the new Advertise tab in your job posting tool.
]]><![CDATA[Job Fair Quick Form]]>AppliTrack's Job Fair Quick Form tool allows applicants to enter their contact information and job preference while at your job fair booth.

Simply bring a laptop and direct each interested job seeker to complete the Job Fair Quick Form.  This will take them 30 seconds to complete.

Each candidate will then automatically be sent an e-mail from your District requesting that they finish their application and upload the requested materials into your District's AppliTrack system when they have time to do so.


Watch a video demonstration of the Job Fair Quick Form tool.

]]><![CDATA[General ASP's Customer Experience]]>We know that the real reason over 99% of AppliTrack users (over a period of 10 years!) renew their AppliTrack subscription each year is because of the outstanding customer service and support that we provide.

General ASP's primary mission is to provide a level of customer service second-to-none.  Therefore, when you purchase AppliTrack, you will be provided with the following:

1)  A Support Center that actually allows you to easily speak with a human!

When you call the Support Center, your call will be answered by an experienced member of our Support Team.  And, when you call our Support Center, you're not just speaking with someone we've trained, you're speaking with a member of the AppliTrack development team.  Imagine being able to call Bill Gates and his lead developers every time your computer crashed!  Well, everyone including General ASP President, Abe Reese, is here and capable of helping you!

2)  Our sales staff is dedicated to providing you with every piece of information and guidance that you'll need in order to make the best decision for your organization. 

We've walked-the-walk.  The people at General ASP have experience hiring personnel and will not only help you learn about the AppliTrack system, but also share first-hand experiences about using AppliTrack in the real world.

3)  Our full-time staff is ready to assist you with any other questions about your service that may develop.

From scheduling training to requesting information about your bill, our Client Services staff is here to help.

Interested in learning more?  We encourage you to call any of our nearly 900 AppliTrack users to ask about our Customer Service and Support Center.

 

]]><![CDATA[Going for Bid?]]>As you consider going out for bid on various technology solutions, be sure to include one of the requirements to be that the proposed software integrates with AppliTrack. 

We currently partner with many vendors and may have an existing integration.  If not, we will set up the integration for your new software package for free!  Just let us know who you choose!

HR Management Integrations
Infinite Visions HR Suite, MUNIS, APECS, Skyward, Digital Schools, SISFin, BudgetSense

Background Check Integrations
Safe Hiring Solutions, First Advantage

Pre-Screening Integrations
HUMANeX Ventures, Gallup Teacher and Principal Insight, Haberman Star Teacher PreScreener, Polaris, ASAP

National Job Board Integrations
K12JobSpot.com, REAP, KEEB, NJSchoolJobs.com

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