The glitches on the Common Application in the fall -- which left many applicants unable to submit their applications -- may be fixed. But why did they happen in the first place?
A report released Thursday by the Common Application summarized the findings of an independent consultant's report that tried to answer that question. The report blamed a plan for installing a new version of the application system's software that lacked enough time and testing. But beyond that, the report discusses concerns about pricing policies that may have left colleges particularly vulnerable when things stopped working, and to questions about the association's mission and board.
The Common Application has doubled in size -- with well over 500 member colleges -- in the last 10 years. Many colleges have credited the Common App with helping them attract more applicants. But glitches in new software this fall left applicants, guidance counselors and admissions officers furious. Many colleges had to move back deadlines, particularly for early decision. And statements from the Common Application that problems were being fixed didn't satisfy people when those problems lingered.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/11/common-application-releases-consultant-report-technical-problems#sthash.wLMqbN9V.dpbs