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ApplyTexas rolls out EDI download, address validation and other user changes; bulk EDI and SSO planned
Summary
ApplyTexas staff briefed the advisory committee on features deployed in Sprint 4 (including single-file EDI downloads, improved school search and address validation), previewed Sprint 5 work (bulk EDI downloads, place-of-birth validation, single sign-on with MyTexasFuture) and solicited feedback on EDI workflow and payment-page copy.
ApplyTexas product managers updated the ApplyTexas Advisory Committee on recent system work and near-term development priorities on Feb. 27, 2025.
In a presentation, Ronit Shahaim, product manager for ApplyTexas at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, said Sprint 4 — deployed Feb. 20 — added an individual EDI download button on the admin portal alongside the existing PDF option and made changes to the applicant portal intended to reduce application errors. "We've added a button alongside the PDF download that already was there to allow, admin users to download EDI files," Shahaim said. She cautioned that the button appears for all records but a valid EDI file downloads only when an application has been transmitted, and that administrators must regenerate EDIs if data changed after transmission.
Shahaim described applicant-side changes deployed in the sprint: improved school search with semester and application-type filters moved to the main search page, required address validation for U.S. addresses, and logic to prepopulate citizenship status from the applicant screener. She also said the team addressed missing student and financial-aid data caused by inconsistent time zones in the counselor suite.
Looking ahead, Shahaim said Sprint 5 will add bulk EDI downloads (by date range), place-of-birth validation, duplicate-answer checks on custom questions, further payment-page copy revisions and single sign-on with MyTexasFuture. "The features will allow to download multiple EDI files based on a specific date range, making it easier to manage large volumes of data efficiently," she said. The team repeatedly emphasized that administrators must regenerate EDIs when records change between submission and transmission.
Committee members gave practical feedback. Raymond Blakely (AVP for admissions, UT Austin) and Laura Isdal (Collin College, co-chair) asked whether the bulk-download control should appear on the application search page or the transmission page; Shahaim said the team favors a single location but understands workflow arguments for the transmission page. Maria Pardes (Amarillo College) asked whether clicking a download option acts immediately; Shahaim confirmed the file prompt is immediate and the browser will prompt for save.
Separately, Amy Ziegner and Anne Marie Scarborough (product and program staff with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board) reviewed resources: a redesigned ApplyTexas web page with archived resources and recorded trainings, and a new ApplyTexas "lunch and learn" series starting March 6 at noon to demo recent changes and collect feedback.
Committee members also raised user-experience issues that ApplyTexas staff flagged for ongoing work: clarifying the payment-page language for $0-fee schools, surfacing application IDs and school contact info more prominently on post-submission pages, and iterating the item-checklist to reduce confusion for students who owe no fee.
The coordinators asked for further testing and agreed to follow up individually or by email to collect detailed UX feedback.
Ending: The product update closed with the team inviting follow-up feedback and offering demos for institutions that want deeper review of screens or workflows.
