On Friday, May 1, at 11:00am in the Library Building Rm 620 we are going to hold a training session for Query Managers (or aspiring query managers) on the basics of using the CUNYfirst Reporting Instance for query development and the running of queries. Query Viewers are welcome to attend the session to increase your knowledge and understanding of the Reporting Instance environment. The session will cover:

  • Production Reporting vs Reporting Instance
  • Permissions and access for the Reporting Instance - roles and SACR (reference the form)
  • Locating the Reporting Instance
  • Public query versus private query
  • Viewing public and private queries
  • How to use prompts (finding terms (admit from, admit to, degree, academic plans, etc.)
  • Planning a query. What user information is needed?
  • What is a student?
  • Basic records in CS - ACAD_PROG, ACAD_PLAN, STDNT_CAR_TERM, CLASS_TBL_SE_VW (STDNT_ENRL and CLASS_TBL)
  • Table key structure
  • Effective dating
  • Saving a Query
  • Copying a Query to Another User
  • Joining tables in a query
  • Selection criteria for a query

On the data side we will focus on student records, but the overall training is applicable to other areas. The session will be recorded and made accessible to query managers following the training. Please email Patrick Ackerman if you are interested in attending the session so we can confirm seat count. We will confirm back with the training location and any other details.

Preparation or Review for the Training

If you are new to Reporting Instance and would like a primer ahead of the training you can take a look at the CUNYfirst Reporting training resources on their site, specifically the “Using PS Query in the Reporting Instances” PDF and Video (approx 70 mins). You can also review the “Intro to CUNYfirst for Query Developers” PDF and the “CF Data Structures 1 – Student Records” PDF and Video.

 

Training Session on May 1st:

Highlights:

  • 12 Attendees
    • BCTC – Frank, Barbara, George
    • Undergraduate Admissions – Tom Nesdill, Musa Elbulok, Millie Figueroa-Rodriguez
    • Zicklin – Sarah Loebis
    • IR – Cynthia Wach
    • Honors Program – Jody Vaisman
    • WSAS – Stephanie Govan
    • International Students – Rosa Kelley, Harleen Kaur
    • Michael and I learned to use Collaborate for remote session presentation along with the dial-in bridge
      • This is going to allow for a repository of video recordings to be created and accessible to the organization
      • There were some good questions from Cynthia, Jody, George and Rosa
      • Topics and pace, while review for some, appeared to be appropriate level for most.
      • Duration of 1 ½ hours seemed a good amount of time for this training where users are simply listening and watching vs hands-on (only a few pairs of eyes closed during the session)
        • Perhaps coffee/tea at the next session (if we are not at PCs)

 

To improve/resolve:

  • Session audio recording didn’t work with the bridge call in. This worked in testing but I think that the audio for the bridge just wasn’t configured at the time we began recording.
  • We ended up progressing from the very basics to getting into some more advanced topics, generally in response to user questions, and so some of the more advanced topics may have gotten lost on some of the attendees. This is bound to happen and not a huge issue. This has given us topics for additional documentation and for future training sessions

 

Next Steps:

  • Create additional documentation – both in written form with screen shots, as well as topic segments as recorded video sessions
    • Build Prompt via Criteria and via Prompt (set up ahead)
    • Expression for a substring (middle initial example)
    • Enrollment versus Active
      • Acad_prog statuses - Active, Discontinued, Cancelled, Dismissed Completed
      • Identification of enrollment for credits and status=”E” – when to use one or the other, UNT_TKN_PRGRSS
  • Finding a record and looking at fields
    • Useful/commonly used records
    • Update documentation with examples of fields included in each record
  • Standard join versus left outer join – description and examples of when to use each – default option
    • Simple join example/exercise
  • Criteria – use with examples – simple exercise
  • What is a student? Update this documentation with examples of records and fields highlighted for quick reference
  • Intended vs Accepted in a program/plan – indicator
  • Plan for an additional training session – will discuss topics and attendees to focus on, hands-on and preparation to bring “assignments”, and assessment opportunities

 

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