Overview
The main screen gives a snapshot of all your recommendation request from students.
Student: Sort the students assigned to you by their Name.
Next Deadline: Refers to the next deadline of the student's application.
Survey: Check with your counselling team to see if your school will use this feature.
Uploaded Recommendation & Forms: This column will show whether or not you have uploaded a recommendation for the student or filled out a Common App teacher or Counsellor form.
CA Linked: This column will indicate whether or not the student has already linked their Common App account with Cialfo.
FERPA - It is advisable for students to first waive their FERPA status before you upload the recommendations. (For more on FERPA)
Uploading Your Recommendation
Step 1 - Select a student by clicking the student's name. A side bar for the student will open.
Step 2 - Completing the Common App Teacher Evaluation Form: Click on Teacher Evaluation and fill in the form that appears. After filling out the form, you will select the "Save" button found at the bottom. If you realize you made a mistake, you'll be able to edit the form. Only counselors will be able to delete forms.
Step 3 - Upload Letter of Recommendation: Make sure you've saved your letter as a PDF and select "Upload a file".
Step 4 - You're done! Verify on the main student list screen that you have a green box for your recommendation and a box for the CA Teacher form.
Declining Recommendation Requests
Step 1 - Select a student by clicking the student's name. A side bar for the student will open.
Step 2 - Under the Letter of Recommendation section, select "Reject Recommendation" to decline the request.
Step 3 - Confirm your decision to decline the recommendation request.
Step 4 - You're done! The name of the student will not appear on your main student list screen anymore.
Settings
Settings is where you can update your personal settings - your personal information, changing your password and if you want to receive email notifications regarding recommendation requests from students. You can choose to receive these notifications either once a day basis, weekly (every Monday) or turn off all email notifications for recommendations. This will be found at the top right corner, by clicking the chevron.
What's New - Improved Reliability for LOR and Grade PDF Uploads
If some teachers are unable to upload PDF Letters of Recommendation (LORs) and similar upload failures were also reported for student Grade section file uploads.
The issue was traced to a Cloudflare configuration change that blocked upload requests before they reached the Cialfo application. This affected even valid PDF files that had previously uploaded successfully.
The configuration has now been corrected, restoring normal upload functionality for both LOR and Grade section uploads.
If you are still experiencing upload issues, try uploading from a different browser or device to rule out local cache problems. You can also generate a HAR file and check for a 403 Forbidden response on the upload request. If this appears, share the HAR file with Cialfo Support for further investigation. Also ensure the file is saved in a valid PDF format before uploading.
Line Break Formatting Preserved in LORs Submitted via Chrome Plugin
Line breaks and paragraph spacing were being removed when counselors or teachers submitted Letters of Recommendation (LORs) using the Chrome plugin. Previously, recommendations appeared as a single block of unformatted text, regardless of the original formatting entered.
The Chrome plugin’s text processing logic has now been updated to correctly preserve paragraph breaks and line spacing during submission. Going forward, all new LOR submissions made through the Chrome plugin will retain their intended formatting correctly.
If an LOR was previously submitted and the formatting appeared collapsed, the recommendation may need to be re-uploaded using the corrected version to reflect the proper spacing and paragraph structure.
Need More Help?
Our Client Support team is available via Live Chat 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, so you can get help anytime during the work week through Chat with Cialfo.
If you're unable to find a solution in our help articles or need further assistance, you can contact the Cialfo Support team via Live Chat or email us at [email protected]