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It will be offered to graduate program members and, at press time, the association is considering including the development of an undergraduate CAS in the initial rollout as well so that the entire membership can benefit.

“AUPHA has been exploring the idea of launching a centralized application service for the health administration programs for some months now,” said AUPHA President and CEO, Lydia Middleton. “Many of our fellow health professions have already launched highly successful centralized application services, so we have been slow to adopt. But in waiting for the right time we can take advantage of all of the lessons learned by our predecessors.”

Because the advantages of using a Centralized Application Service (CAS) are so numerous, AUPHA consultant Robert Ruiz, who is Director of Admissions at the University of Michigan Medical School recommends that member schools give serious consideration to participation.  “I do believe they [the programs] will ultimately be at a competitive disadvantage if they don’t join,” Said Ruiz. Ruiz iwas hired by AUPHA to consultant with the HAMPCAS advisory group.

Rewards for Program Members

Participation in HAMPCAS will be available at no charge to all AUPHA Full, Associate, and Associate Candidate Graduate program members as a member benefit. A survey has been sent to undergraduate program directors to gauge the level of interest and intent to participate. If sufficient interest exists, an undergraduate component to HAMPCAS will be included.

The Web-based service provides a portal through which students can apply to multiple member schools and  upload letters of recommendation and transcripts  via  a single application,  yet still tailor personal statements to specific programs . Programs or admissions offices will have secure online access to the service to view application details, track applicants and applicant progress, and create statistical reports specific to the program.

Having this “one-stop-shop” for applications makes the application process much more attractive and more accessible to a larger pool of potential applicants both nationally and worldwide. For admissions offices, there are huge benefits at the administrative level:

• streamlined admissions process to relieve staff of administrative burden
• reduced clerical time and subsequent overhead costs
• customized application reports to simplify the review process
• calculated standard and program-specific GPAs
• verified academic qualifications, test scores and letters of reference
• trained CAS staff that provides phone support

Admissions staff will, as a result, have more time to focus on higher level recruitment and marketing, allowing member programs to compete more effectively for the best students.

Many other health professions already use a CAS to provide an efficient and effective means for students to apply to their programs or schools. HAMPCAS will give healthcare management and policy programs the tools to be competitive. Daniel Gentry, PhD of the Rush University Department of Health Systems Management, and chair of the HAMPCAS advisory group agreed that this raises the bar for AUPHA. He said, “As healthcare reform is implemented over the next decade and as healthcare leaders work to transform healthcare, HAMPCAS will help attract the best and brightest by raising the field's visibility.”

Learning from Experience

Ruiz has consulted with or worked for several other associations like AUPHA , including ASHP, and has been instrumental in developing other CASs for Osteopath and Physician’s Assistant schools. As an admissions officer and a user, Ruiz has vast experience with the technical aspects of a CAS. Although he does not claim to be a computer programmer or a software engineer, he has been closely involved in the product development while administering the service.

Ruiz has worked with CAS systems from the grass roots up. He was working with the Centralized Application Service for Physician’s Assistants (CASPA) during the tedious transition from paper to electronic applications in 2000 and said that even though the resultant system was initially very basic, the improvement in the application process was huge, so huge at first that the early users were overwhelmed by the volume of applications.

As Ruiz jokingly said, “With technology, it’s possible to have full control over the process, but not the users!” In the early years, students would typically not apply until close to the deadline; this resulted in a system overload that slowed everything down. This problem was solved by implementation of a two-tier application fee for the CASPA applicants; other Associations using the CAS subsequently adopted a rolling admissions process to spread the load.

The next big improvement in the CAS came when the system was adapted to handle electronic letters of recommendation in 2002. In the years following, the service has gone from strength to strength and all the early teething problems have been resolved with software improvements and advances in technology. Servers are configured to manage the load 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7) and the system has been fine-tuned to protect all the data.

It could be suggested that this may lead to students making multiple applications because the process is easy and requires less effort than manually preparing individual applications. Ruiz recalled that this had at one time created an abundance of non-bona fide applicants, but this was soon resolved by individual health professions setting fee schedules appropriate to enrollment needs. He also added that in his experience, there are never too many applicants.

AUPHA may be one of the last healthcare associations to adopt this system, but the advantage of that is the association gets to benefit from the lessons learned by its predecessors. Ruiz is confident the system will run smoothly for AUPHA and that members will have the latest, greatest, and best services, because he said it is now just a matter of customization, “What specifics do they want? How far do they want to go?” he added. Ruiz expects the system may soon include criminal background checks.

For those who are unsure about the viability of such a system, there is a wealth of data available from other healthcare professions using a CAS. According to Ruiz, there is an average of 85 to 100 percent participation in current CASs used by other healthcare professions, because there are no failures in the system. He maintains that it is a stable platform with a long history of success and said, “It’s rare to find a process that’s a win, win, win—this is clearly one of them. It’s a win for the applicants because they only have to make one application. It’s a win for the schools because it eliminates a lot of the things that used to take a long time to do. It’s a win for the Association because it professionalizes the profession—it is the industry standard.”

Advantages to Students

With fast-paced lives and a technically savvy mindset, applicants will always seek out the quickest and easiest option, which HAMPCAS provides. Potential students can research all the programs that use the CAS and can compare program requirements through one database. Once they have narrowed down their choices, applicants benefit from the convenience of only having to make one online application to however many schools they have chosen, therefore eliminating duplication and saving time and effort.

The application procedure is straightforward; it includes detailed user-friendly instructions and a comprehensive online checklist to smooth the navigation process. The software even incorporates validation rules to reduce unintended applicant errors and omissions. Students also benefit from only having to submit one set of test scores, transcripts, and letters of reference. The initial application fee of $115 can be paid electronically and additional applications thereafter are only $40 each.

The system has even been designed to handle the ever-changing wants and needs of busy individuals. Applicants can re-visit their application after the initial submission in order to make changes or update it with new information. The Web-based service provides 24/7 access for students to check receipt of transcripts or letters of reference and track the progress of their application. Applicants also have access to a knowledgeable CAS support staff at any time throughout the application process.

Benefits to the Association

HAMPCAS will generate a wealth of data for use by the Association and its members. Knowledge of the number of applicants versus the number of applications and having access to a complete database of applicant characteristics will assist in developing recruitment strategies and workforce projections. Longitudinal standardized data sets will be available for research purposes and the CAS will become a rich source of information on student application trends in the field.