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Tools and Functionality – An Overview
In addition to the Competency Entry module used by instructors to track the progress of students, the SkillsPlus system includes other modules and components key to the setup and maintenance of the system within your environment. The following is a listing and brief description of all the modules and components within the SkillsPlus system.
System Administration
Organizations – The Organizations component houses information on the organization for which the system has been implemented. In many cases values for an organization (such as a school address, phone number, etc.) will be entered here. In most cases system administrators will only have to access this component when they need to "set up" a new, or edit information on an existing, organization.
Usergroups – The Usergroups component is used to manage the level of functionality or "permissions" granted to various groups of users who interact with the SkillsPlus system. The usergroup model of access/security allows you to create a virtually unlimited number of groups to which different levels of permissions can be assigned. After establishing these groups (and their related permissions) you may then assign individual users to any number of these groups.
User Logins – The User Logins component is used to establish and maintain profiles for those users who interact with the SkillsPlus system. Functionality in this component allows you to add, delete and modify a user's login profile, as well as to regulate a user's level of access to the system by assigning them to Usergroups. This component also provides system administration personnel with a means to establish and edit passwords for users throughout the system.
Value Lists – The Value Lists component is used to manage common "user definable" lists of data. While the type of data will vary from lists-to-list, the basic premise of Value Lists is to allow administrators to set the parameters for certain data fields within the system that contain more than one option (such as those found in pull-down boxes). This process allows for greater flexibility than what would be found if all such data was pre-defined within the system - and allows administrators to establish and present their users with options that most closely meets the specific needs of their implementation of the SkillsPlus system.
System Variables – This component is used to regulate certain types of functionality at the “system wide” level – as opposed to the type of functionality you can extend at the “user level” within the Usergroup component. For example: while you would use the Usergroup component to determine which groups of users should be allowed to gain access to the Competency Entry module - you would use the System Variables component to dictate rules such as whether or not the system should accept a user’s attempt to record repeated attainments against a single skill.
Register SkillsPlus Reports – This component provides a means for users to take report types - or templates (created with a third-party report writing system) and register them for use within SkillsPlus. This functionality gives users the freedom to create customized report types to best meet the needs of their specific environment.
iPlans Templates – Working in support of the iPlans module, this component allows users to view, edit, define and assign items associated to the various fields that make up a personal training plan templates. Users can create a variety of different templates that can be used to track different types of information.
Data Administration
Skill Lists– The Skills Lists module is used to maintain and edit the contents (Areas, Subareas, and Skills) of all lists of skills taught within various classes in your environment. Lists of skills are grouped into “instances.” Instances designated as a “Current Rev” identifies the group as containing those lists of skills that are currently assigned to active classes and are being taught to students.
When you need to update, delete from, or add to the contents to a skill list, you should use the Skill Lists module to copy your current skill list into a new instance. When all edits are made to your new instance you can change the “Current Rev” setting on your original instance to “N”, and the “Current Rev” setting on your new instance to “Y”. This will, in effect, turn off your old instance and assign the skills in your new instance to the classes that are currently being taught.
The Skill Lists module also allows you to create multiple “revisions” within each instance. Revisions are handy whenever you find a need to work with multiple versions of the skill lists within a given instance.
Persons – The Persons component is used to maintain and edit data that make up the profiles of each person (including instructors and students) within the SkillsPlus system. Those with permissions to access the Person’s component can assign individuals to defined classes, assign certifications to individual’s profiles, and read up-to-date competency listings within an individual’s Skills Portfolio.
Courses – The Courses component is where users can view, edit and assign items associated to courses including assigning instructors to Courses. Certain implementations of the SkillsPlus system do not require the use of Courses.
Classes – The Classes component is where users can view, edit and assign items associated to classes. The Classes component can be used to assign both instructors and students to classes.
Skillgroups – All active skills managed within the SkillsPlus system must be assigned to one or more Skillgroups. Skillgroups are then in turn assigned to appropriate Classes housed within the system. This process helps to simplify the task of assigning skills to various classes on a year-to-year basis. Skillgroups assigned to classes remain static from one year to next and are not dependent on an instance or revision of a given Skill List. The Skillgroups component is where users assign individual skills to a Skillgroups and then assign Skillgroups to Classes.
Certificates – The Certificates component is where users can create view, edit and delete certificates within the system. Authorized users can define descriptions for all certificates that are, or will ultimately be, assigned to Persons within the SkillsPlus system. This component can also be used to assign (and un-assign) certificates to Persons housed within the system.
Evaluation
Competency Entry – The SkillsPlus Competency Entry module is used by instructors to record and track the progress of students in achieving various levels of proficiency with assigned skills.
iPlans – The iPlan module allows users to assign data to a range of “user definable” fields (established in the iPlan Template component) to record both goals and performance achievements within individual training plans.
Run Reports
SkillsPlus Reports– The SkillsPlus Reports component provides a format where users can select, set parameters for, and generate any of the reports that were registered with the system through the Register SkillsPlus Reports component.
HTML Skill Listing – This component serves as the reporting feature for the Skill Lists module. Here users can generate reports on the various levels that make up the skill lists in all “instances” and “revisions” established within their implementation of SkillsPlus.
Import
Administrative Data – The Administrative Data component is used to import administrative data files into the SkillsPlus system. Such files include lists of Students, Instructors, Courses and Course Assignment records – in many cases exported from an existing administrative and/or scheduling software package.
Skills – Tab Format – This component allows users to import one or more new lists of skills into the system utilizing a convenient flat file format.