AHCAS Program User Guide

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in early September and closes in early September. 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 AHCAS Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between late June and early August, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and ASAHP review submitted configurations in August.

WebAdMIT

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

Program Participation Requirements

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

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the AHCAS 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 AHCAS application and AHCAS 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 AHCAS Complete application status.
AHCAS 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 AHCAS Customer Service.

Configuration Portal

Use the Configuration Portal Quick Start Guide to make sure you configure your program(s) efficiently and completely in the prelaunch environment. Be sure to check out your CAS's configuration options and review the best practices found throughout. If any optional sections of the application are required for your program (e.g., experiences, test scores, etc.), you'll want to note this on your program home page.

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

Review the Program Transcript and Coursework Requirements and Application Statuses table below to learn how your transcript and coursework requirements affect the applicant's Application Status and the GPAs provided to you.

Program Transcript and Coursework Requirements and Application Statuses

This table is from the AHCAS Applicant Help Center. All links below will redirect you to that help center.

If your program requires... (Note: see the Colleges Attended & Transcript Entry sections for more information on transcript and coursework requirements.)	...then WebAdMIT does the following with GPAs...	... and your application's final status is...
Official Transcripts + Full Coursework Entry	Calculates three GPAs and makes them available to your programs: By course subject By school By academic year	Verified
Official Transcripts + Prerequisite Entry Only	Provides your programs with per transcript and overall GPAs.	Verified
Official Transcripts + No Coursework Entry	Provides your programs with per transcript and overall GPAs.	Verified
Unofficial Transcripts + Prerequisite Entry Only	Does not calculate or provide GPAs to programs.	Complete
Unofficial Transcripts + No Coursework Entry	Does not calculate or provide GPAs to programs.	Complete
No Transcripts + No Coursework Entry	Does not calculate or provide GPAs to programs.	Complete

WebAdMIT

Review the WebAdMIT Manual 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, contact webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com.
Data Dictionaries and Master Code Lists: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager and Report Manager, including associated lookup tables.
Deferring Applicants via Transfer Settings: learn how to transfer deferred applicants from one cycle to the next.
Integration Help Center and WebAdMIT API: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
Invitation Codes Reference Guide: learn how to offer individual deadline extensions directly to applicants.
Manual Designations: learn how to add additional programs (i.e., designations) to an application in WebAdMIT.
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, Letters by Liaison, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2022-2023

The table below contains enhancements for AHCAS 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	Fees	The first application fee increased to $68.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	GDPR Question	The GDPR question asks users located in a European Union country, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland to choose if they want to opt into our policies when creating an account.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	The following statements were removed from the Background Information question: I have a diagnosed physical or mental impairment that substantially limits my participation in educational experiences and opportunities offered by a college. I was accepted to the health professions program after academic reassessment at the completion of remedial courses.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Experiences	New Experience Type options were added: Extracurricular Activities Healthcare Experience Internships Clinical Experience Research	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Achievements	A new Presentations Achievement Type option was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	PDF Manager	If you create a list that searches for applicants based on any field in the Designations field grouping (e.g., Designation, Application Status, etc.), you can now extract the full application PDFs that adhere to your list's criteria. For more information, see the PDF Manager page.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Clipboard	You can now add multiple applicants to your Clipboard by uploading a CSV file of their CAS IDs. Review the Using the Clipboard page for more information.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Field Manager	The Evaluation field groupings and associated fields were removed.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch

2021-2022

The table below contains enhancements for AHCAS 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	Coupon Codes	You can offer organization-specific coupon codes to applicants. Applicants can only use the coupon for a program at your organization.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Invitation Codes	You can offer individual deadline extensions to applicants via invitation codes after your program closes.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information and Contact Information	Liaison utilizes the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for a variety of standard "lookup" values, such as country names, states, etc. By default, the Country drop-down lists Taiwan as "Taiwan (Province of China)." This enhancement allows CASs to use an alternate name for Taiwan. Note that this enhancement does not affect WebAdMIT or Admissions by Liaison, which will continue to display the ISO standard lookup value, Taiwan (Province of China).	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Configuration Portal	Organizations and Programs	Association users can batch activate or reset programs to draft in the Configuration Portal. A new Organization column is added so association users can filter by organization and perform these batch actions more easily.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Question Rules	You can use the following Question Rules when configuring your program: Show Document Question Rule: request or require a document upload based on an applicant’s response to an Extended Profile or program-level question. Program Availability Question Rule: show or hide your programs based on an applicant’s response to an Extended Profile or program-level question.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Letters by Liaison	Account	Evaluators can now submit their evaluations as a guest, without creating a Letters by Liaison account. Guest users can create an account at any time while working in Letters by Liaison, and evaluators who already have an account can also complete an evaluation as a guest.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page	You can now view which applicants reapplied from a previous cycle in WebAdMIT. The Applicant Previously Applied to Organization field tracks this information and populates as Yes or No.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch