September 2014 News
4 August 2014
In this monthly update we need you to let University Business know what makes our products your choice, we invite your institution to be among the first to utilize AccuTrack/AccuSQL's Waiting List & Quick Panel, check out a sneak preview of AccuClub for membership tracking, learn from our pros with the Accudemia Tech Tip, and more! Here is an index of the topics:
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 software 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:
Don't see an image or link above
click here to nominate us! Thank you for your support!
-Mon Nasser, CEO
- Back to top -
Be the first to preview Waiting List Marquee & Quick Panel planned
for AccuTrack and AccuSQL 2015
By DAVID FOSTER - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
If you use either the Intake System or Activity Waiting List feature in AccuTrack or AccuSQL to control the intake of your students, we have great news for you: we developed software that will project the waiting list on a secondary monitor such as an LCD TV you may have setup in your waiting area. The Marquee uses a web browser window to make it possible for students in the waiting list to view their place in line or how many students are ahead of them if they have not signed in to the intake system. Using this option, students will not need to access the Intake System or Activity Waiting List option in AccuTrack or AccuSQL itself to get this information; it will be right in front of them.
Here is a sneak peek. In this example, there are 13 people waiting in an Advising Center:

The screen will automatically rotate views to show all the people in the list:

The Quick Panel then can help you manage those students in the intake system easily and perform all the functions from one interface. This will cut down on the time it normally takes to navigate around AccuTrack or AccuSQL performing various functions such as editing session comments, completing session questionnaires, viewing the students' logs, viewing their registration and more. Watch the video we recorded to show all the functions of the Quick Panel as well as illustrating the typical workflow of navigating through the Quick Panel.

If any of these add-on programs sound like something that might be helpful at your center contact us for a complimentary test copy. You must have AccuTrack or AccuSQL 2014. Simply send an e-mail to support@accutrack.org.
- Back to top -
Accudemia Tech Tip
By NICK ARMSTRONG - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Mark a Student as a Show when getting a No-Show
-
Go to Appointments > View All
-
Select the student with the No-Show.
-
Click the button above that says “Edit Presence.”
-
From here click the “Mark as Show” link.
-
Now you will be prompted to select the Session Log that was created for that student. If there is not one you can then create one at that moment by clicking the “Create New” link.

-
Confirm by clicking “Yes.”
-
They should now be counted as a Show and have a log for the session that is automatically created based on all of the appointment info already in the system!
- Back to top -
Our Engineerica Docs have been updated!
By NICK ARMSTRONG - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Recently I was asked why we do not have downloadable versions of the Accudemia content available on or documentation site. I realized this could be helpful for printing the docs (if needed) or saving for review while offline so I have spent some time improving the existing online documentation and compiling them into PDFs for downloading and printing. To check it out visit our:
Accudemia Documentation Website
AccuTrack and AccuSQL 2014 Documentation Website

Contact us today to use Conference Tracker at your next conference!
- Back to top -
A Minute with Laura
By LAURA ALVAREZ - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Deletion vs Inactivation
There are very, very few situations where it would be more appropriate to delete records rather than inactive records in any database. It is important to keep past data intact so your program/department can conduct longitudinal studies. For example, when petitioning for a budget that can accommodate more personnel, visits reports can be used to demonstrate this need. The logs used in the study must have the staff member and activity still intact in order to support a need for more personnel. If you delete your staff/tutors once they are no longer employed, it makes it very difficult to show that their availability was used to its max by students. Let’s review example situations for using both deletion and inactivation options in your academic tracking software like AccuTrack and Accudemia. These examples assume you have already developed a sound back-up plan for your data.
Delete:
It is appropriate to delete records when the record meets the following criteria:
• It was very recently created.
• It only involves one or two tables.
• It can be easily re-created.
These records might include:
• Student logs where the entire record is an error.
• Seminars that have passed.
• Media that was never utilized or was entered erroneously.
• Administrators who are no longer in your program/department.
• Attachments to student records.
• Pictures of students who have been inactive for a long period of time.
Inactivate:
More often, inactivating a record or entity is the better choice when managing your data. The following is a list of items that should almost ALWAYS be inactivated rather than deleted:
• Students
• Tutors
• Staff Members
• Instructors (no need to inactivate, just do not delete)
• Activities
• Categories
• Service Types (no need to inactivate, just do not delete)
• Media
When in doubt, don’t delete!
Like this article? Check out more from Laura at the AccuTrack and AccuSQL Blog.
SUBSCRIBE | NEWS ARCHIVES | ARTICLE SUGGESTIONS