NursingCAS Dispatch

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July 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: 2021 Virtual Liaison User Conference
Register to attend the 2021 Virtual Liaison User Conference from July 15-16. Conference sessions will cover recruitment, enrollment, admissions, marketing, and technology topics. Sessions will include:
  • A Data-driven Approach to Recruitment and Student Success
  • Data Decision Making: Proven Strategies to Offset Enrollment Declines
  • Using WebAdMIT to Correspond with Applicants
  • Building a Better, More Data-driven Communication Strategy
  • A Candid Conversation about Recruitment and Enrollment Challenges — and Leveraging the Power of Community to Overcome Them
A preliminary agenda is available for viewing and will be updated with more events in the coming weeks. Register to attend today!


2021-2022 Application Launch is Coming August 12, Submit Your Pages Now!
AACN is preparing for the 2021-2022 NursingCAS launch on August 12. The deadline to submit program pages for review was June 30. All NursingCAS administrators should have received an email invitation to access their NEW personalized URL (PURL) with detailed configuration instructions. If you did not receive your PURL on May 25, please contact Dan Hyman (dhyman@liaisonedu.com). For any pages submitted after June 30, please notify Karen Jacobs (kjacobs@liaisonedu.com) and Joe Clark (jclark@liaisonedu.com) as the system does not automatically notify the team of school submissions for review. Allow two weeks for all future reviews/revisions/launches.

Watch Now: Configuration Overview Webinar for the 2021-22 Cycle
AACN provided two NursingCAS Configuration Overview Webinars in June. Every NursingCAS school should ensure their NursingCAS administrator (or all users!) have watched this recorded webinar and viewed the presentation slides before submitting NursingCAS pages for review. The webinar content includes an overview of configuration steps, tips for cycle rollover, and important changes. A critical update regarding the removal of four background questions from the application is discussed by AACN. Guidance is provided on the NursingCAS website. 
Configuring and submitting programs for review through the Configuration Portal is required every year for programs to launch. The Configuration Portal allows users to edit program pages, features, and requirements for the upcoming cycle. 

Background Questions Removed from the 2021-2022 NursingCAS Application
Critical information was emailed to all NursingCAS school administrators on May 26. As an official notice, NursingCAS will remove four applicant background questions from the core application beginning with the 2021-22 NursingCAS cycle (set to launch August 2021). It is the responsibility of each school to work with their internal legal counsel annually to determine if or how they should collect this information in the Custom Questions section of the NursingCAS application or post-admissions per individual state laws. Liaison International and AACN will not be responsible for any questions or content added by NursingCAS participating programs. Content contained within the Custom Questions is the responsibility of each institution. All schools are required to review the content in the original email or on the NursingCAS website.


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.

 BY THE NUMBERS

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NursingCAS Fee Waivers Available to Applicants
NursingCAS offers fee waivers to applicants applying each cycle. Schools are encouraged to promote fee waivers to all students in email and recruitment events. A fee waiver covers the initial application fee ($55/undergraduate-level and $75/graduate-level). There are two types of fee waivers applicants can qualify for, and they are awarded based on financial need or service. Applicants are encouraged to review the instructions and apply for a waiver as early as possible. If a student is approved for a fee waiver, they are required to submit their application within 30 days.

 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.

Configuration Portal Enhancements
Update to the Configuration Process: Create Programs in Prelaunch Environment Only
Users can only access the Add Program and Copy Program buttons in the Prelaunch Environment. This is a “staging” environment that allows users to configure programs for the new cycle without impacting the current one. Programs built in Prelaunch are reviewed, approved, and promoted to the production (i.e., live) environment application. Production is where users perform the applicant review processes. Review the Prelaunch Reference Guide for more information.

WebAdMIT Enhancements
Update to Applicant Reported SAT Fields (After March 2016)
The Applicant Reported SAT (After March 2016) fields are now available in the List Manager and Export Manager. List Manager allows users to group and manage applicants by common criteria. Export Manager enables users to create and export files containing selected data elements.

Update to the Sandbox Environment
The WebAdMIT Sandbox environment (sandbox.webadmit.org) will be refreshed on July 12, with current (cleansed) production data and program configurations. Any test exports, custom fields, etc., in the current Sandbox will be overwritten. The WebAdMIT Sandbox environment is a copy of the WebAdMIT production environment with cleansed applicant data (e.g., hidden surnames, email addresses, etc.). Users can use Sandbox to test new workflow configurations, email templates, etc. Sandbox is helpful for current schools that are live and accepting applications. Review the Sandbox Environment Reference Guide for more information.

Update to Location of Liaison’s Accessibility Statement
Users can now access Liaison’s Accessibility Statement in the footer of WebAdMIT. This page provides details about Liaison’s 508 compliance and links to WebAdMIT’s VPAT. The 508 compliance standards further help make electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a standardized form that documents a product’s conformance with key regulations of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

New Documentation
  • The guide was updated with additional Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) information. PTE is a service provided for an additional fee to applicants who prefer not to enter their coursework manually. The updates include more details on the applicant process, types of communications sent out, and guidance on how users can identify PTE applicants in WebAdMIT.
  • The guide and Reviewing the Applicant Details Page were updated to include more information on letters of recommendation. Newly added content contains definitions of WebAdMIT evaluation statuses and details on the recommender steps/process.
Some institutions participate in multiple national Centralized Application Services (CASs), which are CASs that are affiliated with an association, typically within the health professions (e.g., dental, pharmacy, physical therapist, etc.). Institutions can now access important CAS milestones to better manage application cycles and key dates.

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.

Register Now: 2021 Virtual Liaison User Conference
Register to attend the 2021 Liaison User Conference from July 15-16. The conference will unite the community of admissions, marketing, technology, and education professionals dedicated to enhancing the recruitment and enrollment of higher education students across the country and around the world. A preliminary agenda is available for viewing and will be updated with more events in the coming weeks.

Webinar: Configuration Portal Training (Mon. July 12, 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, and identify additional documents that applicants must submit.

Webinar: Working in WebAdMIT as a Reviewer or Interviewer (Tue. July 13, 1pm EST)
Join this free webinar to learn how to get started with features involved in the application review process. The webinar will cover three topics: 1) Navigating the Dashboard, 2) Reviewing the Applicant Details Page, and 3) Submitting Assignment or Interview results.

Webinar: Evaluating Your Applicant Pool with WebAdMIT’s GPAs (Thu. July 15, 1pm EST)
This free session will take an in-depth look at GPAs in WebAdMIT and help users determine which GPA options might be the best fit for each program. Join this webinar to learn where WebAdMIT’s GPAs come from, how users can use Local GPAs for a customized experience, and how users can work with Prerequisite GPAs, both applicant-selected and program-selected.

Webinar: Configuration Portal Training (Mon. July 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, and identify additional documents that applicants must submit.

Webinar: Analyzing Your Applicant Data in WebAdMIT (Tue. July 20, 1pm EST)
Register now for this free session to learn about Export Manager, available customizations through the Report Manager, how the List Manager can improve Reports and Exports, and other WebAdMIT’s data integration tools.

Webinar: Managing Your Review Process: How to Identify Your Best Applicants (Thu. July 22, 1pm EST)
Attend this free session to learn how to use the following WebAdMIT tools during the applicant review process: Scoring, Point Tables, Custom Fields, List Manager, and Report Manager.

Webinar: Configuration Portal Training (Mon. July 26, 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, and identify additional documents that applicants must submit.

Webinar: Introduction to a Centralized Application Service (Tue. July 27, 1pm EST)
This free session will explain what a Centralized Application Service (CAS) is, how it works, and how it relates to WebAdMIT (cloud-based admissions software).

Webinar: Getting Started in WebAdMIT (Thu. July 29, 1pm EST)
Register now for this free session to learn more about commonly used WebAdMIT workflows, including the dashboard, applicant details page, admissions users, work groups, and more.

 SOCIAL BEAT
Policies That Hurt Minority Applicants
Many colleges “continue to use admissions policies that disproportionately and gratuitously benefit students from white and affluent families,” according to a new report on admissions from the Institute for Higher Education Policy, financed by the Joyce Foundation.

What Other States Can Learn From Michigan About Serving Adult Students
After the Coronavirus outbreak last year, the state of Michigan introduced a free college program for frontline workers called Futures for Frontliners, anticipating approximately 15,000 applicants. Instead, 120,000 people applied. “It was kind of a proof point, if you will, that demand is high in our state for this opportunity,” said Kerry Ebersole, director of Michigan’s Sixty by 30 initiative. Yet free college programs for adult students remain rare.

Percent Change in Enrollment from Previous Year by Institutional Sector: 2017 to 2021
Higher education enrollment fell to new lows this spring, showing the persistent impact of COVID-19 related disruptions. Overall spring enrollment fell to 16.9 million from 17.5 million, marking a one-year decline of 3.5 percent or 603,000 students, seven times worse than the decline a year earlier. Undergraduate students accounted for all of the decline, with a 4.9 percent drop or 727,000 students. In contrast, graduate enrollment jumped by 4.6 percent, adding more than 124,000 students.

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