Chair’s Column October 2024: Update on the transition from WebCV to Elements

Dear Colleagues,

In the month since beginning my position as chair, many people have asked for an update on the transition from WebCV to Elements. With the help of Dr. David Tang-Wai and Joanna King, here are answers to your most frequently asked questions:

Why the switch from Elements to WebCV?

The DoM is currently the only department still using WebCV, which is expensive and can be difficult to use. Elements is an online CV tool which also offers the option of a public profile on DiscoverResearch at the University of Toronto. It provides faculty with both a CV module and a customizable online profile, allowing them to share their achievements with the public. Faculty can control what is publicly visible on their profiles by logging into Elements, the back-end environment that populates DiscoverResearch.

How do I obtain an Elements profile?

The majority of faculty already have an Elements profile. Details on how to find your Elements profile are here. You will need to log in using your UTORid and password. If you don’t remember your UTORid, you can email the appointments office at dom.academicappts@utoronto.ca.

How do I add my CV data to Elements?

• Demographic information (education, appointments) should be added manually via the EDIT MY PROFILE section on the homepage.
• Publications and grants are automatically uploaded to Elements from publicly available data such as PubMed. On Elements, you can “claim” these items to have them added to your profile. See details here.  
• Teaching and professional activities (presentations, awards, committee memberships, etc.) will be transferred from WebCV to Elements on or about October 31, 2024. The Teaching and Supervision section is not currently visible to DoM Faculty in Elements, but will be opened up once the data ingestion is complete.

Can I start to update my Elements profile now?

You can populate the EDIT MY PROFILE section (including adding things like education, appointments, and affiliations) and claim your publications under the “Scholarly and Creative Works” module. Please do not yet populate the “Professional Activities” module to avoid overwriting of data at the time of the batch upload in October. The “Teaching and Supervision” module is not currently visible in Elements. The Elements team will let us know when we can start to update each section.

When will the data transfer from WebCV to Elements occur?

There will be an additional data transfer from WebCV to Elements into the Professional Activities module. The cut date for uploading any new information into WebCV is October 31, 2024. The Elements transition team will notify us when the data is uploaded and visible in Elements.

I downloaded a CV from my current Elements profile and I don’t like the look of it.

Don’t worry. A custom CV is being developed for the DoM which will be very similar in appearance to that generated by WebCV. A volunteer group of faculty from the DoM has been involved in the development, testing, and refinement of the CV modules to ensure that they meet the needs of faculty, and they are optimistic about the final product.

Once the WebCV data transfer to Elements is complete, will I need to make any edits or corrections to my CV data?

Probably. The customized CV report is in the final stages of development and once released, you will need to review your Elements CV data and manually edit any erroneous entries. We will know more once we have seen the results of the transfer and upload.

I gave consent to provide my CV data to Elements a few months ago, but I don’t see any changes to my Elements profile. What is happening?

The CV you provided is being used by curators to do manual review and curation of your Elements CV. This is still in progress and will continue well into 2025.

When will my Elements CV be ready for use?

The CV and teaching reports should be ready by December 2024. The CPA report should be ready in winter 2025, and the annual activity report in spring 2025.

Can I still use WebCV in the interim?

Yes! But any information entered after October 31, 2024 will not be migrated to Elements and will need to be re-entered into Elements.

What about promotions candidates?

If you are going forward for promotion in the 2023-2025 cycle, continue to use WebCV. If you are going through promotions in the 2024-2026 cycle, your data migration to Elements will be prioritized.

What about CFAR candidates?

If you are going through CFAR in 2025, your data migration to Elements will be prioritized. However, you may continue to use WebCV until you have finalized your CFAR documents in February 2025.

When is the last date for using WebCV?

WebCV will be decommissioned in April 2025 to avoid paying the annual fee next year. Information will be archived.

Where can I find more information?

For information on privacy settings, please see this document.  If you have questions about your Elements profile or curation, please contact elements.med@utoronto.ca. For tips, tricks, and everything you need to know to get started on Elements, please refer to the Discover Research Community Site (you will need to login with your UTORid and password).

This migration from WebCV to Elements for our over 900 full-time faculty members is a complex undertaking that requires coordination among the department, MedIT, and the Elements vendor. The migration team is working hard, but with this type of project, we should be prepared for delays or unforeseen complications, and we will keep you updated if there are changes to the timelines or processes. Despite this, we anticipate that Elements will provide an improved CV for our faculty, and we look forward to seeing the final product.

Dr. Moira Kapral
Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair of Medicine