V1.3 Helen Lane, IT Services. To find out more about ASTRA

Transcription

1 V1.3 Helen Lane, IT Services To find out more about ASTRA 1

2 Contents Introduction... 3 Generate Standard Letters (GSL)... 4 View Generated Standard Letter (VGL)... 4 Retrieving Recipients ing from ASTRA... 7 User (USR) Record... 7 Send an from ASTRA... 8 Review Issues Cancel an Reviewing Sent s Generate Standard Letters (GSL) View Generated Standard Letter (VGL) Failures Task: Send an from ASTRA Extract Addresses from ASTRA Extract Addresses Using an SRL Extract Addresses Using an Export Template Task: Extract Addresses from SPR Standard Data Sets Support Notes

3 The Standard Letters (SRL) facility within ASTRA can be used to send s containing plain text messages. This is accessed in the same way as all other SRLs, via the drop down menu All, then Gen + Print Letters. s can be sent to Applicants, Students or Staff directly from ASTRA using SRL functionality. Each is sent as a separate message, so multiple recipients do not see each other s details. There are numerous SRLs, each designed for a particular purpose and often sent automatically when a trigger is activated. However, generic templates are also available, where the user can specify the content and the recipients, these are simply coded as . These are accessible from a number of screens and can be used on an ad hoc basis. Some of the screens include: CAP Course Applicant Supervisor Applicants STU Student Applicants or Students SPR Student Program Route Students SCJ Student Course Join Students SCE Student Course Enrolment Students SMO Student Module Taking Students SMR Student Module Results Students SAL Student Assessment Log Students USR User Staff PRS Personnel Staff Our University has written guidelines on the responsible usage of within the parameters of the Anglia Ruskin University Policy. Please read the following documents*: The Anglia Ruskin University policy etiquette and good practice guide * [my.anglia > Support Services > IT Services > Services > and Password] 3

4 When an SRL is generated, a GSL (Generated Standard Letters) record is created detailing the time, date and content of the . By searching this table you can view generated SRLs that match a specified criteria. For example, all letters generated for a student can be viewed by entering the student code in the Code field or all letters generated by a user can be viewed by adding the user code in the Created By (USR) field. Gen Date is also a useful search criteria to use, to identify SRLs generated on a specific date. You can also view all of the Generated SRLs for a particular student/applicant from the Current menu in other tables such as SCJ, SCE, SPR, CAPS. For example, retrieve a student record in SPR then access Current>View Generated Letters. 4

5 There may be many reasons why you need to send s out to applicants or students, the method for which is contained within the coming pages. However, retrieving the relevant recipients can be a more daunting task. If you are sending an to a large number of students you should carefully consider the retrieval criteria you use. Should the be sent to students at all locations? Should you include Distance Learning students? Should the be sent to Full time and Part Time students? Should the be sent to Research students? Should the be sent to students who are not registered yet? If you need to contact first year students, how do you define first year? For example is this the first year with our University or the first year on their course (they may have been on an Undergraduate course last year and are now in the first year of a Postgraduate course, or transferred to a new course). IT Services staff are on hand to help and advise. You can log a job with Customer Support by calling Ext 4357, by at itsupport@anglia.ac.uk or by accessing the Staff IT self-service facility on my.anglia. an individual student 1. Go to the screen required e.g. SPR, SCE, SMR etc. 2. Enter the Student ID number and retrieve. 3. Ensure you only have one record retrieved on screen. 4. Proceed to send (see Send an from ASTRA on page 8). a group of students 1. Go to the screen required e.g. SPR, SCE, SMR etc. 2. Enter your search criteria and retrieve. 3. Ensure you have only the required recipients on screen. 4. Proceed to send (see Send an from ASTRA on page 8). 5

6 a group of students using data from more than one screen This method could be used if you want to send an to a group of students, but the criteria to retrieve them is contained on more than one screen. For example, you need to send an to students on a module (SMO) who have not yet completed the registration task (SCE), reminding them that they must register online before attending the next lecture. 1. Go to SMO 2. Enter the module code and academic year. If known, enter the Occ and Period too. Retrieve. 3. The first step will be to export the Student ID numbers to the clipboard: Go to the File menu, then select Export. At the Export From Window, change the Data Format from BAR to TAB. Untick Header. The destination file should be Clipboard. Click Ok. 4. The Export From dialogue box will appear: Click on the Invert button to unselected items. Tick only the SPR Code (SPR_CODE.SMO). Click Ok. Export to Clipboard complete will be displayed on the ASTRA task bar. 5. Open LinkIt. This can be accessed from homepage of my.anglia, in the Application Links box ( 6. Once Link It is open, paste the SPR Codes into the top window. 7. Click on ASTRA or Wildcards to enter the ASTRA wildcard between each SID number. 8. At the prompt Copy the string of SID Numbers (using the keyboard shortcut Control+C). 9. Go to ASTRA and open the SCE screen. 10. Paste the SPR Codes into the SCJ Code field. NB. Although SPR Codes and SCJ Codes could technically be different, 99% of SPR and SCJ Codes in ASTRA are the same. 11. Enter further criteria into SCE such as the Academic Year or Status e.g. P or O or R (P O R). 12. Retrieve the records, ensuring you have only the required recipients on screen. 13. Proceed to send (see Send an from ASTRA on page 8). 6

7 Sending s directly from ASTRA is actioned from the All (to send to all records on screen) and Current (to send only to the current record on screen) menu options, in the same way as accessing Standard Report Letters (SRLs). However it is important to check your user details prior to sending an , to ensure that your address has been correctly applied to your ASTRA account. When sending an using a generic template, you will get the opportunity to specify which address is sending the correspondence. If this field is left blank, ASTRA will default to the address entered on the USR Address field for the user who is logged in. You should check that the correct address is entered into this field. 1. Open screen USR. 2. Enter your Username (e.g. ABC1) in the USR Code field and retrieve. 3. If your address is incorrect, contact IT Support on Ext 4357 or itsupport@anglia.ac.uk. 7

8 1. In one of the screens where the facility is available, retrieve the records of the applicants, students or staff you wish to From the drop down menu, select All (selecting Current will send the only to the current record displayed on screen, All sends to all records retrieved). 3. Select Gen + Print Letters. 4. The Standard Letter Selection dialogue box will open. You should enter the name of the SRL you wish to use in the Letter Code field. Enter and then hit TAB on your keyboard. The dialogue box will change, initiating the Send button. 5. Click on Send You will now be prompted to enter the details of your . From: Enter a valid address or leave blank to send from yourself. Left blank, the address from the USR record will be used. CC to: Add an address to receive a copy of the . If sending to a group of students, an will be received for each recipient. 8

9 7. Use the scroll bar to scroll down to further options: Subject: Enter the subject of the . Text: Enter the text of your message, including your signature. Dear [Forename] will be added automatically by ASTRA. 8. Once satisfied with the details, click Ok. Reply To: Optional. Enter a valid address or leave blank. You may wish to use noreply@anglia.ac.uk if you do not want to receive responses from the recipients. TOP TIP o You could write the in Outlook, then copy and paste all of the text, including your signature o Zoom on the Enter text of box by selecting the Zoom icon from the toolbar (or Ctrl Z) o Spell check the text by accessing the Edit menu, then Check Spelling (or Shift F7) 9. The Preview SRL Messages window will open, giving you the opportunity to view the s being sent. 10. Use the scroll bar to scroll through each Click Send to send all s. 9

10 Hyperlinks When sending s from ASTRA, the text you enter will be in Plain Text format and therefore hyperlinks will not be permitted. You could however, make reference to hyperlinks within the body of your , such as: You can check staff member s phone numbers on the ARU Directory [1]. There will also be useful information on e:vision [2]. Best wishes Helen [1]: [2]: Attachments It is not currently possible to send s from ASTRA with attachments. If you need to send attachments, it may be more appropriate to extract the students addresses and send via Outlook. See Extract Addresses from ASTRA on Page

11 When sending an , ASTRA will initiate the Review SRL Issues window, where it can identify an error. Errors are reported in red and often an ERR icon will appear next to the offending field. You can review the errors and select from a number of different actions, allowing you to correct the issues and attempt to send the again. Doing so will update any associated (EML) and Generated Standard Letter (GSL) records. Action Store any changes and retry sending Remove invalid addresses & attachments and retry Select a different To address Delete GSLs not printed Print the letter Print an alternative letter Enables you to manually correct the errors and retry sending the . Removes the invalid address and attachments. Enables you to manually enter the correct address and retry sending the . Enables you to find another address associated with that ASTRA record e.g. STU Home or Contact address. Deletes the GSL record for the that has failed to send Enables you to print the failed (e.g. add NP as the Printer code) As above, but allows you to select a different SRL to print 11

12 You may have partly initiated an , but wish to cancel the send. The actions you take will depend on the point at which you wish to cancel the and whether you want to cancel all s, or just one out of a group. Cancel All s If at the stage where you are entering the Letter Criteria, simply click CANCEL. The Enter Letter Selection Criteria window will close and return you to the ASTRA screen where you initiated the SRL. If you are at the stage where the Preview SRL Messages window is open, there are two options available. 1. Click Delete all to cancel all s. s are not sent and no GSL record is created Delete All Cancels all s from being sent. No GSL record created. 2. If you click Cancel, then the s are not sent, but a GSL record is created. 12

13 Cancel One from a Group If at the stage where you are entering the Letter Criteria, simply click CANCEL. The Enter Letter Selection Criteria window will close and return you to the ASTRA screen where you initiated the SRL. Drop the record that you wish to exclude from the (Misc>Drop Records) or re-retrieve your group of students, excluding the record you do not wish to . Initiate the SRL again. If you are at the stage where the Preview SRL Messages window is open, there are two options available. 1. Click Delete GSL to cancel only the on screen. This is not sent and no GSL record is created, all others will be sent Delete Current only Cancels the on screen from being sent. No GSL record created. 2. If you untick the Send? tick box, this will also cancel the on screen. The will not be sent but a GSL record is created. 13

14 When an SRL is generated, a GSL (Generated Standard Letters) record is created detailing the time, date and content of the . By searching this table you can view generated SRLs that match specific criteria. Try retrieving in GSL using: Letter Code (SRL name e.g. ) MST Code (student ID) Created by ( sender) Gen Date (date SRL generated) You can view all of the GSLs created for a particular student/applicant from the Current menu in other tables such as SCJ, SCE, SPR, CAPS. For example, retrieve a student record in SPR then access Current>View Generated Letters. Alternatively you can go directly to screen VGL and enter search criteria. Try retrieving in VGL using: Letter Code (SRL name e.g. ) MST Code (student ID) Created (MST) ( sender) Generated Date (date SRL was generated) 14

15 There may be times when an will fail to send. For example, this could happen due to an invalid address, an unreachable attachment, or problems with the server. An EML record will be created if an fails to send on the first attempt. Users should check EML regularly see if any of their s failed to send. Users may also receive an detailing the failed s. Searching in EML 1. Go to the EML screen. 2. Enter your retrieval criteria, for example: - Apply a date range in Created date/time - Enter your details in Created by - Use the From address - Enter the "Letter code (SRL) reference 3. If the failure is due to a data error e.g. an incorrect address, ensure this is corrected before attempting to send the again. If the has subsequently been resent, the Superseded? Tick box will be ticked or the Message status will indicate sent successfully. Undeliverable If an fails to send to a recipient, the sender may receive an to their own Outlook Inbox, detailing the failed s. 15

16 Resending a Failed If any ASTRA data is incorrect leading to the failure of the e.g. the address, ensure this is corrected in the appropriate tables prior to resending. 1. Retrieve the student (or applicant) in the appropriate screen (see the field Letter Group at the bottom of EML to see from which screen the originated). 2. Go to the drop down menu Current, then Gen + Print Letters. 3. Enter into the Letter Code and run through the standard ing process (see ing from ASTRA on page 7). - If you no longer have the letter text, you can copy this from the failed a. Retrieve the record required b. Go to Current >View Generated Letters c. Scroll to the required d. View the HTML preview e. Copy the Text (not including Dear [name] or the disclaimer) Resending an You can resend an , which has previously been sent. 1. Retrieve the student (or applicant) in the appropriate screen (see the field Letter Group at the bottom of EML to see from which screen the originated). 2. Go to the drop down menu Current, then View Generated Letters. 3. Scroll to the that you wish to resend. 4. Select Reprint Letter and Run (or Run Now). 5. Click Send. 16

17 Log into the training database, ASTRA Train. s will not be sent from Train. 1. Go to SPR 2. Retrieve student /1 3. Go to the drop down menu All, then Gen + Print Letters 4. Enter as the Letter Code then tab 5. Hit the Send button 6. Enter your address 7. Enter the Subject of the 8. Enter the Text of the (including your signature) 9. Click on Ok 10. Click Send 11. Back in SPR, go to the Current menu 12. View Generated Letters 13. Scroll to the you created 14. View the message using the HTML Preview tab 15. Click on Reprint Letter 16. Click Run (or Run now) 17. Send the again 18. Can you spot what changed on the VGL screen when you resent the ? 17

18 It is possible to extract addresses from ASTRA and paste them directly into an using Outlook. This may be appropriate if, for example, you need to send s with attachments. There are a number of ways to extract addresses, depending on where and how you retrieve the applicants, students or staff that you wish to . Standard Report Letters (SRL) You can utilise a standard SRL ( MERGE) to export the data to Excel, which can then be copied directly into an Outlook . Export Template In some ASTRA screens template exports have been created ( ADDRESS), which when run, will capture students addresses. This can be exported to Clipboard or to a text file which can be opened into Microsoft Excel. 1. Retrieve the student records required. 2. Go to the drop down menu All, then Gen + Print Letters. 3. Select an SRL which supplies the address e.g. MERGE. 4. Once selected click on Create Text File, then at the Text Standard Letters window Ok. 5. Open your data into Microsoft Excel. 6. Find the column which contains the University Address 7. Highlight all addresses, then copy. 8. Open a new Outlook then Paste the addresses into the BCC line. If BCC is not available you can enable this by accessing the Options tab on the . 18

19 1. Retrieve the student records required e.g. in the SPR screen. This functionality is currently available in SPR, SCE, SCJ, STU, SMR and SMO. 2. Go to the drop down menu File, then Export. If the Export option is not available, you do not have permissions to export data from ASTRA. Contact IT Support on Ext: 4357 or 3. Enter the template name ADDRESS into the Template field and tab. 4. You now have the option to select the destination of the file you create: a. File e.g. H:\SITSTEMP create a file which you can open in Excel b. Clipboard copy results to your Clipboard which can then be pasted into Excel, Word or directly into the BCC line of an Outlook 5. Select the Destination of Clipboard. 6. Click Ok. 7. The Export from window will open, which will have the STU address ticked, click Ok. 8. You will now have a list of addresses ready to paste wherever required e.g. Excel, Word or Outlook. 9. If pasting directly to Outlook, simply open a new then Paste the addresses into the BCC line. 19

20 Log into the training database, ASTRA Train. 1. Go to SPR 2. Retrieve the following students: - Status C (Current) - Route U0022 (Animal Behaviour) 3. Go to File 4. Export 5. Into the Template field enter ADDRESS 6. Tab 7. Select Destination Clipboard 8. Click Ok 9. Click Ok 10. Open a blank new workbook in Excel 11. Paste 20

21 When sending s from ASTRA you need to be confident that you have selected the correct records. Below is some guidance on how to retrieve some standard groups of students. If ever you need advice or support, IT Services are always available by phoning Ext. 4357, logging a Support Call or ing IT itsupport@anglia.ac.uk. I want to all students on a course ASTRA Details Description Screen SCJ Student Course Join SRS Course e.g. U0022FCAM01 Enter course code (or Stem with wildcard e.g. U0022 *) Code Student Join e.g. C Do you want to send to Current students only (C)? Status Do you want to include Intermitting students (C I)? Do you want to students who have not completed their initial registration (P O C) I want to all unregistered students on a course ASTRA Details Description Screen SCE Student Course Enrollment Course e.g. U0022FCAM01 Enter course code (or Stem with wildcard e.g. U0022 *) Acad Year e.g. 2016/7 Enrolment Status e.g. P O R P = Registration pending O = Online registration completed R = Pending re-registration 21

22 I want to all core students ASTRA Details Description Screen SPR Student Programme Route Status e.g. P O C I Do you want to send to Pending students (P O)? Do you want to include Intermitting students (I)? Department *ARU Institution Anglia Ruskin University Location CAM CHE PET NON Do you want to include distance learning students (NON)? Do you want to send to Anglia Ruskin London students (ARL)? Route e.g. U * P * Do you want to send to Research students (R *)? Do you want to include non-credit bearing courses (N *)? I want to all current core taught students ASTRA Details Description Screen SPR Student Programme Route Status e.g. C Department *ARU Institution Anglia Ruskin University Location CAM CHE PET NON Do you want to send to distance learning students (NON)? Do you want to include Anglia Ruskin London students (ARL)? Route U * P * U = Undergraduate P = Postgraduate I want to all current core students who started this year ASTRA Details Description Screen SPR Student Programme Route Status e.g. C Department *ARU Institution Anglia Ruskin University Location CAM CHE PET NON Do you want to send to distance learning students (NON)? Do you want to include Anglia Ruskin London students (ARL)? Route e.g. U * P * Do you want to send to Research students (R *)? Do you want to include non-credit bearing courses (N *)? Start Year 2016/7 22

23 I want to all students where I am the tutor ASTRA Details Description Screen SPR Student Programme Route Status e.g. C Do you want to send to Current students only (C)? Do you want to include Pending or Intermitting students (P O I)? Tutor 1 e.g. ABC1 Your username (this is subject to your username being entered onto the correct records in SPR) I want to all students taking a module ASTRA Details Description Screen SMO Student Module Taking Module MOD Enter your module code Occ e.g. F01CAM Year e.g. 2016/7 Period e.g. SEM1 Reg Status* Drop Records where Registration Status is Withdrawn *Students who have withdrawn from the module will be marked as Withdrawn in the Registration Status field. I want to all students on a module, who have a resit pending ASTRA Details Description Screen SMR Student Module Results Year e.g. 2016/7 Prd (Period) e.g. SEM1 Module MOD Enter your module code Occ e.g. F01CAM Cur Pro RAS Resubmission status 23

24 I want to all students on a module with an extension For this request you will need to run it once for those with an extension at first attempt and again for students with extensions on resubmissions. First submission ASTRA Details Description Screen SALS Student Assessment Log Supervisor (First submission) Year e.g. 2016/7 Period e.g. SEM1 Module MOD Enter your module code Occurrence e.g. F01CAM Curr Due * Gold Wildcard i.e. not blank (this is where the extension date will be Dat/Tim populated) Submit Status NOTSB Not submitted (i.e. not handed in yet) Resubmissions ASTRA Details Description Screen SRRS Student Assessment Log Supervisor (Resubmissions) Year e.g. 2016/7 Period e.g. SEM1 Module MOD Enter your module code Occurrence e.g. F01CAM Curr Due D/T * Gold Wildcard i.e. not blank (this is where the extension date will be populated) Submit Status NOTSB Not submitted (i.e. not handed in yet) 24

25 Further information and support is available on the IT Services webpages (My.Anglia>Professional Services> IT Services>Software> Student Data), where you can access further information on ASTRA and e:vision. The J drive can also be a source of further information (J:\Services\ASTRA Documentation), including copies of training materials or access to e:vision videos. You can log a job with the IT Services Support Desk regarding any query, including ASTRA or e:vision using the online web tool (from My.Anglia>Application Links>Staff IT self-service), the IT Support Desk on itsupport@anglia.ac.uk or call Ext 4357 (HELP). For direct queries regarding ASTRA training you can the ASTRA training team using the address astra.training@anglia.ac.uk. 25

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