August 2013 News
Welcome to the August 2013 edition of the Engineerica newsletter. In this issue we'll learn about new features in AccuClass, how to add student photos to Accudemia simply via Import, how to work with AccuTrack Report Pivot Tables, and more! Here is an index of the topics:
- Conference Tracker Promotion - First Conference Free!
- Nominate your favorite Engineerica Product!
- AccuClass New Features!
- AccuTrack 13 Beta Update
- Accudemia Tech Tip: Import Profile Photo
- AccuTrack/AccuSQL Tech Tip: Modify Pivot Tables
Conference Tracker - Free for your First Conference!
This is exciting news! If you manage conferences and would like some help managing the attendance then give Conference Tracker a try for FREE!* Checkout this video to learn more:
Like the video? Want more info? Visit www.newsite.engineerica.com/conferencetracker.
*Offer must be redeemed before 12/31/2013.
Nominate your favorite Engineerica Product!
The deadline for UB Readers' Choice Top Products nominations is October 1st!
We encourage you to nominate your favorite Engineerica product using the University Business online form.
How to fill out the entry form:
Company: Engineerica
Product you are nominating: Any one of our products (AccuTrack, AccuSQL, Accudemia, AccuClass, AccuLite, AccuTesting, AccuWB, and/or Conference Tracker)
Please describe how the product you are nominating has made a positive difference at your institution in the past year. That's it and you've helped us earn the UB Top Product award!
To enter your Engineerica product click the button below:
Thank you for your support!
-Chadd Blodgett, National Account Specialist
AccuClass New Features!
We have published a new version of AccuClass. All of the ideas were implemented based off user suggestions and we wanted to highlight these new features in this article.
Add Notes on students
Now you have the ability to add notes for each student in the class. Take a look:
Add a face to the name
Some users requested the option to display the student name & photo when they sign-in. We have added such option as well:
Exact Time Counting on AccuClass
Next, we have added a report to show the exact amount of time the students were in the class. Awesome, isn't it? More than being awesome this is also fulfilling the new financial aid requirements that the student be present in the classroom over a certain percentage of time in order to maintain good standing with their scholarships.
AccuClass now counts the time students were in for each class. We have also added a new report called "Attendance Summary" that allows administrators to see detailed report information by student or by class. For example, the following report displays attendance history for a selected student:
You can also filter this report by a specific class to view all the students in it.
If you prefer, you can view a more summarized version of this report in the student profile screen. Just search for the student, click on "Manage Attendance" on the green box on the left and you will see the summary information in the following format:
AC300 - Advanced College Read
- Present: 27 times
- Absent: 3 time
- Tardy: 5 times
- Attendance unknown: 1 times
Total Time In: 86%
These updates were suggested by users like you. Do you have great ideas for AccuClass? If so, let us know at http://accuclass.uservoice.com
-Diego Jancic, Lead Software Developer
AccuTrack 13 Beta Update: New Features
Schools and universities testing AccuTrack and AccuSQL 13 are blown away by the nice new "look & feel" of this latest version. Once they start navigating through the system they realize the program is more than just a pretty façade. It has all the power that you are used to with AccuTrack/AccuSQL but boasts a few much needed improvements.
The first thing you will notice is a totally redesigned System Administration screen. The administration menu is now modularized so it's easy to perform related tasks. For example, the appointment scheduling page offers access to all the appoinment schedulers and provides quick access to appointment reports and appointment configuration options! You no longer have to hunt for the different pieces of each module in different places! For those of you who are used to the old menu, we added a new "Find" button to help you locate items that might have moved. This is a a great feature for any user seeking a specific screen, option, or report.
Not only is the new system administration menu more organized, but it is also customizable! Don't use a specfic module? Simply remove it completely from your System Administration menu! You can also re-order the menu items and have the one you use most at the top! You can even change the label of the menu items if you like!
A new addition to verion 13 is a feature requested by a few clients: a module that keeps track of the students' class schedule so that they are not signing into a center when they should be attending class. This comes from a requirement by a federal grant that many centers must comply. Version 13 will make this a breeze.
The latest addition to version 13 came from our accu.uservoice.com feedback website. This idea nearly got double the votes of any other software improvement suggestions and is to "Simplify Appointment Creation." The users from AccuTrack 12 have spoken and we answered their call in the new version. The new Quick Scheduler will cut down the number of clicks required to create the appointment from 13 to only 5! Of course this simplification comes with the price of less flexibility, but that is an acceptable trade-off for most users.
Can't wait to see version 13 yourself? Join our beta testing team and be an early adopter of this latest and greatest AccuTrack/AccuSQL version. Email us for more info.
-Nicholas Armstrong, Training & Support Coordinator
Accudemia Tech Tip: Import Profile Photo
Do you see the guy in the screenshot above? He's the one who brings this new update to the Accudemia users. Since yesterday it's possible to import profile pictures using ADX (the import tool). Let's see how you can do this.
First of all, you need to download and install ADX in your computer. If you already had it installed, then make sure to update to the latest version (click on Help -> Check for Updates). Then login with your credentials and create a new import job. You will need to have all the photos and create a new CSV file to tell Accudemia what photo is assigned to each user.
For example, if you have a folder in your computer with all the photos name like "student_[ID].jpg", where [ID] is the student number, create a CSV like this:
Then, open ADX and create a new job. You need to select the CSV file and the folder where all your photos are located. Then you need to map the student fields, at least the student number and the photo name, as shown here:
The last step would be to click Next until your job is saved and then run it by clicking on "Run Import Now".
That's it, go to Accudemia and your photos will be there!
-Fernando Paulovsky, Software/Mobile Developer
AccuTrack/AccuSQL Tech Tip: Modify Pivot Tables
Sometimes when working with AccuTrack Reports they are generated with Excel using Pivot Tables for reporting with Charts and Graphs of your center attendance. Chart Visits and Grade Distribution reports are great examples of these pivot tables being used. We get many questions asking how these charts can be modified to meet your needs.
Download the examples here to review in PDF format.
Example 1: AccuTrack's Grade Distribution Report; have C- reflected as a part of the DFWI group
1. Generate the report and right-click the “ABC” cell. Then select Remove “Grade ABC”.
2. Right-Click the “A” cell and select Remove “Grade”.
3. Select the “C-“column by clicking at the top with the black down arrow.
4. Once selected Click and Drag the “C-“column where you want it grouped.
5. Now that the columns are in the right order select the “C-“,”D”,”F”,”W”,”I” columns and right-click the selection to click “group.”
6. Select the newly created “Grade Detail” cell highlighted yellow below and rename it “C-DFWI” at top.
7. Repeat step 5 for columns “A”,”B”, and “C” as shown below.
8. Repeat step 6 for newly created group “Grade Detail2” as shown below.
9. Now right-click the “ABC” cell and select Subtotal “Grade Detail2”.
10.Tadaa! Now we have the report we want!
Example 2: AccuTrack's Chart Visits Report; Show only Advising Visits on Chart
1. Generate the report and you notice that it does not come out well because there is a lot of extra data provided you don't need.
2. To fix this report click the “Category” dropdown filter. Then deselect all except "Advising”.
3. &n
bsp; Notice how now there is nothing but "Advising” activities.
4. Now just change the title to reflect the new chart and print.
5. After looking at the print out you realize you want this information in a different chart type. Click Change Chart Type in the top left.
6. Now select the new chart type you want and you can keep changing the chart type until you get one you like. That's it now you have your data in a new chart!
These are just a few examples of how pivot tables can be manipulated to get the desired results. I challenge you to try using the pivot table filters, grouping techniques, and new chart types as well to better your reports. Filtering and grouping the data differently can be very helpful when doing the Chart Visits Report because of the amount of data given up front. Thank you reading the article and See you next month for more Tech Tips!
-Nick Armstrong, Training & Support Coordinator