PTCAS Program User Guide

Last updated
Save as PDF

This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the PTCAS 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-June and closes in early 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 PTCAS Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between early April and late May, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and APTA review submitted configurations in June.

WebAdMIT

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

Program Participation Requirements

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

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the PTCAS 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 PTCAS application and PTCAS 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 PTCAS Complete application status.
PTCAS 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 PTCAS 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 APTA before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, APTA 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:

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.
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 APTA.
- Note that PTCAS requires you to report the following Decision Codes by October 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.
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, Letters by Liaison, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements

2023-2024

The table below contains enhancements for PTCAS 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 – Release Statement	A Total Cost of Education Acknowledgment question was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Economic/Educational/Environmental Factors	2022 was added as an answer option to the Year of High School Graduation question. Additionally, the following questions were added: Did you participate in HOSA-Future Health Professional during high school? Were you a member of the National Society for High School Scholars (NSHSS) during high school? Did you receive or were you eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant at any time? Have you previously or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than a Doctor of Physical Therapy program? Have you ever matriculated in or attended any medical school or health profession as a candidate for a professional degree?	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 – Observation Hours	The Observation Hours section collects additional experience type details, roles of people shadowed, and hours for non-clinical settings.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Essay	The Essay prompt was updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page	Applicants' licenses and certifications data is now located under the Licenses and Certification panel on the Applicant Details page. Previously, it was listed under the Achievements panel.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch

2022-2023

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	Fee Waivers	If an applicant is eligible for a fee waiver but the fee waiver fund is depleted, then applicants can be alerted that they qualified for the fee waiver even though they could not be awarded one.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Fees	The application fee for the first program applicants apply to increased from $155 to $160. The application fee for additional programs that applicants apply to remains at $60 per program.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	The Sex question was updated to Legal Sex. Additionally, a Pronouns question was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Citizenship Information	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	Personal Information – Other Information	The Felony question was removed.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Release Statement	The release statement was updated to clarify that while PTCAS does not collect an applicant's criminal history, DPT programs may collect this information.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – References	The References section was removed, and letters of reference are no longer collected at the CAS level; instead, you can collect them at the program level through the Configuration Portal.	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	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	Documents	You can now request the following document types: CV/Resume Program-Specific	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Evaluations	You can now request or require letters of reference for each of your programs.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Configuration Portal	Organization Details	You can only access the Add Program and Copy Program buttons in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment. Additionally, 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	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).	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
Letters by Liaison	Recommendations	Recommenders can automatically reuse a completed recommendation for an applicant who requests they complete additional recommendations that are the same recommendation type as the original (e.g., academic, personal, etc.). Once activated by the recommender, any time the same applicant requests the same recommendation type, the system will automatically complete the recommendation and submit it. Recommenders will receive an email every Friday that records if the recommendation has been reused, and if so, for which programs. This feature can be turned off at any time by the recommender.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
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	Applicant Details Page Export Manager List Manager	The Address 2 field for observation hours data is now available in WebAdMIT.	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
WebAdMIT	Decision Codes	A new Deferred Decision Code is available to identify which applicants are included in the Liaison-supported Deferral Process.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available now
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	Export Manager List Manager	The Applicant Gateway Activities field grouping and associated fields were removed. Be sure to review your existing lists and exports to review and update your criteria, if applicable.	Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch