CCCApply 2008 Annual Updates March/April 2008 CCCApply & CCCTran User Workshops 2008 Rev. 1d

Overview of 2008 Updates  Over 70 change requests submitted  About half of submitted requests approved by Steering Committee  120-page specification submitted to Xap in November  On CCCApply project website, cccnext.net/cccapply/  More changes to program and test than for any previous annual updates  Updates live on March 24  Urgent changes implemented earlier

Focus of 2008 Updates  New requirements and initiatives  Dependent vs. independent minors  Omit parent/guardian questions for emancipated or otherwise independent minors  Simplify identification questions/logic  Security: protect student data  Account integrity  Clarify what a CCCApply account is  Minimize students sharing an account  Minimize students creating duplicate accounts

Focus of 2008 Updates  Make CCCApply easier to use  Simplify account creation  Simplify account recovery  Improve school finders  Improve wording and formatting  Improve SLO survey  Update Privacy Policy  Miscellaneous enhancements and corrections cont’d

New Requirements: AB668  AB668 requires applicants to sign financial aid statement  (a) The CCC Chancellor’s Office shall develop a statement that individual students will be asked to sign, which acknowledges that federal and state funds are available to assist with the costs of college and that information regarding these programs, and assistance in applying for those funds can be obtained at the financial aid office. The chancellor shall request the colleges to require students to sign this acknowledgment in the application for enrollment at all campuses of the California Community Colleges in the next regular local cycle in which those forms are printed and the next regular cycle in which electronic applications are updated.

New Requirements: AB668  Statement crafted by CCCCO, added to Application Submittal page cont’d

New Requirements: SB272  Enrollment priority to veterans for 2 years after discharge from active duty  SB272 effective January 1, 2008  New field for Military Discharge Date  Requires adding field to download project  Edited against Military Status  Implemented November 2007

Foster Youth Success Initiative  Statewide initiative for improving and/or expanding services to ensure the educational success of former and current Foster Youth  Checkbox added to Needs & Interests page  Live in October 2007  New download field: ‘Interests – Foster youth’

Dependent Minors: Before  Questions on two pages identified dependent minors  Dependent minor status not identified until Residency 1 if under 19 and Marital Status = decline to state  All unmarried applicants under 19 classified as dependent minors  All asked for parent/guardian info  No way to identify emancipated minors  Emancipated minors, if unmarried, had to deal with parent/guardian questions

Dependent Minors: Before cont’d Residency 1 page Personal Info page

Dependent Minors: Now  All dependent minors identified on Personal Info page  Applicant under 19 is independent and not asked about parent/guardian if:  Currently or previously married  Legally emancipated  On active duty in armed services  No living parent or guardian  Self-supporting for one year

Dependent Minors: Now cont’d New pop-up help

Dependent Minors: Now  No change to Residency Algorithm  No change to downloads required  Same ‘over19OrMarried’ field used  Field = ‘Yes’ when applicant is: Over 19 OR married OR otherwise independent  New field for ‘under19Married’ can also be downloaded if desired  Field = ‘Yes’ when applicant is: Under 19 AND (married OR otherwise independent) cont’d

Security Issue 1  Browser’s ‘back’ function could be used to display CCCApply pages after user had logged off but not closed browser  Solution: CCCApply no longer allows ‘back’ function to display pages after logoff  “Please close browser” message removed from screen that is displayed after logoff

Security Issue 2  Problem encountered when colleges link to CCCApply in new browser windows/tabs  User links to CCCApply, logs on, closes window/tab instead of logging out  That user is still logged on when new user links to CCCApply at same computer  New user has access to previous user’s personal data  SSN viewable only in Student Print of submitted app

Security Issue 2  Solution: CCCApply now requires logon whenever a user links from a college website  Even if previous user has not logged out, new user cannot access previous user’s account  Solution: Logoff buttons and prompts significantly enhanced  ‘Timeout’ not implemented because a time short enough to enhance security would be disruptive to users cont’d

Security Issue 3  Logging off: Students on public computers sometimes forget  Walk away from computer without logging off or closing browser window/tab  Solution: The best we can do is:  Provide emphatic logoff prompts  Make logoff links more prominent  ‘Timeout’ not implemented because a time short enough to enhance security would be disruptive to users

Security Issue 3 cont’d

Security Issue 3 cont’d

Security Issue 3 cont’d

Clarifying CCCApply Accounts  Users linking from college websites are often uncertain about the account they must log on to or create  Most users enter CCCApply this way  Often they try to log on to college account  Solution: Enhanced Logon page for students entering via college websites  Clearer language about account logon/creation  New help link: “What Is CCCApply?”

Clarifying CCCApply Accounts cont’d

Clarifying CCCApply Accounts  Pop-up for “What Is CCCApply?” link cont’d

Clarifying CCCApply Accounts  Welcome sent after account created Subj: Welcome to CCCApply Thank you for creating a user account with CCCApply ( the statewide system for online applications to the California Community Colleges. Your account username is “ ”. Please retain this in your records in case you forget your username. You can use this account for applications to most California Community Colleges. Whenever you start a new application, most of it will already be filled out from the data on your previous application if you use this same account. This will make future applications quick and easy. To preserve your personal information in this account, please do not share this account with anyone (even family members). Your account also lets you log into CSU Mentor ( the online resource and application website for the California State University system. cont’d

Account Use Problems  Application histories become confusing if:  Multiple users share an account  One user has multiple accounts  Creates problems when searching for applicants in Control Center  ‘Search for Applicant’ function actually searches in live account data  Searches using data appearing on application will fail if account has been reused and the searched-on data altered

Account Sharing Solutions  Applicant now cannot change both date of birth and first or last name at the same time  Page cannot be saved if both fields have new values  Should catch anyone sharing an account  Determined sharer could change and save one field, then change and save the other Personal Info page

Subj: Welcome to CCCApply … To preserve your personal information in this account, please do not share this account with anyone (even family members). … Account Sharing Solutions  Stronger prompting not to share accounts Logon page Account Creation page Welcome cont’d

Account Duplication Solutions  New accounts checked for likely duplicates  Existing account with same address or same first name, last name, and date of birth  User prompted to recover existing account  Can choose to proceed with account creation

Simplified Account Creation  Fewer questions (data fields) on Account Creation page  Only asks for required account data  User now selects security question from menu rather than typing it in  CCCApply suggests available usernames if username entered is already in use

Simplified Account Recovery  Less distracting text on screens  User is simply prompted to submit either:  Username and address  First name, last name, and address  If account found, user is asked security question  Prompted to check and correct entries if account not found  If security question is answered, user is prompted to choose a new password and is then logged in  Username displayed on password screen

New Account Recovery Button Previous links New buttons

Account Recovery: 1, 2,

Improved School Finders  Applies to High School and College finders  Separate paths for U.S. and foreign schools  Manual entry for foreign schools  No need to go through finder three times first  Clearer layout and instructions for finding U.S. schools

Improved School Finders cont’d Branch for U.S. Schools

Improved School Finders cont’d Branch for Foreign Schools: Straight to Text Entry

‘My Applications’  Application Manager now called ‘My Applications’  Friendlier, more user-oriented  Less confusing  Users entering from college websites do not see the Application Manager when they begin  To these users, links to “My Applications” should be more understandable  Applies to all three CCCApply applications: Standard, International, and BOG Waiver

‘My Applications’ cont’d Confirmation page

Page Navigation  ‘Prev.’ and ‘Next’ don’t suggest page is saved  Users told to “save” page may not understand  ‘Prev.’ arrow is now ‘Save & Go Back’  ‘Next’ arrow is now ‘Save & Continue’  Applies to all three CCCApply applications: standard, International, BOG Waiver

Improved SLO Survey  Will be presented continuously  Previously spec’d as 6 months on, 6 off  Survey link on Links & Opportunities page made more prominent  Comments section clarified  Some applicants used it for questions to colleges  Toggle to Spanish version added  Xap published procedure for downloading survey responses

Improved SLO Survey cont’d

Updated Privacy Policy  Existing Privacy Policy was out of date  Rewritten by Steering Committee team  Reviewed and revised by CCCCO and Xap legal counsels  Final approvals expected soon  Should be on live site by May

Residency & Term Start Date  California Residence questions  “In CA for 2 years” question now uses calculated date based on term start date  “Date stay in CA began” is now validated against term start date

Residency & Term Start Date  Other Residency questions referenced to term start date  Added term reference bar to Residency 1 and 2 cont’d

Residency & Term Start Date  Must re-answer all questions based on term start date if term is changed  Previously possible to submit improperly validated responses if term changed  Reference dates added to Student Print where they’re used in on-screen prompts  Personal Info page  Education page  Residency pages cont’d

Date References on Student Print

Miscellaneous Enhancements  Logical ordering of applications on My Applications page  By submittal date for submitted apps  By last edit date for apps in progress  Most recent at top  Both names required for Other Name Used  Some students omitted first name if only last name changed  Checkbox added for “no first name”

Miscellaneous Enhancements  Importance of stressed  Explanatory text next to fields  Statement about important s from colleges on Application Confirmation page  Considering message about Spam filtering of Xap and college s – not added for 2008 cont’d

Text Changes  Visa/Alien registration prompt on Residency 1  Was: “If you did not specify U.S. citizen, please enter the following:”  Changed to: “If you are not a U.S. citizen, please enter the following:”  FAFSA line on Links & Opportunities  Was: “Apply online for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid”  Changed to: “Go to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid”

Miscellaneous Corrections  Student Print now uses submitted rather than live (account) database  Previously always printed most recent app  Addresses validated once per session  CASS validation after each save could lead to redundant confirmation requests and error loops

Summary of 2008 Updates  A range of changes to make CCCApply easier to understand and use  Support for new requirements/initiatives  Identification of independent/emancipated minors  Changes addressing the problems of students sharing accounts and creating duplicate accounts  Significant security enhancements to protect student data

For More Information  Complete specification of 2008 Updates available on CCCApply project website  Explanation for each change request  Complete specification for each approved request  Reason for each deferred or declined request  Project website: cccnext.net/cccapply/

Thank you for attending!