Pennant Student Records

Overview. The Pennant Student Records collection is refreshed nightly from Pennant sources.  The primary source is the Banner database, which replicates to the Operational Data Store (ODS) and from there the data area extracted/transformed/loaded into the warehouse tables. In the production warehouse, there are two schemas where Pennant Student Records data can be found:  DWNGSS for the validation (lists of valid codes) tables, and DWNGSS_PS for the tables containing student and/or course data. 

Listserv and user group. The users of the Pennant Student Records Data Collection represent schools and centers across the University and have a wide range of expertise. Your colleagues are a valuable resource and collaboration is encouraged. When you are granted access to the data, you will automatically be given a subscription to student-wh@lists.upenn.edu, the list for communications for the student data reporting community, and you will be invited to meetings of the Data Warehouse Student Data User Group (SDUG).  Past meetings of the Student Data User Group

The legacy Student collection, sourced from SRS, will remain in the Data Warehouse but will not be updated after the end of the Spring 2022 semester. People with access to Pennant Student Records will also have access to the legacy Student collection for longitudinal reporting.

All users of Student Data, whether they write their own queries, or use data or reports extracted by someone else, agree to abide by University policy regarding confidentiality of student records, and by the Family Educational and Right to Privacy Act. Failure to abide by the policies and laws governing student data can result in disciplinary action, including termination.
Tables and Data Elements

Tables are listed in alphabetical order. Select Table to obtain the explantion, common uses, primary keys, indexed data elements, and related tables for a table. Select Elements to obtain the definition, list of values, formats, and not null values for each data element in the table. A description of table and data element terminology is in the document What the Warehouse Contains.

Looking for a specific element or caution? Try the searching the collection documentation for particular keywords (search page will open in a new tab).

COURSE tables: STUDENT tables:
Course (base course catalog)
Table  Elements		 Student (bio/demo information on the student)
Table  Elements
Course_Xlist (Also-Offered-As courses)
Table  Elements		 St_Academic_Event (student academic and transcript events)
Table  Elements
Crse_Attribute (course attributes)
Table  Elements		 St_Activity (student activities)
Table  Elements
Crse_Coreq (course co-requisites)
Table  Elements		 St_Addl_Id  (student additional IDs)
Table  Elements
Crse_Equiv (course equivalencies)
Table  Elements		 St_Address (student addresses)
Table  Elements
Crse_Grade_Mode (course grade modes)
Table  Elements		 St_ Adm_Info (student admissions information)
Table  Elements
Crse_Level (course levels)
Table  Elements		 St_Adm_Test_Score (student admissions test scores)
Table  Elements
Crse_Mutual_Excl (mutually excluded courses)
Table  Elements		 St_Advisor (students' advisors)
Table  Elements
Crse_Prereq (course pre-requisites)
Table  Elements		 St_Attribute (students' attributes)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sched_Type (course activity types)
Table  Elements		 St_Citz_Lang (students' citizenship and native languages)
Table  Elements
  St_Cohort (students' cohorts)
Table  Elements
  St_Current_Contact_Flat_MV (student's current contact information in one row)
Table  Elements
 
 St_Deg_Outcome_Major (majors, concentrations, minors associated with a St_Degree_Outcome record)
Table  Elements
COURSE SECTION tables: St_Degree_Outcome  (outcome of students' pursued degrees)
Table  Elements
Crse_Section (scheduled course sections, each term)
Table  Elements		 St_Degree_Pursual (one row per student per distinct curriculum)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Attribute (course section attributes)
Table  Elements		 St_Degree_Term (students' degree info by term)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Instructor (course section instructors)
Table  Elements		 St_Degree_Term_Flat_Mv (students' degree info by term, flattened for one row per term code)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Meeting (course section meeting)
Table  Elements		 St_Dept_Honor (departmental honors awarded to students)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Override (section restriction overrides)
Table  Elements		 St_Email (student email addresses)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Sched_With ("crosslisted" sections, also known as "scheduled with" sections)
Table  Elements		 St_Emergency Address (student emergency addresses)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Sched_With_Grp (section "scheduled with" group)
Table  Elements		 St_Enrlmnt_Attr (student enrollment attributes)
Table  Elements
St_Crse_Fees (course-specific fees)
Table  Elements		 St_Enrlmnt_Level (enrollment levels)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Attr (course section restrictions based on student attributes)
Table  Elements		 St_Enrlmnt_Mutual_Excl (enrollment mutually excluded courses)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Chrt (course section restrictions based on student cohorts)
Table  Elements		 St_Enrollment (student registration in courses)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Clas (course section restrictions based on student classification)
Table  Elements		 St_Hold (student holds)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Camp (course section restrictions based on student campus)
Table  Elements		 St_Inst_Honor (institutional honors awarded to students)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Deg (course section restrictions based on student degree)
Table  Elements		 St_Major_Minor (students' majors, minors and concentrations)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Dept (course section restrictions based on student department)
Table  Elements		 St_Name_Other  (students' other names)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Div (course section restrictions based on student division)
Table  Elements		 St_Noncourse_Req (non-course requirements)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Levl (course section restrictions based on student level)
Table  Elements		 St_Phone (students' phone numbers)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Maj (course section restrictions based on student major)
Table  Elements		 St_Prev_Inst (students' previous institutions)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Rstr_Prog (course section restrictions based on student program)
Table  Elements		 St_Race (students' racial and ethnic groups)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Grade_Mode (grade modes that can be used with course sections)
Table  Elements		 St_Race_Ethnicity_Flat (race & ethnic data represented in one row per student)
Table  Elements
Crse_Sect_Reserve_Seat (controlls on limiting or reserving seats in sections)
Table  Elements		 St_Registration_Audit
Table  Elements
  St_Sport (students' sports)
Table  Elements
  St_Term (students' term information)
Table  Elements
  St_Thesis_Diss_Committee (student masters thesis supervisor and or dissertation committee)
Table  Elements
  St_Thesis_Dissertation (student masters thesis and or dissertation)
Table  Elements
  St_Transfer_Credit (students' external transfer credits)
Table  Elements
  St_Visa (students' visa)
Table  Elements

 

Validation (lists of valid codes) tables:

 

Rules, crosswalks, and other tables:
V_Acad_Award_Cat  (academic award category codes)
Table  Elements		 Allowable_Grades (array of grades by term, level, and grade mode)
Table  Elements
V_Academic_Standing (academic standing codes)
Table  Elements		 Approved_Academic_Program (current curriculum rules)
Table  Elements
V_Acadyear (academic year codes)
Table  Elements		 Present_Period (current academic term, and related terms)
Table  Elements
V_Activity (activity codes)
Table  Elements		 V_Concentration (rules for determining which concentration go with majors)
Table  Elements
V_Activity_Cat (activity category codes)
Table  Elements		 Class_Rules (rules for determining classification)
Table  Elements
V_Activity_Type (activity type codes)
Table  Elements		 XWalk_Course_Number (conversion cross-walk for course re-numbering)
Table  Elements
V_Additional_ID (additional ID codes)
Table  Elements		 XWalk_GTVSDAX (system table with academic program categories)
Table  Elements
V_Addr_Source (address source codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Address_Type (address type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Admit_Type (admit type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Advisor_Type (advisor type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Aid_Year (financial aid year codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Athletic_Elig (athletic eligibility codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Building (Penn building codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Campus (campus codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_CIPC (major CIPC codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Citizenship_Type (type of citizenship codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Class (classification codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Cohort (cohort codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Committee_Function (PhD committee function codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Committee_Status (committee status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Committee_Type (committee type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Country (nation codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Crse_Ccsl (course classification level codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Crse_Durunit (course duration unit codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Crse_Prog_Attr (course attribute codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Crse_Reg_Priority (course registration priority codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Crse_Reps (course repeats allowed codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Crse_Terms_Offr (course terms offered codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Curriculum_Status (curriculum status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Deg_Dept_Honors (departmental honors codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Degree (degree codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Degree_Level (degree level codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Degree_Status (degree status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Department (department codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Division (division codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Email_Type (email type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Exam_Type (exam type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Exit_Action (exit action codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Fac_Staff_Type (faculty staff type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Gender (gender codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Grade_Mode (grade mode codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Graduation_Status (graduation status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Hold (hold codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_HS_Subj (high school subject codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Institution (Institution codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Inst_Acad_Honors (institutional academic honors codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Instruct_Method (instructional method codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Instructor_Category (instructor category codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Language (language codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Learner_Mod (curriculum learner/outcome mode codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Legacy (codes used for admissions alumni legacy information)
Table  Elements		  
V_Major_Minor (major, minor and concentration codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Marital (marital status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Meeting_Type (course section meeting type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Name_Type (name type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Native_Currency (Penn's credit type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Non_Crse_Req (non-course requirement codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Non_Crse_Status (non-course requirement status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Orig_Dept (originating department codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Part_of_Term (parts of term codes and dates)
Table  Elements		  
V_Phone_Type (phone type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Pref_Pronoun (preferred pronoun codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Program (academic program and program type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Progress_Eval (academic progress evaluation codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Qualifying_Type (qualifying paper or project type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Race (racial category codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Rate (billing rate codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Reg_Spec_Appr (registration approval codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Reg_Status (registration status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Relation (person relationship to student codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Religion (religion codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Residency (Veterinary school residency codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Room_Attr (room attributes codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Sched_Status (scheduling status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Sched_Type (schedule type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_School (school codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Site (site codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Sport_Status (sport status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_State (US state and Canadian province codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Stdnt_Attr (student attributes codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Stdnt_Level (student level codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Stdnt_Status (student status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Stdnt_Type (student type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Subject (subject area codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Term (academic term codes and dates)
Table  Elements		  
V_Test (test codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Time_Status (time status codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Transcript_Event (academic and transcript events codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_US_County (counties in the US codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Veteran_Type (veteran type codes)
Table  Elements		  
V_Visa_Type (visa type codes)
Table  Elements		  

The Pennant Student Records collection is refreshed nightly. The tables are refreshed using a merge process, so there is no "down time" for the collection.  You can access the data in this collection at any time. Exceptions to data availability -- such as scheduled database maintenance or network outages -- will be communicated to all users of this data collection via the student-wh@lists.upenn.edu listserv.

If you have a need to know specifically when any particular nightly job ended, or whether it is still running, you can see the current status of all warehouse collection loads at https://warehouse.apps.upenn.edu/warehouse/jsp/fast.do

You can also query the warehouse table: DWADMIN.DW_LOAD_STATUS.  Here is a sample query, to find the most recent start and end times for the Pennant Student Records job:

select * from DWADMIN.DW_LOAD_STATUS_MAPPING LSM, DWADMIN.DW_LOAD_STATUS LS
where LSM.SCRIPT_NAME = LS.SCRIPT_NAME
and LSM.JOB_NAME = 'Pennant Student Records'

A status code of zero on the row in the DW_LOAD_STATUS table means the job completed successfully.

 

Previously scheduled conversion activity:

Deployment to production:  Release 1 (R1) Fall 2021 included active Course data as of 2021, and Course Sections for Summer and Fall 2022. Release 2 (R2) in Spring 2022 included all other student data except degrees granted in Spring 2022 and Spring 2022 grades.  The final release in Summer 2022 included all remaining student data.

  • Conversion population criteria for Student Curriculum and Academic History:
    • Any student who was active in the Fall of 2010 or in any term since the Fall of 2010 was converted.  This includes all of the courses they took, which are now in Banner's "academic history" section. It also includes exit and entry activity, degrees received, honors and awards, advisor assignments, graduate benchmarks, dissertation committees and all other information related to their program of study at Penn.
    • For students in that conversion population, all of their legacy data was converted. For example, someone who was here at Penn from 1996-1999, and then returned to do coursework in Fall 2010, had all of their 1996-1999 and their 2010 information converted into the new system.
  • Conversion criteria for Courses and Course Sections
    • Courses that were considered "current" as of Fall 2021 in the SRS course inventory were moved into CAT/CIM and also into Banner
    • Course Sections were not converted. The earliest course sections in Pennant are those that were entered in CLSS starting with the Summer 2022 term. You will be able to see what students took in their academic history, but for course section details -- for example, the section instructors -- you will need to continue to use the legacy collection for course sections taught prior to the Summer of 2022.

The Pennant Student Records diagram illustrates the architiecture of the BusinessObjects universe and identifies the join criteria between tables. When a query is constructed in BusinessObjects WebIntelligence (Webi), the universe tables and joins are what determine the sql that will be used.

The Business Objects Corporate Documents area provides access to pre-defined, prompt-driven reports that you can run to retrieve a standardized perspective on your data.

[list under construction]

  • Count Students as of Today
  • Count Students as of Census
  • Count Students with tuition billed
  • Count Students with no tuition billed
  • Degrees Awarded
  • Degrees in progress
  • Majors by Term
  • Cross-listed courses

 

Cross-collection reports:

Total Graduate Funding -- uses the Pennant Student Records data collection, and also the Grad Funding, Pennant Financial Aid, and General Ledger collections.

In order to construct your own queries using the Pennant Student Records Collection in the Data Warehouse, you must complete the warehouse student data training in addition to the FERPA and Information Security modules, in Knowledgelink.

For people who had experience constructing queries using the old Student Data collection, sourced from SRS and used by the STDTCANQ universe, please consult the old-to-new mapping spreadsheet.

Supplemental training materials.
The following is a collection of bite-sized documentation, to supplement the data collection tutorials:

 

 

 

 

 

Requesting Access

For access to the Pennant Student Records data collection in the warehouse, you must complete a Student Data Access Request eForm and obtain supervisor and school access administrator approval. From there the form goes on to the data steward for final approval. Approval is based on the completion of prerequisite training, and the requestor's need for access.  It is recommended that you include a short comment in the "Notes" section of the eForm, briefly explaining why you need access.

 

Special access to restricted tables and views

For access to the tables containing limited admissions information for matriculated students, you must complete a Student Advising eForm and obtain supervisor and school access administrator approval. From there the form goes on to the data steward for final approval. Approval is based on the completion of prerequisite training, and the requestor's need for access. 

For any access to tables or views containing student social security numbers you must complete an SSN eForm, and obtain supervisor, school access admin, and data steward approval. You will be asked to provide additional documentation explaining why you need the access. Such highly sensitive PII data are limited to only a few people who have demonstrated they must have access in order to perform their jobs.

Overview. Student data is complex, and prerequisite training is required (see the Training tab). In addition, there is an established user community at Penn that meets periodically, and a listserv is available to ask questions of your colleagues. Only subscribed members may post questions to the listserv. Once your Access Request eForm is processed (see the Security tab), you will automatically be subscribed to the user community's listserv, and receive notices of upcoming meetings and events.

The Student Data User Group (SDUG) meets monthly. This is a general informal meeting where the central reporting team and the data steward can present topics, describe recent changes, and showcase examples of standard reporting practices. It is also a forum for and by the wider reporting community, and experienced report writers are encouraged to be "guest presenters."  At every meeting, we try to have a general time for Q&A.  Notification about meetings and links to virtual meetings are sent ahead of time to the user community's listserv: student-wh@lists.upenn.edu. 

Slides from past SDUG meetings

 

In general, when you have questions about how data are used at the University of Pennsylvania, you should consult with the data steward, which for Pennant Student Records is the University Registrar. For discussions related to using this data collection, you may post to the moderated listserv: student-wh@lists.upenn.edu  

For any other information about Business Objects, access forms, and general questions regarding using Penn's data from central administrative systems, please write to: da-staff@isc.upenn.edu