This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the PSYCAS 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.
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens in early September and closes in late August. 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 PSYCAS Application Cycle Dates page.
Configuration Portal
Between mid-June and early August, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and APA review submitted configurations in August.
WebAdMIT
You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in early September.
APA requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from APA and PSYCAS, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
The first three sections of the PSYCAS 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 PSYCAS application and PSYCAS 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:
You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to PSYCAS Customer Service.
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 APA before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, APA will approve it.
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:
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.
The table below contains enhancements for PSYCAS 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 |
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 |
Add Program Page |
New program filters are 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 |
The table below contains enhancements for PSYCAS 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 |
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 |
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 |
|
Applicant Portal |
GDPR Question |
The GDPR question asks users located in a European Union country, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland to choose if they want to opt into our policies when creating an account. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The Program Plans question, which asked the applicant when they intended to apply, was moved to the Other Information section. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Evaluations |
Applicants must request at least three letters of evaluation and can request a maximum of five. Previously, applicants could only request a maximum of three letters of evaluation. Additionally, the instructions were updated to better assist applicants. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Organization Details |
Instead of rebuilding your program in the prelaunch environment, you can import your program from a previous cycle's production environment into the prelaunch environment. You can access the Import from Previous Cycle button in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment. Visit the Import Your Programs page for more information. |
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). |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Details Page |
You can view TOEFL MyBest scores in the Standardized Tests panel of the Applicant Details page. Additionally, you can view scores in the Full Application PDF under the Documents panel of the Applicant Details page. All TOEFL iBT score reports sent after August 1, 2019, will include the applicant's MyBest scores as well as the individual scores from each test date. |
No action required by participating programs 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 |
|
WebAdMIT |
Export Manager 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 exports and full application PDFs that adhere to your list's criteria. For more information, see the Export Manager and PDF Manager pages. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
In Progress Applicants Search Page |
CASs can now create a custom Program Plans question and answer values that are available in:
|
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |