NursingCAS Dispatch
Welcome to the NursingCAS Dispatch – a monthly newsletter intended to keep you up to date with current happenings at NursingCAS. The newsletter will feature:
- User Updates to keep you in the loop, so you can keep your team and applicants in the loop.
- NursingCAS by the Numbers, a metric to showcase application statistics and other relevant data.
- NursingCAS Know-How, an in-depth examination of a NursingCAS feature.
- Social Beat, which will feature nursing and admissions news from around the web.
User Updates
Welcome New Schools
The NursingCAS team would like to extend a warm welcome to these newly participating schools:
- Binghamton University
- Clarke University
- University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
- West Coast University
Extended Transcript and Reference Processing Results
In order to help ease the transition to the 2017 – 2018 application cycle, transcript and reference processing was extended for the 2016 – 2017 cycle through October 1st. We are pleased to announce that an additional 315 applications were processed due to this change.
Document Upload File Size Increase
Applicants can now upload documents with a file size of up to 15MB each. Previously, applicant documents were restricted to a file size of 5MB or less. Instructions within the application have been updated with the new file size allotment.
Program Plans and Text Authorization Added to WebAdMIT
The Program Plans and Text Authorization fields are now available in WebAdMIT. The Program Plans question provides visibility into an applicant’s intentions, helps explain why some applicants don’t apply, and identifies candidates to target for Reminder Email/SMS campaigns. The Text Authorization question allows an applicant to opt into text messaging for communications from NursingCAS and programs; you may use this information to send text messages outside of the Applicant Portal.
The Program Plans field appears in the Applicant Header and the Text Authorization field appears in the Contact Information panel in WebAdMIT. Both these fields are also available in the List Manager and Export Manager.
Program Directory to be Updated More Frequently
The NursingCAS Participating Program Directory is consistently one of the most viewed pages on www.nursingcas.org and is a valuable resource for potential applicants. We typically update the directory monthly but we have recognized a need to make this update more frequent. We thank you for your support as we continue to increase the frequency of program directory updates. Please note there is a disclaimer to indicate the date the directory was last updated and that applicants should log into NursingCAS for the most recent information.
New Applicant Flyer Available
We created a new applicant focused flyer to assist with your recruitment efforts. The flyer can be viewed and printed here. Feel free to distribute copies at your upcoming admissions events. Remember to add your upcoming events to the NursingCAS calendar.
The new NursingCAS Applicant Help Center is another useful resource to direct applicants to for help. They can always contact the NursingCAS customer service team with questions as well.
By the Numbers
View instructions on how to run reports.
NursingCAS Know-How
One of the top reasons schools decide to join NursingCAS is to be more efficient. Services offered by NursingCAS allow you to direct your staff hours to more productive pursuits such as nurturing the applicant to student pipeline.
One such service is GRE integration. NursingCAS has a partnership with ETS to allow applicants to submit their GRE scores directly to their chosen programs in NursingCAS. Before this partnership, schools who utilize the GRE for their admissions process had to manually enter official scores into WebAdMIT. Now, with the integration, ETS will automatically send applicant GRE scores to WebAdMIT where you can view and download them when convenient. And programs can incorporate the GRE data into scoring rubrics and the review process.
Utilizing this feature is easy, simply fill out the GRE Score Reporting Order Form and return to ETS. You will then receive your Designated Institution (DI) code and the NursingCAS team will update this information on the Website instructions. There is no cost to schools to add the GRE scores and the code for your school/NursingCAS will be different than your normal GRE code. Once you receive the new code from ETS you can communicate that information to applicants via your Website, materials, and program homepage(s).
Social Beat
2017 Survey of College and University Admissions Directors
According to the report conducted by Inside Higher Ed and Gallup, only 34% of colleges met new student enrollment targets this year, which represents a drop from 37% a year ago and 42% in 2015. Those surveyed point to fewer applications, increased competition, and prospective student concerns about amassing debt as reasons for the drop. Check out other top findings and observations from the 453 admission directors surveyed by downloading the full report.
Like, Love, Delete: Social Media’s Influence on College Choice
Is your school leveraging social media to recruit students or influence admissions decisions? The Fall 2017 issue of The Journal of College Admission, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)’s publication, features this article which highlights trends on how students use social media to help inform their choices.
Health Professions Week is November 6 – 10 »
Health professions institutions can get involved in Health Professions Week (HPW) by promoting the event, hosting an community event, and/or offering your expertise. The 2017 events will include a virtual fair, online treasure hunt, as well as on-campus and community outreach events.