Overview

Advanced routing configuration for complex organizational structures

Dynamic groups enable automatic routing of approval requests to different people based on organizational context. Instead of sending every request to the same approver or group, dynamic groups intelligently determine the right approver based on department, school, program, or requirement attributes. In other words, a dynamic group serves as a custom lookup table.

Currently Dynamic groups are only supported in workflows. To create a Dynamic Group and use in a workflow, see Workflows.

When to Use Dynamic Groups

Dynamic groups are particularly valuable for:

• Large institutions with multiple colleges, schools, or departments that each need their own approvers

• Decentralized approval structures where different programs have different approval chains

• Complex routing needs where the appropriate approver depends on which program or department is involved

• Reducing administrative burden by eliminating the need to create separate configurations for each department

If you don't need this level of routing complexity, stick with regular user groups assigned to approval steps.

How Dynamic Groups Work

When a request reaches an approval step configured with a dynamic group:

1. The system identifies the routing criterion (e.g., requirement's department)

2. It determines which department, school, or program applies

3. It looks up that department/school/program in the dynamic group configuration

4. It routes the request to the designated approver(s) for that organizational unit

Example Scenario

Scenario: A chemistry major requests an exception for a biology course requirement.

With requirement-based routing (Requirement's Department):

• System identifies the requirement lives in Biology Department

• Request routes to Biology Department approvers

With student-based routing (Student's Department):

• System identifies the student is in Chemistry Department

• Request routes to Chemistry Department approvers

Routing Criteria Options

When configuring a dynamic group, you must select one of the following criteria:

Requirement-Based Routing

Routes based on where the requirement lives in your academic structure:

• Requirement's School - Routes based on which school houses the requirement

• Requirement's Department - Routes based on which department houses the requirement

• Requirement's Program - Routes based on which program houses the requirement

Use when: The department or program that owns the requirement should approve exceptions to that requirement, regardless of the student's major.

Student-Based Routing

Routes based on the student's academic assignment:

• Student's School - Routes based on which school the student is enrolled in

• Student's Department - Routes based on which department the student is assigned to

• Student's Program - Routes based on which program the student is in

Use when: The student's home department or program should approve exceptions, regardless of which requirement is involved.

General Requirements

General requirements are requirements that don't come from your institution's program data feed and have no department, school, or program association.

When using requirement-based dynamic routing, the system cannot match general requirements to any department in your dynamic group. These requests automatically route to your configured default approver.

Important: Ensure your default approver is set to handle general requirements (typically the Registrar's Office or similar central authority).

Students with Multiple Programs

When a student has multiple majors, minors, or programs:

• Requirement-based routing: Only considers which program houses the requirement being excepted

• Student-based routing: Uses the student's primary program assignment from your data feed

Editing Dynamic Groups

Once a dynamic group is in use, you CAN edit:

• Dynamic group approver assignments (add/remove approvers for departments)

• Group membership for groups used in dynamic groups

• Default approver settings

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Best Practices

• Start with your organizational chart: Map out which departments, schools, or programs need separate approval chains before building dynamic groups

• Use groups, not individuals: Assign existing Stellic groups to departments rather than naming specific users. This makes ongoing maintenance much easier

• Always set a default: Configure a thoughtful default approver for edge cases and general requirements

• Test before rolling out: Submit test requests for different departments, general requirements, and unassigned departments to verify routing works correctly

• Document your routing logic: Keep internal documentation about which criterion you chose and why, especially if multiple people manage these configurations

• Review periodically: When departments reorganize or new programs launch, update your dynamic group assignments

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Troubleshooting

Problem: Requests aren't routing to anyone

• Check that you've assigned approvers to the relevant departments

• Verify your default approver is configured

Problem: All requests go to the default approver

• Confirm the routing criterion matches your dynamic group type (e.g., if your group is organized by department, use 'Requirement's Department' or 'Student's Department')

• Check that the departments in your data feed match the department names in your dynamic group

Problem: Can't find my dynamic group in the dropdown

• Ensure your dynamic group has the appropriate purpose selected in the group settings

Problem: Requests for general requirements aren't routing correctly

• This is expected behavior for requirement-based routing. General requirements automatically route to your default approver. Verify your default approver is the appropriate person or group for these requests.