Automating the workload: Developing sustainable data management on a budget Aaron Distler, M.A., Associate Director of Academic Success & Accessibility Stetson University

Learning OUtcomes Participants will articulate current administrative barriers impacting the efficiency of their accommodations process. Participants will identify 3 resources currently available that may assist with their accommodations process. Participants will develop a short list of questions to ask their IT department in order to determine next steps.

Presentation Overview Where we started & why automation is important Where we are now Steps we took to get there Available resources and talking with IT Database Basics Learning opportunities What are our next steps

Where we started Manual process Emails drafted to faculty individually Accommodations included “similar” language Review each student’s file individually

Impetus for change Dual Roles Staffing structures Mistakes implementing accommodations Changing expectations and labor laws (FLSA?)

Guiding principles of transition Reasonably lower administrative impact on the team Increase focus on the implementation and support of accommodations Automation to inform practice not replace it

Where we are Now Student in process of establishing accommodations Check what steps have been completed Student actively registered for accommodations Student’s accommodations Class schedule and requested courses Final exam schedule Outreach to students and staff Connect with students with a particular accommodation Notify faculty of students’ accommodations Provide emergency list of students to Public Safety department

How did we get there? All software licensed by the university Student Management Software (Banner, Oracle, Peoplesoft) Disability and Accommodations Information Document Management Reporting Software (e.g. Argos) Microsoft Office Products Microsoft Access Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel This is scalable to institutions with different caseloads

Microsoft Accessibility PSA Microsoft has demonstrated a commitment to accessibility! All Microsoft components of the process should be accessible. Microsoft Accessibility Homepage Twitter.com/MsftEnable – news, updates, and insights Aka.ms/InclusionMechanics for demos of Office 365 accessibility features Support from an expert: 1 (800) 936-5900 – Disability Answer Desk Online chat with experts available as well Connected with a representative through the online chat when developing the presentation to confirm Microsoft products would be accessible. Representatives response was “all Microsoft Office 365 products are accessible.”

Partnerships with It department Creation & management of reports Training to create and schedule personal reports Trouble connecting with IT department? Create all of the database in Access! “They know the system, but you know the students” – there may be times where you look at the data and know that something does not seem to be right. Remember that the IT department knows how to put together the pieces you provide them. They may not be aware of the “idiosyncrasies” of the information. When communicating with the IT department, it can be helpful to think through “what makes this student’s record different from other students?” This may help the conversation with IT to update the reports.

DATABASES 101 Input View Output Record Accommodations Information Save Documentation Input Individual information needed to implement accommodations View Data to report Spreadsheets to complete a process Output

Database 101 – Key Terms Table – a spreadsheet where the information is stored Query – a combination of tables to provide you with the information you need. Unique or Primary Key – a single piece of information that is unique to a particular record/individual. Used to connect tables as part of a query. Examples: Student ID numbers, Course registration numbers Form – view of one particular record (e.g a single student) which may be a particular row from the database. All Biology 1 courses may be called BIO 101. However, each individual section is given a registration number of students can register for a particular section with a professor at a specific time. This registration number would be the unique key.

How the puzzle pieces Fit together Student’s Classes and Accommodations Student ID Number Student’s Courses Student’s Accommodations Course Registration Number Course Day, Time, Location, Faculty Member Query Primary Keys Tables

Query Examples Accessible Course Locations – Current Semester Lists all students with an “Accessible Course Location” accommodation and their class schedule. Allows me to identify if any courses need to be moved for the upcoming semester. Faculty and Advisor Accommodation Emails Lists all students who have requested accommodations, their accommodations, requested courses, faculty and advisor contact information. Used to create mail merge and send information to the student’s faculty each semester. Not registered but requested discrepancy Lists any students who have submitted our accommodations request form, but have not registered with our office for accommodations. Accessibility Services Center team can then reach out to student with steps to register for accommodations

Access Forms

Resources for Learning About Databases Focus on learning 2 things: SQL Query Building Building in Access (Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports) Codecademy Free resource to learn coding - HTML, JavaScript, etc. 2 lessons on SQL coding – “Learn SQL” and “SQL: Table Transformations” YouTube – number of different free videos/tutorial series on Access Database creation Search “Microsoft Access Tutorial”

Resource Screenshots

Microsoft Word Mail Merge “Mailings” Tab within Microsoft Word Connects to Access Table/Query or Excel Spreadsheet Column headers become placeholders One record or row per document Preview and send or print

Hindsight Is 20/20 – Lessons to share Make the system work for you! Only use features that make sense in your process. “Shipped is better than perfect” – It will not be perfect at first, and that is OK! Updates should be informed by the users Ask “is it possible?” Beware of redundant systems! – Do not continue old practices once the new one is established. Consider permissions and users Two people cannot occupy the same database Input only, view only, master permissions Refresh schedule – how often do you want the data to update? Are some tables changing daily while others are static after a certain date? The database will never be perfect. There will be particular “holes” in the data you are gathering, and you need to identify what information may have fallen through the cracks Be careful not to stick with previous manual systems once you have automated. Continuing to engage in multiple systems that will provide the same end result is simply not a good use of time. Trust that the process is working and spend any additional time double checking the automated process. This will help you identify holes faster and get them fixed.

Future Projects Create semester transition guides for staff Ensure queries include functional descriptions Link courses to accessible text library

Thank you For Coming! ANY QUESTIONS? Contact Information Aaron Distler, Associate Director of Academic Success & Accessibility adistler@stetson.edu (386) 822-7127