The Candidate Site is where the candidate enters information about themselves that is needed for Candidate Info (Background Check), Appointing, Credentialing, and Enrollment.

How to Access

Once the candidate accepts the offer and the Candidate Prep phase is completed, the candidate will receive an email containing this link (the department admin pushing the Submit button will also be copied):

https://www.umms.med.umich.edu/faculty/candidate

While the link is the same for each candidate, once they log in with their Level 1 username and password, Meridian will know who they are and display the details specific to them. NOTE: The department admin will not be able to log into / see this candidate site; rather, you will see the candidate-entered data flow into your Hiring detail view in Meridian.

If the Candidate uses the wrong URL, they will see an error page, that contains a link to the Candidate Site:

Candidate Site Contents

Similar to the Hiring workflow, the candidate also sees sections for Candidate Info, Appointing, Credentialing, and Enrollment (as appropriate to their Track), albeit in a simplified way.

Candidate Info: 

• Authorization, Release, and Immunity (ARI)
• Personal and Education Information (PEI)
• Background Check Authorization (unless being skipped)

Upon submission, candidates will then receive an email from the background check vendor (HireRight), who will invite them to log into HireRight's site, review their information (that Meridian sent to HireRight), and select a drug screening location*. Once they do this step in HireRight, their background check will begin. Finally, once their background check is completed and cleared in Meridian, the candidate will receive an email confirming this.

See the Candidate Background Check page for more details about this step in the Hiring process.

*NOTE: Because the drug screen must be conducted in the U.S., international candidates can now choose the 'Drug Screen deferred' option (as of July 2023), which allows the background check to be conducted separately from the drug screen (which is ordered later once they arrive in the U.S.).

Appointing, Credentialing, and Enrollment sections

NOTE: The Department Admin has the choice to allow the candidate to use the Appointing and Enrollment sections themselves or the Department can submit the information for them. Meanwhile, MSS requires that the candidate complete the Credentialing section personally.

Appointing:

• Documents for Academic Reference Solicitation
• Suggested people for Academic Reference solicitation
• Additional documents, such as portfolios

At first, the candidate must complete the "Documents for Academic Reference Solicitation" section (containing the CV, Bib Notes, and Publications options) and optionally begin to add some Academic References. They must submit this section by clicking the blue "Done with References Docs" button in order to proceed to the remainder of the Appointing form.

Once "Done with References Docs" is clicked, the "Documents for Academic Reference Solicitation" section will lock down (become gray and disabled) so that Departments and OFA can work on validating those documents to later send out to academic references. The candidate can then continue to work on the Academic References section, as well as upload additional documents, namely their portfolios and teaching evaluations, as appropriate to their track/rank. Once they are finished, they will click the blue "Submit" button and be finished with the Appointing section.

Credentialing:

• ARI
• NPI
• Assessors for Clinical Assessment solicitation
• Candidate Application (education, board certifications, work experience, etc.)
• Supplemental Disclosures
• Attestation

In this first part of the Credentialing section, the candidate must sign the ARI form, enter a National Provider Identifier (NPI), and suggest one or more people for clinical assessments. MSS will be sending out the invitations for these assessments but it is up to the candidate to suggest people.

This next portion is considered the "Candidate Application", which is composed of areas to collect education and training, board certifications, work experience, licensure, and insurance history). The candidate can add one or more entries for each of these subsections, and there are instructions about what is required by MSS for each.

Next, this lengthy set of questions is the Supplemental Disclosures, which the candidate must answer about themselves.  These answers are confidential and only visible to the candidate and MSS.

This final portion of the Credentialing section provides links to various documents (Bylaws, Applicant Rights, etc.) and requires the candidate to attest to three statements. Finally, they will digitally sign their application after clicking the "Review & Submit" button, after which their signed application will be stored in Meridian.

Enrollment:

• Medicaid CHAMPS
• CAQH ID

The candidate has only two parts here that they can complete: CHAMPS and CAQH ID. Once they are finished, they must push the blue "Submit" button.

As of the November 2022 Meridian update, the Candidate must complete the CHAMPS section themselves (Department contact cannot fill it out for them).

CHAMPS is the State of Michigan's billing enrollment system, and the candidate can choose one of two paths:

• The first ("Yes") option is for the candidate to log in to the CHAMPS website and follow the provided instructions to add the University of Michigan to their profile.
• The second ("No") option is to digitally sign a CHAMPS enrollment form, which Provider Enrollment will send on to the State of Michigan for them. 

Messages

Additionally, there is a Messages area that allows candidates and departments/OFA/MSS/PE to communicate directly via Meridian. Like the Messages (formerly Comments) functionality on the Hiring Detail page, this text-message-style feature allows a candidate to add, edit, and delete questions or responses they want to send to the people who are hiring them. Candidates will also receive an email notification each time a message is sent to them by departments or OFA/MSS/PE. Note that candidates only have access to certain phases, and so only those phases in the Hiring Workflow will allow departments and OFA/MSS/PE to communicate with the candidate.