2.2.4. Downloading and Synchronizing Student Roster.

This scenario shows how an individual can update the gradebook student roster.  Student roster information is stored in the Cal Poly SIS Server and only instructors have permission privilege to download their rosters. Student Roster is downloaded from the SIS server as shown in Figure 2.2.4-0. A roster contains a classroom list of students and their ids that are formally registered in the class.

Figure 2.2.4-0 : Download Roster Network Flow.

To download the student roster, this scenario assumes that the program is opened and the instructor already know the student id of . The user does not necessarily have to open a gradebook spreadsheet. But, in doing so, the software is going to make and attempt to synchronize the existing information. When the spreadsheet is opened and has never been synchronized, the student names are colored red meaning that the roster has never been downloaded as shown in Figure 2.2.4-1. Then the user click on ‘File’ -> ‘Download Roster’ to download. 

Figure 2.2.4-1 : Student list before downloading the roster.

In response, a window dialogue shown below in Figure 2.2.4-2 comes with the following information to fill in. By default the roster information is downloaded from Cal Poly’s SIS Server. A system configuration file needs to be modified if the roster information is not located in sis.calpoly.edu.

Figure 2.2.4-2 : Download Roster Window Dialog.

The following has to be filled in properly:

·        User Name:  Enter your login username id. Typically, if your name is Bob Dole, then the username is the initial of your first name and the first few digits of your  last name like bdole.

·        Password: Enter your security password. By default it is your last name and the first 6 digits of your social security number.

·        Merge All Sections Check Box: If you are a teaching all the sections, check this box and it will retrieve the student roster from all sections.

An example of a completely filled in data information is shown below in Figure 2.2.4-3.

Figure 2.2.4-3 : Download Roster Authentication.

Based on the user name identification, the server verifies the information and returns a list of courses the instructor is teaching. The system puts the student information in the proper class spreadsheet. If a class spreadsheet does not exist for a particular class, the system automatically creates a new spreadsheet for that class and add a new tab to the gradebook. If a spreadsheet exists for a class, the system would add student information to the spreadsheet. Any student information with no conflict with the SIS simply changes color from red to black or green meaning that the student is ‘Enrolled’ or on the ‘Waiting’ list respectively as seen in Figure 2.2.4-4.

 

There are a total of three types of students and they behave differently upon download and synchronization:

 

When “Merge All Section” is selected, the system automatically merges courses of difference sections into one single spreadsheet as seen in Figure 2.2.4-5. Note the change in number of tabs and an additional new class CPE309.

 

Figure 2.2.4-4 : Downloaded Student Roster Information With Out ‘Merge All Sections’.

Figure 2.2.4-5 : Downloaded Student Roster Information With ‘Merge All Sections’.

 

 

The SIS server contains 7 data information each student in the class. They are

·                                            Student Name:  The name of the student in the class.

·                                            Student Username:  The username of the student with @calpoly.edu.

·                                            EMPLID: The social security number of the student, which  corresponds to the “Student ID” column.

·                                            Major: The abbreviated major of the student.

·                                            Class: The class year attending college of the student whether from freshman to grad student.

·                                            Units: The unit for the class.

·                                            Status: The status of enrollment. Either the student is enrolled or the waiting list.

 

The scenario above assumes that there is no discrepancy between the user entered data and the SIS server. In this next scenario, we will assume that there is a discrepancy.

When the system downloads the roster from the Sis Server, it checks the new Student ID data with the existing student Student ID data in a spreadsheet. If there exists a common Student ID in both new data and old data, and if there is a discrepancy in data information that SIS provides such as Student Name,  Username, EMPLID, Major, Class, Units, and Status, then a conflict occurs. A conflict is defined as a condition when the value of a column in SIS server is different from the value column already existed in the spreadsheet. It is not considered a conflict when the spreadsheet has an empty value and the SIS has a value for a column in which case the system will copy the value from Sis to the spreadsheet.

Figure 2.2.4-6 : Downloaded Student Roster Information With A Conflict.

In Figure 2.2.4-6, Dan Bozanich and Daniel Bozanich have the same Student ID. When this happens, a window dialog per student id comes up and asks the whether or not the user wants to synchronize the user information as shown in Figure 2.2.4-7.

Figure 2.2.4-7: A synchronize window dialog.

The window dialog has three button choices to select:

The result of synchronization is a clean data table as shown below in Figure 2.2.4-8.


Figure 2.2.4-8: A synchronized gradebook.

By default a lot of the data is not displayed by default. Figure 2.2.4-8 shows an example of the complete model of the data information stored in the gradebook

 

Figure 2.2.4-9: A detailed view of a synchronized gradebook.

 

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