Cannot Approve Your Own Prior Approval Forms

This article explains what occurs if an Approver in UC OATS is assigned to approve/acknowledge a prior approval form they originally submitted as a faculty member.

When an Approver (such as a Department Chair or Dean) submits a prior approval form for their own outside professional activity, the form is typically routed to the next level for independent review—for example:

• If a Department Chair submits a form, it should be routed to the Dean’s office.

• If a Dean submits a form, it should be routed to the AP Office.

However, in some cases, the form may not be routed correctly and may appear in the Approver’s own queue. If this occurs, the Approver will see the following error message:

The Approver will only have the option to return the form to the Reviewer, Division Reviewer, or Faculty (themselves as the faculty member).

Resolution

Please return the form to the Reviewer and ask them to assign an Alternate Approver to the form.

Alternatively, if you were granted an Approver role after you submitted your prior approval form, you can return the form to yourself (faculty) and resubmit it. This should correct the routing and send it up passed your level for review and approval.