In Experiential Learning Cloud, you can choose to use Time Reporting exclusively for the verification of students' hours, or you can enable a feature called "Time Approval" to use as well. Read on to learn more about how each of these options works. 

Option 1: Use Time Reporting Alone

• Time reporting allows the students to run reports on the time that they have entered. There are many different types of PDF reports that can be generated in Experiential Learning Cloud and signed electronically. Check out all of Experiential Learning Cloud's time reports here. 
• Typically, time reports are assigned in field experience classes at regular intervals. This prompts students to generate a report of all of their hours logged over a set time period and send it to their site supervisor and program faculty for review and signature at regular intervals throughout their field experience. 
• This option is always turned on in your database.

Using Time Reporting without Time Approval
Advantages	Disadvantages
Regularity:  With time reports, a predictable schedule is enforced program-wide. For example: if your program chooses to assign time reports on a weekly basis, all students, faculty, and site supervisors know to expect that reports will be submitted at the end of each week.   This simplifies both the supervisor experience and course management for faculty since they can better anticipate when the reports will be submitted and plan accordingly.	Reduced Accountability: If a program assigns time reports any more infrequently than once per week*, it can be difficult for reviewers to identify where the hours on the time report are coming from. Which can make it difficult for supervisors to approve the hours.   Monthly hours report example Using the #514 Track Hours Log time report *This is less of an issue if time reports are submitted on a weekly basis since the weekly time report shows the number of hours accrued in each activity type on each day of the week.  Weekly Hours Report Example Using the #501 Track Activities for a Single Week time report
Body of Proof:  Students will finish the program with signed and verified PDF documents attesting to their hours logged while in the program. These can be submitted to licensing and accrediting bodies as needed throughout the students’ careers.  NOTE: This can still be achieved with time approval if time reports are assigned as well.

 

Option 2: Enable Time Approval

• In this option, supervisors are asked to review and approve individual timesheet entries that students have submitted for approval. This gives them maximum insight into the hours students have logged in Experiential Learning Cloud. 
• This is an option that can be turned on and off in your database. 

Enabling Time Approval
Advantages	Disadvantages
Accountability:  Supervisors will be able to review each individual time entry and approve, deny, or request changes. All entries will show an approval status, giving students, faculty, and site supervisors themselves maximum transparency and accountability in the time tracking process. If students work with more than one supervisor, the system will automatically ensure that hours are approved by the supervisor with whom they were logged.	Irregularity: Time approval submission is not completed as an assignment, so the timing of submissions cannot be enforced as easily as with time reports.  This means that students could submit time records to supervisors daily, which could become tedious to approve so frequently, or they might choose to wait too long to submit hours, leaving supervisors with an unwieldy list of entries to approve all at once.
Efficiency:  Students can easily submit time entries en masse to their supervisors, and supervisors can approve, deny, or request changes en masse.	Lack of Permanent Documentation:  Time records that are approved via time approval will show their approval status in Experiential Learning Cloud, but they are less transferrable than time reports. Time reports, by contrast, give students a signed summary of their earned experience hours that they can download/print as needed and submit to licensing bodies.
	Redundancy:  The issues of irregularity and documentation can be countered by using time reports in tandem with time approval. However, the dual tasks of submitting and approving time entries and time reports may feel redundant to students and supervisors.

Time Approval Demo: 

BEST PRACTICE FOR TIME APPROVAL: Use the #523 Approved Hours Report along with time approval. This report will only show time entries that have been approved through time approval. If this report is assigned at regular intervals, students will need to keep on top of their hour submissions, and faculty will be able to review a digest of all approved hours at regular intervals.

Learn More: 

• Submitting Timesheet Entries for Approval (Student Perspective)
• Approving Students' Time Records (Site Supervisor Perspective)

Another time-related feature you can turn on or off in your database is Repeating Time

• Click here for more information on repeating time to help you decide if you want to have it on or off in your database.