What Are Reversions
A reversion is a mechanism to move one or more positions that remain unfilled within the matching process from one Rank Order List (the "Donor") to a second Rank Order List (the "Receiver"), so that an attempt can be made to fill the available position(s) with applicants on the second list.
For example, a program offering both a scholarship track and a track with no funding could specify that any position that remains unfilled in the scholarship track should revert to the track with no funding, and an attempt should be made to fill the position(s) with applicants on the Rank Order List for the track with no funding. In this case, the scholarship track is the Donor (because it is donating unfilled positions) and the track with no funding is the Receiver (because it is receiving unfilled positions from the Donor).
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The Difference Between Reversions and Changing the Number of Available Positions
Reverting an unfilled position within the matching process is different from deciding before the Rank Order List deadline to move a position from one track to another.
Moving a Position Before the Deadline
A program offering multiple tracks in the Match may decide, in advance of the Rank Order List deadline, to move a position from one track (e.g., because it has an insufficient number of acceptable applicants) to another track (which has many acceptable applicants). In this case, no attempt will be made to fill that position in the original track within the matching process. Program Directors can adjust the number of positions to be offered by each track in the Match at any time prior to the Rank Order List deadline using the online NMS Match System.
Reverting a Position Within the Matching Process
Reverting a position applies when an attempt is made to fill the position in the original track within the matching process but the position remains unfilled. The option to revert an unfilled position within the matching process should be used only when the final decision to move the position from one track to another cannot be made in advance of the Rank Order List deadline, but depends on whether or not the position is filled in the original (Donor) track within the matching process.
Examples of Reversions
Some situations where reversions of unfilled positions within the matching process might be used are described below.
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Reversions From Scholarship Tracks to Full Tuition Tracks
A program can offer one track where applicants receive a scholarship and another track where applicants pay full tuition. You can specify that some or all of the positions that remain unfilled in the scholarship track should revert to the full tuition track, and an attempt should be made to fill the positions in the full tuition track.
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Reversions From a Track in One Location to a Track in Another Location
A program offering more than one track in different locations may choose to revert unfilled positions from one location to the other. For example, a program offering one track in Location-A and another track in Location-B may choose to revert some or all of the positions that remain unfilled in Location-A to Location-B, and an attempt should be made to fill those positions in Location-B.
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Obtaining a Specific Distribution of Applicants Based on Characteristics of the Applicants
There may be some programs that have unique needs that require them to match with a particular "mix" or distribution of applicants based on specific applicant characteristics (e.g., fluency in a language or location of residence). In this case, the program might need to submit multiple Rank Order Lists for a single track and may wish to specify reversions between those multiple lists.
Contact NMS at gcadmissions@natmatch.com or by phone at 800-461-6322 if you would like to discuss whether or not reversions would be useful for your program.
Reversions User Guide
Reversions must be set up by the Program Director in the NMS Match System. Consult the Reversions User Guide for instructions.
If you have questions about setting up reversions in the NMS Match System, please contact NMS.
