Screening candidates and finding the ones who are the best fit for a particular graduate program is now faster, easier and greener, thanks to the Healthcare Administration, Management & Policy Centralized Application Service (HAMPCAS) launched by AUPHA in September of this year. The web-based solution enables prospective students to submit a single, standardized application to multiple participating institutions and offers admissions staff a single portal for access to applications and applicant data. As we go to press, 511 applications are in progress and 30 institutions are participating, with more joining every week.
Admissions processes have traditionally been labor-intensive and expensive, involving large amounts of paper and significant person hours to organize and verify student data. With HAMPCAS, those requirements are vastly reduced, saving time, money, and trees. Matthew Stern, Program Coordinator for the MS-HSM Program at Rush University, is already seeing significant savings and anticipates a 90% reduction in paper consumption compared with last year. Stern also pointed out that less reliance on data entry means fewer errors and faster preparation of application packages for review. In fact, schools have access to applicant information as soon as the applicant submits his/her application. And reducing the clerical workload means resources—staff and money—can be redirected to more productive activities. What admissions operation couldn’t use more resources allocated to recruiting and marketing?
HAMPCAS also relieves admissions staff of much of the burden of quality control. All applications submitted via HAMPCAS undergo comprehensive academic verification, and trained CAS staff authenticate submitted materials as official and original. The CAS staff serve as an investigative clearinghouse, using methods such as random verification of letters of reference to identify fraudulent application materials. Another big plus: the standardized formatting of materials facilitates applicant review, making it easier and more efficient for a school to screen their applicant pool and focus in-depth review on those applications that are the best fit with that particular institution. It also expedites that most necessary, but potentially demanding task—on-demand reporting. According to Dr. Lanis Hicks, Professor and Associate Chair of Health Management & Informatics at the University of Missouri,School of Medicine, “The reporting tools will be a tremendous asset (and time saver) for assessments and evaluations of the program.” She noted that “being able to make comparisons and aggregations across applicants and over time” will be invaluable.
A frequently expressed concern about centralized application services pertains to flexibility. After spending years developing and refining its application and admission processes, how could it be worthwhile for a program to start using what many assume is a generic system? The answer is that HAMPCAS does not replace the existing application protocol–it simply offers a faster, more accurate means of capturing, assembling, and accessing applicant materials. HAMPCAS offers extensive customization, making it extremely adaptable to program-specific policies and processes. Each admissions office can tailor the software to its unique needs, e.g., set customized applicant statuses, calculate customized GPAs, and score applicants with its program’s academic rubric. Each program can also choose to ask its own specific questions or administer a supplemental application to capture additional information. Mr. Stern commented that he and his colleagues at Rush’s MS-HMS program have worked very hard over several years to build and fine-tune a complex admissions program, and he was happy to report that HAMPCAS offers all of the customization he could ask for. “We can use it to do everything exactly the way we have been doing it.”
Among other things, HAMPCAS provides more than 21 standard and program-specific GPA calculations, which can be especially useful when processing applications from international students. The system also enables issuing customized communications to a single applicant, a subset, or all applicants. HAMPCAS is web-based, so there is no software to install. The admissions office controls access by granting authorization to individual staff and faculty members. Authorized users can access applicant data any time, anywhere via a secure Internet connection.
While it’s too soon after launch to demonstrate with numbers, AUPHA believes—and participating programs agree—that HAMPCAS can increase the quality and the quantity of applicant pools by providing increased exposure. In other words, free marketing! Every participating member is listed at the HAMPCAS website and the system is being promoted in a variety of ways including via student-related websites such as ExploreHealthCareers.org, and idealist.org as well as Facebook, Twitter updates, and wherever AUPHA exhibits. Mr. Stern is confident the listing will attract candidates who might not apply to Rush otherwise, “because it’s easy and it’s less expensive than submitting an additional separate application.” Dr. Hicks noted that the program at Missouri has already had “a couple of inquiries from people who saw us on the HAMPCAS list.” Lydia Middleton, President & CEO of AUPHA, said that while some members are waiting until after the first cycle to join, “Most recognize that it won’t be long before participation in HAMPCAS becomes a competitive advantage, as so many of the long-standing, nationally recognized programs have joined.”
In a broader context, HAMPCAS supports the field of health management and policy education by helping to brand the field and the profession. In the words of Ms. Middleton, HAMPCAS “gives us another means to distinguish our programs from generalist MPH or MBA programs.”
For applicants, HAMPCAS offers substantial time and cost savings. In addition to eliminating duplication of effort preparing multiple copies of credentials, the service makes it easy to check out a variety of schools. The user-friendly interface lets applicants download and print worksheets to organize their material, and complete the application over multiple sessions; customize essays or use a standard version; update the application with new information after the initial submission; obtain real-time access to application status and progress; and pay application fees via e-commerce.
Participation in HAMPCAS is a free member benefit to AUPHA graduate member programs. To view the most current list of HAMPCAS participants, visit http://www.aupha.org/HAMPCASSchools. To learn more, contact Liane Pinero-Kluge at the AUPHA headquarters at lianep.kluge@aupha.org or by phone at 703-894-0940 x110. To participate, download the Intent to Participate agreement from the AUPHA website, sign and return the agreement to Liane or fax to 703-894-0941. Your internal stakeholders will be added to the HAMPCAS User Group in order to receive communications, including information about timelines and training sessions.