Approver Role

The Approver role is typically assigned to people who have the authority to review an activity and recommend approval (Division Chair, Department Chair, Dean, etc). The Terminal Approver (Provost, Vice Provost, Chancellor, etc.) is the person who decides if a prior approval form is approved and for how long. To learn more about roles, please visit the Roles Overview article. To learn more about Approvers, visit the APM 025 Approver knowledge base or the APM 671 Approver knowledge base. Learn how to manage a staff member's role. 

Approver Responsibilities

The following is an overview of approver's responsibilities: 

• Prior Approval Forms - Review prior approval forms to ensure accuracy and provide a recommendation for approval. The final decision on approval, including the duration, is made by the terminal approver (e.g., Provost, Vice Provost, Chancellor, etc.). Note that approvers cannot approve their own prior approval forms. UC OATS will automatically route an approver's forms to the next step in the approval workflow.
• Annual Certification Reports - Review annual certification reports to ensure all known activities are accurately included and properly documented in the report.

Multiple Roles

Users can hold multiple roles in UC OATS based on their campus responsibilities. For example, a dean who also teaches university courses may have both the Approver and Faculty roles in UC OATS. Upon logging in, the dean can toggle between the approver and faculty workspaces using a designated button.