DW Student Data User Group Meeting

Class of ‘55 Room, Van Pelt Library – May 23, 2012

Student Data User Group 5/23/2012 - Agenda

• News

• Business Objects “Tip”

• Increasing report sharing

• NGSS project update

• Student Data Training

• Frequent queries & query frustrations

• Speakers & topics for future meetings

News – Recent ChangesBusiness Objects upgraded to the latest release patch for our

version.

IE zoom issue fixed, where InfoView would freeze if you had IE set to zoom the screen beyond 100%

A reminder about supported browsers for Webi. Mac OS X:

Safari 5 (with Apple 1.6.0_xx)Firefox 11 (with Java for OS X Lion 2012-002) *

* not on the supported list, but successfully tested at Penn

Windows XPsp3 or Win7: IE 9.0 (with Sun 1.6.0_xx) - compatibility mode

Firefox 8 (with Sun 1.6.0_xx)

See the Query tools and FAQ for workaround pages for details.

News – Recent Changes

New view Census Student Advisor Term (cen_stdt_advisor_term )

Allows reporting on advisors for a student or group of students in a given term.

Added PhD_Term_count to Census Student Term (cen_stdt_student_term)• Populated beginning with Spring 2012.

New view Major Cluster (major_cluster_v) in STDTCANQ universe.

Previously an internal Business Objects construct.

Nursing Accelerated Program program definition was changed. Combined BSN/MSN 5 yr degree pursual program, was considered “Traditional

Undergraduate”. New definition starts with the class of 2017 (entry_term = 2012C). Designated by primary Special Program Code = “NAP” Will be considered “Professional and Other Degree Programs” (like LPS undergraduate

degree students). Distinguishes from other nurses for financial aid, tuition calculation and tuition

distribution purposes. 

News - Upcoming Changes

Adding Entry Year Cohort to SRS Term Calendar table for all students (in warehouse table only) Spring term (“A”) is considered same cohort as previous Summer (“B”)

and Fall (“C”) terms.

Nightly data load processing - evaluating how to shorten the load times to ensure earlier completion.

Term Entry_Year_Cohort

2011B

2011

2011C

2011

2012A

2011

2012B

2012

2012c

2012

2013A

2012

Business Objects Tips/FAQs How-To’s Highlight

Before : Report saved to Excel starts in cell B2

After : Report saved to Excel starts in cell A1

• How to ensure that a report saved to Excel starts in cell A1:

Business Objects Tips/FAQs How-To’s Highlight

1. From InfoView, select the top-most table in the body, click Align, Relative Position.

2. then change both entries underPosition: Within the Report to zero.

• How to ensure that a report saved to Excel starts in cell A1:

Business Objects Tips/FAQs How-To’s Highlight

3. Save report to my computer as Excel.4. … the report in Excel starts in cell A1

Note: From Webi, these settings appear under Properties

Expanding Corporate Reports Library – Public Folders

What reports do you wish were available?Any reports you use that might benefit a broader set of users?

In your Favorites folder In your specific school/dept/division Public folder

Discussion: Identify 2 -3 reports to share beyond current folder

Data admin will assist report owners – with suggestions for changes to prompts, hard-coded filters, report names, etc, in preparation for sharing to broader audience.

NGSS Project (Ann White and Bill Branan)

As previously reported, the NGSS project is currently evaluating the access strategy for student data

Points discussed during individual School/Center meetings:Student data being accessed from the warehouseMethod used to access student data in the warehouseAny additional processing being done after the data is retrievedWhether the data access is scheduled, ad-hoc, or both and

whether this process is automated or manualStudent data from the warehouse used to support any local

operational systemsBenefits of more frequent data updates

NGSS Project (Ann White and Bill Branan)

Schools metGraduate School of EducationPerelman School of MedicineSchool of Arts and SciencesSchool of Engineering and Applied ScienceSchool of Veterinary MedicineWharton School of Finance and Commerce

Schools to meetSchool of Dental MedicineSchool of Law School of Nursing

NGSS Project (Ann White and Bill Branan)

Preliminary findingsSample systems (SAS) using student data:

IRQDB Online Course Catalog Degree Granting System

More real-time data updates would allow for: More accurate reporting especially during drop/add periods Student access to most updated instructor and location

information and course materials Faster authorization of local student accounts Up-to-date student tracking through degree process (e.g.,

graduation checkout status, degree requirements)

NGSS Project (Ann White and Bill Branan)

Next Steps:Based upon our findings:

Identify the opportunities to consolidate functions currently being provided locally that can now effectively be accomplished with the Next Generation Student System

Determine the most effective methods and sources for providing student data to those local systems where it cannot be accomplished by the new student system

Compile our complete findings and present summary information at a future meeting

Have we missed your school or center? Please contact us if you’d like to discuss your student data

access needs (annwhite@isc.upenn.edu, branan@isc.upenn.edu )

Student Training in WebIQuarterly sessionsCanned examples followed by ad-hoc questionsMixed attendance

Skill Interests Numbers

FeedbackIs the format usefulHow can we improve

Student Data Training

When you include address information in your queries (not email), which of these do you do most frequently?

Are you looking for other student information, and you just want to include the students’ current address? Or

Are you looking for another specific address type (other than current)? If so, which address type do you use the most often?

What kinds of things do you use mailing address for?

Frequent queries & query frustrations

When you include degree information in your queries, which of these do you do most frequently?

Are you looking for other information, and you want to include the students’ primary degree? Or

Are you looking for people in a specific degree, regardless of whether it’s their primary or secondary program?

…or do you do both of the above with equal frequency?

Frequent queries & query frustrations

When you include major information in your queries, which of these do you do most frequently?

Are you looking for majors in a specific term/terms?  Just the latest term?  Across all terms?

Are you looking for other information, and you want to include the students’ first major?

Are you looking for people in a specific major, regardless of whether it’s their first or second or third?

Are you looking for people studying in an academic area regardless of whether it’s their major or minor?

…or do you do all of these with equal frequency?

Frequent queries & query frustrations

When you include course information in your queries, which of these do you do most frequently?

Are you looking for all students enrolled in a specific course(s) or

Are you looking for specified student(s) and the courses they are taking?

Do you need to know what degree that course is being counted towards?

Are you looking for course(s) in a specific term, or multiple terms? If a specific term, is that usually the current term?

Frequent queries & query frustrations

When you include instructor information in your queries, which of these do you do most frequently?

Are you looking for all instructors or just the instructors with load > 0?

Are you looking for the course information and you just need to know who is teaching the course, or

Are you looking for instructor information, and you want to know what that person is teaching? If instructor information is the thing you most frequently need, what do you need to know about instructors?

Frequent queries & query frustrations

Thinking about the kinds of queries that you do most frequently:

What are some of the biggest challenges you encounter when using the STDTCANQ universe?

Frequent queries & query frustrations

Speakers & topics for future meetings

Next Meeting: August or September?Content TBD based on your input today

• Suggestions for topics/ presentations/ speakers ?

• Volunteer(s) to present?

Mike, Susan, and Ed are available to assist with the presentation