Managing Action Items and Tasks

Welcome to this tutorial on using Action Items in the Answers for College Advisor Portal. Action Items are essentially tasks or to-dos that you can assign to students, parents, or even yourself. This powerful feature helps everyone stay organized and on track throughout the college planning process. I'll show you how to create, manage, and track these tasks effectively. Let's get started.

First, make sure you're logged into your Advisor Portal with your credentials. Once you're logged in and see your main dashboard, we're ready to explore the Action Items feature.

Look at the left-hand navigation menu. You'll see a new option called "Action Items." Click on it to access the main Action Items dashboard.

Excellent! You're now looking at the Action Items overview. This dashboard gives you a complete picture of all tasks across your entire practice - tasks assigned to students, parents, and yourself. Notice how the tasks are organized - overdue items appear at the top with a red "overdue" tag, making them impossible to miss. Below that, tasks are sorted by priority: high-priority tasks first, then medium, and finally low-priority items at the bottom. This organization helps you immediately see what needs urgent attention.

Now let's see how to work with Action Items for a specific student. Click "Students" in the left-hand menu to see your student list.

Choose the student whose Action Items you want to manage - let's use Jill Doe as our example. Click on her name to open her profile.

Once you're in the student's profile, look at the top menu bar and click on "Tools." A dropdown will appear - select "Action Items" from this menu.

A dropdown will appear - select "Action Items" from this menu.

Perfect! You're now looking at all Action Items assigned specifically to Jill Doe. The tasks are organized into three columns: To-Do for tasks that haven't been started, In Progress for tasks being worked on, and Completed for finished items. This gives you an instant visual of where the student stands with their responsibilities.

Let's create a new task for this student. Look for the "Create Action Item" button in the top right corner of the screen. Click it to open the creation form.

In the form that appears, start by entering a clear, specific title for the task. For example, type "Schedule Campus Visit - USF" or "Complete Common App Essay #1." The title should immediately tell the student what needs to be done. The system will automatically assign this to Jill Doe since we're in her profile, but you'll see a field confirming the assignment. This ensures the task goes to the right person. Next, select the priority level from the dropdown menu. You have three options: High, Medium, or Low. Choose High for urgent tasks like approaching deadlines, Medium for important but not urgent items, and Low for tasks that can wait. This priority affects where the task appears in lists and helps students focus on what's most important. Set the initial status for this task. Select "To-Do" for new tasks the student hasn't started, "In Progress" if they've already begun working on it, or "Completed" if you're documenting something already finished. Most new tasks will start as "To-Do." Now you'll see optional date fields. The "Start Date" indicates when the student should begin working on this task - useful for tasks that shouldn't be started too early. The "Due Date" is when the task must be completed. For our example, let's set the due date to September 30th. These dates help create urgency and proper planning. In the description field, provide any additional information the student needs. You might include specific instructions, links to resources, or context about why this task is important. Be as detailed as necessary to ensure the student can complete the task successfully.

Once you've filled in all the necessary information, click "Submit." The new Action Item is immediately created and becomes visible to the student when they log in.

Here's a great feature - tasks can be moved between columns using drag and drop. When a student starts working on something, they can drag it from "To-Do" to "In Progress." When finished, they drag it to "Completed." Watch how the system automatically reorders tasks within each column based on priority and due date.

Click on any Action Item to open its full details.

This expanded view shows all the information about the task, including its complete description, dates, and priority level.

In the task details, you'll see a comments section. This creates a conversation thread about the task. Type a comment like "Great progress! Let me know if you need help scheduling the visit."

When you add a comment, the student receives an email notification, keeping communication flowing.

When students comment on tasks or update their status, you'll see notifications in your Notifications tab. This two-way communication ensures nothing falls through the cracks and questions get answered quickly.

Navigate back to the main Action Items dashboard by clicking "Action Items" in the left menu. This returns you to the complete overview of all tasks across all users.

Click "Filter" to open the filtering options again for refined searches.

Use the date filter to focus on specific timeframes. For example, select dates from the 17th to the 20th to see everything due this week. This helps you identify which students might need reminders or support to meet their deadlines.

Click "Clear Filters" to remove all applied filters and view the full list of action items.

Click "Filter" to open the filter settings once more for additional adjustments.

The assignee filter is particularly powerful. Select your own name to see only tasks assigned to you - perfect for managing your own to-do list. Or filter by a specific student or parent to focus on one person's tasks across the board.

Click "Submit" to apply the user filter and display relevant action items.

Click "Parents" to switch to the parents' section and view related action items.

Click here to select the next option or navigate within the parents' section.

Click "Tools" to access tools and options related to the parents' section.

Click "Action items" to view and manage action items associated with parents. This might include tasks like "Review Financial Aid Documents" or "Submit Tax Returns."

You've now mastered the Action Items feature in the Answers for College Advisor Portal. This task management system keeps everyone organized, accountable, and on track throughout the college planning journey. You can create specific tasks, track progress in real-time, and maintain clear communication through the comment system. The visual organization with priority levels and status columns makes it easy for students and parents to understand exactly what needs to be done and when. Meanwhile, your overview dashboard ensures you never lose sight of the big picture across all your families. Thank you for following along with this tutorial. Start using Action Items today to transform how you manage the college planning process with your families.