Make Decisions on Submissions

The Reviews & Decisions page is where track chairs review submission progress and make acceptance decisions. Navigate to your track management page and click "Reviews & Decisions" under Review Management.

The page shows:

• Phase selector — Top-right of the header; switches the entire view between review phases (e.g., Phase 1: Submission, Phase 2: Camera Ready)
• Statistics cards — Total Submissions, In Review, Ready for Decision, and Decisions Made
• Filters and actions row — Submission-status and review-status filters on the left; "Phase Transitions", "Review Progress", "Notify Authors", and "Export" actions on the right
• Submission list — Each row shows title, authors, date, review progress, and a decision badge. Review progress badges read "No Reviews Yet", "Reviews In Progress", "Ready for Decision", or the decision name once one is recorded — matching the Review status filter options.

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Review & Decide on a Submission

1. On the Reviews & Decisions page, click "Reviews & Decision" on the submission row
2. This opens the combined reviews and decision page — reviews are on the left, and the decision form is in the right sidebar

3. Read through the reviewer scores, comments, and confidential notes on the left
4. In the Decision sidebar on the right, select a decision from the dropdown:

5. Optionally fill in two independent notes fields:
   • Notes for Authors — included in the decision notification email and visible to authors on their submission page
   • Notes for Chairs — marked with an amber INTERNAL · NOT SENT TO AUTHORS pill; visible only to chairs and editors (AE/SE), never sent to authors. Use for AE/SE coordination, override rationale, or any context you want recorded but kept off the author email
6. Optionally check "Notify authors of this decision" to email all authors immediately after saving
7. Click "Save Decision"

If you check the notify option, PaperFox sends the decision email to all authors on the paper after the decision is saved, and shows a confirmation toast with the number of authors notified.

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When Authors See Reviews

Recording a decision is private — authors don't see review content until you also release reviews for that phase. Recording, updating, or clearing a decision never flips this gate; release is a separate, explicit step.

See Release Reviews to Authors for the full release flow, including the banner-based release on the Decisions page, the toggle on decision-letter emails, multi-phase behavior, and un-release.

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Change a Decision

If a decision has already been made, the sidebar shows the current decision with a "Change Decision" dropdown pre-filled with the existing value.

1. Select a new decision from the Change Decision dropdown
2. Update either notes field if needed (author-facing or internal)
3. Click "Update Decision"

To clear a decision entirely, select "Clear Decision" from the dropdown.

The previous decision is preserved in the decision history, visible in the sidebar's collapsible History section. Each decision entry shows which phase it was made in (e.g., "Initial Submission", "Camera Ready").

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Review Summary

The right sidebar also includes a Review Summary card showing:

• Completed and Pending review counts
• Average Score and Average Confidence across all submitted reviews
• A View Submission link to see the full paper details

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Multi-Phase Reviews

For tracks with multiple phases, the reviews page shows additional context:

• Phase badge on each review — Each review card shows which phase it belongs to (e.g., "Initial Submission" or "Camera Ready"), so you can distinguish reviews from different rounds
• Phase context banner — When navigating from the Decisions page with a specific phase selected, a banner at the top shows which phase you're viewing in context of
• Back navigation preserves phase — Clicking "Back to Decisions" returns you to the same phase you came from

The Reviews & Decisions page always shows reviews from all phases — it does not filter them. The phase badges help you identify which round each review is from.

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Bulk Decisions

When most submissions should receive the same decision, use bulk decisions to apply a decision to multiple submissions at once, then adjust individually as needed.

The bulk action toolbar is always visible at the top of the submission list, with a Select all checkbox, a Bulk decision dropdown, and an Apply button.

Apply a Bulk Decision

1. Select submissions using the individual checkboxes, or click the Select all checkbox to select all submissions on the current page
2. Choose a decision from the Bulk decision dropdown — two notes textareas appear once a decision is selected:
   • Notes for Authors — applied to all selected submissions and included in their decision emails
   • Notes for Chairs — marked with the amber INTERNAL · NOT SENT TO AUTHORS pill; applied to all selected submissions but visible only to chairs and editors

3. Click "Apply"

If any selected submissions already have a decision, a confirmation dialog appears showing a summary of which decisions will be overwritten. Click "Apply to All" to proceed or "Cancel" to go back.

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Notify Authors of Decisions

After making decisions, click "Notify" on the Reviews & Decisions page to open the notification composer pre-configured for your track's authors. See Send Notifications for details.