SuperSTARS Training

SuperSTARS Basic TrainingDistrict SES Administrator RefresherAugust 2011To get set up on the system, get your login information, or get other questions answered:SuperSTARS@ITDetails.comSuperSTARSProviders do not enroll students in SuperSTARS. The district assigns students to specific providers for specific periodsProviders can see their assigned students on-line at any time (Rosters)Providers enter ILPs and student attendance on-line

SuperSTARSSuperSTARS provides official billing reports that account for attendance exceptions by the districts and for student PPA useProviders are able to see these adjustments on-line

Students without approved ILPs will not be included on the official billing reports

Accessing SuperSTARSGo to https://www.programtracking.com/SuperSTARSDont forget the s at the end of http! If you do, you will be trying to log in to STARS, a separate system!Set a bookmark or favorite after arriving at the site.Enter your username and password and click Login.

Home Link

Clicking Home on the blue bar at the top will always bring you to the start page (the Main Menu).State FunctionsThere are some actions that State-level users must perform:

Define SES DistrictsSet District PPAsDefine SES ProvidersDefine SES SchoolsSet provider rates in each district

Basic District FunctionsFor each program year Districts MUST:Enter or update student recordsEnable providers in your districtAssign students to providersReview and approve ILPsReview and print official billing reportsDistricts SHOULDVerify attendance entered by providersDistricts MAYTrack the status of applications receivedTracking applications does not have any impact on student assignments. These processes are completely independent.District Functions

The Home page is where most functions are accessed. You will use buttons on the page and links in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Entering Students for the 2011-2012 Program YearStudent records can only be entered by District users.New student records must be added or existing student records must be updated before students can be assigned to providers in 2011-2012.There are three ways to enter/update students for the 2011-2012 program year:Add new studentManually update existing student recordsBatch update existing student records by uploading data

Required information for each student is:District ID number (unique)SSNFirst nameLast nameDOBGenderEthnicitySchoolGradeLunch StatusInteger district ID numbers should be prefixed with a unique district identifier. We recommend the district name or abbreviation (e.g. EBRNNNN or CADDONNNN)If no district ID exists, the SSN can be used for this field

Information Required for Each Student

District FunctionsAdding New Students ManuallyTo add new students (students that have not been entered in the system before):

Click Students on the top bar:Click Add Student on the form that comes up:

Complete the required fields marked with a red * and click Add Student. Note that the District ID number and the SSN must be unique within SuperSTARS.

District FunctionsAdding New Students Manually

If a student was entered into SuperSTARS last year, their record must be updated before they can be assigned to providers in the 2011-2012 program year (note that this illustration reflects the 2010-2011 program year).

At a minimum, the students School and Grade must be re-entered. Other fields should be updated if more current information is available.

To update student information entered in a prior year for use in 2011-2012, click Students on the top bar and then click the Update Students for the 2011-2012 Program Year button on the form that comes up:

District FunctionsManually Updating Existing Student Records

Select the program year that the student record will come from, enter all or part of the last name of the student to update, then click the Search button:

District FunctionsManually Updating Existing Student RecordsUPDATEDMatching student records will be displayed. Click Edit next to the student that you want to update:

District FunctionsManually Updating Existing Student RecordsUPDATEDThat will open the information fields for editing. Note that the students School and Grade must be re-entered. When done, click Update. When the update is done, the student will disappear from this list and will now be available in 2010-2011.

TIP: If you have a lot of students to update manually you might consider searching on just the first letter of the last name to return a list of students. Once they are displayed on the update screen you can edit each one and each one will disappear from the list when the update is done. This can be faster than looking up each student individually.

District FunctionsManually Updating Existing Student RecordsUPDATEDYou can update the records of a large number of existing students and/or add new students by uploading student records from a spreadsheet. The format of the spreadsheet is the same as it was in 2010-2011 and can be provided to you on request.

Batch updates are only practical for large number of students and may require support from your IT department to accomplish.When a spreadsheet of student records is uploaded:Students that are not in the system (no matching SSN is found) are added to the system.Students that are in the system from a previous year have information records for 2011-2012 created, making them available for assignment in 2011-2012.

Batch update student records by uploading data

Enabling ProvidersThe district enables data entry for each provider that is providing services in their districtThis is done one time each year for each providerNote that provider rates in districts are maintained by the StateClick Providers on the top bar:District FunctionsEnabling Providers

Click on the Search Providers button

District FunctionsEnabling ProvidersClick the name of the provider that you want to enableWe will choose Education Station

District FunctionsEnabling ProvidersAt the bottom of the page that is displayed, select the program year and click the Enable Provider button.

District FunctionsEnabling ProvidersUPDATEDDistricts must assign students to providers in order for the providers to enter ILPs and attendanceEach assignment has a specific start date and end dateProviders cannot enter attendance data for dates before the start date, or after the end date

Managing Student AssignmentsStudents can be assigned to more than one provider during the program yearStudents cannot be assigned to more than one provider on any given dayAssignment start and end dates can be adjusted, but only if the adjustment does not conflict with another assignmentManaging Student AssignmentsQuick Assignment ProcessDesigned to allow districts to rapidly assign students to providers during high-activity times, such as program startup each yearA student can only be quick assigned if no other assignments for the student exist during the program yearAny adjustments to a quick assignment must be made using the normal assignment tools

Managing Student AssignmentsNormal Assignment ProcessOperates on a selected studentCreate new assignmentAdjust an existing assignmentDelete an assignmentShows the students assignment history, if more than one assignment has been made

Managing Student AssignmentsAssigning Students to Providers - Normal Method

Managing Student AssignmentsClick Students then use the form to find the student that you want to assign. Click the students name.Assigning Students to Providers - Normal Method

Managing Student AssignmentsWhen the students record is displayed, click Assignments at the bottom of the page.

Assigning Students to Providers - Normal Method

Managing Student AssignmentsSelect the provider and the start and end dates of the assignment. The program year should default to the current program year. Click Add Assignment when these are set.Assignments are shown at the bottom. No list means no assignments. Multiple assignments may exist. You can edit the assignment as needed.Assigning Students to Providers - Normal Method

Managing Student AssignmentsWhen a student is assigned to a provider on a given day they will then show up on the providers roster for that day.Deleting AssignmentsA student assignment should only be deleted if the assignment was a mistake.

Deleting an assignment makes it look like the assignment never occurred. It takes all associated data with it!

Normally an assignment should be adjusted

Managing Student AssignmentsAs a general rule, do not delete assignments. If you are unsure what action to take, send an email to superstars@itdetails.com to ask a question.Adjusting Assignments

Managing Student AssignmentsClicking the Edit link next to an assignment will open the edit boxes. Click Update to save your changes.

Adjusting Assignments

Here we are making an assignment to T-Provider 2 from 12/15/2007 through 2/29/2008. Note that the student already has an assignment to T-Provider 1. We clicked the Add Assignment button and we got the error message shown in red.

Why did this assignment not work? The start date of the assignment to T-Provider 2 overlaps the end date of the existing assignment to T-Provider 1!If 12/15/2007 is the desired start date for provider 2 then Adjusting AssignmentsAdjust Provider 1s end date

Managing Student AssignmentsAdjusting AssignmentsComplete the second assignment

Managing Student AssignmentsQuick AssignmentsQuick assignments let you make student assignments to a selected provider for a selected period very quickly.

Quick assignments only work for students with no existing assignments, regardless of who the provider is or when the assignment is for.

Quick Assignments work at the click of a button. As such you should use it carefully because

There is no Quick UN-Assign!

Managing Student AssignmentsQuick Assignments

Managing Student AssignmentsAfter clicking the Quick Assignments button on the home page you select the provider and start and end dates of the assignments that you want to make. The program year should default to the current program year. When you are done, accept the settings.Quick Assignments

Managing Student AssignmentsFilter the student list by entering all or part of the last name. Leaving the field blank and pressing Enter will return *all* eligible students. Click Select next to a student to quick assign that student. When the assignment is made, the student disappears from this list.Approving ILPs

Clicking the ILP button on the home page takes you to the Student ILPs page.

Once providers mark ILPS as complete they will show up on the districts ILP status screen.

Select the program year and provider, click the Completed Awaiting Approval selection, and then click Search ILPs to get a listing of ILPs.

To review and approve an ILP, click the students name.

Approving ILPs

The ILP will display with Approve and Disapprove buttons at the top. If you disapprove an ILP remember to enter a reason so the provider will know what they need to fix.Attendance VerificationDistricts can verify recorded attendance against sign-in sheets. Click Attendance on the home page.

Attendance VerificationOn the page that comes up you specify the provider and month of attendance, and all or part of the students last name. A list of students assigned in that month is displayed and you select one to display their attendance along with verified and exception checkboxes.

Attendance VerificationConsider the following billing report for provider T-Provider 1 in Tensas for September 1 through September 30, 2007. Angelic Oliger has 8 hours recorded.

Attendance Verification

Note that two of Angelics hours are now marked as exceptions by the district. Also note that a reason is recorded.

Attendance VerificationConsider the same billing report now. Exception hours are automatically excluded from the billing. Angelic only shows 6 hours now.

Attendance VerificationAn exception report is available.

Attendance VerificationLocking AttendanceDistricts can lock a providers attendance records for a specified period.This is a way to ensure that providers do not make changes to attendance while it is being verified.After the verification is complete, the attendance can be unlocked at the districts discretion - to allow the provider to make corrections or additions.All attendance in the period can be unlocked, or only the unverified attendance, or only the unverified, non-zero attendance.If a provider makes corrections that are acceptable, the district can remove exceptions by un-checking the appropriate exceptions box.Once all changes to a periods attendance are made locking the attendance is recommended.

Locking AttendanceClick Lock/Unlock Attendance on the home page

Select the program year, the provider, and the start and end dates of the period to lockThen click the Lock Attendance button

Locking Attendance

(1) Select the program year, provider, and start and end dates of the attendance to unlock

(2) Select to unlock all, only the unverified attendance, or only the non-verified non-zero attendance

(3) Click the Unlock Attendance button

Unlocking AttendanceDistrict FunctionUnlocking AttendanceHow do you decide what attendance to unlock?

Unlocking all attendance will allow a provider to make changes to any data, even data that you have marked as verified. This generally should *not* be done unless there are special circumstances.

Unlocking only unverified attendance will not allow the provider to change any attendance that you have already verified.

Unlocking only unverified non-zero attendance prevents a provider from entering additional attendance where none was recorded after they have reported that all attendance was entered. This is recommended, and it gives the providers incentive to get all of their attendance in on time.

You can always unlock attendance if you need to, but these options give you more control over what the provider can do after you have started your review.

The Monthly Attendance Status ReportThe Monthly Attendance Status Report gives you a quick overview of attendance data statusClick the Attendance button on the home page

Click the Monthly Attendance Status Report ButtonDistrict and ProvidersThe Monthly Attendance Status ReportSpecify the district, provider, program year, month and year as needed

Then click the Return Results button

The Monthly Attendance Status Report

black digits attendance is unlockedclear background attendance has not been verified or exceptedstudent ILP statusAttendance does not have to be verified to appear on the Official Billing Report. In this example, that report would show that the provider would be reimbursed for 16 of the 20 hours entered for Kevin Hackenjous, because only 4 hours have been excepted.

The Monthly Attendance Status ReportIn October two of T-Provider 1s students exhausted their PPA. Note the revisions to the charges.

Automatic PPA AdjustmentsThe SuperSTARS Official Billing Report is the approved billing document.

Providers may submit their own invoices For Information Only at the discretion of the district. They are not needed.

Providers can see attendance verified (approved) or exception (disapproved) status on-line.

Adjustments due to PPA exhaustion are also shown.

NOTE: Accurate PPA tracking depends on timely and accurate data entry by the providers. Districts should complete a monthly billing cycle for all providers before beginning on the next month.

SuperSTARS tracks student PPA used even if there have been multiple providers of services to the student.

The Official Billing ReportDistrict-Provider Cooperative FunctionRECOMMENDED Invoice Reconciliation ProcessProvider informs District that all attendance is entered and ready for review. Provider submits required hardcopy verification documents (sign-in sheets)

District LOCKS providers attendance data for the period under review

District verifies or takes exception to each attendance entry*

District informs provider that data is ready for review and UNLOCKS UNVerified, NonZero attendance. Note that this unlocking mechanism prevents providers from entering late attendance after the verification process has begun. PROVIDERS: be sure that *all* of your attendance is entered by the districts deadline!

Provider reviews exceptions and make corrections/takes corrective action as allowed by the District, and notifies District on completion

District-Provider Cooperative FunctionRECOMMENDED Invoice Reconciliation ProcessDistrict reviews exceptions and reverses where acceptable changes have been made

At this point District and Provider should be able to agree on the adjustments that are made. Additional iterations are the Districts option

District LOCKS provider attendance data for the period

District prints out final period Official Billing Report as basis for payment

ILPs and Billing ReportsIf a student does not have an ILP approved by the district, that students hours will not show on the official billing report.