Similar to marking a Comment on a student's record as "Critical", you can now mark a Comment on a student's record for "Follow-up". Advisors experience great demands on their time and attention, and it can be difficult to keep track of the various students who require follow-up. With the new Follow-up feature for Comments in the Advisement Database, you can set a reminder in the student's record and the system will remind you on the date you specify.
To set a follow-up reminder, just enter a Comment onto the student's record, check the "follow-up" box towards the bottom of the Comment screen and enter the date you would like to receive the follow-up reminder. Once the Comment is saved, the Follow-up Flag icon will be turned on in the student's record.
You will be able to search the Student List for all students with a pending Follow-up Flag set by you. On the date you have specified for follow-up, you will receive a system email including the student information and the text of the previously saved Comment. Once the date of follow-up have passed, the Follow-up Flag will be turned off for that student.
Showing posts with label System Updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label System Updates. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Email Signature Line
Advisement Database users now have the option of setting an email signature line for all individual and group emails sent through the system. This signature can be multiple lines, just like your email signature in Outlook and other email programs. No more copy and paste or typos!
To set your email signature, just click on your name in the top right of the system navigation to access your user settings. Once you have typed in the text for your email signature, click save at the bottom of the page. The text you've entered will now appear at the end of each system email sent by you.
To set your email signature, just click on your name in the top right of the system navigation to access your user settings. Once you have typed in the text for your email signature, click save at the bottom of the page. The text you've entered will now appear at the end of each system email sent by you.
Announcement Email Tab
Emails categorized as "Announcement" will now be separated from other advising content in a separate "Announcement" tab. This will help advisors see the more critical items in a student's advising history without having to sift through numerous announcement emails.
All emails labeled as "Announcement" and group emails sent before the email categories were implemented in July 2009 will be listed under the Announcement tab.
All emails labeled as "Announcement" and group emails sent before the email categories were implemented in July 2009 will be listed under the Announcement tab.
Student Profile updates
The Advisement Database committee is pleased to announce some exciting updates to the Student Profile. These changes will allow greater flexibility for advisors to customize the Student Profile according to the information most useful to them, along with additional important information for each student.
Customized Student Profile
The Student Profile is now split into two pages. You are able to determine which information blocks will appear on each page. Just click on your name in the top right of the system navigation to access your user settings. There are 12 different information blocks (6 on each page). The student's USCard photo will always appear on both pages.
You can decide which information you would like to have most accessible on Page 1 with the remaining information on Page 2. You must assign all available information blocks to a page, and the system will alert you if you have missed or duplicated any of the information blocks when you save your changes. You can also select to restore the preset default settings for Page 1 and Page 2.
Preferred Name
We all know students whose preferred name is not the name on their official records. You have probably tried various ways to keep track of the name a particular student goes by including notes in the student's record or a department custom field. Addressing a student by his/her preferred name is one simple way to build rapport in the advisor-student relationship. The student's preferred name is now a field in the Student Profile which can be updated and shared with all Advisement Database users.
Preferred names that had been collected in department custom fields have been imported into this new field. When the preferred name is the student's first name, the new Preferred Name field can be left blank.
The Preferred Name field can also be used in the Mail Merge feature for Group Emails. When Preferred Name is used in a Mail Merge email, the First Name will be inserted when the Preferred Name is blank.
Assigned Advisor
Many departments assign specific advisors to students and this information is tracked with the department or sometimes with a department custom field. Now, each program on a student's record will have the option of naming the assigned advisor or contact person for that program. This information will be shared across users, but can only be updated by those users in the department of the program.
Information for assigned advisors that had been collected in department custom fields or otherwise published by the department or school have been imported into this new field for each program. If your department does not assign advisors to students, the new Assigned Advisor field can be left blank for any program.
You are also able to search the Student List by assigned advisor to locate your students more quickly.
Enrollment Status
In the updated Student Profile layout, there is a new information block for "Enrollment Status". This information block will show you a student's status for each semester, including "Enrolled Full-Time", "Overseas Studies", "Leave of Absence", etc. Whenever possible, this information will be automatically input based on information in the student's record. However, the advisor will also have the option of inputting the student's Enrollment Status for a given term.
This information will give a quick enrollment history for an individual student, but will also be searchable in the Student List to identify specific groups of students.
Customized Student Profile
The Student Profile is now split into two pages. You are able to determine which information blocks will appear on each page. Just click on your name in the top right of the system navigation to access your user settings. There are 12 different information blocks (6 on each page). The student's USCard photo will always appear on both pages.
You can decide which information you would like to have most accessible on Page 1 with the remaining information on Page 2. You must assign all available information blocks to a page, and the system will alert you if you have missed or duplicated any of the information blocks when you save your changes. You can also select to restore the preset default settings for Page 1 and Page 2.
Preferred Name
We all know students whose preferred name is not the name on their official records. You have probably tried various ways to keep track of the name a particular student goes by including notes in the student's record or a department custom field. Addressing a student by his/her preferred name is one simple way to build rapport in the advisor-student relationship. The student's preferred name is now a field in the Student Profile which can be updated and shared with all Advisement Database users.
Preferred names that had been collected in department custom fields have been imported into this new field. When the preferred name is the student's first name, the new Preferred Name field can be left blank.
The Preferred Name field can also be used in the Mail Merge feature for Group Emails. When Preferred Name is used in a Mail Merge email, the First Name will be inserted when the Preferred Name is blank.
Assigned Advisor
Many departments assign specific advisors to students and this information is tracked with the department or sometimes with a department custom field. Now, each program on a student's record will have the option of naming the assigned advisor or contact person for that program. This information will be shared across users, but can only be updated by those users in the department of the program.
Information for assigned advisors that had been collected in department custom fields or otherwise published by the department or school have been imported into this new field for each program. If your department does not assign advisors to students, the new Assigned Advisor field can be left blank for any program.
You are also able to search the Student List by assigned advisor to locate your students more quickly.
Enrollment Status
In the updated Student Profile layout, there is a new information block for "Enrollment Status". This information block will show you a student's status for each semester, including "Enrolled Full-Time", "Overseas Studies", "Leave of Absence", etc. Whenever possible, this information will be automatically input based on information in the student's record. However, the advisor will also have the option of inputting the student's Enrollment Status for a given term.
This information will give a quick enrollment history for an individual student, but will also be searchable in the Student List to identify specific groups of students.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Filter by Program Owner
Finding it tricky to keep your program filters up-to-date with new posts? The majors, minors, post code and program search fields require that you enter each program individually.
A new filter has been added for you to search for student programs based on the owning school instead of inputting each program separately. The new field is call Program Owner and is located under the ACADEMIC FIELDS section of the search field list.
Here's how it works: just enter the type of programs you are looking for (major, minor, etc.) and the SIS code for your school (LAS, ENGR, BUAD, etc.). For example:
major-LAS
major-LASN
major-BUAD, minor-BUAD
The first example will return all students with at least one major in the College. The second example will return all students with a major in any of the Natural Sciences within the College. And, the third example will return all students with a major or minor in Marshall.
A list of the SIS program owner codes for each school is provided below for your reference:
ACCT - Leventhal School of Accounting
ANSC - Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
ARCH - School of Architecture
BUAD - Marshall School of Business
CNTV - School of Cinematic Arts
DENT - Ostrow School of Dentistry
EDUC - Rossier School of Education
ENGR - Viterbi School of Engineering
FA - Roski School of Fine Arts
GERO - Davis School of Gerontology
GRAD - The Graduate School
LAS - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences (all programs)
LASH - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Humanities
LASN - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Natural Sciences & Mathematics
LASO - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Other Programs (Undecided, Undeclared)
LASS - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Social Sciences
LAW - Gould School of Law
MED - Keck School of Medicine
MUS - Thornton School of Music
PHAR - School of Pharmacy
PPD - School of Policy, Planning, and Development
SOWK - School of Social Work
THTR - School of Theatre
A new filter has been added for you to search for student programs based on the owning school instead of inputting each program separately. The new field is call Program Owner and is located under the ACADEMIC FIELDS section of the search field list.
Here's how it works: just enter the type of programs you are looking for (major, minor, etc.) and the SIS code for your school (LAS, ENGR, BUAD, etc.). For example:
major-LAS
major-LASN
major-BUAD, minor-BUAD
The first example will return all students with at least one major in the College. The second example will return all students with a major in any of the Natural Sciences within the College. And, the third example will return all students with a major or minor in Marshall.
A list of the SIS program owner codes for each school is provided below for your reference:
ACCT - Leventhal School of Accounting
ANSC - Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
ARCH - School of Architecture
BUAD - Marshall School of Business
CNTV - School of Cinematic Arts
DENT - Ostrow School of Dentistry
EDUC - Rossier School of Education
ENGR - Viterbi School of Engineering
FA - Roski School of Fine Arts
GERO - Davis School of Gerontology
GRAD - The Graduate School
LAS - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences (all programs)
LASH - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Humanities
LASN - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Natural Sciences & Mathematics
LASO - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Other Programs (Undecided, Undeclared)
LASS - College of Letters, Arts & Sciences - Social Sciences
LAW - Gould School of Law
MED - Keck School of Medicine
MUS - Thornton School of Music
PHAR - School of Pharmacy
PPD - School of Policy, Planning, and Development
SOWK - School of Social Work
THTR - School of Theatre
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.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Increased Edit Time
Are you always getting interrupted when working on your course plans for students? Tired of having to abandon and delete your work or save a half-completed version of your forms and comments? If so, then this should be good news for you:
The "edit" time has been increased from 5 minutes to 72 hours (3 days)! Now you can return to items worked on earlier and continue to modify, edit, build, or even delete within 72 hours.
If you prefer to preserve the previous version and save an updated version to document changes that were made in a subsequent advising session, you can still choose to Create New from the existing item (even if it is within the editing time period).
The edit rule affects the following advising items:
» Advisement Sheet
» Course Plan
» Comments
» Academic Review form
» Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) form
» Structured Curriculum Program (SCP) form
» Leave of Absence form
The "edit" time has been increased from 5 minutes to 72 hours (3 days)! Now you can return to items worked on earlier and continue to modify, edit, build, or even delete within 72 hours.
If you prefer to preserve the previous version and save an updated version to document changes that were made in a subsequent advising session, you can still choose to Create New from the existing item (even if it is within the editing time period).
The edit rule affects the following advising items:
» Advisement Sheet
» Course Plan
» Comments
» Academic Review form
» Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) form
» Structured Curriculum Program (SCP) form
» Leave of Absence form
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Updates to Course Plans
The Advisement Database Committee recommended a variety of changes to the Course Plan that were recently implemented on the system. You may have noticed some of these changes if you have accessed/created new Course Plans over the past several days. Here is a summary of the most notable changes made:
- The "Notes" field has been renamed "Important information, please read" and was expanded to give you more room to review your comments. Also, the list of insertable comments available on the Advisement Sheet is now available on the Course Plan. This is a stock list of common advising phrases and policies that can be inserted with just a click.
- A new field has been added to Label your course plans. The label will appear in the advising history view. This will help you identify different Course Plans you may have mapped out for the student, such as: "Theatre major with IR minor", "Three-year graduation plan", or "Plan including Study Abroad".
- A field has also been added for the Expected Graduation Date. This field will default to the student's current DTRACK term, but the field can be edited on the Course Plan before saving.
- Similar to the Advisement Sheet, text with the "this is not an official document" phrasing and signature lines have been added to the bottom of the Course Plan.
- You can now share a Course Plan with the student on myUSC! A checkbox below the student's name and ID number allows you to Share on myUSC. The student can then access the Course Plan on the Advisement tab in myUSC. Only one Course Plan per program will be available to the student as a PDF. An icon for myUSC will appear next to the currently shared Course Plan in the advising history / program tab.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Speeding Up Program Tab Loading and Filtering
During the peak advising period last month, you may have experienced difficulty in getting the program tab pages to load, especially first thing in the morning. With the volume of data now stored in the Advisement Database and the way in which the advisement history pages were orginally programmed, the system was getting progressively slower in being able to generate the pages of content history for each student.
These pages were originally setup to examine, compile, and display information from a least a dozen different tables of content for the current student and program, essentially creating a report of content for the student "on the fly".
The system programmer has created a simpler way to scan through the more than 1.6 million items in the system to locate and display the appropriate content for each student. This improved the program tab loading and filtering in testing to be about 15x faster. Hopefully, you have noticed these pages loading a little bit quicker!
These pages were originally setup to examine, compile, and display information from a least a dozen different tables of content for the current student and program, essentially creating a report of content for the student "on the fly".
The system programmer has created a simpler way to scan through the more than 1.6 million items in the system to locate and display the appropriate content for each student. This improved the program tab loading and filtering in testing to be about 15x faster. Hopefully, you have noticed these pages loading a little bit quicker!
Friday, September 4, 2009
University Scholarship Students
To assist Academic Recognition Programs with Trustee and Presidential Scholarship students, some modications have been made to automatically add the special programs TRUS and PRES to these students' records based on scholarship disbursement information.
Along with these changes, you are now able to see the name of a student's scholarship from the University on the Student Profile page and not just the cryptic scholarship code. In addition to Trustee and Presidential scholarships, information is also included for Deans', Associates' and a few other University scholarships. A tally next to each scholarship name lets you know how many semesters the student has received the scholarship.
You can use the Special Program search filter to find yourTrustee and Presidential Scholarship students for the current term by entering "TRUS" and/or "PRES". You can also use the new "University Scholarship" search filter to find your students who have received any of the University scholarships in a specific term by entering "20093:Associates" or "20091:Deans", etc.
Along with these changes, you are now able to see the name of a student's scholarship from the University on the Student Profile page and not just the cryptic scholarship code. In addition to Trustee and Presidential scholarships, information is also included for Deans', Associates' and a few other University scholarships. A tally next to each scholarship name lets you know how many semesters the student has received the scholarship.
You can use the Special Program search filter to find yourTrustee and Presidential Scholarship students for the current term by entering "TRUS" and/or "PRES". You can also use the new "University Scholarship" search filter to find your students who have received any of the University scholarships in a specific term by entering "20093:Associates" or "20091:Deans", etc.
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