BU College of Fine Arts Program User Guide

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:

Web form
Email: buprogramsupport@liaisonedu.com
Phone: 857-304-2012

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in mid-July and closes in late October.

Configuration Portal

Between early April and mid-June, configurations are entered in 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.
- Requirements for the BU College of Fine Arts Complete application status can be found here.

You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to BU College of Fine Arts Application Support.

Configuration Portal

The Configuration Portal Guide contains all information related to configuring your program in the Applicant Portal. You will need to first create your program in the prelaunch environment before it is available to applicants.

Use the following checklist to make sure you configure your program efficiently and completely. Also, review the best practices found at the end of these articles. If any optional sections of the application are required for your program (e.g., experiences, test scores, etc.), you'll want to note this in your program configurations.

☑ 1. Review the Application

Review the current application to get a sense of the questions that are already included and what you may want to add.
Start to pull together any details about your program and school that you want to share with applicants in the application.

☑ 2. Be Aware of Cycle Rollovers

Keep in mind that all pages from the current cycle will be rolled over to the new cycle.

☑ 3. Brand Your Program Page

Work with your Marketing or PR department to choose a branding image that meets the size and format specifications. Images have to be 900x270 pixels, and 250 KB or less.
Pull together your program’s introductory text and instructions, as well as any requirements information, including supplemental items/fees if you use a two-part application process.

☑ 4. Configure Questions and Question Rules

Review current school and supplemental applications to help you determine which questions you need to ask.

☑ 5. Configure Documents

Ensure you have specific instructions for any documents you are requesting.

☑ 6. Preview and Submit Your Program

Monitor your program’s status by returning to the Configuration Portal.

WebAdMIT

Review the WebAdMIT Manual for any questions related to working in WebAdMIT. The Documentation and 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.
Custom Export Field Layout: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager, including associated lookup tables.
Master College Code List: a comprehensive list of all college names and their respective Liaison, MDB, CEEB, FICE, and/or IPED codes.
Social Security Number (SSN) Documents Reference Guide: a guide on how to configure a PGP key to receive an encrypted file that contains the applicant's CAS ID and SSN.
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, Configuration Portal, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2020-2021

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	Academic History – Colleges Attended	The workflow for entering colleges has been improved. Enhancements include: The option to employ an e-transcript vendor from within the application (e.g., Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, or Credential Solutions, where applicable) An improved process for uploading and previewing unofficial transcripts Enhanced display of requirements	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Colleges Attended Academic History – Standardized Tests Login Page Supporting Information – Documents	The login page and various section instructions text are updated to better assist applicants.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Email	When applicants request a recommendation, the email sent to recommenders now comes from a CollegeofFineArts-Info.bu email address. Previously, these emails came from a CFA-Info.BU address.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Login Page	The background image has been updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Release Statement	A new Privacy Statement has been added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Submit Application Page	The Submit Application page lists the term on each program’s tile. Previously, applicants needed to click the additional information icon to view the program’s term.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Configuration Portal	Question Rules	When applicants select a program and answer a program-specific or Extended Profile question, their deadline date can update based on the program’s configurations. If an applicant selects an answer that offers multiple deadlines, then the deadline that the program selected as highest priority displays. If an applicant’s answer is linked to only expired programs, the applicant receives a warning message, advising them to select an alternate program or to contact their program.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Questions	When you create a question in the Configuration Portal, you can choose to hide the question in the full application PDF in WebAdMIT. These questions will still display on the Applicant Details page in WebAdMIT and be available in the List Manager and Export Manager.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
WebAdMIT	Assignments	Previously, when a reviewer was assigned an Assignment in WebAdMIT, they received an email the next day, listing all Assignments given to them, regardless if the reviewer already completed them. Now reviewers only receive the daily Assignment email if they have incomplete Assignments from the previous day.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Export Manager	The Hispanic field in WebAdMIT aligns with the Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic/Latino Origin? optional question from the Applicant Portal. Currently, when users export this field from WebAdMIT, an applicant’s response populates as: Yes (if the applicant selected Yes) or No (if the applicant selected No or didn’t answer the question). A new Hispanic (Yes / No / Blank) field has been created to accurately reflect an applicant’s response to this Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic/Latino Origin? question: Yes (if the applicant selected Yes), No (if the applicant selected No), or Blank (if the applicant didn’t answer the question). The Hispanic (Yes / No / Blank) field is available in the: Applicant Header List Manager Export Manager Race and Ethnicity subpanel under the Personal Information panel (note that this field is labeled as Hispanic) The original Hispanic field is still available in WebAdMIT.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Report Manager	A new Applicant-based report is available: Local Status History. This report includes the applicant’s: CAS ID Name Designation Designation WebAdMIT Label Local Status Local Status Changed Date Local Status Changed By Decision Code Decision Code Changed Date Decision Code Changed By Every Local Status change for an applicant is listed on one row. If an applicant has multiple Local Status changes, the report will include multiple rows with this information. This information can still be accessed under the History panel on the Applicant Details page.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch