DocuSign: Training Course

There are various roles in DocuSign that provide access to different features. After determining the appropriate role for your job responsibilities, review the training materials and submit the access request form that pertains to the requested role. 

Note: A DocuSign account is not needed to SIGN an envelope - any recipient with an email address can do so.

SIGNER - can approve/sign documents, plus the following:

• Create, upload, and save signatures.

• View the status of envelopes on which they are included as recipients.

SENDER - includes SIGNER access, plus the following:

• Initiate envelopes, whether by uploading documents or using preexisting Templates or PowerForms to which they are given access.

• Access to Bulk Send feature.

• Manage envelopes, including resending, correcting, voiding, creating a copy, and deleting envelopes.

TEMPLATE CREATOR - includes SENDER access plus, the following:

• Create and edit Templates.

POWERFORM CREATOR - includes TEMPLATE CREATOR access, plus the following:

• Create and edit PowerForms.

• Requires supervisory approval and is limited to two employees per department.

Training videos can be viewed in the DocuSign eSignature Fundamentals video library and the rest of the materials are divided into sections. The training materials you will review depend on the level of access you would like to request:

• Signer 

  • Review all videos in the Signer section.

  • Review Section 1.

  • Submit Access Request Form.

• Sender, all Signer requirements plus:

  • Review all videos in the Sender sections.

  • Review Sections 2 and 3.

  • Submit Access Request Form.

• Template Creator, all Sender requirements plus:

  • Review all videos in the Template Creator sections, except PowerForm materials.

  • Review Section 4.

  • Submit Access Request Form.

• PowerForm Creator, all Template Creator requirements plus:

  • Review PowerForm materials.

  • Review Section 5.

  • Submit PowerForm Creator Access Request Form.

If you encounter issues with any of the video links in the library, please visit DocuSign's YouTube channel and search for the same video title, which should also be uploaded there.

Like other university resources, DocuSign should be used responsibly and in accordance with university policies, particularly in regard to the University Information Systems and Finance Accounting sections of the Employee Handbook (the full handbook is available in the Blackboard HR Portal). Excerpts from these sections include:

Section 6.1.3.1 (Violations of Acceptable Use Policy):

•  Use another person's account or PIN or give your password, PIN, or identification to another person for the purpose of gaining access to a university-owned computer, network, or database resource. This includes but is not limited to unauthorized use of an account for a purpose for which it was not intended, or use of another person’s email address. Changing another person's password without authorization may be considered harassment.

•  Access a file on a university-owned computer or network without the permission of the assigned user to copy, rename, modify, examine, or change file protection or visibility. Lack of protection on a file does not imply right of access.

Specific examples of irresponsible usage include:

•  Signing, approving, or declining an agreement as another user. While DocuSign allows for delegation of users to commit these actions in place of another user, doing so as another user is considered forgery. For example, an employee should not be signing as their supervisor.

•  For shared forms or forms not administered by your department, please exercise diligence in contacting the departments that do administer the forms to collaborate and receive expressed consent to use them electronically. For example, registration forms are created and managed by the Registrar's Office and should not be copied or edited without approval. In this scenario, you should contact a member of the Registrar's Office to discuss your use case and its impact on the registration workflow before modifying any forms or creating your own version in DocuSign.

Additionally, every process being considered for use in DocuSign should be carefully discussed, planned, and communicated. It is important to determine who will be using them, who will be overseeing them, and what changes can be made to streamline the workflow. Before using processes in production, thoroughly test them in the Demo instance.

Envelope Licensing

DocuSign licensing is based on envelopes sent, which is why it is crucial that users only utilize DocuSign for processes that require electronic signatures. For processes that do not require electronic signatures, such as choosing a shirt size or reserving lunch, we recommend that you leverage solutions like Google Forms or fillable PDFs instead. Also, carefully consider the target user audience and whether or not they can still be served when the forms are distributed behind a resource that requires authentication to access, such as MyCUI or Blackboard. If you are unsure what would best fit your use case or are considering a new project that may utilize a significant increase in envelope usage, please contact IT Services for further consultation.

Additionally, users should create all templates in Demo first in order to minimize unnecessary envelope usage during testing and revision. Users with sending privileges will be given access to both the Demo and Prod instances of DocuSign. The purpose of the Demo instance of DocuSign is to provide users with an environment to thoroughly test and revise templates to ensure they function as intended before using them in production. After templates are vetted in Demo, they can be exported and uploaded to Prod without needing to rebuild them from scratch.

Signing Groups

In some scenarios, an approval step may not need to be fulfilled by any particular individual, but can be completed any one member of a group of individuals who share the same responsibility. For example, HR Employee 1, HR Employee 2, and HR Employee 3 are all given the responsibility to review and sign off on W4 Forms. Instead of specifying a shared email address (e.g. HR@cui.edu), which would make it difficult to determine which individual actually approved the W4, a Signing Group that includes each of the individual approvers should be specified instead. Additionally, by specifying a Signing Group, the information for each eligible approver will not need to be entered individually. To request the creation of a Signing Group, please contact IT Services at ITS@cui.edu or (949) 214-3175 with the desired name of the Signing Group, the purpose of the group, and a list of the users who should be included. 

To specify a Signing Group, follow these steps.

For more information about the benefits of Signing Groups and additional examples, visit this DocuSign FAQ.

Naming

Create every Template with your department as the prefix in this format: [Department] - [Name of Form]. For example, IT Services - Access Request Form.

Subject Line Recipient Variables

DocuSign allows you to customize the email subject line when sending an envelope, including inserting subject line variables based on the recipient, which improves the organization and searchability of archived envelopes. For example, if the Registrar's Office would like to automatically include a student's name when they fill out an Add/Drop form, they can customize the subject line of the template to be in this format: Add/Drop Form - [Student Name]. If Susie Student fills out the form, the completed envelope would read Add/Drop Form - Susie Student.

To insert a recipient variable, follow these steps.

Downloading (Export) and Uploading (Import) Templates

Downloading and uploading templates allows you to transfer them between Demo and Prod, which is particularly useful for when you've completed testing for a template in Demo and are ready to use it in Prod.

To download/export templates, follow these steps.

To upload/import templates, follow these steps.

PowerForm Management

When you navigate to the PowerForms section, you will see all the existing forms from other departments. To mitigate issues and adhere to the Acceptable Use policies:    

• Create every PowerForm with your department as the prefix in this format: [Department] - [Name of Form]. For example, IT Services - Access Request Form.

• The default Sender of a PowerForm is the creator and will be included on every form that is filled out, meaning every completion email will be sent to the creator's email address as well. Because of this, PowerForms should be sent to a shared departmental mailbox (e.g. ITS@cui.edu, registrar@cui.edu, etc.). There isn't currently a way for end-users to change the Sender on their own and an account admin will need to do so. When finished with creating a PowerForm, submit a ticket to ITS@cui.edu with the PowerForm name and an account admin will change the Sender for you.

• DO NOT modify other departments' PowerForms, including using the Edit, Deactivate, Change Sender, or Delete actions.

• DO NOT forward the URLs of other departments' PowerForms without their consent. Instead, refer them to that department if they need to inquire about those specific forms.

PowerForm Distribution

Due to envelope licensing limits (covered in Section 2), we recommend that PowerForm links are distributed behind a resource that requires authentication to access, such as MyCUI or Blackboard, instead of being available publicly. Additionally, if PowerForms are outdated or no longer in use, please deactivate them. 

Congratulations on completing the DocuSign training course!

For Sender, Signer, or Template Creator access, please complete this request form. Specify the role for which you've completed the required training and submit only one form.

For PowerForm Creator access, please complete this request form. Requires supervisory approval and is limited to two employees per department.

Request forms will be sent to our help desk and automatically create a ticket for you. Please allow up to 48 business hours for IT Services to review and configure your DocuSign accounts, after which you will be contacted with further instructions.

As part of our licensing agreement, users have access to additional DocuSign training materials and can contact DocuSign Support for technical issues. Administrative request tickets (e.g. account issues, access requests, project consultation, etc.) should still be sent to IT Services.

To access additional DocuSign training materials, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to fs.cui.edu in your web browser.

2. Select either "DocuSign - Demo" or "DocuSign - Prod", depending on which account you're encountering issues, from the drop-down menu.

3. Log in with your E# and the same password you use to access your CUI email account.

4. Scroll down and find the "Help and Support" section on the right-hand side. Click on "Support  Home".

5. Click on the "eSignature " category to view various articles.

To submit a support case:

1. Steps 1-4 are identical to accessing the training materials.

2. Scroll down and find the "Get Support" section on the left-hand side. Click "Contact Support".

3. Click on "Open a Support Case".

4. Under the "eSignature, Rooms, CLM" section, click "Continue".

5. When prompted to log in, type in your CUI email address. Click "Next".

6. When prompted for your password, click "Use Company Login".

7. If you've submitted a case before, click on "New Case", otherwise move on to Step 8.

8. Choose "eSignature" as your case subject and a relevant subject.

9. DocuSign will suggest some resources that may address your issue. If this suffices, do not proceed with submitting a case. If your issue is not addressed, click "Add Case Details".

10. Enter the required information, as well as a detailed description of your issue. Screenshots or add attachments can be added using the "Add Attachment".

11. Click "Submit Case". DocuSign will respond to you via the contact method you chose when entering the case details.