Application Coupons Reference Guide

Overview

Coupons are application fee discounts that you can use to incentivize applicants to apply. If you choose to use this program, you purchase coupons from Liaison and provide them to your applicants. You can provide multiple coupons to each applicant if desired. Additionally, if your CAS offers fee waivers, applicants can apply both fee waivers and coupons to their application fees.

Applicants redeem coupons via coupon codes; each code can only be used once. Additionally, applicants must request a coupon code before they submit their application. Coupon codes cannot be redeemed after an application has been submitted. If the applicant misses your program deadline because they are waiting for your coupon, they must request a deadline extension from you; contact a member of your account team for assistance.

Liaison offers several types of application coupons, depending on your CAS. Some coupons cover a set fee while with others, you can determine the fee amount covered. Review the list below to learn which coupon type your CAS uses.

We encourage you to visit your CAS's Program User Guide for a link to CAS-specific coupon code FAQs and Coupon Code Payment Gateways (if applicable).

Coupon Types and Definitions

	CAS-managed Coupons	Program-managed Coupons
Definition	This coupon type offsets the cost of the application and can cover the application fee for the initial program or additional programs.	This coupon type offsets the cost of the application and can cover the application processing fee, your program fee, or both fees.
Who decides the coupon value?	Liaison and the association client predetermine the coupon values; contact a member of your account team to learn the coupon value.	You decide the coupon value and it can cover the application processing fee, your program fee, or both fees. For example, if the application processing fee is $50 and your program fee is $25, the coupon can be $50 (equal to the application processing fee), $25 (equal to your program fee), or $75 (equal to the application processing fee plus your program fee).
When do coupons expire?	All coupons expire by the application close date.	You specify the expiration date (it must be on or before the application close date).
Qualifying CASs	AACOMAS AACPMAS ADEA AADSAS ADEA PASS AHCAS ATCAS BioMedCAS CASPA CSDCAS HAMPCAS NAFCAS NursingCAS OptomCAS Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) OTCAS PharmCAS PharmDirect PharmGrad PostbacCAS PSYCAS PTCAS RF-ATCAS SocialWorkCAS SOPHAS SOPHAS Express Stillman College VMCAS	Boston University (all CASs) BusinessCAS Cal State Apply The Common App for transfer EngineeringCAS GradCAS Indiana University Graduate CAS Montana University System RFUCAS SHP CAS (CCBC) Texas A&M University University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Graduate Division University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges University of Hawaiʻi System University of North Texas Graduate CAS University of San Diego University of Southern California UNMC UTSA Graduate School

How to Request Coupon Codes

To request a batch of coupons, navigate to your CAS's Coupon Code Gateway site (if available) or contact a member of your account team and provide the following required information:

Your contact information.
The number of coupons you are requesting (e.g., 20).
For CASs using Program-managed Coupons:
- The coupon value (e.g., $75). Additionally, specify if the amount covers all or part of the following:
  - The application processing fee only.
  - Your program fee only.
  - The combined program and processing fees.
- The coupon expiration date (e.g., September 1, 2026).
Your payment information.

Once a member of your account team receives this information, they'll generate a Coupon Code Report and send it to your institution's main contact within two business days. The report lists each coupon code on a separate row.

Be aware that you won't receive a refund for any unused coupons and they can't be used in a future cycle.

How Applicants Redeem Coupons

General Information

If you choose to offer coupons, you must distribute them to your applicants. When you offer an applicant a coupon code, share the following information with them:

Enter the coupon code(s) on the payment page.
Use the coupon code before the expiration date.
Do not share the coupon code with others, as it can only be redeemed once.
Apply the coupon code to the school that offered it.

Process

Applicants apply the coupon code(s) when they are ready to submit their application. From the Submit Application tab, they select one or all of the programs they are ready to submit to, and then they enter the coupon code(s) on the payment page.

Note that CASs determine if the coupons can be used for any program within the CAS, or only for programs within the organization who requested the code; contact a member of your account team to learn your CAS's coupon behavior. Note the following for this behavior:

	Coupons that can be used for any program in a CAS	Coupons that can be used at any program within a specific organization
How applicants can use the coupon	The coupon reduces the applicant's total transaction amount without taking into consideration the schools or programs to which the applicant is applying.	The coupon reduces the applicant's total transaction amount up to the total amount due for the specified school. Applicants cannot apply the coupon to programs associated with a different school.
If the coupon amount equals the total transaction amount...	The applicant doesn't need to enter additional payment information.	The applicant doesn't need to enter additional payment information. The applicant is responsible for any fees associated with other schools.
If the coupon amount is less than the total transaction amount...	The applicant must enter additional payment information for the remaining balance.	The applicant must enter additional payment information for the remaining school balance. The applicant is also responsible for any fees associated with other schools.
If the coupon amount exceeds the total transaction amount...	The applicant doesn't need to enter additional payment information. However, they'll forfeit the remaining coupon balance (i.e., no credits will be issued and no remaining balances will be carried forward).	The applicant doesn't need to enter additional payment information unless there are fees associated with other schools. However, they'll forfeit the remaining coupon balance (i.e., no credits will be issued and no remaining balances will be carried forward or applied to fees for other schools).

Confirmation

After entering the coupon code(s) and payment information and submitting the application, the applicant receives a confirmation notice.

How to Monitor Coupon Codes

Liaison tracks coupon codes and their use. We offer a Coupon Code Report that includes all coupon code batches generated within a specific date range. For example, if coupon code batches were generated for your organization on September 1, 5, 15, and 20, and you request a report for September 1 through September 30, that report will include all the codes that were generated on September 1, 5, 15, and 20.

To request a Coupon Code Report, contact the Client Support Specialist team at outcomessupport@liaisonedu.com and provide them with the start and end dates for the report. Once they receive this information, they'll generate the report and send it to your institution's main contact. The report includes information on who redeemed each code, when they redeemed it, and where they redeemed it (i.e., program/organization).