1. Streamlining the Admissions Review Process: A Deeper Dive
2017 CAPCSD Conference
New Orleans
April 20, 2017

2. Introductions – Your Presenters
Katie Strong, PhD
Assistant Professor
Communication Disorders
Central Michigan University
Kenn Apel, PhD
Professor and Chair Communication Science and Disorders
University of South Carolina
Karen Jacobs, MA
VP, Client Success
Liaison International

3. Today’s Agenda What is CSDCAS? Streamline by: Showcasing your program
Maximizing efficiencies
Workflow
Queries
Communication tools
Assignments
Scoring rubrics
Interviews
Recommendation letters

4. What is CSDCAS
206
2013
1999
2006
203
CSDCAS is the centralized application service for programs in audiology and speech language pathology

5. Centralized Application Service (CAS)
Medicine
Dental
Physical Therapy
Psychology
Pharmacy
Nursing
Communication Sciences & Disorders
Nutrition
Naturopathic
Public Health
Physician Assistant
Podiatry
Veterinary
Occupational Therapy
Allied Health
Athletic Training
Orthotic/Prosthetic
Optometry
PSYCAS 5

7. 1,200,000+ 5,200+ 900+ 99% 35+ 2+ Liaison by the Numbers
applications/yr
Founded 1990
350+ employees
Headquartered in Watertown, MA
Locations: NY, DC
Admissions and enrollment specialists
5,200+
programs
900+
campuses
99%
retention
Every company has a lot of numbers, as we do. If I can call you attention to any of them on the screen, it isn’t the Millions of apps or the number of campuses, but the more than 250 employees dedicated to enrollment management. THAT, is all we do. And the other important number is the 99% retention, and that is because more than half of that 250 number are dedicated to account management, client services and applicant support ... Somewhere in the neighborhood of 140 staff members in total.
35+
associations 2+
decades experience

8. High level goals for CSDCAS
Simplify repetitive info that applicants have to provide (ex. biographic, courses, etc.);
Maintain flexibility for each program to keep unique features;
Streamline evaluation process; and
To provide data for meaningful reports and statistics to the discipline and profession.
Provide platform to engage in a meaningful assessment of applicants to address institutional goals and mission.

9. Showcase your program - branding

10. Update Institutional Website
Provide clear instruction on your website regarding application process, including requirements to submit a supplemental application, if needed. Include a link to CSDCAS.

11. Planning is paramount Using Workflow to Streamline Your Process
Whiteboard to analyze your process
How many touch points?
What are the triggers?
Does it result in a move to the step?
Does it result in communication?

12. Maximize Efficiencies – Local Status/Data Collection
Use Local Status to identify the steps in your process
Consider touch points as data collection buckets
Be granular – Ex. Denied students – reasons can be different
Allows you to do a better, more thorough and data driven forensic analysis at the end of the cycle
Ability to respond to data requests quicker and with more detail
Comparative reporting allows for checks throughout the cycle on whether you are meeting admissions goals (ex. diversity, gpa, etc.)

13. Workflow and Efficiencies
Speed to decision
A well constructed process, delivered effectively will move students through it more efficiently
Offers an advantage – respond to top students quicker
Go paperless
Reduce unforced errors
Sending offer letters to the wrong students
Errors in verifying applicant grades and test scores
Increase accountability
Decrease clerical time and efforts

14. Maximize Efficiencies - Queries
Explore your applicant pool and segment it into workflow batches

15. Streamline Your Communication
Standardize and automate communications. Configure touch points and keep applicants informed

16. Streamline - Workflow
Batch clerical functions

17. Streamline Your Review and Decision-Making- Assignments
Online Applicant Reviews
Create review forms custom to your programs.
Allow faculty to review online and easily share feedback on
applicants.
Allow faculty to review files from
any location
Can open full application at once
(PDFs) rather than individual
tabs (loose papers)

18. Maximize Efficiencies – Scoring Rubrics
Create sophisticated rules to score and rank applicants

19. Maximize Efficiencies - Interviews
Integrate interview results into scoring and ranking; supports multiple simultaneous rating forms for different interview formats

20. Maximize Efficiencies - LORs
Use a single evaluator portal to upload a single recommender for a student’s applications to all programs

21. Other Efficiencies
Able to easily identify and then discuss students who were scored with great discrepancies between scorers (this is instantly available) or who are in the “grey zone”
Can look back at students struggling in their first year and determine what may have foreshadowed that in their application
Focuses faculty (and staff) more on how they score; has led to more efficiency in rating

22. QUESTIONS?
QUESTIONS?