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Liaison

The Consortium Program User Guide

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 August and closes in 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 May and 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 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:

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

2024-2025

There are no major enhancements for this cycle.  However, other enhancements may have been automatically released; review the Release Notes to learn more. 

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

 

 

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