Make Decisions on Submissions
How to accept, reject, or request revisions on paper submissions in your track
The Reviews & Decisions page is where track chairs review submission progress and make acceptance decisions. You can access it from your track management page under Review Management → Reviews & Decisions.
The page shows:
- Statistics cards — Total Submissions, In Review, Ready for Decision, and Decisions Made
- Filters — Filter by status (All, Pending, Submitted, Under Review, Decision Made) and sort order
- Phase selector — Switch between conference phases if your track has multiple phases
- Submission list — Each submission shows its title, review progress, authors, and current decision status
Make a Decision
- On the Reviews & Decisions page, find the submission you want to decide on
- Click "Make Decision" on the submission row
- Select a decision from the dropdown:
| Decision | Effect |
|---|---|
| Accept | Paper accepted, submission status changes to Accepted |
| Conditional Accept | Accepted with minor requirements, status changes to Accepted |
| Major Revision | Substantial revisions needed, status changes to In Revision |
| Minor Revision | Minor revisions needed, status changes to In Revision |
| Reject | Paper rejected, submission status changes to Rejected |
| Desk Reject | Rejected without full review, status changes to Rejected |
- Optionally add Decision Notes to explain the reasoning
- Click "Submit Decision"
Who can make decisions?
Conference chairs, track chairs, and senior editors can all make decisions on submissions within their track.
Change a Decision
If a decision has already been made, the button changes to "Change Decision".
- Click "Change Decision" on the submission
- The dialog shows the Current Decision and pre-fills the previous notes
- Select a new decision from the New Decision dropdown
- Update the notes if needed
- Click "Update Decision"
The previous decision is preserved in the submission's decision history for audit purposes.
Review Submissions Before Deciding
Before making a decision, you can review the submission and its reviews:
- "View Paper Detail" — Opens the full submission page with all submission data and uploaded files
- "View Reviews" — Opens the reviews page showing all completed reviewer feedback and scores
Tip
Check the review completion status (e.g., "2/3 Reviews") and average score before making a decision. The Ready for Decision counter in the statistics cards shows how many submissions have all reviews completed.
Notify Authors of Decisions
After making decisions, you can notify authors using the "Send Notifications" button at the top of the page. This opens the notification composer pre-configured for your track's authors. See Send Notifications for details.