Cannot Approve your Own Form

This article explains what happens when an Approver is assigned to review a Prior Approval form that they submitted as a faculty member.

UC OATS prevents Approvers from approving their own submissions. When this occurs, the system displays a notification indicating that the form cannot be approved by the submitter. In these situations, an Alternate Approver must be assigned to complete the review and approval.

However, if the Approver’s faculty account does not have the APM-240 role assigned, the form may appear in their queue without a warning message.

Expected Routing for Approver Submissions

When an Approver (such as a Department Chair or Dean) submits a Prior Approval form for their own outside professional activity, the form should automatically route to the next level of approval.

For example:

• If a Department Chair submits a form, it should route to the Dean’s office.
• If a Dean submits a form, it should route to the Academic Personnel (AP) Office.

When Routing Does Not Occur Correctly

In some cases, the form may not route correctly and may appear in the Approver’s own approval queue. When this occurs, UC OATS will display an error message indicating that the Approver cannot approve their own form. In these situations, an Alternate Approver must be assigned to review and approve the form.

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

Resolution

To resolve this issue: 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 submitting your Prior Approval form, you can return the form to yourself (Faculty) and resubmit it. This will correct the routing and send the form to the next level of approval.