Sandbox Environment Reference Guide

Overview of Environments

There are three WebAdMIT environments that are used for specific purposes:

Environment	What is it?	When do I use this environment?	Who can use this environment?	Where does the data come from?
Production	The "live environment" is where you perform your applicant review processes.	Daily or as required – this is the environment you use to perform your admissions review processes.	All users	Because this is the live environment, the data comes directly from your applicants via the information they enter into their application.
Sandbox	Sandbox is a copy of the WebAdMIT production environment with obfuscated sensitive applicant data (e.g., surnames, email addresses, etc.).	As needed – you can use sandbox to test new workflow configurations, etc. Sandbox is useful for current CAS/WebAdMIT schools that are live and accepting applications; prospective CAS schools that are not live or accepting applications may find that there is limited value in using sandbox due to a lack of applicant data.	Schools with programs in the production environment.	The data that appears in sandbox is copied from the data in production. Sensitive information such as surnames is obfuscated. Since it's isolated from production, sandbox is useful for testing and training purposes; any actions performed in sandbox will have no effect on the live data in production. This provides users with a safe, "near-production" environment for testing or training purposes. For example, you can submit test applications and run sample exports.
Prelaunch	Prelaunch is a "staging" environment that allows you to configure programs for the new cycle without impacting the current cycle.	Prior to "going live" with your cycle – this is the environment you use to "stage" your program in the Configuration Portal for the new cycle before it goes live. Once you’re ready to launch the cycle, these programs are "promoted" to production. Note that only your programs built in the Configuration Portal are promoted to the live environment. User accounts and WebAdMIT templates, such as Lists, Exports, Email Templates, etc., aren't moved into production. Review the Prelaunch Environment Reference Guide for more information.	First-time schools that have not had programs in production and are configuring their programs during the CAS's standard configuration period.	Any data that appears in prelaunch is data that is generated in prelaunch. Since it's isolated from production, prelaunch is useful for testing and training purposes; any actions performed in prelaunch will have no effect on the live data in production. This provides users with a safe, "near-production" environment for testing or training purposes. For example, you can submit test applications and run sample exports.

Environment

What is it?

When do I use this environment?

Who can use this environment?

Where does the data come from?

Production

The "live environment" is where you perform your applicant review processes.

Daily or as required – this is the environment you use to perform your admissions review processes.

All users

Because this is the live environment, the data comes directly from your applicants via the information they enter into their application.

Sandbox

Sandbox is a copy of the WebAdMIT production environment with obfuscated sensitive applicant data (e.g., surnames, email addresses, etc.).

As needed – you can use sandbox to test new workflow configurations, etc. Sandbox is useful for current CAS/WebAdMIT schools that are live and accepting applications; prospective CAS schools that are not live or accepting applications may find that there is limited value in using sandbox due to a lack of applicant data.

Schools with programs in the production environment.

The data that appears in sandbox is copied from the data in production. Sensitive information such as surnames is obfuscated.

Since it's isolated from production, sandbox is useful for testing and training purposes; any actions performed in sandbox will have no effect on the live data in production. This provides users with a safe, "near-production" environment for testing or training purposes. For example, you can submit test applications and run sample exports.

Prelaunch

Prelaunch is a "staging" environment that allows you to configure programs for the new cycle without impacting the current cycle.

Prior to "going live" with your cycle – this is the environment you use to "stage" your program in the Configuration Portal for the new cycle before it goes live. Once you’re ready to launch the cycle, these programs are "promoted" to production.

Note that only your programs built in the Configuration Portal are promoted to the live environment. User accounts and WebAdMIT templates, such as Lists, Exports, Email Templates, etc., aren't moved into production.

Review the Prelaunch Environment Reference Guide for more information.

First-time schools that have not had programs in production and are configuring their programs during the CAS's standard configuration period.

Any data that appears in prelaunch is data that is generated in prelaunch.

Since it's isolated from production, prelaunch is useful for testing and training purposes; any actions performed in prelaunch will have no effect on the live data in production. This provides users with a safe, "near-production" environment for testing or training purposes. For example, you can submit test applications and run sample exports.

Accessing the WebAdMIT Sandbox

To access the sandbox, visit https://sandbox.webadmit.org and use your existing WebAdMIT credentials to log in. Note the following:

Your sandbox credentials will default to whatever your WebAdMIT production credentials were at the time of the last refresh.
- For example, if the sandbox refresh last occurred on December 1 and you changed your password on December 2, you'll need to use the previous password (from December 1) to log in to the sandbox.
Production and sandbox are two separate systems; if you change your password in one environment be sure to change your password in the other (if you choose to keep these passwords in sync).
The CAS Configuration Portal accessed from the WebAdMIT sandbox is also a sandbox environment and allows you to safely make changes to your programs and preview them in the Applicant Portal sandbox, detailed below, without impacting your production configurations.

When preparing for a cycle rollover, you configure programs in the WebAdMIT prelaunch environment ("prelaunch"). Prelaunch is a "staging" environment that allows you to configure programs for the new cycle without impacting the current cycle. Prelaunch is similar to the sandbox environment in that it is not connected to the live environment ("production").

Functionality

The following functionality is fully enabled in the WebAdMIT sandbox, and you can perform actions as you normally would in production:

Applicants panel:

Perform Search functions
- Search for applicants
- Search Assignments
- Search Interviews
- Search Correspondence
Add applicants to the Clipboard

Applicant Lists panel:

Use the List Manager to generate Field and Composite Lists

Reports & Exports panel:

Run Reports and Exports

Management panel:

Manage Work Groups and Admissions Users
Create, manage, and use Local Statuses, Custom Fields, Requirements, Assignments, Interviews, and Scoring Models
Create and manage Email Templates and Email Addresses
Modify the Applicant Header
Use the Configuration Portal
Use the WebAdMIT API and CAS API (the root of API calls must be changed to sandbox.webadmit.org instead of api.webadmit.org)

The following functionality is disabled in the WebAdMIT sandbox:

Document Downloads & PDF Generation, except for documents that are part of sandbox test applications that you created via the Applicant Portal sandbox (described below)
Use the Destination Manager and Schedule Manager
Liaison Transcript Scanning & Processing
Sending Emails
SSN Downloads

Deployment Window and Refresh Process

Sandbox is deployed between 9 AM and 2 PM ET every Monday; if Monday is a US or Canadian holiday, deployment is the next business day. This deployment includes all system changes from the preceding release.

To ensure the WebAdMIT sandbox contains the most up-to-date data, the data that exists in production is copied to sandbox after every release; you can view the upcoming sandbox refresh dates under the Coming Soon section of the release notes. This means that anything that exists in sandbox which is not in production will be overwritten (i.e., deleted) after a refresh. For example, if you built a scoring model in sandbox which is not in production, that scoring model will be deleted once the refresh occurs. Conversely, if you built a scoring model in production after the last refresh, that model will appear in sandbox following the next refresh.

Remember that all sensitive data in the sandbox is obfuscated. Additionally, because the sandbox is a copy of production, any bugs or related issues in production may also affect sandbox. Sprint enhancements and bug fixes that are deployed in production will also be deployed in sandbox, generally within two days of deployment in production.

Security Protocols

The WebAdMIT sandbox often receives security patches for testing earlier than the production environment. If you are encountering any difficulty connecting to the WebAdMIT sandbox, especially via the API, but have no difficulty connecting with production, a security patch may be the issue. Contact the Client Support Specialist team at webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com if you are unable to resolve your issue.

Applicant Portal Sandbox

In addition to the WebAdMIT sandbox, each Centralized Application Service (CAS) also has an Applicant Portal sandbox that you can use to test the application's functionality. To access a CAS sandbox, add "sandbox" to the CAS URL as follows:

CAS Sandbox.png

Similar to the WebAdMIT sandbox, the CAS sandboxes are periodically refreshed with obfuscated production data and program configurations. If you recently activated some of your programs to be live in production for applicants to apply to, those activations may not be reflected in the CAS Applicant Portal sandbox until the next refresh. However, you can activate or request to have activated specific programs in the WebAdMIT and Configuration Portal sandboxes so you can test new configurations. Contact webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com if you need help with this.

Submitting Test Applications

You can submit test applications in your CAS’s sandbox environment. Once an application is ready for submission, use the following test credit card information to mock a payment and submit the application:

Name on Card: test test
Card Type: Visa
Card Number: 4111 1111 1111 1111
Expiration Date: 06/2020 (any future date should work)
CVV: 111

The application will appear in your WebAdMIT sandbox shortly after submission, just as it does in the live WebAdMIT environment.