Establishing a Longitudinal Student Tracking System: An Implementation Handbook
| Title: | Establishing a Longitudinal Student Tracking System: An Implementation Handbook |
| Author: | Ewell, Peter T. Parker, Ronald Jones, Dennis P. |
| Date: | 1988 |
| Catalog #: | 2BA389 |
| Price: | $ 14.95 |
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| Description: |
This Handbook describes the implementation of a comprehensive approach to student tracking, implemented by NCHEMS in a statewide setting. Major features of this system include standard procedures for defining data elements and producing reports, and the use of commercially available statistical software to perform most of the required data extraction, manipulation, and report production procedures. The Handbook is designed to raise issues and to outline the specific steps required to construct and field a tracking system at the institutional or system level. Major topics include: • Basic design issues including which students should be tracked and how they should be identified, what types of variables are needed, and how records should be maintained and handled. • Issues associated with choosing and defining the data elements to be included in the system, as well as suggested definitions and coding formats for over 75 possible variables. • Issues surrounding the construction and maintenance of the tracking database, including procedures for extracting data from existing record files, for recoding and merging tracking system files, and for archiving. • Issues associated with constructing standard reports from the system for various purposes. • Suggestions for interpreting results and for using the database for ongoing enrollment management research. The Handbook contains many examples drawn from actual experience, and is applicable to all types of institutions. It should be of particular interest to institutional researchers, and to administrators responsible for enrollment management, retention, remediation, assessment, and academic policies. |