Coalition of Universities Announces New College Application Website

A coalition that includes Duke and more than 80 other colleges and universities is launching a new admissions website designed to streamline the college application process. The Coalition Admissions System provides free online tools that aim to ease the college admissions process and to reduce barriers for students of all backgrounds.

“While no single thing can eliminate the inequities inherent in the college admissions process, the combination of tools in the coalition application is a good step in the right direction,” said Christoph Guttentag, Duke’s dean of undergraduate admissions.

The new website will include three free tools: an electronic application, a collaboration platform and a digital portfolio.

The digital portfolio provides an electronic filebox where students can store records of their academic and extracurricular activities throughout their high school careers -- records they can later draw upon as they apply to college.

The collaboration platform will allow for electronic sharing between students, guidance counselors, teachers and others.

The digital portfolio and collaboration platform will go live in January 2016, while the electronic application will be released in summer 2016.

“The opportunity for students to develop a portfolio over several years can particularly help students who normally wouldn't think about college until the fall of their senior year,” Guttentag said.

The new toolset provides one more way of applying to Duke, but students also can continue to apply using existing methods such as the Common Application, Guttentag said.

“We will give equal weight to applicants using the coalition application next year,” Guttentag said. “We’ll favor no application platform over another.”

The new website is a project of the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, a group of more than 80 public and private colleges and universities. All members have graduation rates exceeding 70 percent, and all are committed to providing an affordable education. Member institutions either offer low-cost in-state tuition or pledge to meet the full, demonstrated need of admitted domestic students.

More information about the Coalition and list of member colleges and universities is available here.