School Defined Fields

You can use the School Defined Fields page to manage the additional fields your institution wants to use for students and sourses. You can also use the page to display a list of students or courses where the value is specified along with the value specified for the students or courses.

School Defined Fields gather and store an additional value in the database that is not already in Anthology Student for courses and students. For example, if your institution assigns a number to prospects, you can add a field to specify the number for prospects.

School Fields are not included in predefined reports, but can be included in custom reports. You can also display a preview of the School Fields page so that you can verify your additions and changes .

Staff members select the School Fields you specify here when they:

• Configure courses. (Select the Configuration tile > expand Academic Records > select Courses.)

• Fill out the Student Profile. (Select the Students tile > select the name in the Students list.)

When defining student fields, you can also:

• Specify the modules for a field and whether the field is read-only, editable, and displayed in Portal. For example, you can specify that a field is specified or edited for a student in Admissions and read-only in Academic Records.

• Display the a preview of the School Fields page for the module so that you can verify your additions and changes

Prerequisites

To view the page, you must have System - Settings - School Defined Fields - View authorization.

To edit the page, you must have System - Settings - School Defined Fields - Manage authorization.

To specify fields for students for housing, your institution must also have a license for Housing and it must have been enabled when Anthology Student was installed.

Access Method

Select the Settings tile > expand System > select School Defined Fields.

Procedure to Add or Edit Fields for Course

1. In the Type list, select Course.

2. If you want to:

   • Add a new list item, select the New button on the toolbar

   • Add a new list item by copying and modifying an existing list item, select the row in the list and the Duplicate button on the toolbar

   • Edit an existing list item, type the name in the search box or locate the item in the list and select the name

3. Review, specify, or change the values.

   Active Specifies whether the associated record is active. Decimals If you selected Numeric, specify the number of decimals. The maximum is 4 and is included in the maximum you specified for Length. For example if you want the maximum to 999.99, specify 5 for Length and 2 for Decimal. Help Text Specify any additional information you want displayed for the field when staff members mouse over the field on the page where the field is displayed or editable. Length If you selected Character or Numeric, specify the maximum length of the value in the field. For Character, the maximum is 4,000. For numeric, the maximum is 8. It includes the number of decimal places you specify for Decimal. For example if you want the maximum to 999.99, specify 5 for Length and 2 for Decimal.

   Name The descriptive name of the item. Type The type of value you want to be specified in the field. Character specifies any alphabetic, numeric, or punctuation character. Date specifies a date in the format configured by your institution. Numeric specifies a numeric value greater than 0. Type Validation Specifies the values or type of validation. If you want the field to free form without values or validation, select None. If you selected Date or Numeric for Type and you want a value in a specific range of dates or numbers, select Range. If you want the field to contain one or more values selected from a list, select Multi Select List. If you want the field to contain a single value selected from a list, select Value List.

4. Take the action appropriate for the value you selected for Type Validation.

   Value You Selected	Action to Take
   Multi Select List or Value List	If you want to:  Add a new value, select the Add button You must specify the values in the order you want them displayed in the list for the field. Edit a value, select the record in the list Specify the value in the Value cell. If you want to remove a value, select the record in the list and select the Remove button.
   None	No action required.
   Range (This option is available for numeric values.)	Specify the range in From and To.

5. If you want to see how your additions and changes will look on the School Fields page for courses, select the Save button and then the Preview button.

6. If you want to save and: 

   • Continue making changes, select the Save button

   • Continue to add another item to the list, select the Save & New button

   • Close, select the Save & Close button

Procedure to Add or Edit Fields for Students

1. In the Type list, select Student.

2. If you want to:

   • Add a new list item, select the New button on the toolbar

   • Add a new list item by copying and modifying an existing list item, select the row in the list and the Duplicate button on the toolbar

   • Edit an existing list item, type the name in the search box or locate the item in the list and select the name

3. Review, specify, or change the following values.

   Active Specifies whether the associated record is active. Code The alphanumeric code assigned to the item by your institution. In most cases, codes must be unique. Decimals If you selected Numeric, specify the number of decimals. The maximum is 4 and is included in the maximum you specified for Length. For example if you want the maximum to 999.99, specify 5 for Length and 2 for Decimal. Help Text Specify any additional information you want displayed for the field when staff members mouse over the field on the page where the field is displayed or editable. Include In Auto Award Rules If you are using Financial Aid Automation (FAA), select the check box if you want the field included in the automated awarding rules engine and logic for FAA.

   Length If you selected Character or Numeric, specify the maximum length of the value in the field. For Character, the maximum is 4,000. For numeric, the maximum is 8. It includes the number of decimal places you specify for Decimal. For example if you want the maximum to 999.99, specify 5 for Length and 2 for Decimal. Name The descriptive name of the item. Type The type of value you want to be specified in the field. Character specifies any alphabetic, numeric, or punctuation character. Date specifies a date in the format configured by your institution. Numeric specifies a numeric value greater than 0. Type Validation Specifies the values or type of validation. If you want the field to free form without values or validation, select None. If you selected Date or Numeric for Type and you want a value in a specific range of dates or numbers, select Range. If you want the field to contain one or more values selected from a list, select Multi Select List. If you want the field to contain a single value selected from a list, select Value List.

4. Take the action appropriate for the value you selected for Type Validation.

   Value You Selected	Action to Take
   Multi Select List or Value List	If you want to:  Add a new value, select the Add button You must specify the values in the order you want them displayed in the list for the field. Edit a value, select the record in the list Specify the value in the Value cell. If you want to remove a value, select the record in the list and select the Remove button.
   None	No action required.
   Range (This option is available for numeric values.)	Specify the range in From and To.

5. If you selected Student in the Type list, complete the grid under Module Visibility. Select the: 

   • View check box to make the field read-only for the module

   • Edit check box to make the field editable for the module

   • Online check box if you want the field and its value displayed in Portal

   A minimum of one module must have both View and Edit permission.

6. If you want to change the order of the fields, you can either verify or select the module in the Module list:

   • Drag and drop the fields to the order you want

   • Select the Move button, specify the new position in the To field, and select the Move button

   When you move a field, Anthology Student renumbers the subsequent fields.

7. To see how your additions and changes will look on the School Fields page for courses, select the Save button, verify that an area is selected for Module, and then the Preview button.

8. If you want to save and: 

   • Continue making changes, select the Save button

   • Continue to add another item to the list, select the Save & New button

   • Close, select the Save & Close button

Implications of Editing Specific Fields on the Page

There are implications in editing some of the values on the page. For example, changing the value for Type from Date to Numeric. When you select a field to edit it, Anthology Student displays a message showing the number of records where a value is specified. Anthology Student also tries to convert the data to the new type. If it cannot be converted, it also displays a message and you can choose to continue or cancel.

If needed, you can cancel and use the Field Usage button on the toolbar to display the records for the students or courses where a field is specified along with the value that is specified in the field.

Procedure to View Field Usage

You can use the School Defined Fields page to display the records for the students or courses where a field is specified along with the value that is specified in the field.

1. Highlight the field in the list.

2. Select the Field Usage button.

   If there are values specified for the field, Anthology Student displays a dialog that shows the number of courses or students where the value is specified.

3. To review the details, select the OK button.

4. On the dialog, review the values. The values will depend on whether you selected Course or Student in the Type list.

   Type	Columns
   Course	Code The alphanumeric code assigned to the item by your institution. In most cases, codes must be unique. Name The name of the course or the last and then first name of the student. Field Value The value specified in the field for the course or student.
   Student	Name The name of the course or the last and then first name of the student. Field Value The value specified in the field for the course or student. Student Number If your institution assigns student numbers, the number your institution uses to identify the student. How the number is assigned is specified by your institution. For example, Anthology Student can be configured to assign the number, or your institution can use another method to assign it.

Delete or Deactivate School Defined Fields

You can use the School Defined Fields page to delete or deactivate the additional fields that your institution configured.

• Deleting a field permanently removes it along with any of the values specified for students or courses. No record of deleted fields or values is maintained in Anthology Student.

• Deactivating a field item keeps a record of it in Anthology Student (preferred). It can no longer be specified for a course or student, but any previously specified values remain in Anthology Student.

Procedure to Delete Fields

1. To display a list of students or courses where the field is used along with the value specified for the students or courses, highlight the field in the list and select the Field Usage button.

2. To delete the field, select the Delete button on the toolbar.

   If the field contains values for students or courses, Anthology Student displays a message indicating how many.

3. If you want to continue, select Continue.

Anthology Student removes the item from the list on the page and the list is redisplayed. Any values specified for students and courses are also deleted.

Procedure to Deactivate Fields

1. To display a list of students or courses where the field is used along with the value specified for the students or courses, highlight the field in the list and select the Field Usage button.

2. Highlight the record for the field.

3. In the Active list, select No.

   The item: 

   • Remains displayed in the list with No in the Active column

   • Is also no longer displayed on the School Fields page