Cal State Apply Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the Cal State Apply Applicant Portal, Configuration Portal, and WebAdMIT. It also contains resources that may help you work more efficiently throughout your admissions process. You can also download the Cal State Apply Operations Manual for more information on navigating the Cal State Apply application and WebAdMIT.
If you have additional questions or need further assistance, please contact a member of your account team.
Cycle Timeframes
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens on October 1 and closes on June 30 (or the closest business day), over a 20-month period. You can view the specific cycle dates, including final processing dates (e.g., last date to submit applications, last date to request letters of recommendation, etc.), on the Cal State Apply Application Cycle Dates page.
Configuration Portal
Between early May and mid-September, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and CSU Chancellor's office review submitted configurations in September.
WebAdMIT
You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in early October.
Program Participation Requirements
CSU requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from CSU and Cal State Apply, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of the Cal State Apply 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 Cal State Apply application and Cal State Apply 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 Cal State Apply Complete application status.
- Cal State Apply Quick Start Information and FAQs: a suggested timeline for completing and submitting the application, links to important pages including cycle dates and fees, and a FAQs section.
- Cal State Apply Evaluation Types: review the various evaluation forms for recommenders in the Cal State Apply application.
You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to Cal State Apply 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 CSU Chancellor's office before it is available to applicants. Download the CSU Program Update Process documents for more suggestions on configuring programs in bulk and making edits to live programs.
Additionally, review these feature-specific notes:
Questions and Question Rules:
- Decide which questions you want to ask for all programs at your organization and add them under organization-level questions.
- Activate Question Rules based on the Extended Profile questions:
- Create alternate deadlines for applicants (e.g., domestic applicants must submit their application by June 1 and international applicants must submit their application by August 1).
- Restrict which programs an applicant can select (e.g., domestic applicants can view programs A and B and international applicants can view programs C and E).
Program Recommendations:
- Review the Cal State Apply Evaluation Types that you can request.
Prerequisites:
- Undergraduate programs: do not use the Prerequisites feature, as applicants already complete the High School Coursework and A-G Matching sections.
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.
- Application Coupon Codes FAQ: view answers to frequently asked questions about offering coupon codes.
- Data Dictionaries and Master Code Lists: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager and Report Manager, including associated lookup tables.
- 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.
- Redirect Applicants: learn how to redirect an applicant to an alternate campus.
- 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, Applicant Gateway, Configuration Portal, Liaison Letters, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.
For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team at 617-612-2885 and webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com. They are available Monday – Friday from 9 AM to 8 PM ET (6 AM to 5 PM PT).
Note that to minimize downtime for users, WebAdMIT upgrades occur every Sunday from 7 – 10 AM ET.
Cycle Enhancements
2025-2026
The table below contains enhancements for Cal State Apply 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 |
Extended Profile |
The Degree Goal question was renamed to Educational Goal. A new Dual Admission answer option and acknowledgement statement were also added. Additionally, the European Union Data Protection question can be configured to be internal only, meaning that that question and answers will not be sent to other portals such as the CAS API and WebAdMIT. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Release Statement |
The CAASPP Results Release Statement question is hidden for international applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The Legal Sex question was replaced with a new required Gender Identity question. An optional Sexual Orientation question was added. The Applicant Information instructional text was updated for clarity. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Parent/Guardian Information |
A new Emergency Contact question was added. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The Academic Infractions and Conduct question was updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Financial and Parental Information |
The following questions were removed:
|
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Academic Information |
The Did you attend high school/secondary school outside of the United States? question was changed to Did you complete high school/secondary school outside of the United States? 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 |
Academic History – Coursework Entry |
The College Coursework (i.e., Transcript Entry) section was simplified and applicants no longer need to report their course term's academic status (i.e., freshman, sophomore, etc.) and course subject (e.g., biology, Spanish, etc.). Note that the applicant's coursework will not be verified and CAS GPAs by year or by subject will not be calculated. Additionally, applicants can no longer mark courses completed in past academic years as In Progress/Planned. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History –General Education: Golden Four |
The General Education section was renamed to General Education: Golden Four. 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 |
Supporting Information – EOP Autobiographical Questions |
The List any volunteer, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which you are or have been involved in the past two years question was changed to List any volunteer, extracurricular activities, or work experience in which you are or have been involved. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Program Details |
The California State University - Chico program attribute was renamed to CSU Chico. |
No action required by participating programs 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 |
2024-2025
The table below contains enhancements for Cal State Apply 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 |
Extended Profile |
The Degree Goal answer options were updated. The Associate Degree for Transfer text was updated to better assist applicants. Additionally, a new CSU Summer Arts option was added to the Degree Goal section. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Race & Ethnicity |
A new Are you an enrolled member of an American Indian or Alaskan Native tribe? question was added. Applicants can then indicate if they are part of a federally-recognized tribe, state-recognized tribe, or California non-federally recognized tribe. Additionally, the list of tribal affiliation answer options is now a type-ahead drop-down where applicants can type and select from possible matches. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The Credential Objective answer options were updated in the Teacher or Other Credential Information section |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – High School Coursework |
The instructions 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 – A-G Matching |
The instructions 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 – Summer Arts |
A new Summer Arts section is added for applicants applying to CSU Summer Arts. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Achievements |
The Achievements section is now hidden for Teaching and Service Credential Only applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Experiences |
Applicants can edit in progress experiences after they submit their application. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Scholarship Application |
A new Scholarship Application section is added for applicants applying to CSU Summer Arts. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Program Materials – Documents |
New Affidavit of Financial Support and Subject Matter Requirement document types were added. |
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 at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
A-G GPA Exclusions Feature |
The A-G GPA Exclusions feature was disabled. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
2023-2024
The table below contains enhancements for Cal State Apply 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 |
Extended Profile |
The High Schools Attended and Academic Information sections no longer appear in the Academic History section when applicants indicate they are seeking a second bachelor's degree in their Extended Profile. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Financial and Parental Information |
Applicants can now select Household Size from a drop-down rather than entering text. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – High Schools Attended |
The instructions 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 – High School Coursework |
A link to the UCOP Course List was added to the instructions text to better assist applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – College Coursework |
The instructions text was updated to better assist applicants. Additionally, the Course Code and Course Title fields now display up to 15 course suggestions when applicants input information. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – College Attended |
The instructions 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 |
All Graduate applicants can now report their IELTS, PTE, and TOEFL scores in the Standardized Tests section. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Returning Student |
Reapplicants who are returning to the same campus with a different program or returning to the same campus after attending another college or university can complete a simplified version of the application. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) |
The instructions text was updated to better assist applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Educational Programs and Work Experience |
The Other answer option was updated to include the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP). |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Chatbot |
Liaison has partnered with Ada to offer an AI chatbot. The chatbot, nicknamed Cassie, leverages an API with CXone Expert, which hosts the CAS-specific Applicant Help Centers. Applicants can access this chatbot once they are logged in to the application. The chatbot responds with information and links to the CAS-specific Applicant Help Center and, if needed, directs the applicant to live support with customer service. |
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 |