DICAS Program User Guide

This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the DICAS Applicant Portal, Configuration Portal, and WebAdMIT. It also contains resources that may help you work more efficiently throughout your admissions process. If you have additional questions or need further assistance, please contact a member of your account team.

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

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

Configuration Portal

Between mid-March and early July, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and ACEND review submitted configurations in July.

WebAdMIT

You can view new applicants and initiate transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in early August.

Program Participation Requirements

ACEND requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from ACEND and DICAS, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the DICAS 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 (discussed in the next section).

You can access the DICAS application and DICAS 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:

Applicant Processing Reference Guide: learn how applicants move through the application and Liaison processes applicant materials, such as transcripts and official test scores.
Application Statuses Reference Guide: review what each application status means and how you can interact with applicants at different stages.
- Review the requirements for the DICAS Complete application status.
DICAS 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 DICAS Customer Service.

Configuration Portal

Once you've configured your program, you'll need to have it approved by the account team and ACEND before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, your association will approve it.

WebAdMIT

Review the WebAdMIT Help Center for any questions related to working in WebAdMIT. The Reference Guides and WebAdMIT Training and Support sections are additional resources as you configure WebAdMIT for your needs. Documents commonly requested include:

Application Coupons Reference Guide: learn how to request coupons to offset application fees and disperse them to applicants. To purchase coupons, use the Coupon Code Payment Gateway.
Application Coupon Codes FAQs: view answers to frequently asked questions about coupon codes.
Data Dictionaries and Master Code Lists: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager and Report Manager, including associated lookup tables.
Integration Help Center and WebAdMIT API: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
Transfer Settings Guide: a review of how programs and templates built in WebAdMIT are carried forward each cycle.

The Release Notes feature new enhancements in the Applicant Portal, Applicant Gateway, Configuration Portal, Liaison Letters, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2026-2027

The table below contains enhancements for DICAS 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
CAS Applicant Portal	User Interface	The application is updated to a new, mobile-first, and modern applicant portal that we call CAS 3+. Visit the CAS 3+ Upgrade page to learn more about its key benefits and a preview of the upgraded application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
CAS Applicant Portal	Personal Information	The Race & Ethnicity section was removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
CAS Applicant Portal	Applicant-reported and Official Tests	IELTS offers the One Skill Retake, which allows test takers who have recently completed a full IELTS test to retake one of the four skills. Review the release notes for more information about changes to the CAS Applicant Portal and Liaison Outcomes/WebAdMIT, as well as best practices in managing these changes.	Action required by all participating programs.	Available at cycle launch
CAS Configuration Portal	Branding	Pixel tracking can be enabled on the Add Programs and Program Materials sections to gain more insight into your program or organization's applicants. You can insert your tracking ID into the CAS Configuration Portal to establish standard tracking pixels from the major ad providers, including Google, Meta, and LinkedIn.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Liaison Letters	Recommendation Form	A new Are you a Registered Dietician/Registered Dietician Nutritionist question was added to the Relationship section.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Accounts	Users who haven't logged in to WebAdMIT in the past 18 months have had their accounts deactivated.	Action required by all participating programs.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page	The CAS Custom Questions panel has subpanels by question block, so you can more easily find applicant data and restrict your users' access to it via Work Groups.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Account	An organization can now require MFA for all its users.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Export Manager	To help with data exports and integrations, a new Placeholder field is available in the Export Manager.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
WebAdMIT	Report Manager	A new Multi-Row In Progress Report is available in the Report Manager, under the Applicant report type.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Various	Several features now include a Search field that helps you quickly locate fields used to build your templates.	Action required by all participating programs.	Available now

2025-2026

Portal	Section	Enhancement Details	Implementation	Availability
CAS Applicant Portal	Extended Profile	The DPD Standing instructional text is now configured to be internal only, meaning that that question and answers will not be sent to other portals such as the CAS API and WebAdMIT.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
CAS Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	The Gender Identity and Pronouns questions were removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
CAS Applicant Portal	Academic History – Standardized Tests	Applicants can now self-report their Duolingo test scores and IELTS test scores. You can view their scores under the Standardized Tests panel on the Applicant Details page.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
CAS Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Documents	Applicants can use a new document option (DPD Course List Form (obtain from DPD Director - Corrected)) to re-submit their DPD Course List if an incorrect document was uploaded. Additionally, applicants can upload updated unofficial transcripts.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Liaison Letters	Recommendation Forms	Recommenders can include comments on their ratings for Likert scales and questions. You can view their comments within WebAdMIT and the full application PDF. A redundant If Other, or if more than one are applicable, please indicate relationship question was removed from the Relationship question.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Export Manager	The following fields were added to the Evaluators field grouping in WebAdMIT exports: Program identifier Program Name These fields correspond with the evaluations added via the Program Materials (Quadrant 4) section of the application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page Email Templates Export Manager List Manager	The Title field is no longer collected in the application and will be removed from WebAdMIT. You will need to update any lists, exports, emails, and other integrations to account for this field removal.	Action required by all participating programs.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page Export Manager List Manager	The Refugee answer option was removed from the Visa Information question in the application; the correct option, I-94 Refugee, remains available. You should update any lists, exports, and other integrations to account for this answer option removal.	Action required by all participating programs.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Login	You can now activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) using any standard two-factor authentication (2FA) app (e.g., Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, etc.).	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch