How to configure Checks in Sonia

When creating a check in Sonia you will visit the Permissions tab, which incorporates permissions but also controls how the check functions.

You might be confused with some of the terms such as Review, Days pending expiry and Days automatic review, to name a few. The purpose of this quick FAQ is to provide a brief explanation to assist when setting up and configuring your checks, so let's get started!

First let's review the functional side of checks:

• Active: Is this check active for students (or supervisors), that is do they currently have a need to complete this check?
• Is mandatory: Will control whether this check can prevent the student from being automatically allocated or warn the placement officer with manual allocations. Will also warn the student in multiple places in Sonia Online that they have a mandatory check to complete.
• Review visible: Controls whether the students see the Review date in Sonia Online, or not.
• Lock until review: Controls whether the student's ability to write or upload to the check is locked until the review date is in the past, if enabled.
• Validate on review: If enabled, the review date will become the expiry date of the check, which can add an expiry for yes/no or text checks. In the case of date checks, the check will expire depending on which date comes first, the value or the review date.
• Managed: If selected the check can be managed in the Sonia Check Manager, and it will have additional status introduced with the Sonia Check Manager.
• Hide unless in placement group: This check will be hidden from the student unless it has been added into a placement group via Placement Group -> Settings -> Check requirements. Adding a check to a placement group automatically makes it mandatory within the placement group.
• Days pending expiry: Used in conjunction with managed checks, allows the check to be edited by the student x days (where x is the value set) before the check expires. Unlike lock until review, in this method the check will not expire until the actual expiry date.
• Days automatic review: Used to automatically set the review date for a check. It will apply each time the check is updated.

Finally, permissions can be set for these fields:

• Value: This field represents the type of check, so it changes based on whether the check is a yes/no, date or text check.
• Reference: Supports text and can be used as required for the check. Could be vaccination or police check reference number, for example.
• Completed: Is a date field. Can be used to record the date the check was completed or when a vaccination was administered, for example.
• Document: Allows uploading a document. Can be used for supporting evidence, as an example.

The permissions available for both students and supervisors are:

• Blank: The field is hidden, and they cannot make changes to it.
• Read-only: They can see the field, but not make changes to it.
• Read/write: They can see and make unlimited changes, unless the check is locked (see above).
• Write-once: They can see the field and make one change. Once submitted the field is locked.