SEER User Guide

[TOC]

Introduction

• This is an introductory user guide for the update to the SEER system and to detail the procedures around using the new unified ARC account system. All users will be able to update their ARC User Profile and the details will be reflected in both RMS and SEER
• If you have a current RMS account, your login details for both SEER and RMS will be the same.
• The target audience for this user guide are:
  • users who already have an account in the ARC’s system, referred to as Current Users, and
  • users seeking to create a new account, referred to as New Users. 
• The web address for accessing SEER has not changed. You will be able to access SEER via https://seer.arc.gov.au.
• SEER will be compatible with the latest versions of Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Compatibility with different browsers or older versions of Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer is not guaranteed.

Login for Current Users

• For Current Users of the ARC’s RMS system, there is no requirement to setup a new Australian Research Council (ARC) account. The same login details used for RMS will allow you to access SEER, assuming you have the correct role allocated within the system (see section 1.6-Roles in SEER).
• Login now requires the current preferred email address and your password.
• To Login, navigate to the SEER Homepage 

Figure 1.0: SEER Login Homepage

• Enter your email address and your password. Click on the Login button.

Resetting Your Password

• To reset the password to an ARC user account navigate to the SEER Homepage
• Click on the Reset Password link. 

Figure 2.0: Reset Password from Homepage

• Enter in your email address and click Request.
• If you are unable to remember which email address is linked to your account, your Administering Organisation can access this information for you. If the administering organisation is unable to locate the information, please contact the ARC help desk at arc-systems@arc.gov.au.
• An automated email will be sent containing a link to enable you to reset your password by clicking on Click here to reset your password.
• Your password must be a minimum length of 10 characters and must contain at least three of the following character sets: 
  • lowercase alphabetic characters (a-z)
  • uppercase alphabetic characters (A-Z)
  • numeric characters (0-10)
  • special characters 

Figure 3.0: Resetting a password automated email

• Enter in your new password and confirm and then click the Reset button
• You will now be able to login to SEER with your updated password
• The first time that you log in to SEER, you should check that all of your details within the Person Profile section are correct. There are several new fields within the Person Profile and it is important, for statistical analysis, that these fields are populated with the correct information. This information is used for ARC reporting purposes and users will not be identified through these reports.
• On login users will be taken to the main page called the Action Centre.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

You can only reset your password once every 24 hours. If you cannot remember the new password, you will have to wait 24 hours before trying again. However, SEER Support can override this, if required.

You must change your SEER Password every 12 months. If you do not change your password within the 12 months, SEER will lock your account.

Updating your password in one SEER instance will automatically update your password for all SEER instances.

Unlocking your account

• SEER will lock your account if you enter the incorrect password 5 times, or you have not updated your password for 12 months.
• You can unlock your account by requesting a Password Reset from the SEER Login Page or by contacting the ARC help desk at arc-systems@arc.gov.au.

Multi-factor Authentication

• SEER security requirements must comply with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) cyber security strategies and require Multi-factor Authentication (MFA).
• This is mandatory for ARC and Research Office Staff (privileged users) and optional for other users (non-privileged users). All SEER users will be able to set up MFA or opt out themselves.
• Multi-factor authentication can be set up via ‘Personal Details’ from the Action Centre and then clicking on ‘MFA Settings’.
• Any user with the mandatory roles (privileged users) will be required to set up MFA before they can access SEER.

MFA Settings using Mobile App

• When a user with one of these roles enters their email address, password and then clicks ‘Login’; they will see the following screen (please note, this screen will not be displayed for mandatory users who have previously set up MFA on their account):

NB: these apps have security measures built into them that regenerates a new code every 30 seconds. If you try to re-use this code after the 30 seconds or enter the incorrect code, you will receive an error message.

• Once MFA is set up, they will see the following message:

• •  
• For all subsequent logons, users will need to enter their security code to access the system:

• •  
• Users who are not in the mandatory category, can ‘opt out’ or choose to add MFA to their account. They will receive the following screen after clicking ‘Login’. (Please note, this screen will not be displayed for users that have previously set up MFA on their account or have opted out):

Setting up MFA in SEER using Desktop extension

• Microsoft and Google add-ons or stores have the 2FA authenticator available. The examples below refer to Microsoft Edge. Once you have installed the app on your desktop, you will see an icon appear in the top right of your browser that resembles the 2FA logo. Clicking this icon will open the app.

• •  
• Authenticator Icon

• •  
• 2FA has the functionality to either scan or manual enter codes.
• There are 3 steps to generate a code for the app. Step one is clicking the pencil icon in the top right.

• •  
• Step 2 shows a + or tick symbol. You will need to click the + symbol.

• •  
• Step 3 will bring you the section that will prompt you to either to scan or manually enter a code.

Manual Entry of MFA

• Under the QR code, you will see a group of numbers and letters known as the 'secret code'. This code is used in the manual entry section of the authenticator.

• •  
• To assist in identifying which codes link to which system, you are able to give this code a unique identifier under 'Issuer'.
• Once you have renamed the 'Issuer' and entered the code, click 'ok' to generate the 6-digit code to be entered into in SEER.

Scanning QR code for MFA

• You can scan the QR code rather than manual entry by selecting the scan option. This brings up a scanning tool that can be used to highlight the QR code. The scanning option is a simpler process and automatically creates an 'Issuer' name that is specific to the system you are using.

Updating your personal profile in SEER 

Figure 4.0: The Action Centre

• Users can navigate to the required areas to view and update details via the Action Centre.
• Users will be able to tell where they are by the navigation path, as shown in Figure 5.0. Users can navigate back to the Action Centre by clicking on the Action Centre link within the navigation path. By clicking on the Close button, users will be taken back to the previous page.

Figure 5.0: Navigation Path – Navigate back by the page links

• Enter in your details via the Person Profile section in the Action Centre using the following links
  • Personal Details
  • Qualifications
  • Employment
• New users will be required to enter in all of their details to create a personal profile in SEER.
• Current users will need to check their Personal and Employment details, and update any blank fields where applicable.

Figure 6.0: Accessing links to update your profile

• Personal Details:  Click on the Personal Details link to view and update your personal details. The following fields are listed in your personal details:

  • Title, First Name, Second Name, Family Name
  • Email Address, Phone Number, Alternate Phone Number
  • Date of Birth
  • Gender
  • Admin Organisation—for this field select the organisation that is to be the administrator of the account.  This is usually the organisation that a person is affiliated with.  Where a person is not affiliated with an organisation on the list the person must select the Australian Research Council
  • Languages other than English
  • Indigenous Status
  • Citizenship
  • Australian Permanent Resident
  • Australian Temporary Resident including Start Date and End Date
  • Expertise Text
  • Field of Research (FoR) codes 

Figure 7.0: Personal Details section

Figure 8.0: Personal Details section (continued)

• Click on Save after updating your details.
• Qualifications: Click on the Qualifications link which will take you to a new screen. To add qualifications click on the Add Qualification button.
• Enter in your qualifications details for the following fields:
  • Conferral Date
  • Australian Qualifications Framework Level (further information about Australian Qualifications Framework levels can be found at www.aqf.edu.au)
  • Degree/Award Title
  • Discipline/Field
  • Awarding Organisation
  • Country of Award
• Click on Save after updating your details.
• To add more qualifications, click on the Close button or click on the Manage Person Qualification link, and then click on Add Qualifications button.
• All of your qualifications will be listed in the Manage Person Qualification page.
• An account can be created via the request a new account link on the SEER Homepage.
• Navigate to the SEER Homepage.
• Click on Request New Account.

New Users - Requesting an account 

Figure 9.0: SEER Login Homepage

• A new screen will appear to enter in details for the following fields:
  • Title, First Name, Second Name, Family Name
  • Gender
  • Date of Birth
  • Email, Confirmation of email
  • Admin Organisation—for this field select the organisation that is to be the administrator of the account. This is usually the organisation that a person is affiliated with. Where a person is not affiliated with an organisation on the list the person must select the Australian Research Council
  • Current Employment Details or check the Unemployed box—for the Organisation field please search for your organisation first, if your organisation is not listed then enter the name of your organisation in the text field provided

 Figure 10.0: Example of a new user account

• Click on Register.
• A notification screen will now appear advising that your request has been submitted.

Figure 11.0: Notification of the request

• An automatic email will be sent to you asking for verification of the email via the Click here to validate your email address link.
• It may take several business days for the Research Office and the ARC to process and approve the account request.
• A second automatic email will be sent to the user once the account has been approved.
• If the account has not been approved the user will receive an email listing the reason why.
• You will need to setup your password first by clicking on the Click here to setup your initial login details link within the second email sent to you.
• A password must be a minimum length of 10 characters and must contain at least three of the following character sets: 
  • lowercase alphabetic characters (a-z)
  • uppercase alphabetic characters (A-Z)
  • numeric characters (0-10)
  • special characters

Figure 12.0: Set Password Screen

• Once your password has been created you can login to SEER and begin setting up your personal profile, as per Section 1.3 of this document.

Roles in SEER 

Research office staff who are new and are required to use the SEER system need to apply for the appropriate roles as outlined below. Nominees for ERA and EI recruitment process only require “Applicant” role.

Applicant Role

Applicant role is the base user role for SEER/RMS and allows users to fulfil ERA/EI nomination activity.

ERA Research Office Staff

This role has access to SEER to perform ERA and EI Submissions. This role needs to be assigned by the ERA Research Office Delegate.

ERA Research Office Delegate

This role is assigned by the ARC after approval from your DVC(R) or equivalent. The role will allow the institution user to perform the same functionality as ERA Research Office Staff as well as the additional ability to approve the Research Office Staff role within their own institution. The ERA Research Office Delegate role will also be able to request the ARC to approve new ERA/EI related role(s) for users within their institution. The approval of the roles other than ERA Research Office Staff will be actioned by appropriate ARC staff. The ERA Research Office Delegate can also remove all ERA/EI roles from their staff with no approval required from the ARC.

ERA Signatory

This role is reserved for the Pro/Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research (or equivalent). The role is responsible for finalising the submission for their institution’s ERA/EI submission. If the ARC has any high level concerns about an institution’s submission these will be raised directly with this user. This role is not to be delegated, if this is an issue the ARC must be contacted to discuss before a change to this role can be approved in SEER.

ERA Certifier

This role is reserved for a Vice Chancellor (or equivalent). The role is responsible for certifying that all information in submissions is accurate and comprehensive. Certification takes the form of a signature, in digital form, of a submission Certification Statement by the Vice-Chancellor or equivalent of the institution. This role is not to be delegated, if this is an issue the ARC must be contacted to discuss before a change to this role can be approved in SEER.

Institution Repository Administrator

This role is responsible for all repository items being digitally available as well as repository testing during the ERA submission process. The Institution Repository Administrator needs to also ensure that submitted links for each research output remain stable for the duration of an ERA submission process and associated ERA evaluation.

Institution Outcome Viewer

This role allows the user to view the UoE and the result of the ERA assessment after the public release of the results. This ‘view only’ role is only available at the completion of each ERA round.

Transfer accounts to other organisations 

To change an Administering Organisation please email your request to the following address: ARC-Systems@arc.gov.au.