Checking the data base
Looking over the Adult Basic Education data base are, standing, from left, Charles Fowler, PREPS program evaluator for the ABE project; Tilda Neal, project teacher; and Melanie Hutto, ABE Model Project director; seated is Dakin McKay, a graduate assistant from Canton.
The Student Information Management System (SIMS) is one outgrowth of the Mississippi ABE Model Project at Mississippi State. SIMS was designed as part of the state Board for Community and Junior Colleges' long-term plan to network and provide consistent data collection and reporting for all ABE programs in Mississippi.
The database recently was installed for testing in the experimental classroom at East Mississippi Community College at Mayhew, according to ABE Model Project Director Melanie Hutto.
Focus group and design meetings involving ABE directors in the state and the state Office of Adult Basic Education determined the types of information that were needed to enhance service delivery for local instructors' needs.
Eloise Johnson, state director of adult education, says ,“From day one, our directors have given their input. As the program has evolved, this involvement has molded SIMS to fit their needs.”
Based on the recommendations of ABE directors, the data base was designed with help from the Program for Research and Evaluation of Public Schools (PREPS) at Mississippi State. Charles Fowler, PREPS program evaluator for the ABE Model Project, worked in close consultation with ABE directors, teachers and the data base programmer consultant during construction of the software. He focused on providing a data collection source for PREPS to use in evaluating student data for the Model Project.
Currently, a pilot program for SIMS is in operation with six ABE programs involved as pilot sites. In addition to the Model Project's classroom at EMCC, the ABE program participants include Northeast Mississippi Community College, Northwest Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Brookhaven Public Schools, Jackson Public Schools, and Starkville Public Schools.
SIMS is a Fox Pro-based program for Windows computer software and all sites are compatible. Other qualitative and quantitative data options in the program allow teachers and counselors to make comments and develop individual educational plans for participants in their ABE programs.
"The real beauty of SIMS is that site has a stand-alone data base to meet its individual program needs, yet reports needed by the state office can be printed and mailed or transmitted by modem or computer disk," Fowler said.
Johnson said she is looking forward to the coordination of SIMS with SBCJC's proposed management information system. "A consistent data source will greatly facilitate consistent reporting to our state office by all ABE programs. I am confident that these pilot programs will prove that to be true."
The implementation is on schedule and both Fowler and Hutto believe the potential benefits for ABE programs throughout the state are very promising.
This World Wide Web version of MSU Memo was modified and updated by Chris Brown.
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Last modified: Friday, 14-Jun-2002 15:59:04 CDT.
URL: http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/msu_memo/1995/4-17-95/database.htm
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