The Consortium Program User Guide

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This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about The Consortium Applicant Portal, Configuration Portal, and Outcomes. It also contains resources that may help you work more efficiently throughout your admissions process.

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in mid-August and closes in late January. You can view the specific cycle dates, including final processing dates (e.g., last date to request letters of recommendation, etc.), on The Consortium Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between late May and mid-July, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and The Consortium review submitted configurations in July.

Outcomes

You can view new applicants in mid-October.

Program Participation Requirements

The Consortium requires all programs to designate at least one contact at your institution, preferably two, who will receive all communication from The Consortium, including the configuration, application, and Outcomes launch notifications.

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of The Consortium application (i.e., Personal Information, Academic History, and Supporting Information) compose the core application. They contain questions that are commonly asked of applicants across all participating programs, such as an applicant's biographic information, standardized test scores, and experiences. The fourth section of the application is Program Materials, which is customized by you through the Configuration Portal.

You can access The Consortium application and The Consortium Applicant Help Center to review the applicant experience. You can also create a test application in the Applicant Portal; we recommend creating a new account and adding "test" to your name (e.g., TestJohn TestDoe).

For a general overview of the applicant experience, review the following documents:

Review the requirements for The Consortium Complete application status.
The Consortium Quick Start Guide and FAQs: a suggested timeline for completing and submitting the application, links to important pages including cycle dates and fees, and a FAQs section.

You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to The Consortium Customer Service.

Outcomes

Review the Outcomes Help Center for any questions related to working in Outcomes.

The Consortium Quick Start Guide: documentation, step-by-step instructions, and other information you need to get started with Outcomes.
Data Dictionary: a file that lists every field available for export and how it populates.
Navigating the Dashboard: the landing page where you arrive after logging in. Dashboards are created as Reports, after which administrators can assign them to other users to serve as their landing page.
Working with the Dashboard: the Dashboard in Outcomes is the landing page where you arrive after logging in.
Navigating the Applications Grid: the Applications section is the central hub for viewing, editing, and processing applications to any of your programs.
Navigating an Application: review your applications and learn how to edit the layout of this page.
Managing Roles: create Roles to customize a user's permissions and access to Outcomes (e.g., Reviewers, Interviewers, IT Team members, etc.). Review our guide to see how Roles can impact you.

The Release Notes feature new enhancements in Outcomes, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2023-2024

The table below contains enhancements for The Consortium for the cycle timeframes noted at the top of this page. Note that some sections have multiple enhancements. If an action is required by participating programs to use the enhancement, click the links under Enhancement Details to learn more. Additional enhancements may have been automatically released; review the Release Notes to learn more.

Portal	Section	Enhancement Details	Implementation	Availability
Applicant Portal	Dashboard	A new notification banner is available for the application dashboard. CASs can share best tips and tricks with applicants as they complete their applications.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Various	The instructional text was updated to better assist applicants.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information	The following new sections were added: Applicant Eligibility Military Experience	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Applicant Eligibility	The Applicant Eligibility questions were updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	A new Children and/or Dependents question was added. The Marital or Partnership Status question was moved to this section from the Other Information section. The Sex question was renamed to Legal Sex and updated to: Sex as it appears on legal documents such as a birth certificate or passport. Additionally, the Sexual Orientation question was updated to: Do you identify as LGBTQ+? Lastly, the Gender Identity and Preferred Pronouns answer options were updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Contact Information	The Contact Authorization question was updated to be two separate questions: Do you consent to receiving calls from The Consortium? Do you consent to receiving text messages from The Consortium? The Current Mailing Address question was removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Citizenship Information	The None answer option was removed from the US Citizenship Status question. Additionally, new instructional text was added for applicants who select the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) answer option.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Race & Ethnicity	The Race and Ethnicity questions are now optional. Additionally, Other was removed from the Race answer options.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Family Information	The Additional Parent Information question was changed to "Is this parent/guardian or other individual living?"	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	2024 was added to the Fellowship Consideration Entry Year question. The following questions were updated: Language Proficiency Are you a first-generation college student? Are you a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) graduate? The Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) organization was added as an answer option in the Additional Information question. Additionally, the Are you applying to more than one Consortium school? question was removed. Lastly, a new LinkedIn Profile question was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Consortium-Specific Questions	The question headings were updated. The following questions were moved from the Other Information section: Have you applied to the Consortium before? Were you offered a fellowship? Did you matriculate? Additionally, the Associations answer options were updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Statement of Honesty	The Statement of Honesty text was updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Undergraduate GPA	The GPA Scale question is now required.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – GMAT Focus Test	A new GMAT Focus Test section was added where applicants can self-report their GMAT Focus scores. Applicants can submit their official GMAT Focus test scores to the CAS, and you can review those test scores in Liaison Outcomes.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Employment	A new Are you still employed question was added. If applicants select No, they then enter the employment end date. The Future Industry and Current Industry answer options were updated. Additionally, the Starting annual bonus and Ending annual bonus questions are now optional. Lastly, the Sponsorship question was updated	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Experiences	Applicants can edit in progress experiences after they submit their application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Application Requirements Checklist	The following new questions were added: Consortium Membership Preparation Orientation Program Preparation The Official Test Score Requirements question was updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Various	United States now appears at the top of the answer option drop-downs for Country questions in multiple sections.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch

2022-2023

Portal	Section	Enhancement Details	Implementation	Availability
Applicant Portal	Add Program	The instructional text was updated to better assist applicants.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Colleges Attended	If an applicant selects Unlisted French Speaking Canadian or Other Foreign Institution, they must complete a new required field for the college’s country. If you created exports to pull a college's country data, you must edit and select the new college country fields. Review the Country Field for Manually Entered Foreign Institutions release note for more information.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Executive Assessment Test	All questions in the Executive Assessment Test section have an EA: prefix.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Fees	Applicants can apply to as many programs as they want. Additionally, the application fees were updated to the following: $150 for 1-2 programs $200 for 3 programs $240 for 4 programs $275 for 5 programs $300 for 6 programs $25 for each additional program	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Coupon Codes	Coupon codes are no longer available.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	The Sexual Orientation question was updated to Do you identify as LGBTQIA+?	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Contact Information	A Current Mailing Address question was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Race & Ethnicity	The questions in this section are now required.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	The following updates were made to the Fellowship Consideration questions: 2023 was added as an answer option for the Entry Year question. Schools that participate in The Consortium have an asterisk next to their name for this question: *Please indicate other graduate business schools to which you are applying, including all Consortium schools (marked with ). The Application deadline for this application question was removed. The instructional text was removed. The following updates were made to the Consortium-specific questions: If an applicant selects Yes to the HBCU graduate, Graduate of a hispanic-serving institution, or Graduate of a tribal college or university questions, they can now select the institution they graduated from. Do you know someone who may be a great candidate for The Consortium? and related questions were removed. The following questions were removed from the Admissions Related questions: To how many Consortium schools will you apply? To which school(s) were you admitted?**	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Submit Application Page	Applicants are no longer required to rank their program preference order.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Core Application Essays	The Core Application Essays section was removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Documents	The following document types were added: Core Essay #1 Core Essay #2	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Application Requirements Checklist	A new Application Requirements Checklist section was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Various	The country drop-down answer values were updated throughout the application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Chatbot	Liaison has partnered with Ada to offer an AI chatbot. The chatbot, nicknamed Cassie, leverages an API with CXone Expert, which hosts the CAS-specific Applicant Help Centers. Applicants can access this chatbot once they are logged in to the application. The chatbot responds with information and links to the CAS-specific Applicant Help Center and, if needed, directs the applicant to live support with customer service.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Configuration Portal	Organization Details	You can only access the Add Program and Copy Program buttons in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now