CCCApply Administrator 2.0: New Features

What is the CCCApply Administrator?

The CCCApply Administrator is the integrated, back-end admin configuration tool for the CCCApply Standard Application, CCCApply International Application, and the CC Promise Grant (BOG) Application. The current version of this system has been in production since 2012 and used by 110 CCCApply colleges.

This tool is required for maintaining custom, college-specific Terms, Majors, Rules & Messages, Supplemental Questions and other required and optional configuration settings integrated with the CCCApply applications.

What is the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0?

The new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 is primarily an application upgrade to the existing CCCApply Administrator (Admin 1.0), with a new look & feel and enhanced user navigation across all three integrated CCCApply applications (Standard, Promise Grant (BOG), and International). The technology has been upgraded from a PHP-based application to a java-based, spring boot platform, with a React user interface, which has allowed us to fix many of the bugs and issues that exist in our current administrator tool and implement one or two new features. Additional enhancements and new features and services are planned for future releases.

For more information on the CCCApply Administrator, please see, "What's the Difference Between the New Administrators?"

What are the changes between Admin 1.0 and the new 2.0?

The biggest change from Admin1 to the new 2.0 version is that it is no longer a stand-alone admin application.

CCCApply Administrator 2.0 is now an integrated application to the new CCC Administrator (known internally as CAP), the new, central “core administrator platform” system, providing SSO-based authentication, User management, and application access via a single point-of-entry for all college users to all CCCTC secure admin applications.

In addition, User management is now configured in the new core administrator platform, including roles, permissions, and user account creation.

Pilot Migration & Implementation

However, the critical distinction between this upgrade and other application upgrades is that the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 tool, and it's new core administrator gateway known as the CCC Administrator, will completely replace the current Admin 1.0 application. The two administrators (Admin 1.0 versus 2.0) cannot run in parallel; only one database can be talking to the CCCApply applications at one time. Once the new system is deployed in the Pilot environment, the existing Pilot Admin 1.0 system will be shut down. The CCCTC College Support Services team will work with a set of "beta" colleges to measure the migration, implementation, and user acceptance testing (UAT) plan to ensure success is achieved through measurable outcomes. Once the process is honed with the beta sites, the support team will work with each college individually to verify access and validate data and user migration. After colleges have completed testing and transitioned to the new service in the Pilot environment, we will move forward with the production migration and release, shutting down Admin 1.0 completely.

Our primary objective for this initial release is to roll out the new CCCApply Administrator tool with minimal changes to existing features and functionality in order to focus on the successful migration of all college data and users to the new system - and transition users through the new CCC Administrator gateway, the new "core administrator platform" that leverages single sign-on (SSO) authentication to this and other current and future CCCTC admin applications via one single point-of-entry using your existing user accounts setup in the outgoing Admin 1.0. This new central service minimizes the need for college and district users to maintain multiple URLs and user accounts for their CCCTC web applications.

Feature Parity

To ensure the successful migration and implementation of all college data and user accounts for all 110 colleges currently using CCCApply, our focus for this initial release is to roll out the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 tool with minimal changes to the existing features and functionality and transition users to the tool through the new CCC Administrator gateway using their existing college or district user accounts, thereby enabling single sign-on (SSO) authentication to current and future CCCTC admin applications via one single point-of-entry.

This means that your current Pilot and Production user accounts won't change, but the URLs you'll use to get to them will. See "What features are new or have changed in the new Administrator 2.0 system" below for more details.

Ninety percent (90%) of the development requirements for this upgrade is feature parity, which means the majority of the features are exactly the same and function the same way as they do today in the current Admin 1.0 tool. However, there are a few new features - which are discussed below - and several important changes to note.

Let's break the features down like this: 1) Which features have not changed and function exactly the same in the new Administrator 2.0?, and 2) What features are new or have changed in the new Administrator 2.0 system?

**Which features and functionality are exactly the same in the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0?**

As outlined above, the majority of the feature modules, services, utilities, and user experience will be exactly the same in the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 upgrade. This includes the back-end database structure and all the admin data fields, the APIs, and for the most part, the user interface behaves very similar to what you are used to today in Admin 1.0. The Administrator will still integrate with the CCCApply applications (CCCApply Standard, International and the CC Promise Grant (BOG) applications) and authorized college staff will continue to configure your custom, college-specific data settings within this tool. This integration between the CCCApply Administrator and the student-facing CCCApply applications will continue to be managed, and kept up-to-date, in order for students to submit their CCCApply admissions- and financial aid applications to your college.

Authorized User Functionality

Authorized users must still have a user account to authenticate into the Administrator, and will continue to provision which applications the user has permission to manage.

Applications

The applications that can be managed in the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 are:

CCCApply Standard Application
CCCApply International Application
CC Promise Grant (BOG) Application

Administrator Modules

CCCApply Standard Application:

Terms
Majors
Rules & Messages
Supplemental Questions
Reset Downloads
College & District Information

CCCApply International Application:

Terms
Majors
Rules & Messages
Supplemental Questions
English Proficiency Requirements
Reset Downloads
College & District Information

CC Promise Grant (BOG) Application:

Rules & Messages
Reset Downloads
College & District Information

New Features

What features are new or have changed in the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0?

Below is the full list of new features included in the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 upgrade, as well as a summary of the existing functionality that has moved from the CCCApply Administrator to the new integrated CCC Administrator system, the core administrator platform that now manages all User management and single sign-on authentication.

Major Category Filter
Ed Goal Alignment Filter (Note: This filter will not be included in the Production version release on July 27. Read more below.)
Spam Filter User Interface

The Major Category Filter

Many colleges have requested the ability to branch the display of their Majors in CCCApply as “Meta-majors” - which are collections of academic majors that have related courses, programs, degrees, and certificates. The intent of using Meta-majors is to help the student choose a degree or program of study based on their interests, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

The Major Category filter will allow colleges to define one or more custom category values and align each major to the categories. Categories are created in the Add/Edit Major modal in the Majors module in the CCCApply or International administrator applications. Categories can also be added in bulk using the Import Majors function in the Majors module.

Important: This new filter is optional. Colleges do not have to implement the Major Category filter.

To implement this new filter to display in the student-facing applications, a new data field was added to the Majors database table: <major_category>. The new data field will function similarly to the way supplemental questions work, whereby the implementation of the category fields triggers the display of a new "Major Category" dropdown menu on the Enrollment page of the student-facing CCCApply Standard or International applications. If the college does not implement the new category filter - meaning, they do not add one or more categories (values) to the major category field - the Major Category dropdown will not appear in the application and the college's list of majors will display in alphabetical order in the existing "Intended Major or Program of Study" menu on the Enrollment page of the applications.

Note: Categories must be setup separately for the Standard and International applications.

The Ed Goal Alignment Filter

The Ed Goal alignment filter is another optional feature added to the Majors module, designed to give colleges the option to branch/display their majors and programs based on the education goal selected by the student. In other words, if a college chooses to align their majors and programs to education goals using the Ed Goal Alignment filter, when a student selects the education goal “Obtain a two-year degree without transfer” only the majors or programs that have been aligned to this education goal will be displayed to the student in the “Intended Major or Program of Study” dropdown menu on the Enrollment page in the Application.

Important: At the time of this publication, the Education Goal Alignment filter will not be released in the Production version of the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 on July 27, 2018. It will only be available to colleges in the Pilot Administrator version until such time as the development team can confirm successful user acceptance testing (UAT) from beta colleges and feedback can be incorporated into the implementation and user documentation.

Click here to read more about the Ed Goal Alignment Filter...

To implement the new Ed Goal Alignment filter, colleges must align all majors and programs to one or more Education Goals, and every education goal must be aligned to one or more major or program. This requires colleges to commit to a comprehensive implementation setup plan. The alignment process can be done manually for each major by editing each Major record individually (select Edit Major icon) and placing a check mark next to each education goal that should display that specific major or program. Alternately, the alignment can be completed by exporting the full set of majors to a CSV file, and adding the appropriate education goal value(s) in the corresponding Ed Goal column. Detailed instructions are available in the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 user guide for colleges that would like to beta test the Ed Goal Alignment filter in the Pilot Administrator.

SPAM Filter User Interface

The Spam Filter User Interface is arguably the most important new feature being added to the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 because it is not an optional feature and colleges will need to monitor their spam filter service to process all applications that have been identified as fraud and suspended from reaching the college's download client. This is not only a new back-end web service added to the CCCApply Standard post-submission pipeline, it is e

The purpose of the Spam Filter web service is to identify fraudulent applications coming into our system through CCCApply and prevent them from being passed to and processed by our colleges as legitimate applications.

A full series of articles detailing the new Spam Filter Web Service, including:

In addition to the post-submission web service, the user interface suspension folder, the end-to-end system includes performance monitoring as well as monitoring to alert the colleges when spam is added to the suspension folder for their college. Two different email notifications will be sent to the college:

Daily Spam Alert Email: Sends an email to the Admissions Office Contact Email" to alert the college that one or more applications have been suspended from the post-submission download process and need to be managed in the Spam Filter User Interface in the new CCCApply Admin 2.0.
Reminder Spam Alert Email: Sends an email to the Admissions Office Contact Email" to alert the college that one or more applications has been sitting in the suspension folder (Spam Filter User Interface) for 3 days or more. This email alert is a reminder to the college that all applications suspended in the Spam Filter need to be "confirmed" by the college in order for the model to continue to grow and learn.

Spam Email Alerts Sent to Admissions Office Contact
Two email alerts will be sent to the college if one or more applications are suspended in their Spam Filter User Interface. The email alerts will be sent to the email address entered in the Admissions Office Contact Email field in the College Information page, accessible from the header in the CCCApply Administrator 2.0. Colleges should ensure that this address is valid during the implementation and testing process.

More resources will be available to support the successful implementation and regular monitoring of the Spam Filter Web Service, including the new updated CCCApply Administrator 2.0 User Guide documentation, video tutorials, and live training sessions during the Pilot implementation period.

Features Moved to the CCC Administrator

A significant change to the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0 upgrade is the removal of user and access management from inside the tool to the new CCC Administrator system in order to share that system administration, including user roles, permissions and other identity management - as well as single sign-on authentication to and with all current and future CCCTC admin applications.

The following functionality has moved from the CCCApply Administrator to the core “CCC Administrator” platform. College users will be required to work with CCCTC College Support Services on implementation of these relocated features to ensure a successful roll-out and user acceptance testing.

Getting to the New Administrators

New College-Specific URLs: With the release of the new CCC Administrator system, the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 is no longer a stand-alone application with a direct URL. Each college (or district) will be given a new, custom URL that will replace their current Admin 1.0 link that will login staff users to the CCC Administrator system first. The new central system will authenticate the user via SSO and will drop them onto the new CCC Administrator landing page. There is no longer a direct link to the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 tool.

PILOT IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT: Colleges will be contacted by CCCTC College Support Services between June 28 - July 9 to schedule an implementation and support session. A comprehensive Pilot Implementation Plan, including a one-on-one Pilot migration support session to be scheduled at the college's convenience, follow-up calls and online training sessions, live and recorded webinars, and written documentation will be provided to each college during the Pilot preview period. For more information, or to schedule your one-on-one implementation and support session, please contact College Support Services at staffsupportccctc@openccc.zendesk.com.
New Landing Page: Using your new college-specific URLs for the Pilot and Production Administrators, college staff users will authenticate (login) to the CCC Administrator “landing page” using their existing Admin 1.0 user account. From there, users will select the administrator tool they want to manage via the "Applications" menu on the new homepage.
New “Applications” Launch Menu: To access the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 (or other integrated administrator tools), users will select the “CCCApply Administrator” option from the “Applications" menu on the homepage.

User Management

The purpose of the Pilot Implementation and support session is to ensure that each college completes implementation tasks and user acceptance testing (UAT) to verify existing college and district user account are current and valid prior to the production release. To schedule your Pilot Implementation session, please contact CCCTC College Support Services today!

ALL USERS must have a user account setup (new or migrated from Admin 1.0) in order to authenticate into the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0.
ALL USER ACCOUNTS for the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 and the CCC Report Center will now be created and managed in the “User Manager” system in the CCC Administrator.
ALL EXISTING USER ACCOUNTS for the Admin 1.0 and the CCC Report Center systems will be migrated over to the new 2.0 system prior to Pilot and Production releases.
ALL USERS will have "Basic User" permissions for the initial Pilot launch of the new CCCApply Administrator 2.0. This basic user authorization will allow users to login (authentication) to the CCC Administrator tool, and from there can launch and access the administrator applications they are currently authorized to access.
College Support Services will schedule one-on-one calls (online sessions) with a designated college or district representative during the weeks of July 2 - July 22, 2018.
All existing college and district user accounts will be validated by an authorized CCCTC College Support Services technician during the Pilot Implementation process. Updates will be made during the support session to ensure only valid users will have accounts moving forward.
The purpose of the Pilot Implementation and support session is to ensure that each college completes implementation tasks and user acceptance testing (UAT) to verify each user account is valid prior to production release. To schedule your Pilot Implementation session, please contact CCCTC College Support Services today!

Launching Administrator Applications

All integrated CCCTC admin applications will now launch from the “Applications” menu in the core CCC Administrator in order to leverage single sign-on authentication via one single point-of-entry.
In this first release, the CCCApply Administrator 2.0 and the Canvas Web App administrator tools are the only administrators accessible from the CCC Administrator. As more CCCTC admin applications are developed and integrated with CAP, they will launch from this core system AND leverage the same SSO, authorizations, and System Administrator (to define their own application-specific roles and permissions).