NursingCAS Dispatch

Stay Connected & Informed

January 2021

The NursingCAS Dispatch is a monthly newsletter intended to keep you up to date with current happenings at NursingCAS. The newsletter will feature:

NursingCAS Know-How, an in-depth examination of a NursingCAS feature.
NursingCAS by the Numbers, a metric to showcase application statistics and other relevant data.
User Updates to keep you in the loop, so you can keep your team and applicants in the loop.
Social Beat, which will feature nursing and admissions news from around the web.

NURSINGCAS KNOW-HOW

Register Now: Power (half) Hour: Using Manual Designations Webinar (Thu. Jan 14, 3pm EST)
Join this free webinar to learn about the use of Manual Designations in WebAdMIT. Manual Designations allow WebAdMIT users to internally move applicants from one designation to another. This feature is utilized by programs for two reasons: 1) if there is a need to move an applicant to a different designation because the student incorrectly applied to a program; 2) if a nursing school only allows students to apply to one program at their school per application period, and after reviewing the application, the program representatives want the applicant to be considered for another program or term at their school. This webinar will cover content on how to add Manual Designations, what applicant information will carry over from one designation to another, and how the Applicant Portal will be impacted by enabling this feature. Register now!

As always, the WebAdMIT Client Support Specialist Team is available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm EST to assist with questions about WebAdMIT features. The Team can be reached at 857-304-2020 or webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com. Training is also available via webinars, on-demand courses, and the Liaison Academy. Please view the WebAdMIT Help Center for further information.

USER UPDATES

This section provides monthly updates on new features and enhancements available within the Applicant Portal, Configuration Portal, and WebAdMIT, as well as information on upcoming training events and opportunities.

CAS API Enhancements
Please review the CAS API changes below, and if your school is exporting data into a campus system, work with your IT team to determine if updates need to be made.

Update to 6MB or Larger Files in AWS S3 Bucket
AWS is one of the platforms that allows users to retrieve CAS data. Previously, AWS did not allow on-demand API calls to retrieve files greater than 6 MB. With this enhancement, files equal to or greater than 6 MB are placed in an AWS S3 bucket, and users can access them for up to one hour through a direct link in the API response. Files less than 6 MB will continue to be returned directly through the CAS API.

Update to UTF-8 Character Set
The CAS API now supports the UTF-8 character set via a new request parameter: Content-Type: charset=UTF-8. UTF-8 character set is one of the ways to encode the UNICODE values. UNICODE is the standard for encoding written text used in electronic communication.

WebAdMIT Enhancements

Update to Date Format for Date Merge Fields in Email Templates
WebAdMIT allows users to create and save email templates for quick correspondence with applicants. The new date format in email is now MMMM d, yyyy (e.g., December 2, 2020). Previously, the date format was MMM d, yyyy (e.g., Dec 2, 2020).

Update to Designation Field Criteria in Lists
Lists allow users to group and manage applicants by common criteria. If users create a list that searches for applicants based on any field in the Designations field grouping (e.g., Designation, Application Status, etc.), users can now export applicant data that adheres to their list’s criteria. For example, if an applicant applied to both Program A and B, and a user creates a list searching for applicants in Program B. In this case, when the user exports the list, only the applicant’s Program B information will populate in the Designation field grouping fields (e.g., Designation, Application Status, etc.). Previously, the export extracted all applicant designation information, regardless of the Designation fields a user filtered by in the list. When a user selects a list from the Export drop-down in the Export Manager, a new option, Export will not/will honor Designation criteria from the List, now appears.

Update to Export/List/Report/PDF Manager Columns
A new Owner column is now available in the List Manager, Export Manager, Report Manager, and PDF Manager pages. It identifies who created and owns the applicable template. This column helps users know who to contact if the template needs any changes.

Update to Work Groups
Work Groups allow to manage permissions for a group of users instead of separately managing permissions for each individual. Existing Work Groups can now be copied. This new function allows to build and customize Work Groups more efficiently.

Update to Search Pages in WebAdMIT
Several WebAdMIT search pages were updated to not include any data until a search filter is applied. This enhancement increases the speed and efficiency of WebAdMIT. The search pages affected include: Applicants, Assignments, Interviews, Correspondence, and Admissions Users.

New Documentation

Custom Export Layout Files
Custom Export Field Layout (CEL) documents are Excel files, which list all the available fields in the Export Manager. This includes each field name, field type (numeric, Boolean, etc.), and associated lookup tables. Review the Field Type Descriptions to view example formats and additional notes.

Export Manager
Export Manager allows users to create and export data files containing selected applicant and data elements. As a result of many new enhancements to the Export Manager, this help center page has been restructured to better meet the needs of the users, from beginner to advanced.

Transferring Applicant Data into WebAdMIT
Applicant data moves between the Applicant Portal and WebAdMIT at certain points in the application process. Once an applicant submits their application, users can view their full application data in WebAdMIT. This document outlines the major actions that cause applicant data to automatically transfer into WebAdMIT.

Training Opportunities

Sign Up to Access WebAdMIT Webinars
Liaison Academy offers WebAdMIT training webinars. Each one-hour webinar focuses on a specific WebAdMIT feature and offers best practices and tips.

Webinar: Getting Started in WebAdMIT (Thu. Jan 14, 1pm EST)
Register now for this FREE session to learn more about commonly used WebAdMIT workflows, including the dashboard, applicant details page, admissions users, and work groups.

Webinar: Configuration Portal Training (Tue. Jan 19, 1pm EST)
During this FREE session, learn how to brand the home page of an application with an image and a color scheme, add instructional text to guide applicants, identify additional documents that applicants must submit, and more.

Webinar: Making WebAdMIT Work For You (Thu. Jan 21, 1pm EST)
Register now for this FREE session to learn more about commonly used WebAdMIT workflows. This webinar will cover making use of Local Statuses, benefiting from Custom Fields, creating a process to identify new applicants, and saving time using the List Manager and Clipboard.

Webinar: Building Your Review Process: What You’ll Need to Do Early in the Cycle (Tue. Jan 26, 1pm EST)
Join this FREE session to learn about the features of WebAdMIT, which help create a basic review process using Requirements, Custom Fields, Assignments, and Interviews.

Webinar: Exploring Emails in WebAdMIT (Thu. Jan 28, 1pm EST)
During this FREE webinar, learn how to use the email features available in WebAdMIT. The content will cover building email templates, creating email addresses, sending emails efficiently, tracking emails, and ensuring applicants received them.

Virtual Training: Reviewing & Scoring Applicants: Best Practices with Assignments, Interviews, and Scoring in WebAdMIT (Jan 26-Feb 4)
Learn how to make the best use of the Assignments and Interviews features in WebAdMIT. Join virtually over a 2-week period to learn how to rank applicants and pinpoint the most qualified candidates through a series of hands-on exercises.

Virtual Training: Developing a Comprehensive Reporting Strategy (Feb 9-18)
Register now for this virtual training to learn how to strategically capture useful applicant data using a Centralized Application Service (CAS) and how to utilize WebAdMIT’s Report Manager, Export Manager, and PDF Manager. Attendees also will learn how to best analyze, interpret, and present data.

BY THE NUMBERS

SOCIAL BEAT

In Search of Diversity
“Ninety-four percent of students pick location as one factor they are searching for, and 78 percent of students pick something related to the academics offered at the institution. Of the 90 choices for students using the tool, those are typically at or near the top. But some search terms are showing new strength. “Diversity,” for example, is sought by 49.6 percent of all students (and 46.5 percent of minority students).”

Dr. Fauci Says Nurses are the, “Heroes of the Pandemic,” and Responds To Nurse Questions
“You are all the heroes of this outbreak, I don’t think there’s anyone that can have any appreciation of what goes on in the trenches without realizing that the extraordinary effort, courage, devotion, commitment of the nursing profession as well as other healthcare providers is absolutely essential to our response.”

‘Losing A Generation’: Fall College Enrollment Plummets For 1st-Year Students
“For students who graduated from high school in the class of 2020, the number of graduates enrolling in college is down by 21.7% compared with last year, based on preliminary data. For graduates at high-poverty high schools there was a 32.6% decline in attending college, compared with a 16.4% decline for graduates of low-poverty schools.”

If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Wurth, AACN’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, at swurth@aacnnursing.org.