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SIS 2000+ Graduation Requirements Editor, Step 7

Step 7, Add Graduation Requirement Rules

Once the configuration steps described previously are completed, you may begin adding Graduation Requirement eligibility rules to the Requirements Editor. (To Edit an existing rule, select that rule from the main summary screen and click Edit. Go through the following steps as needed and make the appropriate changes.)
 
 

NOTE: This part of the Requirements Editor may be done by an administrator who is extremely familiar with SIS 2000+ and the way that the school's data has been set up. If there is no such user at the school, then this too should be done by a district representative with the assistance of the SIS 2000+ Technical Support Staff.

 

The Components of a Rule

An eligibility rule is composed of several parts. For Graduation Requirements, related or similar courses are grouped together into 'Sums'. (i.e., 'Algebra 1' and 'Algebra 2' are grouped into a Sum named 'Algebra 1 or Equivalent'. 'Geometry', 'Pre-Algebra', & 'Consumer Math', 'Algebra 2', etc. are grouped into a Sum called 'Other Mathematics'.)

Those Sums are then grouped into 'Eligibilities'. (i.e., the Sums 'Algebra 1 or Equivalent' and 'Other Mathematics' are grouped into an Eligibility called 'Mathematics')

The Eligibilities, then, compose the 'Eligibility Rule' that you are adding. (i.e., the Eligibility Rule called 'High School Diploma' is made up of Eligibilities for 'Mathematics', 'English', 'Science', etc.)

Fig. 20

When eligibility processing is run, the Sums are then grouped into 'Sum Groups'. Sum Groups generally consist of several Sums (which consist of courses). (i.e., the Sums of 'Algebra 1 or Equivalent' and 'Other Mathematics' are in the Sum Group 'Academic Courses'.) The totals of any Sum that belong together should be in the same Sum Group. A credit earned can only be counted once per Sum Group.

That way, when a Sum has reached its maximum allowable value, it is possible that another course that may also fit into the Sum that is 'full' can then be used in a different Sum. (i.e., if a student has already fulfilled the requirements for the Sum 'Algebra 1 or Equivalent' by earning credit for 'Algebra 1', 'Algebra 2', the surplus credits will then bump down to the Sum 'Other Mathematics'. When a Sum is at its max, course credit will go into the next matching Sum in the Sum Group. Also, a credit can only be counted once in each Sum Group.

When you set-up for Graduation Requirements, you will also likely have a Sum for 'Total Credits'. That Sum should not be in a Sum Group. This is because you will want all of the credits from the other Sums to be totaled in this Sum. Leaving 'Total Credits' out of any Sum Group will ensure that all credits for all Sum Groups are also counted a second time in the 'Total Credits' Sum. 'Total Credits' acts as its own Sum Group because a specific Sum Group was not associated with it.

Using the same principle, you may create another Sum Group called 'Vocational Courses' if you have a set of Graduation Requirements where your elective or 'Vocational' courses can count for both a 'Fine Arts' Sum and a 'Vocational' Sum. The credit earned for a course that is associated with both of these Sums Groups will count twice, once under the 'Academic Courses' Sum Group and once under the 'Vocational Courses' Sum Group. But under the 'Total Credits' Sum Group it will only appear once because of the rule that a credit can only be counted once in each Sum Group.

The following Section outlines the set-up for sample sets of Graduation requirements.

Defining a Graduation Requirements Eligibility Rule

In defining a Graduation Requirements Eligibility Rule, you must set-up the Sum Groups, Sums, and Eligibilities that must be met for a student to be eligible for graduation. Eligibility Rule set-up will be dictated by a school's Graduation Requirements.

Graduation Requirements
The following is a sample set of Graduation Requirements. It is set-up with semester courses that are worth 0.5 credits and year-long courses that count for 1.0 credit. There is a total of 21 minimum credits required, so not only do the Eligibilities defined have to be met, but the minimum total must be at least 21 credits.


Fig. 21

Once you have a set of Graduation Requirements, you must know which courses are associated with each Area of Study. You will likely need to know all or some of the following information about courses that fulfill requirements in the Areas of Study: Course Code, Subject area, and SpeedeExpress Code.
 
 

Fig. 22
 

7.2 Define the Rule name and type
Before going into the sub-screens, enter the basic information of the new rule to be defined at the top of the screen, as follows:

• Add Rule -

Enter the name you want to give this rule. For Graduation Requirements this is generally some type of diploma.
• Type -

From the drop-down list, select the type of rule that the rule you are adding is. For Graduation Requirement rules select 'Graduation Requirements'.
 
 

Fig. 23

If you want to Edit or Delete a Sum Group, click the appropriate button. When editing, you may rename a Sum Group by changing the text in the Description field and clicking the blue Save button.

When deleting, you will not be allowed to delete a Sum Group that is used in other parts of this Eligibility Rule. If a Sum Group has not yet been used, confirm the deletion.

To finally commit all changes on this tab, click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
 

7.4 Define Sums
Now that Sum Groups are defined, you can create the Sums that will be used for meeting each Eligibility in the Eligibility Rule. Each Sum will be Associated with a Sum Group and will consist of the courses that may be counted towards meeting Graduation Requirements if a student has earned credit in those courses.

7.4.1 View Sums list
Sums will generally be labeled the same way as the categories under each Area of Study are labeled on the Graduation Requirements listing for the school. You can see that the Sums below (Fig. 24) follow the exact nomenclature used on the Graduation Requirements grid above.

The 'Sums' tab lists all of the Sums that have been added. On this screen, the Description, the Maximum number of units allowed in the Sum, and the Sum Group associated with each Sum are listed. Use the vertical scroll bar to view the entire list. Sums can be sorted on this screen by clicking and dragging on the gray box (mover bar) to the left of the description of each Sum.


Fig. 24 - top of list


Fig. 25 - bottom of list
 
 

NOTES: Since the Graduation Requirements listing for the school specified that the 2 units of Foreign Language credits must come form one Language, the three languages offered at the school were all listed as separate Sums. Also note that a Sum for 'Total Credits' was added. It was defined with a maximum value of 21 and was not associated with a Sum Group.

 

7.4.2 Add Sums
Sums are added to or edited on this list by clicking the blue Add Sum or Edit Sum buttons. When you click either button, the screen changes to the 'Add Sum' or the 'Edit Sum' screen (Fig. 26). Define attributes as follows:


Fig. 26
 

• Description -

The name you are giving to this Sum. (Generally the same as the category of courses as defined on your school's Graduation Requirements listing.)
• Write Result -

Whether or not to write a 'meets this requirement' or 'does not meet this requirement' record for each student for this Sum. (For Graduation Requirements, you generally do not check this box at the Sum level. When adding Eligibilities, you will also have this option. That is where you should put a check in the 'Write Result' box.)
• Field to Sum -

The database field that will be used to gather the data for this Sum. The choices from this drop-down box come from what was entered during the Requirements Configuration process. In the case of Graduation Requirements the choice must be 'Grad Credits Awarded' to ensure that the field used is the credit awarded field from the students' Academic History (transcript) records.
• Max Sum -

The maximum number of credits that are required for and allowed to be counted towards fulfilling this Sum.
• Sum Group -

Select the Sum Group that this Sum will be associated with. You can use the clear button to the immediate right of this field if you no longer want a Sum to be associated with any Sum Groups.

Once you've entered the above information, you must then define exactly which courses will count towards the total earned for each Sum. This is done by adding 'Items' to a Sum.

7.4.3 Add Items to Sums
Click the blue Add Item button on the 'Add/Edit Sum' screen (or click the blue Edit Item button to make changes to an existing selection Item). This brings up another screen, the 'Add/Edit Items Selection' screen (Figs. 27-33). Define attributes. Click on the Save command button to save each item defined or modified.

Items can be set up as strictly a set of courses (Selection). Or they can be set up as a set of courses OR another set of courses (Conjunction). Or they can be more complex and set up to be a set of courses OR another set of courses AND a third set of courses (Nesting). Generally, for Graduation Requirements, courses are set up with the Selection method. Nesting and conjunctions are more often used at the Eligibility level.
 

• Conjunction = 'Algebra 1 OR Algebra 2'


Fig. 27 - When you select to add a Conjunction statement, you must choose if it is an 'AND' or an 'OR' statement.
 

• Nesting = 'Algebra 1 OR (Pre-Algebra AND Consumer Math)'


Fig. 28 - When you select to add a Nesting character, you must choose if it is an 'INCREASE NESTING' or a 'DECREASE NESTING' character. Increase = ' ( ', Decrease = ' ) '.
 

• Selection = 'Algebra 1, Algebra 2'


Fig. 29

Making Selections

When you choose to add a Selection, you must then choose which selection method you will use. The choices in the Selection drop-down box come from the Sum Selection tab of the Requirements Configuration process. What you choose here affects what the selection screen will look like. Choose a selection method from the Selection drop-down box.

• If the selection method you selected was set up as a FIELD selection, the screen will display a list of available choices on the left that you arrow over to the list of selected choices on the right.
• If the selection method you selected was set up as a CONSTANT selection, the screen will display a field for you to enter in a course or subject code that you use to build the list of selected choices on the right.
Below, are the results of the four different selection methods that were set up following the Configuration process described in this document.
 

COURSE CODE / DESCRIPTION (Fig. 30) - This set-up allows you to select from a list displaying the course codes and their corresponding descriptions. This is accomplished through table joins that were set up during the Requirements Configuration process in the previous Step. This is one of the more specific ways to define which courses count as credit under each Sum. You pick the courses that fulfill the requirements for the selected Sum from the list on the left and arrow them over to the right.
 

NOTE: A listing of courses, including Course Code and Course Description, from the District Courses Editor can be printed via the Course Directory Report.


Fig. 30

Click the blue Save button when you are finished making selections.
 

SUBJECT CODE/DESCRIPTION (Fig. 31) - This set-up allows you to select Subject areas, by their code and description, as they are displayed in District Courses. This is accomplished through table joins that were set up during the Requirements Configuration process. Using this method requires that the Subject field for each course must have been used in the District Courses Editor. Selecting a subject will tell the Requirements checking process to count any credit for a course that has a matching subject defined as credit towards fulfilling the requirements for that Sum.


Fig. 31

Click the blue Save button when you are finished making selections.
 

SPEEDE EXPRESS CODE (Fig. 32) - This set-up allows you to use a field that is directly stored in the transcript record rather than joining table together to access the course data. That is why a CONSTANT value (SpeedeExpress Course Code) is entered instead of selecting a FIELD from a selection box. For this method you must enter the SpeedeExpress Course Code Number in the List of Constants field. Then press Enter or arrow what you've typed in over to the right.. When using this method be sure to type in every single course that can count as credit towards a Sum. Also, be sure you are entering the SpeedeExpress Course Code; not the Course Code, if they are different.


Fig. 32

Click the blue Save button when you are finished making selections.
 

SUBJECT CODE (Fig. 33) - This set-up also allows you to use a field that is directly stored in the transcript record rather than joining table together to access the course data. That is why a CONSTANT value (Subject Code) is entered instead of selecting a FIELD from a selection box.

For this method you must enter the Subject Code in the 'List of Constants' field. Then hit enter or arrow what you've typed in over to the right.. When using this method be sure to type in the Subject Codes associated with the courses that will be selected. The Subject Codes can be viewed or printed out from the Subject Codes table in the Table Editor.
 

NOTE: A listing of subjects, including Subject Code and Subject Description, from the Table Editor can be printed while viewing the Subject Table in the Table Editor. Click the Print button while viewing that table to do so.


Fig. 33
 

NOTE: No items were added to the Sum for 'Total Credits'.

 

7.4.4 Save Items
After making any selections be sure to click the blue Save button. This will close the 'Add/Edit Item' selection screen and return you to the 'Add/Edit Sum' screen. You may have to click the blue Save button on this screen as well if you did not do so earlier. If you already saved on this screen, clicking Done will return you to the list of Sums on the 'Sum' tab. All additions and changes must finally be committed to the database by clicking the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
 
 

The 'Eligibility' tab is simply a listing of the descriptions of the Areas of Study that you add as Items through this tab.

Fig. 34
 

NOTE: An Eligibility requirement for 'Total Credits' was also added. The Eligibility Item associated with it will be the 'Total Credits' Sum, which was set up with a value of 21 credits. This Eligibility was set up to write a result to the database so that a student MUST earn a total of at least 21 credits to be eligible for graduation. Not meeting this Eligibility would make a student ineligible for graduation, even if every other Eligibility was met.

 

7.5.1 Add Eligibility Items
Click the blue Add Item button to add Eligibility Items to this list (or click the blue Edit button to make changes to an existing Eligibility Item). This opens the 'Add/Edit Eligibility' screen (Fig. 35). Define attributes. Click on the Save command button to save each item defined or modified.


Fig. 35
 

• Description -

The name you are giving to this Eligibility Item. (Generally the same as the Areas of Study as defined on your school's Graduation Requirements listing.)
• Write Result -

Whether or not to write a 'meets this requirement' or 'does not meet this requirement' record for each student for this Item. (For Graduation Requirements, you generally DO check this box at the Eligibility Item level. This tells the system that these Eligibility Items, which contain the combined Sums, are what must be met in order to fulfill Graduation Requirements.)

7.5.2 Add Items to Eligibility Items
After adding an Eligibility Item, you must then add Items to it. These Items will be the Sums that are combined to meet an Eligibility Item. Click the blue Add Item button to add Items to this Eligibility Item (or click the blue Edit button to make changes to an existing Item.). This opens the 'Add/Edit Eligibility Items' screen (Fig. 36).

This process also works in a very similar way to Adding Items to a Sum. It too deals with Conjunctions and Nesting. These mean the same as they do when Adding Sum Items. Refer to that section of this document for more detail on what they mean.

The choice of Test can be used if there is a test that a student must also earn a certain score on to be eligible for graduation. Using Test will be covered in the Academic History - Sample Graduation Requirements document.

To choose which Sums are associated with an Eligibility Item, pick Sum. Then choose which Sum to include from the Sum drop-down list. This list comes directly from the listing on the 'Sum' tab.

As you choose a Sum, you will see the two following fields become filled in automatically. In the example below you can see that the maximum value of the 'Algebra 1 or Equivalent' Sum must equal 1 for a student to meet that requirement.


Fig. 36

Click the blue Save button. Then Add any other Sums that are associated with this Eligibility Item. Save all additions and changes. The resulting additions will be displayed when you are returned to the 'Add/Edit Eligibility Items' screen (Fig. 36a).


Fig. 36a - Add/Edit Eligibility Items screen showing the Sums and the values that must be met for a student to be eligible to meet the Mathematics Graduation Requirements.

To finally commit changes and additions to the database, click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
 

CONJUNCTIONS: An example where conjunctions are used can be seen in the Foreign Language requirements set up for this school. A student must complete 2 units of Spanish OR 2 units of French OR 2 units of German. The resulting Eligibility and its Items is displayed below.


Fig. 37 - Add/Edit Eligibility Items screen showing the Sums and the values that must be met for a student to be eligible to meet the Foreign Language Graduation Requirements. The 'OR' conjunction tells the system that two units must be completed in ONE of those Items, not all of those items as an 'AND' conjunction would define.

This was accomplished through the following steps:

1. Add Item, pick Sum, select Spanish from the drop down list, click Save.
2. Add Item, pick Conjunction, choose 'OR', click Save.
3. Add Item, pick Sum, select French from the drop down list, click Save.
4. Add Item, pick Conjunction, choose 'OR', click Save.
5. Add Item, pick Sum, select German from the drop down list, click Save.

 

7.6.1 Set Up Student Editor
Repeat this process as described in Step 2, "Set Up Student Editor".

7.6.2 Return to Configuration
The actual linking of an Eligibility Rule to a Graduation Requirement type that was selected for a student is done in the Requirements Editor while in configuration mode. From the opening Requirements screen, click the Config command button. Go to the 'Graduation Reqs' tab (Fig. 38)


Fig. 38 - Requirement Editor showing Eligibility Rules linked to Graduation Requirement types.
 

• Graduation Requirements -

A listing of the Graduation Requirements that can possibly be assigned to students. This list comes from the Graduation Requirements codes table in the Table Editor.
• Eligibility Rule -

A listing of the Eligibility Rules that have associated to each type of Graduation Requirement.

7.6.3 Link an Eligibility Rule to a Graduation Requirement Type
Select the Graduation Requirement you want to tie to an Eligibility Rule by clicking on its row in the grid displayed. Click the blue Edit button.

From the Rule drop-down box at the bottom of the screen, select an Eligibility Rule to link to the selected Graduation Requirement. Click the blue Save button.

To clear a selection, click the Clear button to the right of the Rule field. Save the change.

Now, for example, any student that you've selected the Graduation Requirement of 'General High School' for, the Eligibility rule of High School Diploma must be met for the student to be eligible for graduation. The eligibility checking process will use the Sums and Items defined for the High School Diploma Eligibility Rule when checking for eligibility of students who have the Graduation Requirement type of General High School selected.