This is "snapshot" data extracted from the Student Records System (SRS) once per term. (known in BusinessObjects as STDTTERM Universe)
For a brief overview of the Student Data Collections, see Student Data Collection Quick Reference Guide.
ATTENTION: 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 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).
| Cen Course Section Table Elements |
Cen Stdt Enrollment Table Elements |
| Cen Stdt Athletic Table Elements |
Cen Stdt Address Table Elements |
| Cen Course Section Type Table Elements |
Cen Stdt Major Minor Table Elements |
| Cen Stdt Bio Table Elements |
Cen Stdt Advisor Term Table Elements |
| Cen Stdt Academic Program Table Elements |
Cen Stdt Student Term Table Elements |
The Student Census data is a snapshot captured after the University Registrar has run the Headcount Census report. This occurs mid-term in the Fall and Spring semesters, one week after the last date students are allowed to drop courses for the term.
To see whether a particular data collection has completed its refresh, see the Load Status page. Authorized users may also query to LOAD_STAT table in the warehouse. Any changes to the regularly scheduled load of a data collection are posted as notices to the listserv for that data collection.
Source
Almost all of the Student data in the Data Warehouse that is accessible via the Business Objects STDTCANQ and STDTTERM universes comes from the Student Records System (SRS). Exceptions: PennID, which comes from the PennCommunity system, Email, which comes initially from the students' home schools' email server and can be updated in the Online Directory, and Employee General information on instructors, which comes from Human Resources.
The Student Term Census Snapshot collection is described in the STDTTERM diagram, which illustrates the architiecture and identifies the join criteria between tables in the BusinessObjects universe. The diagram is an image which is suitable for printing in landscape orientation.
More information about the data model for Student Data is described in the online course Data Warehouse: Student Data Training. See the "Data Training" link for instructions on how to sign up for the online course.
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.
Census Headcount
Summary counts of students enrolled for a given term, by school/division/program number, at the point during the semester when the Census snapshot is taken (one week after the last day to drop courses.) Uses STDTTERM universe.
Count Students as of Census
This report contains several tabs, that count active students by program, major, etc., as of the term census snapshot. "Active" is defined as not exited, not on leave of absence, and registered for credit in SRS in the specified term. The prompts are for a term and a divison. More than one division may be selected from the list of values, and it is an optional prompt: if no division is selected, the report will return data for all divisions for the selected term. The version number in the report title refers to the document revision number. Uses STDTTERM universe.
In order to construct your own queries using the Student Data Collection in the Data Warehouse, you must first complete Student Records System (SRS) training, and you must do the online course.
SRS Training is offered by the Office of the University Registrar. You will also need to obtain an SRS account.
FERPA and Information Security training are online tutorials in Workday Learning. FERPA training must be completed annually.
Warehouse Student data Training is also in Workday Learning. You can access the required Student data collection training via this direct link . The course title is "Using the Student Data Collection in the Data Warehouse - ISC." This is a self-paced tutorial; you can exit and return as much as you wish. There are embedded quiz questions throughout that are there just for you to try. The final quiz at the end, however, is mandatory.
After completing this training, you should be able to construct most of the Student Data queries you need. Specifically, you should be able to:
- Select the correct data elements and impose the correct conditions so that you can retrieve data as efficiently as possible
- Know what resources are available when you need help in constructing a query
- Identify the security considerations involved when using Student data
- Identify what data is available, how it is organized, and how to access it as efficiently as possible
- Recall specific questions that should be considered when writing a Student Data query
Individuals who plan to use the Student Data collection must have Student Records System (SRS) access before they can query the data collection in the Data Warehouse. Users must complete a Student Data Access Request eForm and obtain supervisor and school access administrator (the same person who approves SRS accounts) approval. Users of student data must also take the online course.
For people who will be using BI Launch Pad only (refreshing the canned reports on the Business Objects repository), and not creating or editing their own queries, the above training is not mandatory though it is still recommended. In addition, the online course on Building Worksheets is recommended. See the Academic Planning Worksheet - training page for more information.
Regulations and Policies on Student Data
Federal regulations regarding access to student data are spelled out in the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment), commonly known as FERPA. For more information, see the FERPA information on the Penn Privacy site.
The University's policy on the Confidentiality of Student Records is available at http://www.upenn.edu/privacy/policies_publications.htm.
Releasing Data Outside the University
The only two offices that may disclose Student Data outside the University are the Office of the University Registrar and Institutional Research. If you do not work for those offices and you receive a request for data to be sent outside the University, refer the requester to the Office of the University Registrar.
Releasing Data Within the University
Within the University, Student Data may be disclosed only if it is needed to do the business of the University, and only to those who need to know the information in order to do their jobs. If you are not sure whether to fulfill a request for Student Data, contact the Office of the University Registrar.
Query Results
If you save your query results in Excel, pdf, or any other local file type, you must see to it that any sensitive data stored on your peronal computer is safeguarded through physical security, access control software, or encryption. When a computer is left signed to an account, it is easy for someone to gain unauthorized access. Either sign off from your account before you leave your computer or restrict access by some other means (physical security or access control software).
For more information on security and privacy, contact the Office of Information Security.
Overview. Student data is complex, and prerequisite training in SRS and an online course is required. In addition, there is an established user community here at Penn that meets periodically, and a listserv is available to help you query Student data in the warehouse.
Training. SRS training is a hands-on class taught by an instructor in Student Registration and Financial Services. Contact the Registrar’s Office regist@pobox.upenn.edu for upcoming dates. The online course about student data is a self-paced tutorial, found on knowledgelink.upenn.edu. The tutorial explains the overall data model, walks through numerous examples, questions and answers, and describes the canned queries available for this data collection.
Listserv and user group. The users of the Student Data Collection in the Data Warehouse across the University have a wide range of expertise, and are a valuable resource when questions come up about student data: where it comes from and how it is used. When you are granted access to the data, you will automatically be given a subscription to the student-wh@lists.upenn.edu, the list devoted to users of the Student Data Collection, and you will be invited to meetings of the Student Data Collection user group. When you have questions or comments about the data, please send e-mail to the list or bring them up at a user group meeting. Announcements about dates for user group meetings will be sent to the list.
The list is also the place to send email if you notice that some documentation needs updating. For documentation published on the Web, please specify the URL for the documentation that needs to be updated. For Business Objects documentation, please specify the Universe, Class, and Object.
Canned Queries. A good place to get started is to take a look at the existing Business Objects queries on the repository. You can review the Query Panel, and even look at the SQL the query generates. If you have suggestions for the existing queries or new queries to share, post your suggestions to the student-wh list, or bring your ideas to the next user group meeting.