OnSIS - Q&A from Private School Training April 2012

OnSIS - Q&A from Private School Training April 2012 Q: What is the URL for the OnSIS application? A: The URL is https://www.gsa.gov.on.ca Q: Can we have training on an annual basis? A: OnSIS will be holding the next training in October 2012. Further communications will be sent to the private schools in September. Q: How do you record part-time educators (e.g. only teaching for one semester)? A: If an educator only teaches half days? at a particular school, the FTE will be 0.5 Q: If a teacher works part-time for four years should their years of experience be recorded as two or four years? A: The years of experience recorded is at the discretion of the school Q: How are we notified of submission openings? A: There is an auto generated email notification sent out from the OnSIS application when a submission is opened. A submission period that is open is underlined in blue Q: What verification reports are important to look at? A: You should look at the complete set of the verification reports. It helps you ensure the data in all sections are valid, accurate and complete. Q: Do international and/or ESL students need to complete a second language program? A: Yes, please note only English, French and Native languages are considered second languages Q: What does mature student mean? A: PLAR for mature students applies to those who are at least 18 years of age as of December 31 of the academic year, who have been out of OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 1 of 10

school for one year or more who have returned to school to work toward an OSSD. Q: Can changes be made to an OEN after sign off? A: Changes to an OEN can be made at any time. The OEN number though always remains the same. Q: Can verification reports be saved after they are opened or will they be lost? A: By checking the Previously Viewed Checkbox and refreshing the screen, the verification reports can be saved? by clicking on File, then Save as and you may save the reports to the location of your choice. Q: If you need to make a correction after you sign off, how do you do it? A: Once logged into the OnSIS application, go to: Data Collection>Data Correction>Request Data Correction, and input detailed information pertaining to your request. Q: Do warnings have to be fixed? A: All warning messages must be reviewed to ensure the data are accurate. All inaccurate data must be corrected. Q: How do I update teacher information such as a name change? A: Once logged into the OnSIS application, go to: Administration>Educator Administration>Update Educator Information. Educator administration data must be kept up-to-date at all times. Q: What verification is required (e.g. source document) when requesting an MEN? A: Verification can be done by ensuring valid government issued identification is presented Q: Will online submission of NOIs be required? A: Yes, NOI renewals will need to completed in OnSIS through the Administration menu. OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 2 of 10

Q: If a student starts in September, is it necessary to enter the courses they take in all semesters or just the first semester? A: Courses are entered as per the submission period you are working on. For example, if you are working on the October submission then you would only enter the courses that begun between July 1 st and October 31 st. Q: How do you enter half-credit courses? A: In the attempted credit value field, change the value to 0.5 Q: What is a non-enrolled student? A: These are students who were enrolled at the school and left prior to the current submission period and who were issued a diploma/certificate during the current submission period.? OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 3 of 10 Q: What is the difference between class and course description? A: A Class is where a group of students gather and are instructed by an educator(s). A course is the study of a particular topic. Q: What should be entered for a grade 9 student s grade designation when accumulated credits cannot be accepted? A: Grade Designation is not required for grade 9 students as they are entering the secondary school system for the first time. Grade Designation is only applicable for grades 10-12. Q: If I incorrectly input class data and sign off, can it be fixed? A: Yes, you will need to request a data correction. Once logged into the OnSIS application, go to: Data Collection>Data Correction>Request Data Correction, and input detailed information pertaining to your request. Q: Can the class code and course code be the same? A: Yes the course code is ministry defined and the class code can be defined by the school Q: Do submissions need to be done yearly?

A: There are three submissions in an academic year. - October submission covers activity from July 1 st to October 31 st - March submission is from November 1 st to March 31 st and; - June submission is from April 1 st to June 30 Q: If a student is in Ontario on a year-long student visa, should the school record this information? A: Yes, any student who receives a credit or an Ontario Secondary Diploma or Certificate needs to be identified in OnSIS. Q: How many times a year does a non-inspected private school provide a head count? A: Non inspected schools provide head counts once a year? OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 4 of 10 Q: If you don t have any changes for educators does that mean you don t have to do anything? A: If there are no changes or updates, you only have to do the sign off to complete the submission. Q: How long do we have to complete each submission? A: The October submission is due December 31 st The March submission is due May 31st The June submission is due September 30th Q: What do you mean by special education? A: Special education students are those who may have behavioural, communicational, intellectual and physical or multiple exceptionalities and receive special services. Q: What is the difference between transfers and retirements? A: A retired student is a student who has left the school system entirely or a student who left school with an unknown status. A transferred student is a student who has transferred from one school to another within Ontario. Q: What would the category other under admissions be for? A: Other would only be selected if none of the available selections pertain to the student. Q: Do you have to preset zeros in the headcount boxes where there are no students to record a count for?

A: No, you must leave then blank Q: What if a teacher is leaving only temporarily? A: Temporary leaves are identified in OnSIS by selecting the appropriate leave type on the Educator Assignment screen.\? Q: Do the credits granted to an out-of-province student get entered in PLAR? A: Yes, out of province students credits can entered in PLAR after the Principal reviews and assesses the quantity. Q: Can you have one course code with two different course schedule indicators? A: No, not for the same course. All students taking the same course must have the same course schedule indicator. Q: How do you add career experience? A: Under administration menu > update educator > career experience Q: Can a data correction be requested for any submission? Or does it have to be the last submission only? A: Data corrections can be requested for more than one submission period. Q: What email addresses are used when communicating with private schools? A: Email addresses under Personnel and Sites in the Administration menu under Update School are used for communications. Q: Do elementary schools need to give students OENs? A: No, OEN numbers do not need to be assigned until the student is in grade nine in an inspected private school. Q: Can we have all the verification reports all in one running PDF? A: No, OnSIS is set up to produce the reports in separate PDFs. Q: What do you do if a teacher changed their name due to marriage? OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 5 of 10

A: Educator information can be updated under the administration by selecting update educator information under Educator Administration. Q: Can educator information be updated (i.e. remove middle name or other correction)? A: Yes, educator information can be updated by selecting update educator information in the administration section. Q: Is OnSIS case-sensitive when matching educators through the assignment of ministry educator numbers? A: No, however, the spelling of the first name, last name, date of birth and gender need to be accurate Q: If a teacher comes to Canada, from overseas, is the school required to input their career experience? A: Yes, all educators need to be accounted for in OnSIS. Q: Can a school develop their own batch file to upload? A: Yes, this can be done by following the Batch file layout in the detailed design specifications on the What s New page of the OnSIS application. Q: Under assigned subjects how are the number of classes calculated? A: They are entered by the user for the number of total classes, not classes per week. Q: How do you enter a teacher who has split classes (i.e. combined grades 1 and 2)? A: Under the assign subject form you would identify the number of classes, the subject and grades the educator is teaching. By holding down the Ctrl button, you can multi-select from the grade list. Q: How do you update the number of years in career experience? A: At the beginning of each school year, OnSIS will automatically increment all active educator career experience records by one. These are based on the school level(s) for which data were submitted in the previous school year through board or school educator assignments. OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 6 of 10

Q: If a teacher changes the class they teach, does their assignment need to be end dated and a new one created? A: No, the teacher would be updated to the correct class as of the count date of the applicable submission. Assignment end dates are for the end of an ASSIGNMENT such as a teacher changing from a teaching assignment to become a principal of the school (however an assignment end date may not be necessary if the educator stay at the same FTE and at the same school) Q: What if October 31 is on a Sunday? What would the count date be? A: The count date does not change. The snapshot of the school can be taken the last school day prior to October 31 st Q: Why would there be multiple courses under one class? A: This would occur if an educator is teaching more then one course in a class Q: What is the difference between grade and level? A: Grade is typically for elementary schools and level is for secondary i.e. grade 9 math and level - advance Q: Can you have a class with a number of different course codes? A: Yes, that is possible Q: If you forget to end date an educator can you back date it? A: No, the date ranges are tied to the submission period the data is being entered into Q: If a student who has an OEN leaves the country for two years and comes back, does the school use the same OEN or issue a new one? A: The student s OEN never changes. The school will be required to continue to use the same OEN. Q: Is an OEN ever terminated? When can an OEN be terminated? A: An OEN can only be terminated if: - it is a duplication OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 7 of 10

- created in error - student is deceased Q: Are International students who only visit for a month require an OEN? A: Yes, if the student will be receiving a credit or an Ontario issued diploma or certificate. Q: What is a mature student? A: A mature student is one who is age 19 or older without an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and has not attended high school for a minimum of 12 months. Q: Which student would have principal designation or years of attendance in grade designation? What grades is this acceptable for? A: Grade designation is not required for grade 9 students as they are entering the secondary school system for the first time. Grade designation is only applicable for grades 10-12. Q: What is PLAR? A: Prior Learning Assessment Recognition is a formal evaluation and accreditation process carried out by the principal who may grant secondary school credit(s). Q: If a school doesn t record a course, should the new school enter it as a PLAR? A: If the school grants the credit then the school needs to report the credit via OnSIS. PLAR is for credits earned outside of Ontario or if the principal deems the student has the equivalent requirements for the said credit. Q: Does OnSIS cross-check requirements if a student is granted an OSSD? A: OnSIS currently does not validate if the student has met the requirements for an OSSD OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 8 of 10

Q: If a student gets a summer credit from another school, does the main school enter that? A: The school who grants the credit is the school that should enter the information into OnSIS. Q: Who should enter the course credit for an online course? A: The school who grants the credit is the school that should enter the information into OnSIS. Q: Is 2 nd language program information collected from private schools? A: A student's Second Language program can be identified through the Second Language Program form, go to: Data Collection>Add/Update School Submission> Student>School Enrolment>Second Language Program. Depending on the language of the school, English, French and Native Language are considered Second Languages. Q: Can a course start date be defaulted from students enrolment date and not the class date? A: No, they need to be treated separately to accommodate students who start later in the school year. Q: What is a first semester course compared to full-year course? A: First semester courses do not run throughout the school year and full year courses run from September to June. Q: Why does the course end date have to be manually entered and not defaulted to the student s school enrolment end date? A: This allows OnSIS to capture students who did not complete the course i.e. courses that are either dropped or withdrawn. Q: Should verification reports be kept? If not, which reports should be kept? A: Yes, you should keep a copy of the final Verification Reports on sign off for your records. Q: How are schools notified when data corrections are approved? OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 9 of 10

A: Data corrections are processed within 24 hours and an automated email notification will be sent to the requester. Q: Can you add an educator in data correction? A: Yes, when a data correction is approved, any applicable corrections can be made to educator, class or student information. Q: Do you have to do validation, verification and sign off after fixing a correction? A: Yes, You must run validation and verification reports to ensure data is correct. The data must then be signed-off at the school Q: What is Purge and pre-populate? A: The Purge and Pre-populate data function deletes all data and carries forth data from the previous submission period based on the prepopulation rules for a specific submission period. This function can be executed for the entire submission or for specific sections within it. This will result in the removal of any changes made to the selected areas. Q: How do you gain login access? A: All users are required to complete the appropriate Secure Access Registration Form to request access. Please contact the OnSIS help desk if you require the form at onsis_sison@ontario.ca. OnSIS Q & A Private Schools Page 10 of 10