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Edition:
20 January 2009
(L) INSTALLING AND USING THE DEPARTMENTAL
SOFTWARE PACKAGE "VALPAC.NET"
WHAT'S NEW IN THESE INSTRUCTIONS
INSTALLING COLLECTION DATA FILES
FLAT ASCII FILES AND VALPAC.NET's ACCESS DATABASE
GENERAL POINTS ABOUT USING VALPAC.NET
[OK], [proceed]
and [Exit] buttons
File../..Import flat ASCII file to database table (Student,
Staff and Space collections)
File../..Export tables as flat ASCII files (Student, Staff and
Space collections)
File../..Compact and repair database (Student, Staff and Space
collections)
File../..Zip/encrypt database (Student, Staff and Space
collections)
File../..Exit (Student, Staff and Space collections)
View/edit tables../..Database
tables (Student, Staff and Space collections)
View/edit tables../..System
lookup tables (Student, Staff and Space collections)
Create reports../..Validation
reports (Student, Staff and Space collections)
Create
reports../..Distribution report (Student and Staff
collections)
Create reports../..STUD
summary report (Student collection)
Create reports../..CREG
summary report (Student collection)
Create reports../..PROF summary
report (Student collection)
Create reports../..SFTE
summary report (Student collection)
Create reports../..Credit
report (Student collection)
Create reports../..Other
reports / SAPSE 2.7 (Student collection)
SAPSE
2.12/2.13 (Student collection)
SAPSE
2.18 (Student collection)
USER ACCESS MENU ITEMS (Student, Staff and Space
collections)
User
access../..Change password
User
access../..Add/edit/delete users
HELP MENU ITEMS (Student, Staff and Space collections)
Help../..Collection documentation
Help../..Contacts for assistance
1.1 This document provides information
that will enable higher education institutions to run
"VALPAC.Net". This is a
software product maintained by the Department of Education. It replaces the previous software product
“VALPAC2”. VALPAC.Net is a stand-alone
PC program which will operate under 32-bit Windows operating systems (e.g.
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000).
It is provided to higher education institutions as a tool which they can
use in preparing, validating and checking the accuracy of data in files
required by the Department for its unit record Student, Staff and Space data
collections. The data for those
collections are to be sent to the Department as Access databases which are
generated using VALPAC.Net functionality.
VALPAC.Net includes functionality for validating the data, producing
reports from the data and for encrypting and compressing the databases.
1.2 VALPAC.Net has functionality that
enables it to be used for either or all of the Student, Staff and Space
collections. When VALPAC.Net is first
installed, the Student collection functionality for Submission 1, 2000 for
Institution 199 (“Dummy institution 2”) is visible to the user. If you wish to use the Staff or Space
collection functionality, this can be done easily though the Defaults menu option.
Switching between the Student, Staff and Space functionality is done
through the Defaults menu option, as is switching between submissions, years
and institutions.
1.3 VALPAC.Net is useable for all
submissions for all years, commencing with Submission 1, 1999 for the
Student collection, the 2000 submission for the Staff collection and the 2007
submission for the Space collection.
1.4 These instructions explaining how to
use VALPAC.Net encompass the Student, Staff and Space collections.
2.1 The initial version of the VALPAC.Net
software is provided to each higher education institution on an installation
CD. The CD is accompanied by brief
installation instructions.
2.2 The installation program will install
all the software that is required for all VALPAC.Net functionality. VALPAC.Net does not require the user to have
Microsoft Office installed on their PC.
Viewing and printing of VALPAC.Net reports is undertaken though in-built
VALPAC.Net functionality, and requires the freely available Office Web
Components (Installed automatically by the installation application).
2.3 Users who wish to use VALPAC.Net functionality
for data already submitted to the Department or which have been prepared for
submission, must do this:
(a) If flat ASCII files have been imported
into the previously used software product “VALPAC2” and then modified within
VALPAC2, then they must be exported using VALPAC2's File / Export data to
flat ASCII file function.
(b) Then copy the flat ASCII files applicable
to the particular year/collection/submission into the appropriate folder which
will have been created by the VALPAC.Net installation application. The folder structure is explained below in Section 6 - Installing Data Files. These files may be the ones that were
exported in step (a).
(c) Through the VALPAC.Net Defaults function, set the appropriate Collection,
Institution code, Year, and Submission.
(d) Use the VALPAC.Net File / Import flat ASCII file to database table function
to import the flat ASCII files. The
imported data will be placed into a database that will be created automatically
by VALPAC.Net for the collection/institution/year/submission.
2.4 VALPAC.Net’s
summary reports and distribution reports can generate statistics for the prior
year as well as for the current year. In
order for that functionality to operate, the user will need to do this:
(a) Ensure that the flat ASCII files for the
prior year are copied to the appropriate folder for the
prior year/collection/submission.
(b) Through the VALPAC.Net Defaults function, set the appropriate Collection,
Institution code, Year (the prior year), and Submission.
(c) Through the VALPAC.Net Files../..Import flat ASCII files
into the database function, import the data. VALPAC.Net will automatically create the
database for the prior year’s data.
(d) If you want the Summary reports to show data
for the prior year, generate the summary reports for STUD and CREG (if you are
processing the Student data), or PROF and SFTE (if you are processing the Staff
data). These reports will generate the
derived data tables STUDFINAL and CREGFINAL or PROFFINAL and SFTEFINAL, for the
prior year. This step is not required if
you only want to generate a Distribution report.
(e) Through the VALPAC.Net Defaults function, set the appropriate Collection,
Institution code, Year (the current year), and Submission.
(f) If you are generating a Summary report,
click the "[ ] Include prior year
comparison?" checkbox. This step is
not required if you only want to generate a Distribution report. Then generate the report. The report will automatically include data
for the current year and the prior year, together with the percentage
differences from year to year.
2.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: When VALPAC.Net uses data from a prior year's
database it uses the "most recent" database in that prior year: If
there is a Sub3 database it uses that; If there is no Sub 3 database but
there is a Sub2 database, it uses that;
If there is no Sub 3 or Sub 2 database but there is a Sub1 database, it
uses that.
2.6 VALPAC.Net does NOT link into VALPAC2's
databases or require that VALPAC2 and its databases be present on the user's
PC. VALPAC.Net creates its own new
databases and they have names and structures that are entirely different to
those of VALPAC2. The earlier created
VALPAC2 databases are not compatible with those of VALPAC.Net.
3.1 The
following hardware and software is required to run VALPAC.Net:
ITEM |
MINIMUM
REQUIRED |
RECOMMENDED
FOR MOST EFFICIENT OPERATION AND FOR LARGE INSTITUTIONS |
Processor |
Pentium 2, 133 Mz |
Pentium 3, 600 Mz |
RAM |
64 Mb |
128 Mb |
Hard disk space available
for VALPAC.Net, its files and reports |
For the processing of one submission for one year, 5 to
7 Mb of hard disk space per 1,000 students, plus 1 Gb
of disk space for virtual memory operation. |
For the processing of one
submission for one year, 5 to 7 Mb of hard disk space per 1,000 students,
plus 1 Gb of disk space for virtual memory
operation. |
Monitor |
Video resolution of at
least 800 x 600 |
Video resolution of at
least 800 x 600 |
CD ROM |
Any speed |
Any speed |
Operating system |
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, Me,
2000, 2000NTFS, NT |
Windows 98, 98SE, 2000,
2000NTFS, NT, XP |
Microsoft applications
such as Office |
None required. Any version installed will be ignored. |
None required. Any version installed will be ignored. |
Printer |
6 ppm
Laser printer which is able to print 8-point Arial font. |
12 ppm
laser printer which is able to print 8-point Arial font. |
3.2 Because of problems associated with
Windows ME, it may be difficult to install VALPAC.Net on some PCs with that
operating system
Therefore, successful installation on Windows ME systems cannot
be guaranteed. If VALPAC.Net’s
installation program is unable to install VALPAC, users are advised to change
their operating systems.
4. WHAT'S NEW
IN THESE INSTRUCTIONS
4.1 This is
the first version of these instructions.
5. INSTALLING
COLLECTION DATA FILES
5.1 Before using VALPAC.Net to process data
for the Student, Staff or Space collection the user must place a number of flat
ASCII data files in specific folders which are created by VALPAC.Net during its
installation.
5.2 The installation of VALPAC.Net will
create all the necessary folders on your PC.
The installation program will place the folders in the Program Files
directory of the root folder of the drive selected by the user during
installation (e.g. Drive “C” or Drive “D”).
The top level folder is \VALPAC\.
In that folder is located the VALPAC.Net executable program in the file
VALPAC.EXE
Assuming that the drive that you
nominated during installation was the C:\ drive, the installation would have
created these folders and copied the files referred to into the correct
folders:
FUNCTION OF THE FOLDER |
|
C:\Program Files\Valpac\ASCII
Export\ |
This folder will contain any exported ASCII
files which the user can create from the collection database using the
valpac.Net Export function. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\ASCII
Source\ |
The user places ASCII files in this folder
prior to importing them into the VALPAC.Net database. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\Database |
This folder will contain the collection
databases that VALPAC.Net will create for each Institution for each
collection and submission. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\Help\ |
This folder contains all the HTM files that
comprise the VALPAC.Net on-line collection documentation. The files are placed there by the
installation program. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\Log |
This folder contains error logs created by
VALPAC.Net to be used for troubleshooting. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\Reports |
This folder contains all the Excel reports
created by the user in VALPAC.Net. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\System\ |
This folder contains the system database
which contains lookup tables that are used by VALPAC.Net. The database is
name SystemDatabase.accdb. The database is placed there by the installation
program. The database is password protected. VALPAC.Net will not function without this
database. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\System\Updates |
This folder is used for updates issued by
the Department of Education. |
C:\Program Files\Valpac\Zipped |
This folder will contain the zipped
encrypted file that VALPAC.Net can produce from the collection database, as
the file to be sent to the Department as the institution’s return. |
5.3 You must place the flat ASCII files
which are described in subsection
1.2 of Section D - Processes involved in preparing returns, in the
appropriate folder named \ASCII SOURCE\.
All source files are placed in the same folder irrespective of the year
or collection. For instance, if you installed VALPAC.Net on your C drive, the
six ASCII files for any submission of the Student collection for 2000 would be
placed in this folder:
C:\Program Files\Valpac\ASCII Source\
5.4 If you were preparing the first (and
only) submission of the Staff return for 2000, the two ASCII files required
would also be placed in this folder:
C:\Program Files\Valpac\ASCII Source\
6.1 Start the VALPAC.Net application by
double-clicking on the VALPAC.Net icon which was created by the installation application
and placed by it on your desktop. The
icon is a red academic trencher cap.
6.2 When the Login user form appears after
the application has initialised itself, select "ADMIN" as the User,
and enter "1234" (without quotes) as the
Password. Then click on the [Login this
user] button. This means that your
selected user name is ADMIN.
6.3 The main menu form will appear.
6.4 If you wish to do so, through the User access /
Add/edit/delete users function change the password for the ADMIN
user (you) to one that you prefer to use.
If you have other staff who will use
VALPAC.Net, then create User IDs, Passwords and
Permissions for each of them. Then exit that form.
6.5 Through the Defaults
function select the Collection (Student, Staff or Space), Year, Submission
number and Institution. Save those
details then exit that form.
6.6 You will then be able to exercise all
the VALPAC.Net menu options. Much of the
functionality of VALPAC.Net is self-evident.
The following notes explain aspects that may not be self-evident.
7. FLAT
ASCII FILES AND VALPAC.NET's ACCESS DATABASE
7.1 The data which institutions need to
prepare outside VALPAC.Net are in the form of flat ASCII files in fixed-length
ASCII format. These flat ASCII files are
placed by you in the appropriate \ASCII Source\ folder specified above in Section 6.
However, VALPAC.Net performs all its operations (e.g. report generation,
editing) on an Access 2007-compatible database which is created automatically
by the Visual Basic Microsoft Ace engine when the File../..Import flat ASCII file to database table
function is used. The flat ASCII files
are converted by VALPAC.Net to tables in its Access database for the
Institution/Collection/Year/Submission.
Until that function is run, no VALPAC.Net operation can be
undertaken. Therefore, after placing
the flat ASCII files in the appropriate ASCII source folder, the first thing
you must do is to use the File../..Import flat ASCII file to
database table function to import the data..
7.2 Because all VALPAC.Net functions are
performed on the tables in the Access database, if you were to place a new flat
ASCII file in the appropriate \ASCII Source\ folder, it will be totally ignored
by VALPAC.Net. Before VALPAC.Net will
use the data in such a new flat ASCII file you have to import it into the
Access database by performing the File../..Import
flat ASCII file to database table function on it. If you use the "Replace" option
during that operation, any editing which may have been made by you on the
existing database tables through the VALPAC.Net View/edit
tables../..Database table function will be lost.
7.3 Another consequence of the
arrangements is that any editing of a database table which is undertaken using
the VALPAC.Net View/edit
tables../..Database table function will NOT
be implemented in the flat ASCII file from which the original data were
imported. However, if you exercise the File../..Export
table as flat ASCII file function, VALPAC.Net will create flat
ASCII files from the tables in the Access database. These files will include any edits that have
been made through the VALPAC.Net View/edit
tables../..Database table function. However, the export process will overwrite
any flat ASCII files that were exported previously and you will NOT be warned
about that or asked if you wish to proceed or not. Any changes made to a table using the
VALPAC.Net editor will be incorporated in the newly created flat ASCII file
which will overwrite any previously exported flat ASCII file.
7.4 The flat ASCII files that were
originally imported into VALPAC2 will be left untouched, because they would
have been placed in the \ASCII Source\ folder, while the exported files are
sent by VALPAC.Net to the folder \ASCII Export\.
8. GENERAL
POINTS ABOUT USING VALPAC.NET
8.1 [OK],
[Proceed], [Make report], and [Exit] buttons (Student, Staff and Space
collections)
The [OK] button, [Proceed] button, [Make report] button, and other
buttons with a similar type of action caption will commence an appropriate
operation after you have made a selection of the item or items to work on.
To stop an operation that is in
progress (e.g. the generation of a report), click on the [Stop] button if it
appears on the form. A [Stop] button may
not take immediate effect during some operations (e.g. Compacting
a database, creation of some temporary tables), so be patient. Additional hitting [Stop] will not hasten the
stopping.
To quit VALPAC.Net after all
operations are completed, use the File../..Exit function. This is preferable to clicking the box [X]
at the top right-hand corner of the screen, because the Exit function cleans
out unwanted tables.
8.2 Selecting Items (Student, Staff and Space collections)
In many circumstances you will
need to select an item or items before VALPAC.Net will perform an operation on
the item/s.
Selection of items such as files,
tables, elements and validation rules is made by clicking on the item. Selection is achieved by left-clicking the
item.
8.3 Printing and saving reports (Student,
Staff and Space collections)
When a report is generated it will
be shown on the screen and you will be able to scroll forwards and backwards
through the report. At that time you
will be able to print the report through the [Print] button.
You can cancel the sending of a
report to the Windows print manager through hitting the [Cancel] button on the
VALPAC.Net dialog box after it pops up.
However, once all the report has been sent to the Windows print manager,
the only way to cancel its printing is through the Windows print manager. VALPAC.Net has no control over the printing
of a report after it has been sent to the Windows print manager.
VALPAC.Net saves all reports
automatically. Summary reports,
Distribution reports and Validation reports are saved as tables in the database
for the institution/collection/year/submission.
Then later you can view any saved report through the VALPAC.Net function
View/print
reports and then print it, if required. Credit reports are saved as Excel-compatible
worksheets, which are not part of the VALPAC.Net database. These worksheets can also be viewed or
printed through the View/print reports function. They can also be loaded into Excel outside
the VALPAC.Net application.
File../..Import flat ASCII file to database table (Student, Staff and Space
collections)
This function is only accessible
if the user has “IMPORT” Permissions.
The initial data prepared by the
institution is in the form of flat ASCII files in
fixed length format. However,
VALPAC.Net performs all its operations (e.g. editing, report generation) on an
Access2007 - compatible database which is created from these flat ASCII files
by using this VALPAC.Net function.
The flat ASCII files to be
imported must be placed in the folder specified in Section 6.2.
The flat ASCII files are then converted to tables in the Access database
by initiating this function.
The Student collection database
tables that can be created in this way are:
·
CESM (Qualification CESM).
·
CRED
(Credit value)
·
CREG
(Course registration)
·
CRSE
(Course)
·
QUAL
(Qualification)
·
STUD
(Student)
The Staff collection database tables that can be
created this way are:
·
PROF
(Staff profile)
·
SFTE
(Staff FTE)
The Space collection database tables that can be
created this way are:
·
BLDG
(Building)
·
CAMP
(Campus)
·
ROOM
( Room)
VALPAC.Net will indicate in check
boxes on the screen which of the ASCII files could be found in the relevant
folder. To create a table in the
VALPAC.Net database from a flat ASCII file, check the appropriate box above the
name of the flat ASCII file. If you want to create a number of tables, check
more than one check box.
Then set check marks to indicate
whether the data is to be appended to data which were imported in a previous
operation or to replace any existing data:
Replace: ALL the existing
data in the table will be erased and replaced with the data you are
importing. This means that any changes
you made to the existing table will be lost.
If you want to keep an amended table, export it first using the Files../..Export data to flat ASCII file function.
Keep and Append:
the existing data in
the table will be retained and the imported data will be added to the
table. This is only useful if you are
importing data from different campuses, or want to add some records which were
not available at the time of an earlier import operation.
VALPAC.Net can convert relevant
text data to uppercase as the data are imported. The “Standard” conversion option is set to a
checked state (i.e. “on”) as the default state, and users are advised to leave
the setting in that on state. If this
option is checked, text data for elements for which codes are case sensitive
will be converted to upper case. For
example for the element 012 (Gender), "m"s
and "f"s would be converted to
"M"s and "F"s. The
elements for which this option will operate are those coded “Y” in the field
“Capitalise” in the Elements lookup table.
This table can be view through VALPAC.Net’s View/edit tables../..System
lookup tables function.
There are also conversion
checkboxes which allow the capitalisation if desired of imported data for these
elements: 001 (Qualification code), 007
(Student number), 030 (Course code) and 037 (Staff number). The default setting for these checkboxes is
"unchecked" so that the capitalisation process is NOT implemented as
a rule; change
this setting if it is necessary for your data.
It should be noted that VALPAC.Net’s validation processes does not distinguish
between upper and lower case (e.g. a lower case “m” will be detected as being
valid for Element 012 (Gender), as will the upper case “M”.) Upper and lower case letters are treated in
summary reports and distribution reports as being equivalent. For that reason, those reports will group
data for upper and lower case versions of the same string, with the item first
found being shown in the reports.
During import, VALPAC.Net prevents
the import of non-numeric data or space-only values into fields that should
contain dates or only numbers. Where the
imported data contains such invalid data, VALPAC.Net changes the data to the
defaults for the field/s involved. The
defaults that will be used by VALPAC.Net can be seen in the system lookup table
named “Elements”. The contents of that
table can be viewed through the View/edit
tables../..System lookup tables function.
The values of the defaults have been set so that they will be clearly
inappropriate and will stand out like a beacon when any distribution report or
summary report is generated.
After the appropriate boxes are
checked, the import operation can be commenced by hitting [Import ASCII
file/s].
The import operation can be
stopped at any time by hitting [Stop import].
The import function converts the
institution’s flat ASCII files to tables in VALPAC.Net’s
Access database. Before the data
extracted from ASCII records are added to the Access database as a table,
VALPAC.Net automatically makes the following changes to any images of records
that have an incorrect structure:
·
It
truncates long record images to the correct length
·
It
pads short record images with spaces to the correct length
·
It
replaces non-printing characters with spaces.
The modifications are made to images
of the ASCII records, NOT to the ASCII records themselves, so the original
ASCII files are NOT modified at all.
On completion of the import
operation, details about how many records were imported,
structure errors detected, date and time of import and the person who imported
the records will be shown in the grid.
If there were any records which
had structure errors you can see which records they are by going to the View/edit
tables../..Database tables function and
inspecting the information in the "InitialError”
field, which is the extreme right column of the data grid. The table should be sorted
by the InitialError field so that records with
structure errors are all adjacent to each other.
When [Exit] is hit, VALPAC.Net
will automatically compact the database to make sure that any slack space in the database is purged.
File../..Export tables as
flat ASCII files (Student, Staff and Space collections)
This function is only accessible
if the user has “EXPORT” rights.
This function allows you to export
VALPAC.Net tables as flat ASCII files.
This is useful if you have modified any of the originally imported data
using the VALPAC.Net editor, and want to keep a copy as a flat ASCII file.
To create a flat ASCII file from a
table, check the check boxes above the tables to be exported.
You may also wish to output the
tables in sorted order. If so check the
appropriate box.
It is also possible to include in
the output ASCII files the text from the "InitialError"
field. This will mean that the output
records will be 30 characters longer than normal.
After the option boxes have been
set as checked or unchecked, then hit [Export ASCII file/s]. The ASCII files created will be placed in the
ASCII EXPORT folder.
You will NOT be warned if there is already an ASCII file in the
folder. If you want to keep the ASCII
file which was last imported, shift it to some other folder before you run the
VALPAC.Net export function. Because the
files are output to this folder, the original ASCII files from which the
database tables were created will not be overwritten because they were placed
in the ASCII SOURCE folder.
Hitting [Stop export] will stop
the export operation.
File../..Compact and repair
database (Student, Staff and Space collections)
If you use the VALPAC.Net editor
to delete a record, the particular record is flagged by the Microsoft Ace
engine (which creates Access 2007 compatible databases) as being deleted, but
is not physically removed from the file.
In order to purge "deleted" records (thereby freeing slack space), you need to run this function from time to
time. This will physically remove the
"deleted" records from the file and reduce the size of the Access
database. It will also purge the
VALPAC.Net application of any non-essential temporary database tables.
VALPAC.Net automatically compacts the database after completion of any import
operation or regeneration of the derived data tables CREGFINAL or STUDFINAL. However, you should run this function after
any significant number of record deletions have been made through the
VALPAC.Net editor.
This function also attempts to
repair faults that may have been created in the database from problems such as
power outages. If the database is
behaving unpredictably, run this function to see if it has any beneficial
effect. After running this function you
should then compact the database.
File../..Zip/encrypt
database (Student, Staff and Space collections)
This function prepares a zipped
and encrypted file comprising the database and all the validation report
files. The file is then to be posted to
the Department's ftp server using ftp and Internet.
The function undertakes these
processes:
·
Requests
a 12-character password to be used in the encryption process. The user will need to remember this password
because he/she will need to inform the Departmental contact officer of it so
that the officer can decrypt the file when it is received. There is no way that decryption can be
undertaken by the Departmental officer if he/she does not have the password.
·
Generates
and saves the Detail validation report and Summary
validation report for each table, including validations for all elements.
·
Compacts the database.
·
Generates
the zipped and encrypted file.
The user will be informed if any
fatal errors were encountered in the validation process. However, this will not stop the process.
The file generated will be located
in the ZIPPED folder.
The name of the file created will have this format:
YYYYCCCCNNNSn.ZIP
Where:
YYYY is the year (e.g. 2000)
CCCC indicates the Collection and is
either STUD, STAF or SPCE
NNN is the institution's code
Sn indicates
the submission, and is either S1, S2 or S3
File../..Exit (Student and Staff
collections)
Exits VALPAC.Net and purges any
non-essential temporary database tables.
10. VIEW/EDIT
TABLES MENU ITEMS
View/edit tables../..Database tables (Student, Staff and Space collections)
If the user has appropriate "permissions" or "rights", this
function allows viewing, editing, sorting, finding records, deleting records or
adding new records to any table in the database, using a full-screen, Access
type editor.
Viewing of any database table is
only possible if the user has “VIEWDATA” rights.
Editing of the records in any
database table is only possible if the user has “EDITDATA”
rights.
Where large tables are displayed
the table is split into pages and the following buttons are available:
·
Move
to first page
·
Move
to previous page
·
Move
to next page
·
Move
to last page
A search facility is available at
the top right corner of the screen to enable searching in a particular column
or the entire table.
This function is particularly
useful if you want to look at records that have generated error messages (e.g.
during the import function) and to change the values in any record. VALPAC.Net prevents the import of non-numeric
data or space-only values into fields that should contain dates or only
numbers. Where the user-entered data contains
such invalid characters, VALPAC.Net will automatically change the value of the
data to the default for the field/s involved.
The defaults that will be used by VALPAC.Net can be seen in the system
lookup table named “Elements”. The
contents of that table can be viewed through the Edit../..View/input/edit lookup tables menu. The values of the defaults have been chosen
so that they will be clearly inappropriate when any distribution report or
summary report is generated.
In the extreme right hand side of
the grid which shows records for a particular table, there is a field labelled
"InitialError". Where records that were imported were too
short or too long or contained non-printing characters or text characters in
numeric or date fields, there will be an indication to that effect in this
field. To group the records with errors,
sort the database using the field “InitialError”.
Records in a table may be sorted on any field by
double clicking field name (column heading). Sorting may take a considerable
time for a large table.
You
can correct records, add or delete records in VALPAC.Net. However if changes are made to records in any
table, the original data (that is the data in the flat ASCII file from which
data were originally imported) will not be corrected. If an import of data from a flat ASCII file
is made at a later stage, all the changes that have been made to the current
Access table will be lost. Therefore a safer procedure is to correct the file in
the production system, and then to import it into VALPAC.Net again.
If you wish to save the changes
made to a table through the VALPAC.Net editor as a flat ASCII file, do that
using the File../..Export data to flat ASCII file function.
View/edit tables../..System lookup tables (Student, Staff and Space
collections)
VALPAC.Net uses a number of
"lookup tables" in some of its functions. Some of these lookup tables may be viewed by
institutions as a matter of interest.
Their content cannot be modified by institutions.
The lookup tables that can be
viewed are:
·
Elements: this contains details for all the elements
that are applicable to each of the tables in the Student, Staff and Space
collections.
·
ValidationRules: this lists
the validation rules and shows their applicability by type of institution and
submission.
·
LookupcodesMAIN: this lists
valid codes for all elements other than the postcode, CESM and space elements.
·
LookupcodesPOST: this lists
valid postcodes
·
LookupcodesCESM: this lists
valid CESM codes
·
LookupcodesCESMAll: this lists
valid CESM codes including 2 digit categories
·
LookupCodesEXAM: this lists valid exam centre numbers and names
·
LookupcodesSPACE: this lists valid codes for all elements of the space
collection.
·
UGPG: this lists qualification type codes and a Undergraduate/Postgraduate indicator.
·
CRSELEVEL: this lists course level codes, a Research
indicator, and the weights used in calculating weighted credit
·
Institutions:
this lists institution names and codes
and a University/Technikon indicator
·
Updates:
this list shows all updates that have been performed on the system
·
Version: this shows the date of the SystemDatabase. The
value of Version corresponds with a variable in the VALPAC.EXE application
file.
The version information is
important because it can be used to check that the system database is one that
matches the executable file VALPAC.EXE.
Important note
about case:
It should be noted that VALPAC.Net’s validation processes does not distinguish
between upper and lower case (e.g. a lower case “m” will be detected as being
valid for Element 012 (Gender), because it is equivalent to the upper case
“M”.) Upper and lower case letters are
treated in summary reports and distribution reports as being identical. For that reason, those reports will group
data for upper and lower case versions of the same string, with the version of
the string first found being shown in the reports.
Create reports../..Validation
reports (Student, Staff and Space collections)
This
function applies the validation rules for each element
to the data in a single table selected for validation. It can be used to produce either or both of
these reports:
·
A
one or two-page "Summary report" which reports the number of rule
violations for each of the rules which are applicable to data elements in the
table selected. This report is the one
which should be generated initially so that the user can get an overall view of
the extent to which the data in a table are consistent with the validation
rules.
·
A
"Detail report" which reports details about the rule violations. This is usually a multi-page report from
which the user can see exactly which records are in error and the nature of the
errors. Errors can be listed by record
number or by error number. Depending on
how many errors there are in the data, this report can be of few pages to many
pages in size.
To run a validation report for a
table:
·
Select
the name of the table to be validated.
·
If
you want to generate a Detail validation report in addition to the Summary
report, check the “Generate Detail report” checkbox.
·
Check
the validation rules for which you wish details to be printed in the Detail
report. Some rules may not be visible -
scroll down to see all the rules.
·
Click
[Start validation].
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop validation].
After the report is generated the
user can switch between the Summary and Detail report through hitting
appropriate buttons. Any of those
reports may be printed.
The reports are saved
automatically as tables in the database.
The saved reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report
function.
Users should note that if there
are a large number of errors in the data, some detail reports for the Student
collection can be very large and occupy a lot of hard disk space. Therefore the user should run the Summary
reports first to get a feeling for the size of the Detail report. To conserve disk space, detail reports for
the Student collection can be deleted through the File../..Compact database function.
The validation rules for all
elements in all of the data tables in a collection can be applied as a batch
run. All validation rules are checked,
for all tables and all elements. To run
this select the option “All” in the list of tables, the data grid will be
disabled as validation rules cannot be selected/deselected.
The function will only work if all
tables for the collection are in the database (i.e. six tables if the
collection is the Student collection, two tables if the collection is the Staff
collection and three tables if the collection is the Space collection).
If the Detail reports are to be
generated in addition to the Summary reports then check the “Generate detail
reports” checkbox.
The reports are saved automatically
as tables in the database. The saved
reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report function.
Create reports../..Distribution
report (Student and Staff collections)
This function generates a report
giving counts of values (a "frequency distribution") which appear in
elements in a data table in the database.
The counts are also expressed as percentages of the total.
The function has an option for
also including counts and percentages generated from the prior year's table,
and percentage changes between the counts for the prior year and the current
year. This comparison with data for the
prior year is not relevant to the student data for 1999 and the staff data for
2000, because there will be no database for students in 1998 and for staff in
1999.
To run a distribution report:
·
Select
a table.
·
Select
any or all of the elements for which data are to be generated. Make sure to select at least one element.
·
If
you want to include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as
well as for the current year, check the “[
] Include prior year comparison?” checkbox. For this to have any effect,
there needs to be a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution
and submission number being processed.
This means that users would need to have already imported data into a
VALPAC.Net database for the institution/submission/prior year. If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it
will proceed and only tabulate data for the current year. This comparison with data for the prior year
is not relevant to the student collection for 1999 because there will be no
database for students in 1998. Nor is it
relevant to the Staff collection for 2000, because there will be no database
for staff in 1999.
·
Hit
[Make report].
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When the report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
The reports are saved automatically
as tables in the database. The saved
reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report function.
It should be noted that some base elements
cannot be included in the Distribution report and are not listed as ones
available for inclusion. Such excluded
elements are those that would produce a meaningless multitude of rows in the
report (e.g. date of birth, student and staff numbers, South African identity
numbers.) However, for some such
elements, data can be generated through the Summary report – for example, in
the Student summary report, date of birth data have been converted to age in
years, and a distribution of ages in years can be generated.
Create
reports../..STUD summary report (Student collection)
This function generates a report
giving counts of values which appear in the data for a limited range of
"base elements" relating to student/qualifications which are reported
in the records in the STUD table. The counts are also expressed as percentages
of the total.
The
report also gives counts and percentages for a number of "derived elements" (e.g. age in years,
which is derived from date of birth).
The generation of the derived elements will be undertaken automatically
by VALPAC.Net. The data for the derived
elements are saved in a table named STUDFINAL which is created by VALPAC.Net
and never deleted. If the derived data
table is up to date VALPAC.Net will use it.
However, if the derived data table was created, then subsequently any of
the database tables were edited or a table was imported, VALPAC.Net will detect
this and will recreate the derived data table.
There is a checkbox which can be used to force the regeneration of the
derived data table for the current year.
However, normally, the user can leave this unchecked and rely on
VALPAC.Net regenerating the derived data table IF that is required.
If the "[ ] Include prior year comparison?"
checkbox is checked, the application will attempt to find a STUDFINAL table in
the latest collection database for the prior year. ("Latest" meaning the Sub 3
database if it is there; if not, then the Sub 2 database; if not then the Sub 1
database.) If there is such a database
and it contains a STUDFINAL table, that table will be used in the
comparison. However, you should note
that that table for the prior year may be out of date, so you may need to
regenerate it by loading the database for the prior year then regenerating the
STUDFINAL table.
The data tabulated can be a count
of all student/qualification records or a “headcount” comprising an
unduplicated count of students rather than student/qualifications.
The function can be used to generate
the report for a filtered subset of records in the STUD table. Examples of subsets include: only undergraduate qualification types; only first-time
entering students; only South African
citizens. The subset can be defined in
terms of one of these dimensions, singly or in combination:
·
Qualification
level
·
Qualification
fulfilled status
·
Qualification
approval status
·
Entrance
category
·
Citizen-resident
status
·
Race
·
Gender
To select a
filtered subset of data, click on the drop-down black triangles, then select a subset option from those that are listed. It is possible for you to select a subset
that is the product of a combination of more than one dimension. For example you could include in the summary
report headcount data for just undergraduate qualifications, undertaken by
first-time entering students who are South African Citizens. In other words, the subset specifications
operate as AND conditions.
If you want to
include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as well as for the
current year, check the “[ ] Include
prior year comparison?” checkbox.
For this to have any effect, there needs to be
a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution and submission
number being processed. This means that
users would need to have already imported data into a VALPAC.Net database for
the institution/submission/prior year.
If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it will proceed and only
tabulate data for the current year. This
comparison with data for the prior year is not relevant to the student
collection for 1999 because there will be no database for students in 1998.
To generate the summary report:
·
Select
any or all of the elements for which data are to be generated. Make sure to select at least one element.
·
If
you wish to have the STUDFINAL derived data table for the current year to be
regenerated as the first step, check the box “Regenerate derived STUDFINAL…”. However, as a
general rule these boxes can be left unchecked, because VALPAC.Net will
normally be able to determine whether or not there is a need to regenerate the
derived table/s.
·
Select
the basis for counting: “All”
student/qualifications or a “headcount”.
·
If
required, set one or more of the subset options.
·
If
you want to include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as
well as for the current year, check the “[
] Include prior year comparison?” checkbox. For this to have any effect,
there needs to be a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution
and submission number being processed.
This means that users would need to have already imported data into a
VALPAC.Net database for the institution/submission/prior year. If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it
will proceed and only tabulate data for the current year. This comparison with data for the prior year
is not relevant to the student collection for 1999 because there will be no
database for students in 1998. Nor is it
relevant to the Staff collection for 2000, because there will be no database
for staff in 1999.
·
Hit
[Make report]. If the derived STUDFINAL
data table/s need to be updated, VALPAC.Net will do
that as the first step. If the derived
data table/s are up to date, VALPAC.Net will not
regenerate them.
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When the report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
The reports are saved
automatically as tables in the database.
The saved reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report
function.
Create reports../..CREG
summary report (Student collection)
This function generates a report
giving sums of values which appear in the data for a limited range of "base
elements" relating to course registrations which are in the CREG
table. The sums are also expressed as
percentages of the total.
While the Student summary report
generates counts of student/qualifications or student headcounts,
and the course registrations distribution report generates counts of
course registrations, the CREG summary reports does
things differently. It reports sums
of credit values which relate to the course registration records in the
CREG table. For each CREG record for
which data are included in the report, the function accumulates one of these
three values in the sum reported in the appropriate cell of the report:
·
if
the "All credit (E036)" option is selected, the value of Element 036 (Course credit value) is the value
included in the summing
·
if
the "Funded credit (E512)" option is selected the value of Element 512 (Aggregated credit value all funded
courses) is the value included in the summing
·
if the "Compl. funded credit (E513)"
option is selected the value of Element 513
(Aggregated credit value for completed funded courses) is the value
included in the summing
The
report gives sums and percentages for “base elements” and for a number of
"derived elements" (e.g. qualification level groups). The generation of the derived elements will
be undertaken automatically by VALPAC.Net.
The data for the derived elements are saved in a table named CREGFINAL which
is created by VALPAC.Net. That table
would have been created if any CREG summary report or any Credit report has
been generated already. If the derived
data table is up to date VALPAC.Net will use it. However, if the derived data table was
created, then subsequently any of the database tables were edited or a table
was imported, VALPAC.Net will detect this and will recreate the derived data
table. There is a checkbox which can be
used to force the regeneration of the derived data table for the current
year. However, normally, the user can
leave this unchecked and rely on VALPAC.Net regenerating the derived data table
IF that is required. The regenerate checkbox on the Credit reports form
has exactly the same effect in respect of regenerating the CREGFINAL derived
table for the current year. The CREG
summary report and the Credit reports use the same derived table CREGFINAL when
they generate tables.
If the "[ ] Include prior year comparison?"
checkbox is checked, the application will attempt to find a CREGFINAL table in
the latest collection database for the prior year. ("Latest" meaning the Sub 3
database if it is there; if not, then the Sub 2 database; if not then the Sub 1
database.) If there is such a database
and it contains a CREGFINAL table, that table will be used in the
comparison. However, you should note
that that table for the prior year may be out of date, so you may need to
regenerate it by loading the database for the prior year then regenerating the
CREGFINAL table.
The function has an option for
generating the report for a filtered subset of records in the CREG table. Examples of subsets include: Only undergraduate qualification types; Only first-time
entering students; only South African
citizens. The subset can be defined in
terms of one or more of these dimensions:
·
Qualification
level group
·
Qualification
fulfilled status
·
Qualification
approval status
·
Course
approval status
·
Course
completion status
·
Funding
status
·
Entrance
category
·
Citizen-resident
status
·
Race
·
Gender
To select a
subset of data, click on the drop-down black triangles, then
select a subset option from those that are listed. It is possible for you to select a subset
that is the product of a combination of more than one dimension. For example you could include in the report
data for just undergraduate qualifications, undertaken by first-time entering
students who are South African Citizens.
In other words, the subset specifications operate as AND conditions.
If you want to
include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as well as for the
current year, check the “[ ] Include
prior year comparison?” checkbox.
For this to have any effect, there needs to be
a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution and submission
number being processed. This means that
users would need to have already imported data into a VALPAC.Net database for
the institution/submission/prior year.
If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it will proceed and only
tabulate data for the current year. This
comparison with data for the prior year is not relevant to the student
collection for 1999 because there will be no database for students in 1998.
To generate the summary report:
·
Select
any or all of the elements for which data are to be generated. Make sure to select at least one element.
·
If
you wish to have the CREGFINAL derived data table for the current year to be
regenerated as the first step, check the box “Regenerate derived CREGFINAL…”. However, as a
general rule these boxes can be left unchecked, because VALPAC.Net will
normally be able to determine whether or not there is a need to regenerate the
derived table/s.
·
Select
the basis for summing: “All credit
(E036)” or “Funded credit (E512) or “Compl. funded credit (E513)”.
·
If
required, set one or more of the subset options.
·
If
you want to include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as
well as for the current year, check the “[
] Include prior year comparison?” checkbox. For this to have any effect,
there needs to be a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution
and submission number being processed.
This means that users would need to have already imported data into a
VALPAC.Net database for the institution/submission/prior year. If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it
will proceed and only tabulate data for the current year. This comparison with data for the prior year
is not relevant to the student collection for 1999 because there will be no
database for students in 1998.
·
Hit
[Make report]. If the derived CREGFINAL
data table needs to be updated, VALPAC.Net will do that as the first step. If the derived data table is up to date,
VALPAC.Net will not regenerate it.
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When the report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
The reports are saved
automatically as tables in the database.
The saved reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report
function.
Create reports../..PROF
summary report (Staff collection)
This function generates a report
giving counts of values which appear in the data for a limited range of
"base elements" relating to staff member/personnel category records
in the PROF table. The counts are also expressed as percentages of the
total.
The report also gives counts and
percentages for a number of "derived elements" (e.g. age in years, which is derived from date of birth). The generation of the derived elements will
be undertaken automatically by VALPAC.Net.
The derived data elements are saved by VALPAC.Net in a table named
PROFFINAL. This table is regenerated
automatically every time the PROF summary report is generated.
If the "[ ] Include prior year comparison?"
checkbox is checked, the application will attempt to find a PROFFINAL table in
the database for the prior year. If
there is such a database and it contains a PROFFINAL table, that table will be
used in the comparison. However, you
should note that that table for the prior year may be out of date, so you may
need to regenerate it by loading the database for the prior year then
regenerating the PROFFINAL table.
The data tabulated can be a count
of all staff member / personnel category records, or a “headcount” comprising
an unduplicated count of staff members.
The function can be used to
generate the report for a filtered subset of records in the PROF table. Examples of subsets include: only permanent staff; only full-time staff; only South African citizens. The subset can be defined in terms of one of
these dimensions, singly or in combination:
·
Personnel
category
·
Permanent/temporary
status
·
Full-time/part-time
status
·
Appointment
status
·
Citizen-resident
status
·
Race
·
Gender
To select a
filtered subset of data, click on the drop-down black triangles, then select a subset option from those that are listed. It is possible for you to select a subset
that is the product of a combination of more than one dimension. For example you could include in the summary
report headcount data for just permanent staff working full-time, who are South
African Citizens. In other words, the
subset specifications operate as AND conditions.
If you want to
include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as well as for the
current year, check the “[ ] Include
prior year comparison?” checkbox.
For this to have any effect, there needs to be
a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution and submission
number being processed. This means that
users would need to have already imported data into a VALPAC.Net database for
the institution/submission/prior year.
If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it will proceed and only tabulate
data for the current year. This
comparison with data for the prior year is not relevant to the staff collection
for 2000 because there will be no database for staff in 1999.
To generate the summary report:
·
Select
any or all of the elements for which data are to be generated. Make sure to select at least one element.
·
Select
the basis for counting: “All” staff
member/personnel category records or a “headcount” of staff members.
·
If
required, set one or more of the subset options.
·
If
you want to include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as
well as for the current year, check the “[
] Include prior year comparison?” checkbox. For this to have any effect,
there needs to be a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution
and submission number being processed.
This means that users would need to have already imported data into a
VALPAC.Net database for the institution/submission/prior year. If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it
will proceed and only tabulate data for the current year. This comparison with data for the prior year
is not relevant to the student collection for 1999 because there will be no
database for students in 1998. Nor is it
relevant to the Staff collection for 2000, because there will be no database
for staff in 1999.
·
Hit
[Make report]. VALPAC.Net regenerates
the derived table PROFFINAL automatically as the first step during the
generation process.
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When the report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
The reports are saved
automatically as tables in the database.
The saved reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report
function.
Create reports../..SFTE
summary report (Staff collection)
While the PROF summary report
generates counts of staff member/personnel category records, the SFTE
summary report does thing differently.
It reports sums of FTE values which relate to records in the
databases’ SFTE table. For each SFTE
record for which data are included in the report, the function accumulates sums
of values reported for Element 043 (Staff FTE value).
This function generates a report
giving sums of values which appear in the data for a limited range of
"base elements" relating to records which are in the DSFTE table.
The report also gives sums and
percentages for a number of " elements"
(e.g. age in years, which is derived from date of birth). The generation of the derived elements will
be undertaken automatically by VALPAC.Net.
The derived elements are saved in a table named SFTEFINAL. This table is regenerated automatically every
time the SFTE summary report is generated.
If the "[ ] Include prior year comparison?"
checkbox is checked, the application will attempt to find a SFTEFINAL table in
the database for the prior year. If
there is such a database and it contains a SFTEFINAL table, that table will be
used in the comparison. However, you
should note that that table for the prior year may be out of date, so you may
need to regenerate it by loading the database for the prior year then
regenerating the SFTEFINAL table.
The function can be used to
generate the report for a filtered subset of records in the SFTE table. Examples of subsets include: only permanent staff; only full-time staff; only South African citizens. The subset can be defined in terms of one of
these dimensions, singly or in combination:
·
Personnel
category
·
Staff
programme
·
Permanent/temporary
status
·
Full-time/part-time
status
·
Appointment
status
·
Citizen-resident
status
·
Race
·
Gender
To select a
filtered subset of data, click on the drop-down black triangles, then select a subset option from those that are listed. It is possible for you to select a subset
that is the product of a combination of more than one dimension. For example you could include in the summary
report headcount data for just permanent staff working full-time, who are South
African Citizens. In other words, the
subset specifications operate as AND conditions.
If you want to
include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as well as for the
current year, check the “[ ] Include
prior year comparison?” checkbox.
For this to have any effect, there needs to be
a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution and submission
number being processed. This means that
users would need to have already imported data into a VALPAC.Net database for
the institution/submission/prior year.
If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it will proceed and only
tabulate data for the current year. This
comparison with data for the prior year is not relevant to the staff collection
for 2000 because there will be no database for staff in 1999.
To generate the summary report:
·
Select
any or all of the elements for which data are to be generated. Make sure to select at least one element.
·
If
required, set one or more of the subset options.
·
If
you want to include a tabulation and analysis of data for the prior year as
well as for the current year, check the “[
] Include prior year comparison?” checkbox. For this to have any effect,
there needs to be a VALPAC.Net database for the prior year for the institution
and submission number being processed.
This means that users would need to have already imported data into a
VALPAC.Net database for the institution/submission/prior year. If VALPAC.Net cannot find such a database, it
will proceed and only tabulate data for the current year. This comparison with data for the prior year
is not relevant to the student collection for 1999 because there will be no
database for students in 1998. Nor is it
relevant to the Staff collection for 2000, because there will be no database
for staff in 1999.
·
Hit
[Make report]. VALPAC.Net regenerates
the derived table SFTEFINAL automatically as the first step during the
generation process.
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When the report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
The reports are saved
automatically as tables in the database.
The saved reports can be viewed and printed later using the Reports../..view or print a report
function.
Create reports../..Credit
report (Student collection)
This function enables the user to
generate reports that contain data which are equivalent to the data which was
provided in the old SAPSE tables 2.9, 2.10, 2.11, 2.19, 2.20 and 2.21. The function generates a report giving sums
of credit values relating to course registrations which data are reported in
the CREG table. The report also applies
weights to the sums.
There
are three sets of options which can be set to determine the content of the
report which will be generated:
·
Type
of credit: the user can select Funded credit, Completed funded credit or Subsidy credit.
·
Mode: the user can select Contact mode, or
Other-than-contact mode (distance or mixed mode). For submissions prior to Submission 2 for the
Collection Year 2000, mode is determined through Element 024 (Attendance
mode). This applies the student’s
attendance mode to all course registrations for the student. For later submissions, mode is determined
through Element 064 (Attendance mode for course). This takes into account the mode for each of
the separate courses undertaken by the student.
·
Experiential
learning: the user can select to include
both experiential and non-experiential learning, to exclude experiential
learning, or to include only experiential learning.
In
generating the credit reports VALPAC.Net needs to use derived elements that are
in the derived data table named CREGFINAL. This table will be present for the current
year’s data if the user has already created any CREG
summary report or any Credit report.
However if the CREGFINAL table does not exist or is not up to date, then
the user will be informed of this; in
this event, the user will need to exit from this form and then generate the
CREGFINAL table through the CREG summary report,
then return to this form.
The generation of the report may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When the report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
Credit reports are saved
automatically as Excel-compatible worksheets which are not part of the
VALPAC.Net database.
Only the last version
of any report is saved, overwriting the previous version. The names assigned to reports by VALPAC.Net
give an obvious indication of the contents.
The last generated version of the report can be viewed and/or printed
later through the Reports../..view or print a report function.
The Excel-compatible reports may
be viewed outside VALPAC.Net using Excel.
If you do that MAKE SURE TO EXIT FROM VAPAC.Net FIRST.
(a) If the Funded credit option is selected:
If
the Funded credit option is selected the report can generate data equivalent to
that in the old SAPSE tables, as follows:
Mode
option selected for the report |
SAPSE
table equivalent |
Contact mode |
SAPSE table 2.9 minus 2.19 |
Distance mode and mixed
mode |
SAPSE table 2.19 |
The values reported are summed
values for Element 036 (Course credit value),
but limited to cases in the CREG table that meet a number of criteria. The way in which the values reported are
derived can be seen in the definition for derived Element
512 (Aggregated credit value all funded courses). The derivation of this element involves the
application of a complex set of rules for inclusion and exclusion of
credit. It should be noted that for
1999 data, VALPAC.Net does not exclude any courses on the basis of the value
reported for E018 (Funding status). The values for Element 036 (Course credit
value) are looked up in the CRED table using the values for Element 001 (Qualification code) concatenated
with Element 030 (Course code) as the link.
In addition to the summed value,
the report automatically produces a weighted version of the report. The weights applied are determined by the
course level as indicated by Element 034 (Course level code). The weights applicable to each course level
can be seen in the CrseLevel lookup table which can
be accessed through View/edit tables../..System lookup tables menu.
The function has an option for
generating the report where experiential training is either included or
excluded and also for generating this report with data to the 2nd
order cesm.
(b) If the Completed funded credit option is selected:
If
the Completed funded credit option is selected the report can generate data
equivalent to that in the old SAPSE tables, as follows:
Mode
option selected for the report |
SAPSE
table equivalent |
Contact mode |
SAPSE table 2.11 minus
2.21 |
Distance mode and mixed
mode |
SAPSE table 2.21 |
The values reported are summed
values for either Element 036 (Course credit
value) or Element 050 (Completed research
course credit value), but limited to cases in the CREG table that meet a
number of criteria. The way in which the
values reported are derived can be seen in the definition for derived Element 513 (Aggregated credit value for completed
funded courses). The derivation of
this element involves the application of a complex set of rules for inclusion
and exclusion of credit. It should be
noted that for 1999 data, VALPAC.Net does not exclude any courses on the basis
of the value reported for E018 (Funding status). The values for Element 036 (Course credit
value) or Element 050 (Completed research course credit value) are looked up in
the CRED table using the values for Element 001
(Qualification code) concatenated with Element
030 (Course code) as the link.
In addition to the summed value,
the report automatically produces a weighted version of the report. The weights applied are determined by the
course level as indicated by Element 034 (Course level code). The weights applicable to each course level
can be seen in the CrseLevel lookup table which can
be accessed through View/edit tables../..System lookup tables menu.
The function has an option for
generating the report where experiential training is either included or
excluded and also for generating this report with data to the 2nd
order CESM.
(c)
If the Subsidy credit option is selected:
If
the Subsidy credit option is selected the report can generate data equivalent
to that in the old SAPSE tables, as follows:
Mode
option selected for the report |
SAPSE
table equivalent |
Calculation
method |
Contact mode |
SAPSE table 2.10 minus
2.20 |
1/2 of the weighted values
in the Funded credit report for Contact mode, plus 1/2 of weighted values the
Completed funded credit report for Contact mode |
Distance mode and mixed
mode |
SAPSE table 2.20 |
1/3 of the weighted values
in the Funded credit report for Distance or mixed mode, plus 1/3 of the weighted values
in the Completed funded credit report for Distance or mixed mode |
The function has an option for
generating the report where experiential training is either included or
excluded.
·
Gender, Race, Entrance category and Nationality options:
These options can be used to specify sub-sets of students for whom the
report will be generated.
Create reports /
Other reports / SAPSE report 2.7 (Student collection)
This function enables the user to
generate a report that contain data which are similar
to the data which was provided in the old SAPSE table 2.7.
Create
reports../..Other reports /
SAPSE report 2.12/2.13 (Student collection)
This function enables the user to
generate reports that contain data which are similar to the data which was
provided in the old SAPSE tables 2.12 and 2.13.
This generates
a report giving sums of headcount values relating to major areas of study which
data are reported in the STUD table.
There
are options which can be set to determine the content of the report which will
be generated:
·
Type of report required: If the "All students"
option is selected, a report similar to 2.12 is generated. If the "Students fulfilling
requirements" option is selected, a report similar to 2.13 is generated.
·
Method of counting students – Fractional CESMs: If the Table
2.12/2.13 1st order option is selected then the report generates a
table with only data to the 1st order CESM. If the Table 2.12/2.13 2nd order
option is selected then the report generates a table with the data to the 2nd
order CESM. If the "Fractional
CESMs" option is selected as the method of counting students, the approach
used in generating the SAPSE tables will be used. In that approach, the grand total equals the
unduplicated number of all students (if the All students option is set), or all
of the students who have fulfilled the requirements of a qualification (if the
Students fulfilling requirements is set).
If a student is undertaking a qualification for which more than one 2nd
order CESM code is reported through elements 026, 027, 028 or 029, a fraction
of the student is tabulated for each of the 2nd order CESM
codes.
For
example, if the student is undertaking a qualification for which the values
reported for elements 026 and 027 are 0401 and 0701, then the value of 0.5
would be attributed to the 2nd order CESM code of 04, and the value
of 0.5 would be attributed to the 2nd order CESM code of 07. If the student is undertaking a qualification
for which the values reported for elements 026, 027 and 028 are 0401, 0402 and
0701, then the value of 0.333 would be attributed to the 2nd order
CESM code of 0401, and the value of 0.333 would be attributed to the 2nd
order CESM of 0402 and the value of 0.333 would be attributed to the 2nd
order CESM code of 07.
If
the Table 2.12 is selected and there is more than one qualification for a
student, the fractions accumulated will be for the qualification where Element
589 (Headcount Indicator) in STUDFINAL is marked “Head”. If the Table 2.13 is selected and there is
more than one qualification marked “F” for Element 025 (Qualification
Requirement Status) for a student, the fractional CESMs for both qualifications
will be counted in this table.
·
Method of counting students – Total CESMs: This
option is no longer available. If
the "Total CESMs" option is selected as the method of counting
students, the approach used in generating the SAPSE tables is quite
different. In this approach, the values
reported represent the unduplicated number of students within each 2nd-order
CESM category. The grand total will
in most cases add to more than the total number of unduplicated students because
many students are coded as undertaking qualifications for which more than one 2nd-order
CESM category is reported via elements 026, 027, 028 and 029.
For
example, if the student is undertaking a qualification for which the values
reported for elements 026 and 027 are 0401 and 0701, then the value of 1.0
would be attributed to the 2nd order CESM code of 04, and the value
of 1.0 would be attributed to the 2nd order CESM code of 07 (thus
contributing 2.0 to the grand total).
If a
particular 2nd-order CESM code is reported for more than one of the
elements 026, 027, 028 or 029, it is only accounted for once. For example, if the student is undertaking a
qualification for which the values reported for elements 026, 027 and 028 are
0401, 0402 and 0701, then the value of 1.0 would be attributed to the 2nd
order CESM code of 04, and the value of 1.0 would be attributed to the 2nd
order CESM code of 07 (thus contributing 2.0 to the grand total).
If
there is more than one qualification for a student and a particular 2nd-order
CESM code is reported more than once in the student's qualifications, the value
of 1.0 is only accounted for once for that code. For example, if the student is undertaking
one qualification for which the values reported for elements 026, 027 and 028
are 0401, 0402 and 0701, and the values reported for elements 026 and 027 for
another qualification are 0403 and 0801, then the value of 1.0 would be counted
for each of the 2nd order CESM codes of 04, 07 and 08 (thus
contributing 3.0 to the grand total).
Because
of the way of counting, the grand total has little meaning. However totals for each row are meaningful as
they indicate the number of unduplicated students who are undertaking one or
more qualifications that have the 2nd-order CESM code indicated by
the row's label.
·
Gender, Race, Entrance category and Contact/Distance options:
These options can be used to specify sub-sets of students for whom the
report will be generated.
Create reports /
Other reports / SAPSE report 2.18 (Student collection)
This function enables the user to
generate a report that contain data which are similar
to the data which was provided in the old SAPSE table 2.18.
In generating the reports
VALPAC.Net needs to use derived elements that are in the derived data table
named STUDFINAL. This table will be present for the current
year’s data if the user has already created any STUD summary report. However if the STUDFINAL table does not exist
or is not up to date, that is data has been re-imported or a change has been
made in the view/edit database option, or outside the application, then the
user will need to exit from the form and then generate the STUDFINAL table
through the STUD summary report, then return to the form.
The generation of the reports may
be stopped by hitting [Stop making report].
When a report has been generated
it will be shown on the screen.
SAPSE reports are automatically
saved as Excel-compatible worksheets which are not part of the VALPAC.Net
database. Only the last version of any
report is saved automatically, overwriting the previous version. The names automatically assigned to reports
by VALPAC.Net give an obvious indication of the contents. The last generated version of the report
which was saved automatically can be viewed and/or printed later through the Reports../..view or print a report
function.
Additionally, any report may also be
saved using a name specified by the user after he/she hits the [Save as ….
sheet] button. Such sheets cannot be
viewed through the Reports../..view or print a report function.
Excel-compatible reports may be viewed
outside VALPAC.Net using Excel. If you
do that MAKE SURE TO EXIT FROM VAPAC.NET FIRST.
12. VIEW/PRINT
REPORT MENU ITEMS
The options available though this
menu enables the user to select any of the reports which have already been
generated and to be viewed and if required, printed. Immediately after a validation report,
distribution report or summary report was generated,
it is saved automatically as a table in the database. Credit reports are saved as Excel-compatible
worksheets which are not part of the VALPAC.Net database.
Only the last version of any
report is saved, overwriting the previous version. The names assigned to reports by VALPAC.Net
give an obvious indication of the contents.
The functions available under this
menu tree are:
View/print report../..Validation
report
View/print report../..Distribution
report
View/print report../..Summary
report
View/print report../..Credit
report
View/print report../..SAPSE
report
View/print report../..Staff
report
View/print report../..Space
report
13. USER
ACCESS MENU ITEMS (Student, Staff and Space collections)
This enables users to login as any
of the users that the institution administrator has established in VALPAC.Net,
providing that they know the user's password.
User access../..Change
password
This enables the user who is
logged in to change his/her password, providing that he/she knows the old
password.
User access../..Add/edit/delete
users
This function enables a person who
has the User ID of “ADMIN” to perform the following functions:
·
Add
new users
·
Delete
users
·
Change
passwords
·
Change
Permissions
When VALPAC.Net is distributed to
institutions, there is already one ADMIN user ID. The password for that user is “1234” (without
quotes). After installation of VALPAC.Net has been completed the Administrator
must:
(a) Login using the User ID of ADMIN and a
password of 1234.
(b) Through the User access../..Add/edit/delete users function, change the password for the ADMIN user to suit
him/herself.
(c) Add any new users who are to use the
VALPAC.Net application. In adding users,
permission rights need to be specified by checking the relevant
checkboxes.
The Permissions (i.e. rights)
assigned to a user determine which of VALPAC.Net’s
menu options can be accessed by the user.
The permissions and the options they enable are as follows:
FUNCTIONALITY
ENABLED |
|
EDITUSERS |
User access../..Add/edit/delete
users |
IMPORT |
File../..Import flat ASCII data |
EXPORT |
File../.. Export table as flat ASCII file |
VIEWDATA |
View/edit
tables../..Database tables – user is allowed to view
data but not to add, delete or edit the data |
EDITDATA |
View/edit
tables../..Database tables – user is allowed to view
data and to add, delete or edit the data |
Users may be assigned any
combination of the permissions (e.g. IMPORT, VIEWDATA).
If required, a newly-created user
may be assigned the same Permissions as the ADMIN user; in effect, this would mean that the ADMIN
user or the newly created user would have identical Permissions. This may be unsafe, and it is suggested that
only one user (ADMIN) be allowed to have the “Edit users” Permission.
This function enables users to select
the Collection (Student, Staff or Space), Submission number, Year, and
Institution code.
Changing any of the Defaults
settings means that VALPAC.Net will be configured to handle data for a
different database. For instance, if the
institution code is 333 and the year is 2000 and the collection is Students and
the submission is 1, then changing the submission number from 1 to 2 switches
VALPAC.Net settings so that the application changes its active database from a database with this
name:
2000STUD333S1.ACCDB
to a
database with this name:
2000STUD333S2.ACCDB
If VALPAC.Net does not find a
database with the relevant name, when the user attempts to import data into it
or to edit data in it VALPAC.Net will inform the user, and will give the user
the opportunity for the new database to be created.
Databases for more than one
institution can coexist within the VALPAC.Net application, and users can switch
between these institutions without having to exit VALPAC.Net or to rename
databases.
15. HELP MENU
ITEMS (Student, Staff and Space collections)
Help../..Collection documentation
This enables users to access the
complete specifications for the collection.
Help../..Contacts
for assistance
This provides details about
contact persons.
This provides details about the
developers of the VALPAC.Net application.