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https://github.com/caltech-ipac/fellowship-software

Software used at NExScI to manage fellowship solicitation and selection
https://github.com/caltech-ipac/fellowship-software

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Software used at NExScI to manage fellowship solicitation and selection

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README 

          
# Fellowship-Software



Introduction



This is a PHP/MySQL web database application designed to collect applications for a

fellowship program, including letters of recommendation. Confirmation emails are sent

upon successful application and letter submission. Application materials are collected

in a password-protected area where letters can be attached to the appropriate application

and a final PDF file of the entire application, including letters, can be created.



Requirements:

- Apache or other web server

- SSL security for encrypting data passed between server and client

- PHP version 5.0 or newer

- MySQL version 4.1 or newer

- pdftk command-line tool (https://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-the-pdf-toolkit/)

- jquery-validation library (included in this distribution)

- phpmailer library (included in this distribution)

- FPDF Free PDF generator (included in this distribution)



Setting up the database:



1. Create a database called “fellows” (or whatever else you want to call it)



  `mysql>create database fellows;`



2. Create a username and password for that database



  `mysql>grant select, insert, update on fellows.* to 'username’@‘hostname’ identified by 'password';`



3. Read in the mysqldump file



  `/path/to/mysql -u root -p fellows < fellows_dump.sql`



4. Update “config.php” with the host name, database name, username, and password



=================================================================================



Description of database:



There are three tables: “fellows”, “letters”, and “users”



1. fellows table



    This table contains information that the applicants enter into the application submission

    form, e.g. their contact information, PhD information, proposed host institutions and

    research, and the names of their references. The table also contains several columns 

    related to the application review process. These columns aren’t needed if you are only

    using the system to collect the applications.



    This table will be populated automatically as applications are submitted.



2. letters table



    This table contains information about the recommendation letters that the letter-writers

    enter into the letter submission form, e.g. the applicant’s name and email address and the 

    letter-writer’s name and email address.  



    This table will be populated automatically as letters are submitted.



3. users table



    This table contains usernames and passwords for people who need to log in to the system

    to view the submitted materials.  



    To populate this table, use the following SQL syntax:



    `mysql>insert into users values (NULL, ‘FirstName LastName’, ‘username’, ‘password’, ‘admin’);`



    Passwords should be hashed. Instructions on how to do this are in ‘passwords.php’;



=================================================================================



Setting up the configuration file:



The file "config.php" contains information about connecting to the database (described 

above) and other variables that are used throughout the application.



Create two directories to hold the submitted applications and letters of recommendation.  

Update config.php with the paths to these directories:



`$basedir = "/path/to/applications/directory/";`



`$basedir2 = "/path/to/letters/directory/";`



We typically do not place these in a web-accessible directory so that the files

are not available via URL. These directories must be writable by your webserver.



=================================================================================



Application and Letter Submission Forms:



1. Application Submission Form (application.php)



  This is where the applicants will enter their application information and upload 

  documents related to their applications. Form validation is handled by the

  "jquery-validation" plugin.



  The script that processes the form is "submit_app.php". The form information 

  is entered into the database and a unique directory for the applicant is 

  automatically created containing their uploaded files. A PDF coversheet is 

  generated (using the FPDF library, included in this distribution) and appended 

  to their uploaded files. The resulting PDF file (coversheet + uploaded files) 

  is attached to the confirmation email that is sent to the applicant (using the 

  "phpmailer" library, included in this distribution).



  *

  The command-line tool "pdftk" is required to concatenate the PDF files. This 

  tool can be obtained here:

  https://www.pdflabs.com/tools/pdftk-the-pdf-toolkit/

  *



  Upon successful form submission, the application page redirects to "thankyou.php".



2. Letter Submission Form (letter.php)



  This is where letters of recommendation are submitted. The letter-writers enter

  their name and email address, the applicant's name and email address, and then 

  upload their letter. Form validation is handled by the "jquery-validation" plugin.



  The script that processes the form is "submit_letter.php". The form information 

  is entered into the database, the letter is copied to the letters directory, and 

  a confirmation email is sent to both the applicant and the letter-writer.



  Upon successful letter submission, the page redirects to "thankyou2.php".



=================================================================================



Managing Applications and Letters



The application and letter management area is password-protected and can be accessed 

through the "login.php" page. Usernames and passwords are stored in the "users" table 

as described above.  The script "password_check.php" validates passwords and directs 

users to the "welcome.php" page upon successful login. The Welcome page lists two 

options: "View applications" and "View letters".



1. View Applications (list_apps.php)



  This page lists the submitted applications. Basic information about each applicant

  is listed, along with links to the submitted application materials (CV, research

  statements, etc.). After the reference letters are moved to the applicant's individual

  directory (details in next section), the "Letters" column will contain links to the

  reference letters. A PDF document containing the coversheet and all of the application 

  materials (minus the letters) is available in this table (this is the same file that

  was attached to the confirmation email to the applicant). Links to "create" and "view" 

  the final PDF application (including the letters) are in the last column.



  To create the final application, after the required number of letters are submitted

  and moved to the applicant's directory (see next section), click the "create" link. 

  This will concatenate all of the application materials, including the coversheet, 

  documents uploaded by the applicant, and all of their letters of recommendation into 

  one final PDF file. If the PDF is successfully created, the "view" link will become 

  active.



  Occasionally some of the files to be concatenated are not real PDFs, which will 

  cause the concatenation to fail. In this case, the "view" link will not become 

  active or will not open properly. Check that all files to be concatenated are truly 

  PDFs, convert any if necessary, and re-click the "create" link.



2. View Letters (list_letters.php)



  This page lists the submitted letters of recommendation. The table lists both the 

  applicant's name and the referee's name, the date the letter was submitted, and a 

  link to the letter itself. The "Select Applicant" column contains a list of the

  applicants' names, as entered by the applicants themselves on the application

  submission page. The "Move" buttons in the "Move Letter" column can be used to move 

  a letter into the appropriate applicant's directory.



  The letters are often submitted before the applications, so you may see several 

  letters for an applicant before their name shows up in the "Select Applicant" 

  column.



  To move a letter, select the appropriate applicant's name in the "Select Applicant"

  column and then press the "Move" button. The applicant's name in the "Select

  Applicant" column might not exactly match the name in the "Applicant Name" column

  because the former was entered by the applicant and the latter was entered by

  the referee.



  Once the letters are moved to an applicant's directory, the "1", "2", and "3" links

  will become active in the "Letters" column in the "View Applications" page.  Once

  all the letters have been moved, you can start creating the final versions of the

  application as described in the previous section.