Behind the Scenes Services for Application Processing

1. Behind the Scenes Services for Application Processing Katie Wedgewood,Training Specialist, Liaison Stephen Naso, Director, Training & Knowledge, Liaison International

2. Liaison Academy Mission: foster excellence in admissions through the production and dissemination of information and knowledge.  • Your time is important! • Use Liaison Academy to: • Quickly access all Liaison product resources • Learn more about Liaison’s products through on-demand training including live and recorded webinars • Educate staff with in-person workshops and professional development • Benefits: • Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) • Streamlined eLearning and Webinars for all Liaison products • Enrollment-related professional development courses Participation Wanted! Stop by our booth to complete our survey and be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Amazon gift card!

3. Today’s Learning Objectives By the end of this session, you’ll be able to describe Liaison’s role in application processing and what goes on “behind the scenes.” We’ll provide an overview of the following: • Processing • Customer Service • Verification, including GPA Calculation • Professional Transcript Entry • Reapplication Workflow

4. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) Participants who successfully complete this session will earn 0.1 CEU credits. To earn CEU credit for this session you must: • Participate in today's workshop in its entirety, including demonstrations, discussions, and Q&A sessions.​​ • Complete an evaluation at the end of the session.​

5. Who’s who at Liaison? Customer Solutions Management Account Management Training & Knowledge Management Client Support Specialist Team Provides WebAdMIT support via phone and email. Provides product training and documentation. Provides ongoing support to admissions teams throughout the cycle. Onboards new programs and manages the ongoing relationship. SUPPORT FOR YOUR ADMISSIONS TEAM SUPPORT FOR YOUR APPLICANTS Customer Service Processing Verification Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) Answers application-related questions. • Receives and digitizes incoming mail, then uploads to applications. Ensures all coursework was entered correctly. An optional service if applicants would like a specialist to enter their coursework for them.

6. Customer Service 40 Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) field applicant and evaluator calls, emails, and chats Monday through Friday, 9–5 ET. • Each CAS has a dedicated customer service team to assist with application-related requirements. • We do not answer questions related to: • Admissions requirements. • Content and duration of a program. • Financial aid, scholarships, and tuition. • Course enrollment/registration. • Prerequisites and supplemental requirements. • Status of an application after it has been Verified.

7. Processing Department 15 Document Processors open, scan, and migrate physical and virtual mail to applications. Items processed by this team include: • Transcripts received via mail and electronically via Credential Solutions, National Student Clearinghouse, and Parchment. • Official test scores (GRE, TOEFL, etc.). • Official foreign transcript evaluations (ECE, WES). • Once a document is received, it is sorted by service, opened, authenticated, scanned, and posted to the application. • Personal information such as Social Security Numbers are redacted for security purposes.

8. Verification Department 55 verifiers ensure all required coursework information has been reported accurately on an application (aka Coursework Verification). But wait… how does verification work?

9. Verification Overview Verification occurs only for CASs that require applicants to enter college-level coursework. • Applicants must submit official transcripts to the CAS. • All entered coursework is compared to the official transcripts we receive. This includes a review of the: • Degree, terms, and term type (i.e., quarter or semester-based system) • Course prefixes, titles, subjects • Attempted credits and grades (standard A-F values) • Classifications (i.e., repeated courses, test scores, honors level, etc.)

10. How does Verification work? Continued As the Verifiers review the coursework, they ensure courses are placed in the correct course subject categories (e.g., English, Math, Science, etc.).  • These course subject categories are defined by the CAS’s national association. • Grades are converted to a standard CAS grade value. • A standard set of GPAs is calculated, which may include: • Overall GPA • Year-Level GPAs • Science and Non-Science GPAs • BCP (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) • GPAs by School (for example, all coursework complete at ABC University)

11. GPA Calculation Example • Notes: • GPAs are calculated in semester hours. • Non-graded credits are not included in GPAs.

12. Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) Department 12 Professional Transcript Entry Specialists enter coursework on behalf of applicants. • Over 20 CASs currently offer the PTE service. • This is only for completed coursework earned at accredited, US and English-Canadian schools. • Fee Structure: • $69 for up to 3 transcripts • $95 for 4 to 6 transcripts • $145 for 7 or more transcripts

13. PTE Process • The applicant signs up for PTE: • Enter PTE-ineligible coursework (i.e., planned or in-progress coursework). • Submit all official transcripts. • Submit their application. • Liaison’s PTE Specialists enter coursework. • Once all coursework is entered, the applicant is notified. Applicants match prerequisites, if necessary. • If the PTE Specialist encounters any issues, they contact the applicant. • Once the applicant reviews and approves coursework, the application moves into verification.

14. Re-applicant Process