About

NursingCAS is the Centralized Application Service for accredited nursing programs. NursingCAS is a cloud-based system that provides colleges with a robust admissions platform to efficiently manage data-driven application reviews. This service is administered by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and information technology partner, Liaison International.

Eligibility

Programs that are eligible to participate are those that grant RN diplomas, 2^nd degree, associate, certificate/non-degree, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees in nursing. Programs must have or must be seeking accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), the Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA), the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), or the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME). Programs must notify the NursingCAS team of all accreditation status changes within 1 week via nursingcas@aacnnursing.org.  Additionally, NursingCAS programs which lose accreditation are responsible for notifying applicants immediately of the status change and refunding NursingCAS fees to applicants. NursingCAS will not be responsible for refunding fees to these applicants.  If a program has new applicant status or is currently seeking accreditation from CCNE, ACEN, CNEA, COA, or ACME then AACN will decide whether or not and at what point that program will be eligible to participate in NursingCAS. Participation is open to non-AACN member schools.

Cost

There is no cost to schools to participate in NursingCAS and process applications through the service. Applicants are charged a nominal fee to submit an application via NursingCAS.

Technical, Security, and Compliance Information

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and Liaison International are committed to maintaining a high level of technical, security, and compliance standards for NursingCAS as outlined on the Technical, Security, and Compliance Overview page. Additional information, including the Data Breach Incident Response Plan, Information Security Policy, and Higher Education Vendor Assessment Tool (HECVAT), can be found in the Technical Documentation Repository. These terms are standardized via the contract for NursingCAS held between AACN and Liaison International and cannot be modified on a case-by-case basis for any institution.

Participation Agreement

Fees will not be assessed for schools to participate in NursingCAS. However, applicants will pay a nominal fee to use the service. If a school chooses to withdraw from NursingCAS they must follow the procedures outlined below. The NursingCAS staff reserves the right to deactivate your listing on the application, restrict your access to the system, and withdraw your school from participation should we find that you are in violation of the Usage Policy or the NursingCAS Exclusivity Requirement.

On behalf of my school, I hereby agree to participate in NursingCAS and agree to abide by the NursingCAS policies and procedures. Our school understands that participation requires the following:

• NursingCAS will allow schools to customize their listing and requirements on a per program basis. The customizable options include program name, open date, deadline date, term and year of entry, delivery, transcript requirements, transcript entry requirements, document uploads, custom questions, background image, reference requirements, prerequisite coursework requirements, and descriptive text/instructions. The bolded items are required to be configured by the school.
• My school is responsible for the content collected within custom questions on the NursingCAS application. It is the responsibility of my school to work with my internal legal counsel annually to determine if/how my program(s) should collect applicant background information (or other sensitive information) per individual state laws. Liaison International and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing will not be responsible for ensuring the legality of any questions or content added by my program(s). Content within custom questions is the responsibility of my institution. Additional information should be reviewed at 2021-2022: Critical Update to Background Questions.
• Once my school configures requirements for a program on NursingCAS and it opens on the application, those configurations (with the exception of homepage text, banner image, open date, and deadline date) cannot be edited after it is approved and published.
• Once my school opens up a program to applicants on NursingCAS, my school cannot withdraw from NursingCAS until that program(s) deadline date has been reached.
• Schools can add nursing programs and extend deadlines at will, as long as they fall within the NursingCAS cycle dates.
• Once my school publishes a program live on NursingCAS, any applicant who applies will receive an admissions decision from the school.
• To access applications submitted via NursingCAS to my school’s programs, users from my school must log into WebAdMIT, the web-based admissions software for NursingCAS. Schools are responsible for maintaining user access, setting up user rights on WebAdMIT, and monitoring applicant activity.
• The NursingCAS/WebAdMIT staff will provide ongoing training and support to school users as requested via phone, email, and web. The NursingCAS customer service team will provide ongoing support to applicants via phone, email, and chat.
• Applicants must pay the NursingCAS fee in order to submit their application and materials through NursingCAS to be considered by programs they have selected.
• If an applicant initiates an application via NursingCAS, your school is not allowed to direct applicant(s) to apply to your nursing program through an outside application method or tool to use in lieu of NursingCAS.
• My school will submit final decision codes within NursingCAS as requested by AACN for national data trending.
• My school will complete required forms and surveys during the application cycle.
• My school is responsible for alerting NursingCAS staff of program and school closures that impact NursingCAS programs before the closure’s effective date. Schools will need to notify AACN of closures at ncas@aacnnursing.org. Schools will be responsible for closing affected programs in WebAdMIT (contact webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com for assistance), and communicating with applicants to discuss next steps and alternatives. NursingCAS, Liaison International, and AACN are not responsible for refunding applicant fees in this scenario.

Our school understands that participation requires adhering to the following:

Usage Policy

Full access to “In Progress” applicant data is viewable to users in WebAdMIT. It is permissible to export the NursingCAS applicant data into your internal university systems for the purpose of recruitment efforts and admissions workflow processes ONLY. NursingCAS prohibits any college or university from making an offer to an applicant before they have submitted their application through NursingCAS. Applicants generated to your program via NursingCAS are required to submit their application via NursingCAS should they wish to be considered for admission. The NursingCAS staff reserves the right to deactivate your listing on the application, restrict your access to the system, and withdraw your school from participation should we find that you are in violation of this usage agreement.

Withdrawal Policy

Schools reserve the right to withdraw participation from NursingCAS for any or all program(s) posted on NursingCAS. Should a school decide to voluntarily withdraw from NursingCAS, the primary contact for your school must sign and date a NursingCAS Voluntary Withdrawal Form and complete an exit survey. NursingCAS, Liaison International, and AACN are not responsible for refunding applicant fees. Schools should refund applicants their applicant fees in this scenario. Schools will need to notify AACN’s Director of Application Services, Taylor Jaczko, at tjaczko@aacnnursing.org of your decision. Schools cannot officially withdraw from NursingCAS until their program’s application cycle deadline has passed. Once the school’s application deadline has been reached schools can then deactivate their program listing should they choose to withdraw and will continue to have access to any submitted applications via WebAdMIT, the admissions software for NursingCAS.

Background Questions Policy

I acknowledge that my program is responsible for the content collected within custom questions on the NursingCAS application. I understand it is the responsibility of each school to work with their internal legal counsel annually to determine if/how they should collect applicant background information (or other sensitive information) per individual state laws. I further understand that Liaison International and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing will not be responsible for ensuring the legality of any questions or content added by NursingCAS participating programs. Content within custom questions is the responsibility of each institution. Additional information is available at 2021-2022: Critical Update to Background Questions.

NursingCAS Exclusivity Requirement

AACN’s NursingCAS Exclusivity Requirement is in effect starting with the 2023-2024 cycle, which launched on August 10, 2023. This policy allows AACN to continue to deliver the robust services and features offered to participating schools through this no-cost platform. As defined, the new exclusivity requirement stipulates that for all programs included in NursingCAS, all initial applications to those programs must be submitted through NursingCAS. Schools may not offer the option to submit an institutional application for the same program-seeking applicants through NursingCAS. However, schools may choose to ask students to submit a second, supplemental application in addition to the NursingCAS application. Additional information is available at NursingCAS Exclusivity Requirement.