CASPA Program User Guide

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in late April and closes in early April. Applicants must submit all applications by April 1, if not earlier per program configurations. 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 CASPA Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between late January to early March, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and PAEA review submitted configurations in March.

WebAdMIT

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

Program Participation Requirements

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

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the CASPA 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 CASPA application and CASPA 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). Additionally, select This is a test account. for the program plans question.

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 CASPA Complete application status.
CASPA 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 CASPA 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 PAEA before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, PAEA will approve it.

Note the following:

You must use a CASPA pre-approved deadline and use the Show Deadline option.
Almost all program information in the Configuration Portal, including deadline dates, is locked after your program is live in the application. You must contact PAEA for any change requests.

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, use the Coupon Code Payment Gateway.
Application Coupon Codes FAQ: view answers to frequently asked questions about offering coupon codes.
Background checks through Certiphi.
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.
Integration Help Center and WebAdMIT API: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
Reporting Final Decision Codes: learn how to use WebAdMIT to place applicants in Decision Codes and report them back to PAEA.
- Note that CASPA requires that matriculated applicants be marked in the Matriculated Decision Code. All other applicants can be placed in any Decision Code.
Requesting Official GRE CAS Codes: a guide on how to create CAS-specific codes in order to receive official GRE scores 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, Liaison Letters, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2024-2025

The table below contains enhancements for CASPA 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	Background Image	The CASPA background image is updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Applicant Help Center	The full text of the Applicant User Agreement and Release Statement was removed from the Applicant Help Center. This ensures that applicants can view the most accurate and up-to-date versions of these statements in the application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Extended Profile	Applicants can now read and indicate their agreement with the CASPA Applicant User Agreement and Release in the Extended Profile section.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Fee Waiver Form	The fee waiver form text was updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Release Statements	The CASPA Applicant User Agreement and Release text and question was moved to the Extended Profile.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	The PAEA Pipeline question was removed. New Life Experiences and Criminal History questions were added. Additionally, the Military Status and Military Discharge questions were removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Military History	A new Military History section was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Transcript Entry	Applicants can view instructions when entering their coursework details.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Evaluations	The number of evaluations applicants must request to submit their application was reduced from 3 to 2.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Experiences	The instructional text was updated to better assist applicants.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Add Program 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	A new Fee Waiver Award Notice Document Type is available.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Program Details	The following new program attributes were added: Start Month Available Seats	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
WebAdMIT	Work Groups	In WebAdMIT, you can configure Work Groups to allow users to see specific panels on the Applicant Details Page. With this enhancement (from Release 11, 2023) if you remove access to a panel for a Work Group, the fields in that panel are also not available for the Work Group to see when creating exports, lists, or PDF manager templates. For example, if the Race and Ethnicity subpanel is not enabled for a Work Group, its members will not see the information from that panel when creating an export, and will not be able to create filters in List Manager using any of the fields from that panel. As a result of this enhancement, reports that are not shared with Work Groups from the Report Settings page will be inaccessible to anyone who is not a WebAdMIT Administrator. Review the How Work Groups Impact Access to Features and Fields documentation to learn more about the impacts of this enhancement.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Program Selections	Some CASs are built where schools offer only one program per organization or most organizations only offer one program. If you participate in either one of these CAS types and only have one program, then WebAdMIT can automatically activate features for your single program. Note that if your organization offers multiple programs within a CAS, then this feature does not apply to you.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Reports	The following reports were enabled: Competing Offers Accepted Matriculated Elsewhere (Shared Decisions)	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	List Manager Export Manager	The TOEFL Official PBT fields were removed. If you have exports and lists that include this field, you will want to review and update them as necessary.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch

2023-2024

The table below contains enhancements for CASPA 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	Background Image Logo	The CASPA background image and logo are updated with a new look and feel.	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 – Release Statement	The CASPA Applicant User Agreement is now consolidated with the Release Statement. Additionally, statements about the use of Generative AI are added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	Applicants who select Yes for the Have you ever previously been enrolled in a Physician Assistance program, Medical School (including foreign), or any other health profession question must now also enter explanation text.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	A new Legal/Preferred Name Phonetic Pronunciation question is added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Configuration Portal	Program Details	Not Applicable is now available as an answer option for the Secondary Application Fee Waiver Available question.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Kira Talent Assessment	Kira Talent offers on-demand, timed video and timed written assignments that can be combined with the standard admissions process. You can link your Kira assessment to your program in the application by selecting Kira Assessment.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Liaison Letters	Relationship	Evaluators must now answer a new question that certifies their evaluation and relationship with the applicant.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Background Checks	CASPA now partners with Certiphi to offer criminal background checks.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page	Licenses and Certifications now display accurately in their respective panels.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch