BU College of Fine Arts Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the BU College of Fine Arts 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 your Account Manager and Client Success Manager.
Important Contact Information
Contact or refer applicants to the BU College of Fine Arts Application Support team at:
- Email: cfa-info.bu@liaisoncas.com
- Phone: 857-304-2000
Contact the Client Support Specialist team for assistance with WebAdMIT at:
- Webform
- Email: webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com
- Phone: 857-304-2020
Cycle Timeframes
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens in mid-July and closes in late September.
Configuration Portal
Between early April and early June, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment.
WebAdMIT
You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in mid-July.
Program Participation Requirements
BU requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from BU and BU College of Fine Arts, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of the BU College of Fine Arts 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 BU College of Fine Arts application and BU College of Fine Arts 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 BU College of Fine Arts Complete application status.
You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to BU College of Fine Arts Application Support.
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.
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:
- API Overview: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
- Application Coupons Reference Guide: learn how to request coupons to offset application fees and disperse them to applicants.
- 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 the Liaison-assisted Deferral Process: learn how to transfer deferred applicants from one cycle to the next.
- 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
2023-2024
The table below contains enhancements for BU College of Fine Arts 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 |
Account Information |
The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information of individuals within the European Union. The GDPR question explains the information we collect and how we use their information. Users located in a European Union country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland must opt into our policies when creating an account. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Add Program Page Submit Application Page |
Applicants can select and apply to a maximum of three programs in each term. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Background Image |
The background image in the application was updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
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 |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The Gender/Sex question now includes a third custom gender value: X or another legal sex. This allows CASs to meet their guidelines and new reporting options from state and federal governments. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The Preferred Name question was removed. A new required Display Name question was added. Additionally, the Preferred Pronouns question was renamed Pronouns. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Documents |
The Other Document document type was removed and a new Optional Document: (required Program Materials must be uploaded in the next section, not here) document type was added. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – University Affiliation |
The University Affiliation section was removed. Instead, a BU ID creation/association integration is built into BU's SIS. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Release Statement |
The Certification and Authorization Statement was updated for clarity. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Official IELTS Tests |
Applicants can submit their official IELTS test scores to the CAS, and you can review those test scores in WebAdMIT. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available in 2022-2023 cycle |
|
Applicant Portal |
Transcripts |
Applicants who attended an institution outside of the US and Canada must upload their foreign transcript in the Colleges Attended section. Applicants cannot move into the Complete application status until they upload foreign transcripts. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Program Codes |
The Program Codes are updated to the new Campus Solution program codes. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
WebAdMIT |
Decision Codes |
The following Decision Codes were added:
And the following Decision Codes were removed:
|
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
2022-2023
The table below contains enhancements for BU College of Fine Arts 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 |
Login Page |
The background image was updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The Preferred Name question was added. Additionally, the Preferred Pronouns and Gender Identity questions were updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Race & Ethnicity |
The answer options were updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The First Generation Students question was updated. Additionally, Email Communication was added as an answer option to the How did you become interested in Boston University question. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History |
The sections were reordered, with GPA Entries now under Colleges Attended. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Colleges Attended |
If an applicant selects Unlisted French Speaking Canadian or Other Foreign Institution, they must complete a new required field for the college’s country. If you created exports to pull a college's country data, you must edit and select the new college country fields. Review the Country Field for Manually Entered Foreign Institutions release note for more information. Additionally, the instruction text was updated to better assist applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Standardized Tests |
The instruction text was updated to better assist applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Organization Details |
You can only access the Add Program and Copy Program buttons in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
Configuration Portal |
Organization Details |
Instead of rebuilding your program in the prelaunch environment, you can import your program from a previous cycle's production environment into the prelaunch environment. You can access the Import from Previous Cycle button in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment. Visit the Import Your Programs page for more information. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Details Page |
You can view TOEFL MyBest scores in the Standardized Tests panel of the Applicant Details page. Additionally, you can view scores in the Full Application PDF under the Documents panel of the Applicant Details page. All TOEFL iBT score reports sent after August 1, 2019, will include the applicant's MyBest scores as well as the individual scores from each test date. |
No action required by participating programs 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 |
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 |
Export Manager List Manager |
The Applicant Gateway Activities field grouping and associated fields were removed. Be sure to review your existing lists and exports to review and update your criteria, if applicable. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |