Set Up Special Reasons

You can use up to three special reasons as extra oversubscription criteria. Special reasons enable Local Authorities to define and prioritise criteria that are more precise than standard oversubscription criteria. For example, special reasons could be used to distinguish between different medical reasons.

A group of codes can be added within each special reason. For example, a special reason of Medical Reasons might consist of a list of different medical reasons, all with weights assigned. Ranking proceeds according to the priority order of the special reasons within the selection criteria, then by the weight of the codes within the reasons. A weight of 1 has the highest priority.

Special reasons are configured in four steps:

1. Select up to three special reasons as oversubscription criteria via Process | Transfer Groups | Sub Groups | Sub Group Details | Oversubscription Criteria.
2. Define the special reason codes and allocate them to the master list for each special reason via Administration | Applications | Special Reasons.
3. For each special reason that has been selected as an oversubscription criterion, add codes from the master lists via Process | Transfer Groups | Sub Groups | View Details | Add Codes. These codes are available for selection during the application process.
4. For each special reason that is available to online applicants, add a label and description to enable those applicants to choose the most appropriate code.