It is now possible to VPN without downloading any software by using:
sslvpn.usc.edu
This should be able to allow you to use the advisement database, my.usc.edu and other USC websites from home.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
USC Advisement Database Meeting Minutes July 27, 2010
Attendants: Christina Aumann, Chris Noll, Elizabeth Erickson, Jeanne Herman, Russ Sommer (Note Taker), Nashira Thomas, Heather Cartagena (Ex- officio), Michael Kurland (Chair).
1. Recently Completed Updates
a. Custom Report Extension – went 8 hours over estimate due to adding photos to system.
i. Contains Department tab information
ii. Photos not available in EXCEL export, but are available in Word/PDF
b. SIS Display Updates – Including:
i. Academic Status & SAP
1. Currently lists are formatted from entering semester to current will plan to reverse order so current is first seen
2. Descriptions are displayed on Student Profile page and are static based on department/SIS descriptions
ii. Other HOLDS on Profile page are hyper-linked to an external table which further defines hold (descriptions pulled from SIS, but can be updated by Heather)
iii. HOLDS which restrict registration appear with a RED Exclamation Point !
2. Budget Status
a. 12 hours remain for July
b. Contract for 20 hours of service each month will continue
3. Next Items (Estimates pending – Programmer out of town at present)
a. Student List Multi-Column Sort - ability to sort a list by Holds and alphabetically for example
b. Filter by specific program in reports
c. Modify and add display of Student profile – to view all material on one screen with tabs to reduce scrolling
d. Search for Placement Results
e. Lock Advising History to not show announcement emails as default – brief discussion about locking personal preferences in filter
f. Add Email signature templates
g. Trouble shoot MAC issues
4. General areas to focus on for Fall 2010 discussion
a. Virtual Server for student access – ITS has made an update for web access.
i. Worked for Heather to sign in from home please visit: sslvpn.usc.edu
ii. Virtual Server may not be necessary if students can access this site
b. Number of items Advising sheets, Calendar function, Emails, Templates, Forms, Reports, Search Filters
c. Discussion tabled to receive feedback from Advisors
i. Will develop a primer survey to measure Database usage and concerns that will be sent to community for feedback – to be sent mid/late August
ii. Using survey results plan to have an open forum with advisors to demonstrate Database functions, best practices, and receive further feedback on concerns once a semester.
5. General Announcements/Discussion
a. Michael will be stepping down as Co-Chair of the committee upon completing his CAA Steering term
b. Next meeting will be seat by new Co-chair to be determined after new Steering team announced
c. Survey to advisors regarding caseloads and responsibilities still in the works
d. Discussed SC retention rate – 6 yr window for completion and with Provost efforts percentage increase to at least 89%
e. Possible to get tuition grant for students needing only 4-8 units to graduate.
f. Michael and Ian are still seeking Advising Narratives – Please contact if you’d like to assist them – mkurland@usc.edu
g. Removing data categories from Department custom tabs (i.e. items that are no longer relevant or have been
i. Difficult and not possible unless every field/value is blank for the item to be deleted
ii. NOT Possible for check box items – unchecked boxes still considered data
1. Recently Completed Updates
a. Custom Report Extension – went 8 hours over estimate due to adding photos to system.
i. Contains Department tab information
ii. Photos not available in EXCEL export, but are available in Word/PDF
b. SIS Display Updates – Including:
i. Academic Status & SAP
1. Currently lists are formatted from entering semester to current will plan to reverse order so current is first seen
2. Descriptions are displayed on Student Profile page and are static based on department/SIS descriptions
ii. Other HOLDS on Profile page are hyper-linked to an external table which further defines hold (descriptions pulled from SIS, but can be updated by Heather)
iii. HOLDS which restrict registration appear with a RED Exclamation Point !
2. Budget Status
a. 12 hours remain for July
b. Contract for 20 hours of service each month will continue
3. Next Items (Estimates pending – Programmer out of town at present)
a. Student List Multi-Column Sort - ability to sort a list by Holds and alphabetically for example
b. Filter by specific program in reports
c. Modify and add display of Student profile – to view all material on one screen with tabs to reduce scrolling
d. Search for Placement Results
e. Lock Advising History to not show announcement emails as default – brief discussion about locking personal preferences in filter
f. Add Email signature templates
g. Trouble shoot MAC issues
4. General areas to focus on for Fall 2010 discussion
a. Virtual Server for student access – ITS has made an update for web access.
i. Worked for Heather to sign in from home please visit: sslvpn.usc.edu
ii. Virtual Server may not be necessary if students can access this site
b. Number of items Advising sheets, Calendar function, Emails, Templates, Forms, Reports, Search Filters
c. Discussion tabled to receive feedback from Advisors
i. Will develop a primer survey to measure Database usage and concerns that will be sent to community for feedback – to be sent mid/late August
ii. Using survey results plan to have an open forum with advisors to demonstrate Database functions, best practices, and receive further feedback on concerns once a semester.
5. General Announcements/Discussion
a. Michael will be stepping down as Co-Chair of the committee upon completing his CAA Steering term
b. Next meeting will be seat by new Co-chair to be determined after new Steering team announced
c. Survey to advisors regarding caseloads and responsibilities still in the works
d. Discussed SC retention rate – 6 yr window for completion and with Provost efforts percentage increase to at least 89%
e. Possible to get tuition grant for students needing only 4-8 units to graduate.
f. Michael and Ian are still seeking Advising Narratives – Please contact if you’d like to assist them – mkurland@usc.edu
g. Removing data categories from Department custom tabs (i.e. items that are no longer relevant or have been
i. Difficult and not possible unless every field/value is blank for the item to be deleted
ii. NOT Possible for check box items – unchecked boxes still considered data
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Translation of SIS Codes for Academic Status, SAP Status and Activity Restrictions
A variety of updates have been made to the display of certain SIS information within the Advisement Database to help you better understand the meaning of different codes for Academic Status, SAP Status, and Activity Restrictions.
Academic Status indicates the students academic standing for a given term, such as academic probation or disqualification. For students whose academic standing has always been good, this information will display as a single "OK". But, for students who have been or currently are on academic probation, you will be able to see the history of the probation and/or disqualification status. The information is listed on the Student Profile page below the Advisement History box.
SAP Status indicates the students status relative to Financial Aid eligibility for a given year. For students whose SAP eligibility has never been reviewed, this information will display as a single "N/A". But, for students who have been reviewed for SAP, a status will appear for each year. A short description of each status is also included. The information is also listed on the Student Profile page below the Advisement History box.
Activity Restrictions have always been included in the Advisement Database. These include a variety of information from SCP or Athletics holds to Collections, and Library holds to Student Conduct. However, did you know that not all holds (activity restricts) actually stop a student from registering? There are several other "information only" holds. The new updates to the display of this information includes a small icon of a red exclamation point next to holds that actually restrict registration. Also, you can click on any hold to get additional information about the activity restrictions description and the contact information of the office or department who can remove the hold. The information is also listed on the Student Profile page above the Advisement History box.
Academic Status indicates the students academic standing for a given term, such as academic probation or disqualification. For students whose academic standing has always been good, this information will display as a single "OK". But, for students who have been or currently are on academic probation, you will be able to see the history of the probation and/or disqualification status. The information is listed on the Student Profile page below the Advisement History box.
SAP Status indicates the students status relative to Financial Aid eligibility for a given year. For students whose SAP eligibility has never been reviewed, this information will display as a single "N/A". But, for students who have been reviewed for SAP, a status will appear for each year. A short description of each status is also included. The information is also listed on the Student Profile page below the Advisement History box.
Activity Restrictions have always been included in the Advisement Database. These include a variety of information from SCP or Athletics holds to Collections, and Library holds to Student Conduct. However, did you know that not all holds (activity restricts) actually stop a student from registering? There are several other "information only" holds. The new updates to the display of this information includes a small icon of a red exclamation point next to holds that actually restrict registration. Also, you can click on any hold to get additional information about the activity restrictions description and the contact information of the office or department who can remove the hold. The information is also listed on the Student Profile page above the Advisement History box.
Expanded Field Options for Custom Reports
The Custom Report option has been greatly expanded to allow you to export just about any of the fields available in the Advisement Database for your students. Previously, the custom report fields were limited to student name, USC ID, majors, minors, addresses, and USC email. Now you are able to create a filter on the Student List based on any criteria and then export a variety of information for the students on the filtered list.
The custom report fields include just about anything that is viewable within the Advisement Database including GPA, expected graduation, all requirements satisfied, degree date, mandatory advisement, and even USCard photo. You can also export information that you have been entering into your department's custom fields!
The report can then be sorted and grouped with output as a Word document (RTF), PDF, or Excel. Please note that USCard photos are *not* available in the Excel format, only RTF and PDF.
To access the custom report, just click on the Reports link in the navigation bar and select Custom Reports in the top center of the page under the "New Reports" heading.
The custom report fields include just about anything that is viewable within the Advisement Database including GPA, expected graduation, all requirements satisfied, degree date, mandatory advisement, and even USCard photo. You can also export information that you have been entering into your department's custom fields!
The report can then be sorted and grouped with output as a Word document (RTF), PDF, or Excel. Please note that USCard photos are *not* available in the Excel format, only RTF and PDF.
To access the custom report, just click on the Reports link in the navigation bar and select Custom Reports in the top center of the page under the "New Reports" heading.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Meeting Minutes 6/28/10
USC Advisement Database Meeting Minutes
June 28, 2010
Agenda:
1. 2009-2010 Review
2. Budget Status
3. List of new items
Our committee has been in existence for one year.
Many changes that we requested have been made.
Need to use remaining FY2010 hrs.
-600,000 individual items/ day
-Log of system 300 million items
Logged information will be deleted after 30 days
-Perhaps this will help speed up the system? Maybe…
-Urban Insight will continue updates (custom report rebuild, SIS data displays) – will bill under FY2010
Budget refreshes for July = 20 hrs/month
Filter advisement sheet, all programs
*If we want to test advisement database, we can request access to the record of “Thomas Trojan” thru Heather
What is the purpose of our committee?
Survey – Find out who is using the system. What do they want to know?
Let’s have working meetings in computer labs (advance training for advisors across campus).
-Perhaps in our meetings, we can put together training workshops?
-Survey – how familiar are you with certain processes? (Scale 1-10)
-If you scored 8, 9, or 10, would you be able to train other advisors?
-Template – supposed to have pop-up box
-click “Save” and then click back or close browser
-Heather will fix – it is a bug!
Expired Posts still show up as “active” in database
KUALI will eventually replace SIS
USC Advisement System
– designed to promote retention and help advisors communicate between double majors/ minors.
Graduate Advisement System
– not likely in the near future.
Wish list for July
1. Multi-level sort
2. LOA- wait for Heather! No action now
3. Filter by program in reports (Similar to at-risk reports)
4. Update profile screen with fields that can be edited by all users (major and minor advisors)
5. Placement test results
6. Mac trouble shooting
7. Email signature included in template
8. Filter locked (default) - lock filter so announcements are not seen.
June 28, 2010
Agenda:
1. 2009-2010 Review
2. Budget Status
3. List of new items
Our committee has been in existence for one year.
Many changes that we requested have been made.
Need to use remaining FY2010 hrs.
-600,000 individual items/ day
-Log of system 300 million items
Logged information will be deleted after 30 days
-Perhaps this will help speed up the system? Maybe…
-Urban Insight will continue updates (custom report rebuild, SIS data displays) – will bill under FY2010
Budget refreshes for July = 20 hrs/month
Filter advisement sheet, all programs
*If we want to test advisement database, we can request access to the record of “Thomas Trojan” thru Heather
What is the purpose of our committee?
Survey – Find out who is using the system. What do they want to know?
Let’s have working meetings in computer labs (advance training for advisors across campus).
-Perhaps in our meetings, we can put together training workshops?
-Survey – how familiar are you with certain processes? (Scale 1-10)
-If you scored 8, 9, or 10, would you be able to train other advisors?
-Template – supposed to have pop-up box
-click “Save” and then click back or close browser
-Heather will fix – it is a bug!
Expired Posts still show up as “active” in database
KUALI will eventually replace SIS
USC Advisement System
– designed to promote retention and help advisors communicate between double majors/ minors.
Graduate Advisement System
– not likely in the near future.
Wish list for July
1. Multi-level sort
2. LOA- wait for Heather! No action now
3. Filter by program in reports (Similar to at-risk reports)
4. Update profile screen with fields that can be edited by all users (major and minor advisors)
5. Placement test results
6. Mac trouble shooting
7. Email signature included in template
8. Filter locked (default) - lock filter so announcements are not seen.
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