OTCAS Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the OTCAS 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 a member of your account team.
Cycle Timeframes
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens in mid-July and closes in mid-June. 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 OTCAS Application Cycle Dates page.
Configuration Portal
Between early April and early June configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team reviews submitted configurations in June.
WebAdMIT
You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in mid-July.
Program Participation Requirements
AOTA requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from AOTA and OTCAS, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of the OTCAS 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 OTCAS application and OTCAS 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 OTCAS Complete application status.
- OTCAS 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 OTCAS 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 before it is available to applicants.
WebAdMIT
Review the WebAdMIT Help Center 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 FAQs: view answers to frequently asked questions about 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.
- 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
2025-2026
The table below contains enhancements for OTCAS 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 |
Application Fees |
The application fee has increased to $169 for the initial designation. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Extended Profile |
A new Extended Profile feature was added, which are question(s) an applicant must answer after they create their application and before they can select programs or complete any part of the application. The Extended Profile includes the Program Plan/Intent to Apply questions which was previously in the Other Information section. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Add Program Page |
The instructional text was updated to include descriptions of the Accredited and Candidate Status program attributes. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The following new questions were added:
Additionally, the Nickname field was removed from the Former Name question block. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Race & Ethnicity |
A new question was added: Please add anything you would like the admissions committees to know about your race and ethnicity. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The COVID-19 Impact question was removed. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Documents |
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 – Release Statement |
The OTCAS Certification and Authorization Statement was added. Applicants must indicate their agreement with the statement. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Program Attributes |
A required Accreditation field was added. Answer options are Accredited and Candidate Status. This information will be available to applicants on the Add Programs page. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available now |
|
Liaison Letters |
Recommendation Form |
The evaluation form name was updated. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Outcomes |
Applications Grid |
The email interface was redesigned to provide a simpler, easier-to-use experience. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
List Manager Export Manager Scoring Applicant Header |
The following new fields were added:
|
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Details Page Email Templates Export Manager List Manager |
The Title field is no longer collected in the application and will be removed from WebAdMIT. You will need to update any lists, exports, emails, and other integrations to account for this field removal. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Details Page Export Manager List Manager |
The Refugee answer option was removed from the Visa Information question in the application; the correct option, I-94 Refugee, remains available. You should update any lists, exports, and other integrations to account for this answer option removal. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Gateway |
Association users can now reset select individual activities (e.g., supplemental application, schedule interview, extend offer, etc.) back to a draft status, as long as applicants have not used or completed the activity. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Login |
You can now activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) using any standard two-factor authentication (2FA) app (e.g., Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, etc.). |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
2024-2025
The table below contains enhancements for OTCAS 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 |
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 |
|
Applicant Portal |
Application Fees |
The application fees have increased to $164 for the initial designation and $71 for each additional designation. |
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 – Release Statement |
Applicants can edit their responses to the Advisor Release question in the Release Statement section after submitting their application. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Program Details Question Rules |
Select users with the Config. Portal Live Editing Access role can edit active and closed programs through the Configuration Portal, such as:
|
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
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 |
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 |
Field Manager |
The Program Plans field was removed. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
List Manager Export Manager |
A new Intersex field was added. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |