BU Metropolitan College Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the BU Metropolitan College 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 Metropolitan College Application Support team at:
- Email: met-grad-app.bu@liaisoncas.com
- Phone: 857-304-2008
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 November.
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 Metropolitan College, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of the BU Metropolitan College 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 Metropolitan College application and BU Metropolitan College 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 Metropolitan College Complete application status can be found here.
You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to BU Metropolitan College 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.
- 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.
- 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 Metropolitan College 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:
|
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal TBD |
Academic History – Colleges Attended Academic History – Standardized Tests Login Page Supporting Information – Recommendations |
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 |
Add Program Page |
Applicants can only apply to one program at each organization for each term. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Coupons |
You can now offer coupons to applicants to help off-set application fees. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Emails |
The email confirming receipt of college transcripts has been turned off. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Footer |
The BU Metropolitan College Instagram account, WECHAT, and WEIBO links are added to the application footer. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
Two new questions, Are you a current BU Employee? and Did you receive your degree outside of United States?, have been added. The question, What is your current job title?, had If you are not employed, list "None". If you are a full-time student, list "Student". added to it. After the BU partner company question, a new question, If you would like to add an alternate or work email address, please do so here:, has been added. The question, How many months of full-time post-undergraduate work experience do you have?, was changed to How many years of full-time post-undergraduate work experience do you have? Additionally, applicants select their answers from drop-downs instead of typing in their answers. The following questions were created or added to a new Program Format question header:
|
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 |
Documents |
The Other document type was changed to Additional Document. |
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:
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:
The Hispanic (Yes / No / Blank) field is available in the:
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:
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 |