XML High School Transcript 3 rd Annual Conference on Technology and Standards May Washington DC Bruce Marton University of Texas at Austin

Presenters Bruce Marton n Assoc. Dir., Student Information Systems, University of Texas n AACRAO SPEEDE Committee n Steering Committee, Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council – Standards Forum

Topics n Bridging the Gap u High School and College u Local schools to District and State n Existing PESC standard for College Transcript n XML standard for High School Transcript

Building Bridges

Challenges (the Bridges) n Improving Service to Students n Accountability and Metrics n Benefits and Incentives

First Bridge: Service to Students n High School Students apply to College n Credentials sent to support application u Test Scores (SAT, ACT) F Electronic u HS Transcript F Largely paper

Paper Process n Uses Postal service u Slow u Unreliable n Requires manual processing n Vulnerable to fraud u Who really sent it u Has it been tampered with

Paper Process n Inaccurate u Data has to be re-entered u Varying local definitions, usage u Differing grading scales n Expensive u Data has to be re-entered n Time-consuming

Electronic process n Very fast or Instant n Reliable u Receipt confirmation u Status report n No processing delay for printing n Consistent data n Encrypted n Authenticated

Meeting student needs n Growing Interest in electronic exchange u Demand from students u Increased confidence in Internet n Vendor interest u DocuFide u Pearson u Triand

Second Bridge Accountability n No Child Left Behind u Identify at-risk schools u School comparisons u Aggregate data n State mandated metrics n Graduation requirement u Exit testing enforced at postsecondary u Core course curriculum

Standard data gathering n Common metrics u Translate from local systems u Uniformity across systems

Technology Initiatives- SIF n Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) u Allows SIS applications to work together and share data n Technical specification u Infrastructure u Unified K12 Data Model u Support intra school/district u Import external K12 data

Schools Interoperability Framework n Zone Integration Server u Middleware specification u Certified vendor solutions n Data Exchange Choreography u Data transport n Standard data objects u XML schema dictionary u Comprehensive but not yet aggregated

Third Bridge Managing benefits n Admissions guarantees u Automatic acceptance u Instant decisions n Scholarships, grants u Requires earlier contacts with students u Interim transcripts to assess progress

State Initiatives n Common Application process u California u Texas u Florida n Centralized Award process u Florida u Georgia u North Carolina

History of Standard n National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) EDI initiative n K12 and postsecondary communities u AACRAO u CCSSO n Together developed EDI standard

EDI Standard n Governing body: ANSI X12 n Transaction set 130 u Student Education Record (Transcript) u Approved 1992 n SPEEDE u Standardization of Postsecondary Education Electronic Data Exchange n ExPRESS u Exchange of Permanent Records Electronically for Students and Schools

SPEEDE College Transcript n Very successful u 700,000 transcripts exchanged last year n Revised to form XML Schema standard u PESC approved May 2004

ExPRESS n Slow to be adopted u EDI unfamiliar u Considered expensive, difficult u Wide variety of SIS systems u Chronic under funding n Basic work intact u ExPRESS still maintained and supported

ExPRESS n NCES commissioned study of XML standard u Based on ANSI TS130 u K12 community participation u SIF compatibility u Coordinated with PESC XML standards n Established viability u Functional specifications

Initiative History n Need for HS Transcript u State of Georgia u Texas Education Agency u Vendor interest n College XML Transcript approved n Workgroup chartered Fall ’04 u First meeting at AACRAO Tech conference/PESC Fall meeting u Generated strong interest u Meeting every week via conference call

Participants n State Agencies u Oklahoma u Georgia u California u South Dakota u Arkansas u New Jersey n Organizations u Schools Interoperability Framework u College Foundation of North Carolina u US Department of Education n High Schools u Massachusetts u Illinois

Participants n AACRAO SPEEDE committee u Texas u Iowa u Florida u California n Pearson n Docufide n SunGardSCT n ACT n Nat. Student Clearinghouse n Strategic Explorers n ESP Solutions n AES n The Common Application n Great Lakes Ed. Loan Svcs.

Postsecondary model College

Secondary Model School District Education Agency High School College Higher Ed Authority State Clearing- house

XML College Transcript n Limited to PS to PS n Based on TS 130 SPEEDE/ExPRESS n Basic structure for HS transcript in place

Scope n K12 vs. HS/Secondary only u Initial decision: Secondary to Postsecondary only u Now expanded to include agency and school to school exchange n At first workgroup was informal u Established validity of concept, commitment to process

Work so far n In depth review by call participants u Viability of existing work n Discussion topics u Student identifiers u GPA u Grade scale/legend issues u Course articulation issues u Test Scores u Immunization

Standards requirements Local flexibility Standard methodology National consistency

Data Model Structure n Biographical, Student identifiers n Credentials, Rank, GPA n Coursework/Academic History n Test Scores u State, local u National tests permitted n Immunizations

Technology Initiatives - NCES n National standard for course classifications u SNCC - existing u SCED - replacement n Standardized course category definitions for states u Georgia, California, Texas n To be released soon

User-defined Extensions n Allows mutually defined sub- schemas u State systems u Regional requirements u Software specific needs n Allows strict standards within system n Other users can ignore n National ratification not needed

Where we are n Review version of XML schema complete and posted for public comment (March, 2006) n Implementation Guide in Draft form n Formal PESC process u Public Comment received u Workgroup to convene next week to determine response n Continue Coordination with NCES

Core Components Data Dictionary Sector Library Sector Library Sector Library Application Schema Application Schema Application Schema Application Schema Application Schema Application Schema Standards Forum Core Components

CommonLine RosterResponse.xsd PESC Core Components Data Dictionary CoreMain.xsd Financial Aid Sector Library FFELAlternative.xsd Admissions Registrar Sector Library Admissions Registrar.xsd College Transcript Schema CollegeTranscript.xsd Standards Forum Object Structure CommonLine Roster.xsd CommonLine Response.xsd CommonLine Receipt.xsd CommonLine Request.xsd

TranscriptResponse Schema TranscriptResponse.xsd PESC Core Components Data Dictionary CoreMain.xsd Admissions Registrar Sector Library Admissions Registrar.xsd College Transcript Schema CollegeTranscript.xsd Standards Forum Objects – proposed TranscriptRequest Schema TranscriptRequest.xsd TranscriptAcknowledgment Schema TranscriptAcknowledgment.xsd High School Transcript Schema HighSchoolTranscript.xsd

Where to get documents n

Questions