RFUCAS Program Materials

Overview

The Program Materials section includes additional information and requirements for the programs you selected in the Add Programs section. Each program's requirements may vary, so it's important you review this section in detail.

Your selected programs appear on the left side of this page; click each program's name to begin your review. Note that depending on your program's requirements, you'll see one or more of the tabs outlined below.

Home

Documents

The Documents tab is only available for certain programs. If applicable, you can upload documents that will only be visible to that particular program. Documents that do not have a red asterisk are optional and do not need to be completed for you to submit your application.

Contact the program directly if you have any questions about their specific requirements.

If your program provides a PDF form to fill out and upload in this section, you must save and upload it as an image. Depending on your computer's operating system, there may be multiple ways to do this; a Google search can point you in the right direction.

Prerequisites

The Prerequisites tab is only available for certain programs. In it, you can assign courses you took (or plan to take) to fulfill the program's required prerequisites. You must complete Transcript Entry and Transcript Review in order to complete this section.

Note that assigning these courses does not necessarily mean you meet the program's prerequisite requirements; the program wants you to self-identify these courses for their review. Contact each program directly if you have questions about these prerequisites.

Assign a Prerequisite

Click Assign Course.
Click the plus sign next to the course(s) that you believe fulfill the prerequisite. You can match multiple courses to one prerequisite, if applicable.
Click Save and Exit.

Questions

The Questions tab is only available for certain programs. Here, you can answer questions specific to each program. Questions may be multiple choice or open-ended text boxes. Some programs require an additional essay. Contact each program directly if you have questions.

Select your answers for each question and then click Save My Responses. If copying a response into a text box, check for possible formatting changes. We suggest using simple formatting, as tabs, italics, multiple spaces, etc., will not be saved. To delineate paragraphs, type a double return between each paragraph.

Letters of Reference

The Letters of Reference tab is only available for certain programs that require you to submit letters of reference.

Before You Begin

Letters of Reference (sometimes called Letters of Evaluation or Letters of Recommendation) are submitted by the references themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the reference. We are not responsible for verifying references' identities. If a discrepancy is found, we reserve the right to contact the appropriate individuals to investigate and to share the discrepancy with all programs.

Before getting started, consider the following:

All letters of reference must be submitted electronically by references using Letters by Liaison, our Recommender Portal.
Research each program's requirements. You should determine whether your programs have specific requirements regarding reference roles or relationships before listing references on your application. Many programs have strict guidelines and completed letters of references cannot be removed or replaced.
Prepare your references. Once you choose your references, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the letters of reference electronically. We recommend getting their preferred email address and asking that they monitor that inbox for your letters of reference request (which will come from rfucas_info@liaisoncas.com), including any junk or spam folders.

Submit A Request

In the Letters of Reference section, click Create Letters of Reference Request.
Enter the reference's full name and email address.
Select the date by which you would like this letter of reference completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
Enter a brief message or note for the reference.
Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the letters of reference. See Waiver below.
Click the checkboxes to indicate your permission for us (and programs) to contact your references.
Click Save This Letters of Reference Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the reference.
Confirm with your references that they received the email notification.
Use the Check Status tab to monitor the status of your letters of references. Completed letters of references are marked as "Complete" and have a Complete Date listed. Follow up with your references if their letters of reference are still marked as "Requested" or "Accepted." It is your responsibility to ensure that letters of reference requests are received and completed on time. We will not notify applicants about missing letters of reference.

Resend the Letters of Reference Request

If you need to resend a request:

In the Letters of Reference section, locate the request you wish to resend.
Click the pencil icon to edit the request.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Resend this Letters of Reference Request.

Change the Reference's Email Address

If you entered an incorrect email address for any references (or if any reference asks that you send the request to a different email address), you must delete these requests and then re-add them with the correct email.

Waiver

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) gives you the right to access letters of reference unless you choose to waive your right of inspection and review. Prior to requesting any letters of reference, you are required to indicate whether you wish to waive your rights. RFUCAS will release your decision to waive or not waive access to your references and designated programs. Your waiver decision serves the same purpose as a legal signature and is binding.

Selecting Yes indicates to programs that your reference completed their letters of reference with the understanding that you would not be able to view it. This means you will not be able to see the content of the letters of reference. Programs may view this type of letters of reference as a more accurate representation of an applicant's qualifications.

Selecting No indicates to programs that your reference completed their letters of reference with the understanding that you may choose to view it in the future. Selecting this option does not allow you to view your letters of reference via the application. If you do not waive your right to view the letters of reference, you may ask your reference for a copy of the letters of reference. Programs may view this type of letters of reference as a less accurate representation of an applicant's qualifications.

Once you make a selection, you can't change it, so consider the choices carefully.

Requesting Letters of Reference from Interfolio

Click here for detailed instructions on requesting letters of reference from Interfolio. Note that when you request Interfolio to submit letters on your behalf, you are initially requesting confidential letters from your account that you cannot view. Each letter is assigned a unique email address that you must enter in the RFUCAS application.

You can access the email address information here. Click the letter's title to view the email address (e.g., send.Sample.87E56D6B04@interfolio.com), then enter the address into the application.