[Using Outlook]             [Using ACT]            [Wrapping It Up]

 

Introduction

Well... it is about that time again!  Time to gear up for student advising.  One of the things that I have been struggling with over the years is a way to organize all of my student information into one single place.  I have been maintaining many types of files, with lots and lots of dead tree forms in them, and still no easy way to look up all of my vital student information at once.  I have tried and tried setting up complicated programs like Microsoft Access (database) and even Microsoft Excel  (spreadsheet).  Hey... I'm about as "geeky" as they come when using computer software, but those programs were either too time consuming, didn't do all of the things I needed them to do, or were not easily transferable for other people to use.

It finally occurred to me that I already have an easy way to do this... by looking to the PIM software I already have on my computer.  By PIM software, I am referring to programs like Microsoft Outlook, ACT, and any other software that lets you keep track of people and activities.  Here at Southeast Tech, we have Microsoft Office 2000 already loaded on our laptops, which come equipped with Microsoft Outlook.  I have also found older versions of ACT (ACT 4.0) on eBay for about $9.00 a copy.  I will describe how to do student tracking with Outlook for now.  As soon as my copy of ACT arrives, I will update this page to include descriptions of using ACT. 

Some of the other really neat features of using PIM software include being able to SYNC the records to a hand-held device, such as a Palm Pilot....  this is handy for when you get called to Administration to explain a student's record, and don't want to bring your laptop with you!  Sending emails directly from the PIM software to a student is also a snap, as you can easily build your student database to include email addresses.  Of course, your school or organization has to allow you the use of POP3 email functionality to be able to use most PIM software.

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Using Microsoft Outlook

Setup:

The first task is to decide how to best use the "canned" fields included in the software.  The fields and information that are common to programs like Outlook and ACT are mainly meant for business applications.  However, with a little creativity, you can easily transform these fields into educational and student specific information.  

For instance, Outlook comes with a field called "Job Title."  I use this field to enter the student's ID number.  The "Profession" field becomes the student's degree program information.  The "Company" field becomes "STI" for my active students, and the name of the company they work for when they graduate.  See the figure below for an example of a student record:

Click to See Full Size

Categorizing Students:

I have also found PIM software useful because it allows me to add my own student categories to the Master Categories database, assign students to a category, and track a variety of my students in these categories.  In other words, I am tracking not just the people whom I am currently advising, but also prospective students and graduated students.  I can track prospective students, which helps me keep track of calls I have made and letters that I have sent.  This helps immensely when trying to recruit, as I can see how many, and when I have contacted prospective students.

Likewise, I can keep track of my graduates.  When a student graduates, it is helpful to follow up and see how they are doing, whether or not they have found jobs, and even how much they are making .  When a student I am tracking in one category moves to another category, It is very easy to change them in the contact manager, and move them to another grouping.  See figure below for an example of student groups.

Click to See Full Size

Entering Comments & Information:

Outlook comes with a place in the contact record to enter "free-form" data.  You can make titles and different sections for data.  When I enter information in this section, I usually have main titles such as "Advising Sessions" for entering comments made during our advising discussions.  I used a heading called "Curriculum Progress" for keeping track of the courses my students are completing (and their grades).  Finally, I use "Miscellaneous Journal Reports" for entering any other information about students who are referred to me outside of advising sessions or when I feel the need to document a student concern that may need to be discussed later.

Practically anything can be entered here, so be creative.  One tip that may save you a great deal of time would be to create all of your headings, and simply cut and paste this information into all of your other records.  I create all of my titles (Advising Sessions, Curriculum Progress, etc.) as well as common information UNDER all of those titles, then copy and paste to all of the records.  For example... I want to track my student's progress in their curriculum.  I list all of the classes and credits for one student, then copy and paste that same info into the records of all students who came in under that same curriculum sheet.  I can then update each student record with the information that is unique to them, such as their grades and actual advising comments.

A real time saving tip for creating curriculum sheets and common information for inclusion in the student contact record is to create the document in Microsoft Word, and then cut and paste it into the free-form section of the student contact record.

Printing Reports:

Finally, for those of us who do rely on tree carcasses to have and to hold (guilty as charged), the Outlook PIM software makes it very easy to print a very nice looking paper report.  You can see at a glimpse, and on a single document, advising comments, curriculum progress, miscellaneous journal reports, and any other information you want to include in their record.  You simply have to open a student record and hit the "Print" button... the report will print all of the fields into which you have entered information.  See sample report below:

Click to See Full Size

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Using ACT PIM Software

Information coming soon!

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Wrapping It All Up

PIM software makes for a very easy utility to use for tracking students and their progress.  You don't have to be a database genius to use the software, and you don't have to spend a lot of time defining fields, and running report queries.  You just have to be a little bit creative to use business related categories to mean things that relate to information about your students.  As mentioned above, as long as you can remember to use such things as the "Job Title" field for their student ID number, you will have no trouble setting up and using this type of software to make your job easier.

If you have any trouble, please let me know, and I will be happy to give you training or email replies to your questions.  Have fun, and don't forget who your customers are!

 

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