Frequently Asked Questions 

Getting Started 

Learn how to get started on The Circle!

Logging In

Q: How do I log in?
Click the purple "Sign In" button in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

Q: What is my log in information?
 
Log in to The Circle using your email address and Sigma password. You may have created a password when you accepted your membership invitation. If you have not yet created a password, or have forgotten it, please use the "Forgot Password" link on the login screen. 

My Profile

Q: How do I update my contact information?
From your profile, click the “contact details” icon to edit your name, title, and contact information on your My Membership portal. https://membership.sigmanursing.org

Q: How do I control what information is shown in My Profile?
Under the “My Account,” tab on your profile, click the “Privacy Settings" link, which lets you control what information is visible to whom. Information can be shown to only your contacts, to members of The Circle, or no one. If you are a chapter leader, your information can also be public, in order for prospective members to contact you. After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

Q: My picture won’t upload. What’s wrong?
The dimensions of the image must be no larger than 600 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. The file size (kilobytes, megabytes, etc.) does not matter. You can check the dimensions in programs like Photoshop, Microsoft Paint and Microsoft Photo Editor. The image must also be saved in a .jpg, .gif or .bmp format.

Q: Do I have to enter start and end dates for my education?
No, just leave the date drop-down boxes set to the blank option.

*See Code of Conduct
prior to adding links to your profile. 

Discussion Forums

To be a part of group communications, you must join/subscribe to the community! You are automatically subscribed to your chapter website.

 

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a group?
Click “Groups” and then “All Groups” from the navigation bar on The Circle to see a list of available groups and communities you can join. Click the purple "Join" button for any of the groups that interest you, and select one of the delivery options (Real Time, Digest, No Email) to let us know how you'd like to subscribe to email. 

Real time: sends an email every time a new message is posted
Daily digest: sends one email to you each morning, consolidating all posts from the previous day
No Email: No emails will be sent but you may still participate via the discussion board 

Consolidated digest option: In addition to the subscription types listed above, members can also combine updates from all group subscriptions into one daily email, called a Consolidated Digest. Rather than receive one daily digest for each group you're a part of, you can receive one email that combines them all.

On your profile, select the "My Account" tab and select the "Group Notifications" link to change your discussion subscriptions. 

Q: How do I leave a group?
Click “Groups” and then “My Groups" and select the appropriate group. From the group homepage, click on the "Settings" button and select "Leave Community."

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?
From a received email or the online discussion board, you can click the “Reply” link to send your message to the entire forum.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
From the group, click "Post a Message" under the "Discussions" area. You may also click on "Participate" from the purple toolbar and select "Post a Message." You will have to select the group you wish to post to.

Q: I am conducting a research study and would like to ask Sigma members to participate. Is this allowed? 
If you are interested in posting links to surveys for research studies, please do so in the "Global Member Forum" on The Circle. (Click on "Groups" then "My Subscriptions" to subscribe to the group. It will then appear when you click on "Groups" and then "My Groups.")

Before posting, your research must be approved by your institution of higher education's Institutional Review Board (IRB). 

All survey postings should be limited to the following information:

* Brief 1-2 sentence description of survey with invitation to participate
* Link to survey
* Contact information

The full scope or proposal of the project should not be included in the posting.


Directory

Q: How do I find other Sigma members?
Click the “Member Directory” link found in the main navigation bar at the top of the site. The Directory's Advanced Search lets you search for other members based on a variety of parameters, including location, education, and job history.


Contact List

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?
There are several ways to add contacts to your list. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” link next to each person in your search results. Just click this link to send a contact request. If you click through and view someone’s profile, you can click the contact request link just to the right of their profile picture. You can also add contacts by selecting from the My Networks link, accessible from the My Profile link in the top navigation, or by viewing any of the members of the groups to which you belong, by selecting My Groups from the My Profile link. 

Q: What are "Networks"?
Networks are networking groups that are automatically created based on demographic information in your profile. They help you locate other members who live in your city or state, share your interests, have the same job title, and more. 


Libraries

Q: How do I access my community or chapter website resource library?
Click "Groups" and then “My Groups,” from the navigation bar on The Circle. Find the group you’d like to access, and click either the library tab (communities), or link to the library page (chapter website) in the site navigation.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?
Yes. When in the resource library area, select “Advanced Search” from the left navigation. This search will let you specify file type: PowerPoint, Excel, image, video, etc.

Q: How do I upload a document?
In the resource libraries area, click the blue “Create new library entry” button. First, choose a title for your document, include a description (if you’d like) and the kind of file you are uploading. Continue following the prompts to upload or paste your file. 

Q: What kind of documents can I upload?
The system supports several file types, including: PDFs, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, images, hyperlinks, webcast recordings, and video. You are, however, prohibited from uploading copyright-protected documents that you do not have the rights to post.

Q: I have several related documents. Do I have to post them individually?
No. You can post related documents together, and we encourage you to do so. In the "Standard File Upload" entry type, you can upload multiple files to one entry. 

Q: Can someone else edit or delete my file?
As the owner of the document, only you or an administrator can edit delete your document. If you’d like to delete it, use the menu options at the top of the library folders.

Q: Can I download documents?
Absolutely. That’s why they are being shared. However, please note all of these documents have been submitted by your peers and have not been reviewed by us. You must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the use of any content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of such content.

Sigma and Chapter Volunteer Opportunities

Watch a brief video to learn more about volunteering for Sigma!

 

Other questions?  

Please email us if you are having trouble regarding training, site design, content, user profile or other issues.  Please allow one business day response time.