OptomCAS Program User Guide

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in late June and closes in late May. 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 OptomCAS Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between mid-April and early June, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The Account Manager, Client Success Manager, and ASCO review submitted configurations in June.

WebAdMIT

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

Program Participation Requirements

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

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the OptomCAS 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 OptomCAS application and OptomCAS 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 OptomCAS Complete application status.
OptomCAS 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 OptomCAS 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 Manager, Client Success Manager, and ASCO before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, ASCO will approve it.

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:

API Overview: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
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.
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.
Manual Designations: learn how to add additional programs (i.e., designations) to an application in WebAdMIT.
Reporting Final Decision Codes: learn how to use WebAdMIT to place applicants in Decision Codes and report them back to ASCO.
- Note that OptomCAS requires you to report the following Decision Codes by January for the previous cycle:
  - Denied
  - Matriculated
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, Letters by Liaison, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2022-2023

The table below contains enhancements for OptomCAS 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	Fees	The application fee has increased to $185 for the first program an applicant applies to. The additional program fee remains $75.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Release Statement	The Release Statement text was updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Citizenship Information	The instructions text is updated to better assist applicants.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	The Misdemeanor and Felony questions were removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Colleges Attended	If an applicant selects Unlisted French Speaking Canadian or Other Foreign Institution, they must complete a new required field for the college’s country. If you created exports to pull a college's country data, you must edit and select the new college country fields. Review the Country Field for Manually Entered Foreign Institutions release note for more information.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Standardized Tests	The following standardized tests were added: US DAT Canadian DAT MCAT PCAT Additionally, the instruction text for OAT test scores was updated to reflect that OptomCAS will accept scores from within the past three years; previously, scores must have been taken within the past two years.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Transcript Entry	The instructions text is updated to better assist 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
Configuration Portal	Program Details	The Unofficial Test Score Report Document Type was added.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Organization Details and Program Details	You can preview your programs in the application using the Preview feature and continue making edits as necessary.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Program Details	You can edit the Program Code program attribute, which may be useful for importing program data into your Student Information System (SIS).	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available now
WebAdMIT	Shared Decision	A Waitlist Decision Code was added.	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
WebAdMIT	Clipboard	You can now add multiple applicants to your Clipboard by uploading a CSV file of their CAS IDs. Review the Using the Clipboard page for more information.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch

2021-2022

The table below contains enhancements for OptomCAS 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	Personal Information – Other Information	A new question, Will you have a bachelor's degree or higher prior to enrollment?, was added to the Other Information section. If an applicant selects No, a free text field appears where they can enter additional information.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	The In what year did you graduate high school? question format was changed from a drop-down list to a free text field where applicants can enter any year.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Coupon Codes	You can offer organization-specific coupon codes to applicants. Applicants can only use the coupon for a program at your organization.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Configuration Portal	Question Rules	You can choose to request or require a document upload based on an applicant’s response to an Extended Profile or program-level question using the Show Document Question Rule.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Email Templates	Test Submitted Email Template	A new Test Submitted email template will notify applicants when OptomCAS receives official GRE or OAT scores.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Letters by Liaison	Account	Evaluators can now submit their evaluations as a guest, without creating a Letters by Liaison account. Guest users can create an account at any time while working in Letters by Liaison, and evaluators who already have an account can also complete an evaluation as a guest.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page	You can now view which applicants reapplied from a previous cycle in WebAdMIT. There are two fields to track this information and both populate as Yes or No: Applicant Previously Applied to CAS Applicant Previously Applied to Organization	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Decision Codes	A new Defer to Next Cycle decision code is available to identify which applicants are included in the Liaison-supported Deferral Process.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available now

2020-2021

The table below contains enhancements for OptomCAS 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 Additionally, the instructions text is updated to better assist applicants.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Help Center	The OptomCAS Help Center includes clearer guidelines in converting Canadian grades to the US grading scale.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	A Gender Pronouns question is added for applicants to share their preferred pronouns.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Other Information	The In what year did you graduate high school? question has a new answer, 2020. The Who was the most influential person in your decision to apply for OD studies? question has a new answer, Optometry Gives Me Life.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Program Plans	The Program Plans authorization has been removed.	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	Organization Details	You can offer applicants a deep link to the application's Add Program page with your programs pre-filtered. This allows applicants to quickly access your programs without needing to set their own filters. If an applicant has not yet created an account, the deep link will first instruct them to create an account, and then will take them to the pre-filtered Add Program page.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
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	Applicant Details Page	You can quickly identify if an applicant has chosen to use the Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) service, where a PTE specialist enters the applicant’s completed coursework for an additional fee. The PTE Status field appears for all applicants under the Applicant Header on the Applicant Details page; it won’t appear in the full application PDF. It can be used in the List Manager, Export Manager, and Email Templates as a merge field. The possible values for this field include: TE-Awaiting Transcripts: the applicant has not submitted all required, official transcripts to the CAS. TE-Ready for Work: the applicant is in queue to have their coursework entered by a PTE specialist. TE-Pending Approval: the applicant must approve the entered coursework before their application is given a Complete date and placed in line for verification. Note that the applicant may have to meet additional CAS requirements, such as a minimum number of evaluations completed, before being given a Complete date. TE-Approved: the applicant has approved the entered coursework. If an applicant did not elect to use the PTE service, their PTE status is blank.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Decision Codes	A new Offer Accepted – Payment Pending Decision Code is available.	Action required by participating programs choosing 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