SECTION 19 THE esars WEB INTERFACE

Transcription

1 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 1 SECTION 19 THE esars WEB INTERFACE 19.0 Overview esars is the web interface for students to gain access to SARS Anywhere in order to view, make and/or cancel appointments. The application resides separately on the college s server and must first be installed by IT staff. After this has been completed, the system administrator will need to decide on configuration settings and then enter them onto the esars Configuration screen. This Section provides instructions for those steps. The technical aspects of the installation of this application may be found in the SARS Anywhere Technical Manual at Section Prepare to Set Up the Configuration Screen After the Information Technology specialist has installed the web interface and created departmental directories, the system administrator will want to set up the Configuration screen for each Location. SARS conducts a one-hour decision tree session with a manager from one work unit and college Information Technology specialists to make decisions on set up options. Thereafter, IT may conduct subsequent sessions as needed. Note that the college is responsible for branding its web pages. Before starting this process, it is recommended that the system administrator prepare by reviewing the decision chart below. The following pages may be photocopied and used as a worksheet. SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION SYSTEM DSN YOUR ACTION ITEM [No action required.] DEFAULT LOCATION The web interface will default to a designated Location, after which another Location may be selected. Which Location should be displayed in the location field as the initial default? DAYS AVAILABLE An option exists to limit the number of days (in advance of today ) for which students will be allowed to make appointments. How may days (from today) should be made available for scheduling?

2 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 2 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION SCHEDULE CODE Select the appointment-allowable schedule code(s) to be used by the web interface when searching for an available appointment. YOUR ACTION ITEM Create an esars Schedule Code Group in SARS ADMIN. Assign all Schedule Codes that may be used in esars to that group. Indicate whether the Schedule Code should be displayed on the Query Results page. Show on Query Results page. Name the Schedule Code Group: List the schedule codes to be included: ODBC STUDENT LOOKUP Select to use real time lookup when making appointments. Use ODBC Name of ODBC Configuration File: ODBC UserName: ODBC Password: AVAILABLE APPOINTMENT QUERY RETURN An option exists to limit the number of available appointments fitting the selected criteria that will be displayed when a student is making an appointment. How many appointment options should be shown when students are trying to make their appointments? 50 per page [Use this default. Skip to next item.] MAXIMUM APPOINTMENTS PER STUDENT An option exists to limit the number of pending appointments that a student may schedule. What is the maximum number of appointments that a student may schedule? Should this maximum apply to all Locations? If so, check: Include Appointments for All Locations.

3 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 3 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT QUERY RETURN An option exists to limit the number of pending appointments that will be displayed. (This number cannot exceed the number used in Maximum Appointments Per Student.) YOUR ACTION ITEM What is the maximum number of pending appointments that should be displayed on the Pending Appointments list? (cannot exceed maximum appts. per student) 10 per page [Use this default. Skip to next item.] STUDENT HISTORY QUERY RETURN An option exists to limit the number of appointments listed in a student s history that will be displayed. What is the maximum number of appointments that should be displayed on the Appointment History list? 50 per page [Use this default. Skip to next item.] TIMEOUT If a student does not complete a transaction within the designated time, the web interface will log the student off without committing the appointment. Give the student sufficient time to complete the process. Otherwise, you will prematurely log a student off while the student is taking the action. Should SARS TRAK data be excluded? If so, check: Ignore SARS TRAK data. [Use default] Enter the number of seconds after which inactivity on the website will automatically log out the student user. 10 minutes or 600 seconds [Use this default. Skip to next item.] TRANSACTION LOG FILE This file is used for data recovery when necessary. The default file name is TRANSLOG.TXT. Do you wish to change the name of the Transaction Log File? [Use TRANSLOG.TXT Skip to next item.] If Yes, what will be the name of the file? PRINT RECEIPT An option exists to allow the student to print appointment confirmations. Do you wish to enable the confirmation printing option?

4 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 4 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION RECEIPT An option exists to send an confirmation to the student after an appointment has been booked. If this option is selected, you may choose whether to have the message sent in HTML or Plain Text format. You will also need to create the format for the message. YOUR ACTION ITEM Should an confirmation be sent to the student after an appointment has been booked? If so, which format do you want to use? HTML Plain Text NOTE: Be sure to click on Edit Template and complete as desired. LOG-IN ID FORMAT An option exists to select the Student ID format to be used when students log-in to the web interface. In addition, another option, if selected, allows the student to toggle to other existing ID formats. Which student ID format should be used: Should students be allowed to toggle to enter alternate Student ID formats? LOGIN BIRTH DATE FORMAT An option exists to select the format for student birth dates. Which birth date format do you want to use for the web interface? USE PIN NUMBER An option exists to use a PIN number in addition to a birth date as part of the sign-in authentication process. NOTE: PIN numbers must be able to be imported into SARS. ALLOW NEW STUDENT ADD An option exists to permit a new student to be added from the web connection. [Use this default. Skip to next item.] (No is recommended)

5 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 5 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION LIMIT DATES An option exists to limit the time frame during which students may use the web interface to make appointments. For example, you may wish to allow students to use the web interface only during the first three weeks of the semester. If you are not limiting usage, then there is no need to specify the date range. YOUR ACTION ITEM If yes, what is the earliest date for which students will be permitted to make appointments? Start Date: What is the furthest date out for which students will be permitted to make appointments: Stop Date: ALLOW CANCELLATION An option exists to allow students to cancel an appointment. If Yes, check the box below if you wish to limit cancellations to only those that may be made in esars. Limit to Configured Schedule Codes SHOW COMMENTS ON HISTORY An option exists to have the system display comments on the Student History screen. [Use this default. Skip to next item.] (No is recommended) FILTER STUDENTS An option exists to prohibit selected students from taking an action using the web interface. For example, you may determine that students who are on probation or who are repeated no shows should not be allowed to schedule appointments through the web interface. If yes, what Additional Info Question will you create in SARS ADMIN to be used as the filter:

6 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 6 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION LIMIT TO PROGRAM An option exists to allow certain students to use the web interface for certain designated programs (e.g. TRIO). If selected, an Additional Information Question must be created to use as the filter. Any student with a YES value for this question will be allowed to sign into the web interface. YOUR ACTION ITEM If yes, what Additional Info Question will you create in SARS ADMIN to be used as the filter: LIMIT TIME An option exists to only allow students to schedule appointments a specified number of hours in advance. Then, in Hours enter a number of hours. If yes, what is the maximum number of hours in advance of an appointment time that a student will be allowed to book an appointment? If you wish to prevent Saturday and Sunday from being taken into account when determining which appointment search results to display to students, check this box: Ignore Weekends USE CLASSES An option exists to use classes as Reason Codes. (Use Classes must also have been selected in SARS ADMIN and student class data must already be imported.) If yes, has the Use Classes option been selected in SARS ADMIN and has student class data already been imported? Do you want to link classes to Specialty Groups? Specify the desired Default Specialty Group: SHORT NAME FILTER An option exists to display only those advisors who are currently available for appointments during the specified time period.

7 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 7 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION USE SPECIALTY GROUPS An option exists to allow students to select from a specialty group when making an appointment (e.g., Spanish-speakers). YOUR ACTION ITEM REQUIRE APPOINTMENT REASON An option exists to force the student to enter a reason when booking an appointment. If this option is selected, a Reason Code Group that was created in SARS Anywhere must also be selected. This will link all reasons for booking an appointment. If Reason Codes are to be used, remember to go to SARS ADMIN and select durations under the Reason Codes Tab for each Reason Code that will be made available to the student when making appointments. Regardless of the Yes/No selection above, create an esars Reason Code Group in SARS ADMIN Assign all Reason Codes that may be used in esars to that group. Name the Reason Code Group: List the reason codes to be included: Do you wish to display only those advisors who are associated with a selected Reason Code? If Yes, check this box: Link to Short Name REQUIRE CANCELLATION REASON An option exists to force the student to enter a reason when canceling an appointment. If this option is selected, a Reason Code Group that was created in SARS ADMIN must also be selected. This will link all reasons for canceling an appointment. Disregard unless you wish to use this option. If yes, list the Reason Code Group: SELECT REASON CODE FIRST An option exists to force the student to select a Reason Code before selecting other appointment criteria. This option must be selected if the Link to Short Name option and the Show Appt. Duration on Query Results options are selected. If Yes, go back to REQUIRE APPOINTMENT REASON and be sure that Link to Short Name is checked.

8 SARS Anywhere Administration Manual Section 19: The esars Web Interface - 8 SETTINGS REQUIRING YOUR DECISION SHOW APPT. DURATION ON QUERY RESULTS An option exists to display the length of the appointment on the selection screen. YOUR ACTION ITEM If Yes, go back to Select Reason Code First and make sure that it is checked. REQUIRE PHONE NUMBER An option exists to require that a phone number be entered before a student can book an appointment. REQUIRE ADDRESS An option exists to require students to enter an address so that an confirmation may be sent. NOTE: Yes is required if Receipt is checked. REQUIRE ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER An option exists to require students to enter at least an address or a phone number. SEND ERROR NOTIFICATION An option exists to send notifications to SARS Software Products, Inc. in the event of problems occurring with the web interface. If yes, in From, enter an address (does not have to be a live mailbox) that will help us to determine the school the error report is from: APPOINTMENT TYPE An option exists to identify whether individual or group appointments or both may be booked using the web interface. What type of appointments may a student schedule using the web interface? All Appointment-Allowable Schedule Codes All Single Student Appointment Codes All Group Appointment Codes

9 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface Set up the esars Configuration Screen Once the worksheet has been completed, follow the steps below for each Location that will be using the web interface. 1. Open up the web browser. 2. Type in the URL to access the Configuration Screen. Example: A Login screen will be displayed that looks like this: 3. Enter your User Name and your Password. Note: Only those users who have been assigned User Name Maintenance access rights in SARS Admin will be able to successfully log on to the Configuration Screen. 4. Click Continue to display the esars Configuration screen.

10 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface - 10 Here is an example. 5. In each field on the Configuration Screen, select or type in the settings to be used, as follows: a. In System DSN, type the DSN that points to the database for your location. (I.T. must have already established the DSN.)

11 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface - 11 b. In Default Location, select the location that will be displayed in the location field as the initial default. c. In Days Available, enter the number of days (from today) that will be available for scheduling (e.g., 10). d. Click Save. The remaining steps may be configured either by the information technology staff or (preferably) by the system administrator for each Location. 6. In Schedule Code, a. Select the Schedule Code Group that was created in SARS ADMIN to link all schedule codes to be made available for booking an appointment. Only those groups that have been created in SARS ADMIN will be displayed. b. Click Show on Query Results page if the Schedule Code should be displayed when students are selecting an appointment. 7. In ODBC Student Lookup, a. Click Use ODBC to enable the option to allow real time access to your college s student database while making appointments. b. Click on the field under ODBC Configuration File and type in the name of the file that contains the information about the database file. c. Click on the field adjacent to ODBC UserName and type in the user identification to gain access to the college s host student database. d. Click on the field adjacent to ODBC Password and type in the password of the user to gain access to the college s host student database. 8. In Available Appointment Query Return, enter the maximum number of appointment options to be displayed in response to a student s query. 9. In Maximum Appointments Per Student, a. Enter the maximum number of pending appointments that a student may schedule. b. If desired, click Include Appointments for All Locations to make the maximum appointments per student applicable to all Locations. 10. In Scheduled Appointment Query Return, enter the maximum number of scheduled appointments to be displayed when a student views pending appointments. This number cannot exceed the number used in Maximum Appointments Per Student. 11. In Student History Query Return, a. Enter the maximum number of appointments to be displayed on the Appointment History list. b. Click Ignore SARS TRAK Data to disregard that information. 12. In Timeout, enter the number of seconds after which inactivity on the website will automatically log out the student user.

12 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface In Transaction Log file, enter the name of the file in which backup data will be stored. This file will be used for data recovery when necessary. The default file name is TRANSLOG.TXT. 14. (If desired) In Print Receipt, click on checkbox to print a confirmation. 15. (If desired) In Receipt, a. Click the checkbox to an appointment confirmation when an appointment is booked, or leave it unchecked, as desired. b. Click HTML Format to send the in HTML format rather than plain text. c. Click Edit Template and then create the format for the message as shown in the example below: Option Description Address Settings From Name Use to enter the name of the entity that will be sending the messages (e.g., NBCC Advising). From Address Reply Address Use to enter the address of the sender (e.g., advisingg@nbcc.edu). Use to enter the address to which replies will be sent (e.g., Advising@NorthBay.edu). Settings Subject Use to enter a subject line for these s (e,g., Appointment Confirmation).

13 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface - 13 Option Counselor Date Time Duration Room Description Use during the composition of the message to have the system automatically insert the name of the counselor or advisor with whom the student has the appointment in the body of the message. Use during the composition of the message to have the system automatically insert the date of the appointment in the body of the message. Use during the composition of the message to have the system automatically insert the time of the appointment in the body of the message. Use to have the system automatically insert the duration of the appointment in the body of the message. Use during the composition of the message to have the system automatically insert the advisor s room number in the body of the message. 16. Click the From Name field and type in the name of the sender. Note In the From Name field, type in the name as it will appear to the student who receives it (e.g., NBCC Counseling Office). After that, enter the actual address of the sending entity, enclosed in brackets < > (e.g., <counseling@nbcc.edu>). The maximum number of characters for this field is 50. Here is a complete example of the From Name: NBCC Advising Office <advisingg@nbcc.edu> 17. Click the From Address field and type in the address of the sender. 18. Click the Reply Address field and type in the address to which replies will be sent. 19. Click the Subject field and type in a subject title that will be displayed as the subject line in these messages. 20. Click the empty field and begin typing the desired message. a. To have the system automatically insert the counselor or advisor s name, position the cursor at that point and then click Counselor. A placeholder will be inserted; it looks like this: Counselor. EXAMPLE:... with b. To have the system automatically insert the date of the appointment, position the cursor at that point and then click Date. A placeholder will be inserted; it looks like this: Date. EXAMPLE: You have an appointment on DATE... c. To have the system automatically insert the time of the appointment, position the cursor at that point and then click Time. A placeholder will be inserted; it looks like this: Time. EXAMPLE:... at TIME... d. To have the system automatically insert the duration of the appointment, position the cursor at that point and then click Duration. A placeholder will be inserted; it looks like this: Duration.

14 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface - 14 EXAMPLE: The appointment is scheduled for DURATION. e. To have the system automatically insert the room number of the appointment, position the cursor at that point and then click Room. A placeholder will be inserted; it looks like this: Room. f. Click Save. 21. In Log-in ID Format, EXAMPLE:... in Room ROOM. a. Select the format of the student s identifying number. b. Click Allow ID Toggle if the user will be permitted to toggle between different ID formats. 22. In Log-in Birth Date Format, select the format of the student s birth date (e.g. MMDDYYYY). 23. In Use PIN Number, click the checkbox to require that the student enter a PIN number in lieu of a birth date as part of the sign-in authentication procedure. If this option is checked, student PIN numbers must be able to be imported into SARS. 24. (If desired) In Allow New Student Add, click the checkbox to permit a new student to be added from the web connection. [It is recommended that this option be left unchecked.] 25. (If desired) In Limit Dates, click the checkbox to enable the option to limit the time frame in which students may make appointments. Then, in Start, enter the earliest date for which a student will be permitted to make an appointment, and in Stop, enter the furthest date out for which a student will be permitted to make an appointment. 26. (If desired) In Allow Cancellation, a. Click the checkbox to select the option to allow students to cancel their scheduled appointments. b. Click the Limit to Configured Schedule Codes checkbox to allow students to cancel only those appointments that can be booked using esars. 27. If desired, in Show Comments on History, click the checkbox to have the system display comments on the Student History screen. 28. (If desired) In Filter Students, click the checkbox to enable option to prevent certain students from using the web interface. Then, select an Additional Information Question to use as the filter. Any student with a Yes value for this question will be prevented from signing into the web interface. 29. (If desired) In Limit to Program, click checkbox to enable option to prevent certain students from using the web interface. Then, select an Additional Information Question to use as the filter. Any student with a Yes value for this question will be prevented from signing into the web interface for the selected program. 30. (If desired) In Limit Time, a. Click the checkbox to enable option to only allow students to schedule appointments a specified number of hours in advance. b. Click the Hours field and enter a number of hours.

15 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface - 15 c. Click Ignore Weekends if you wish to prevent Saturday and Sunday from being taken into account when determining which appointment search results to display to students. 31. (If desired) In Use Classes, a. Click the checkbox to include classes as Reason Codes. b. Click Specialty Group Class Linkage to link classes to specialty groups. 32. Click Default Appointment Duration and select the default for classes. Note: To use this option, Use Classes must also have been selected in SARS ADMIN and student class data classes must already be imported. 33. (If desired) In Short Name Filter, click checkbox to activate the option to display only those advisors or counselors who are currently available for appointments during the specified time period. 34. (If desired) In Use Specialty Groups, click on checkbox to allow students to select from a specialty group when making an appointment (e.g., Spanish-speakers). 35. (If desired) In Require Appointment Reason, a. Click checkbox to force the student to enter a reason when making an appointment, or leave the checkbox unchecked to make it optional to select a reason. b. Then, in Reason Code Group, select the Reason Code Group that was created in SARS ADMIN to link all reasons for making an appointment. Only those groups that have been created in SARS ADMIN will be displayed. (See Assign a Reason Code to a Reason Code Group at Section 8.2.) c. Then, if desired, click Link to Short Name to display only those advisors who are associated with the Reason Code selected by the student (e.g., Financial Aid). If this option is selected, the Select Reason Code First option must also be checked (see step cc). Note If Reason Codes are to be used, remember to go to SARS ADMIN and select durations under the Reason Codes Tab for each Reason Code that will be made available to the student when making appointments. 36. (Disregard in most cases) In Require Cancellation Reason, a. Click checkbox to force the student to enter a reason when canceling an appointment, or leave the checkbox unchecked to make it optional to select a reason. b. Then, regardless of the Yes/No selection, in Reason Code Group, select the Reason Code Group that was created in SARS Anywhere to link all reasons for canceling an appointment. Only those groups that have been created in SARS ADMIN will be displayed. (See Assign a Reason Code to a Reason Code Group at Section 8.2.) c. In Select Reason Code First, click the checkbox to force the student to select a Reason Code before selecting any other appointment criteria. This option MUST be checked in order to use the Link to Short Name option (see step aa, above) and to use Show Appt. Duration on Query Results (see step dd, below). 37. In Show Appt. Duration on Query Results, click the checkbox to show the student the length of the appointment on the selection screen.

16 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface (If desired) In Require Phone Number, click the checkbox to require that a phone number be entered for the purpose of making a confirmation call prior to the appointment date. 39. [Required if Receipt is checked] In Require Address, click the checkbox to require the student to enter an address so that an confirmation may be sent. 40. In Require Address Or Phone Number, click on the checkbox to require the student to enter either an address or a phone number for sending a confirmation. 41. In Send Error Notification, a. Click the checkbox to send notifications to SARS Software Products, Inc. in the event of problems occurring with the web interface. b. Then, in From, enter an address (does not have to be a live mailbox) that will help us to determine the school the error report is from. Example: NorthBayCollege@nbcc.edu. c. Verify the To address is support@sarsgrid.com. 42. In Appointment Type, select the schedule code type that will be used when searching for an available appointment. The choices include All Appt. Allowable Schedule Codes, All Single Student Appt. Codes & All Group Appt. Codes. 43. When done, click Save. 44. Click Logout Test the System 1. Log on to the school s website (for example, The student log-on page will be displayed. Here is an example: 2. Enter a student s identifier in Student ID, or click Click to Change to change the ID format and then enter the student s ID for that format. 3. Enter the student s birth date using the format provided.

17 SARS GRID Administration Manual Section 19: The e SARS Web Interface Click Continue. 5. If no errors are received in this step, the web interface has been properly configured and is ready to have the web pages customized for your school.