Over the past two years since the release of eduTrac SIS, customers as well as community users have given constructive criticism on the system as well as suggestions for new features. There are a plethora of new features and enhancements that are on the roadmap for eduTrac SIS, however, they are currently on hold for several reasons which will be given in more detail below.
The main reason why eduTrac SIS was built was to give the education community a top notch student information system that was easily accessible, secure, intuitive as well as affordable. Even though that was the goal, it met with plenty of opposition.
The Future is Bright
On one hand, there were those that said that no one will take is serious if it was free. Then there were those that said the cost was too cheap, and then there were those that stated the cost was too high. Listening to the many voices and suggestions about the cost structure caused detriment to the eduTrac ecosystm more than helped it.
So, here we are now talking about the future of eduTrac SIS. Before going any further, let me state that eduTrac SIS is still being developed and plenty of new features are planned for the foreseeable future. However, a decision was made to bridge the community and enterprise versions into a common core which will be accessible to any and everyone. This decision will help restore that which was broken and do what is best for eduTrac SIS as a whole.
One Codebase to Rule Them All
The common core will basically become the new, free community edition. One codebase, one edition, freely accessible. The common core is currently being developed using a new framework called Liten. By using Liten, eduTrac SIS will be 100% restful allowing for much easier and rapid development as well as make it easier to develop plugins and extensions for third party applications (i.e. Moodle, eFront, etc.).
Another important reason for porting eduTrac SIS to a new framework is for decoupling and modularity. Users can use the new community version and extend the system by purchasing any of the available modules as needed. Again, this makes for a better eduTrac SIS ecosystem and makes it much more affordable for everyone. The modules will be easy to install, just plug and play. Once the new community version is ready, the following modules will be available for purchase. Please note that the following may change between now and when the new community version is released.
| Permission Key | Permission Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| edit_settings | Edit Settings | Can edit general and registration settings. |
| access_audit_trail_screen | Audit Trail Logs | Can view Audit Trail logs |
| access_sql_interface_screen | SQL Interface Screen | Can view screen and run SQL reports |
| access_course_screen | Course Screen | Can access course search screen |
| access_student_screen | Student Screen | Can access student search screen |
| access_plugin_screen | Plugin Screen | Can activate/deactivate plugins and manipulate plugin settings |
| access_role_screen | Role Screen | Can add new custom roles |
| access_user_role_screen | User Role Screen | Can manipulate a person's role(s) |
| access_user_permission_screen | User Permission Screen | Can manipulate a person's permission(s) |
| access_course_sec_screen | Course Section Screen | Can access course section search screen |
| add_course_sec | Add Course Section | Can create new courses |
| course_sec_inquiry_only | Course Section Inquiry Only | Can only view course sections |
| course_inquiry_only | Course Inquiry Only | Can only view courses |
| access_person_screen | Person Screen | Can access person search screen |
| add_person | Add Person | Can add new person account |
| access_acad_prog_screen | Academic Program Screen | Can access academic program search screen |
| add_acad_prog | Add Academic Program | Can create new academic programs |
| acad_prog_inquiry_only | Academic Program Inquiry Only | Can only view academic programs |
| access_nslc | NSLC | |
| access_error_log_screen | Error Log Screen | Can access the error log screen |
| access_student_portal | Student Portal | |
| access_cronjob_screen | Cronjob Screen | Can set cron job time intervals |
| add_address | Add Address | Can add new mailing addresses |
| address_inquiry_only | Address Inquiry Only | Can only view mailing addresses |
| general_inquiry_only | General Inquiry Only | |
| student_inquiry_only | Student Inquiry Only | Can only view student records |
| access_plugin_admin_page | Plugin Admin Page | |
| access_save_query_screens | Save Query Screens | |
| access_forms | Forms | |
| create_stu_record | Create Student Record | Can `stu` a person or make a person a student |
| reset_person_password | Reset Person Password | Can reset a person's password |
| register_students | Register Students | Can register students into courses |
| access_ftp | FTP | |
| access_stu_roster_screen | Access Student Roster Screen | Can print student rosters |
| access_grading_screen | Grading Screen | Can grade courses (Faculty only) |
| access_bill_tbl_screen | Billing Table Screen | Can setup billing tables |
| add_crse_sec_bill | Add Course Sec Billing | Can add fees to course sections |
| import_data | Import Data | Can import data |
| add_course | Add Course | Can create new courses |
| person_inquiry_only | Person Inquiry Only | Can only view person records |
| room_request | Room Request | Can request rooms for meetings (Coming soon!) |
| activate_course_sec | Activate Course Section | |
| cancel_course_sec | Cancel Course Section | |
| access_institutions_screen | Access Institutions Screen | |
| add_institution | Add Institution | |
| access_application_screen | Access Application Screen | |
| create_application | Create Application | |
| access_staff_screen | Staff Screen | |
| staff_inquiry_only | Staff Inquiry Only | |
| create_staff_record | Create Staff Record | Can create new staff/faculty members |
| graduate_students | Graduate Students | |
| generate_transcripts | Generate Transcripts | |
| access_student_accounts | Access Student Accounts | Can access student account menu items |
| student_account_inquiry_only | Student Account Inquiry Only | |
| restrict_edit_profile | Restrict Edit Profile | Restrict a person from editing their personal profile |
| access_general_ledger | Access General Ledger | |
| login_as_user | Login as User | Can login as another user |
| access_academics | Access Academics | |
| access_financials | Access Financials | Can access financials menu items |
| access_human_resources | Access Human Resources | Can access human resources menu items |
| submit_timesheets | Submit Timesheets | |
| access_sql | Access SQL | Can access SQL menu items |
| access_person_mgmt | Access Person Management | Can access person menu items |
| access_payment_gateway | Access Payment Gateway | |
| access_gradebook | Access Gradebook | |
| execute_saved_query | Execute Saved Query | Must be assigned to role or person in order to run saved queries. |
| submit_final_grades | Submit Final Grades |
Then What?
After the release of the new community version, the roadmap will be revisited and then published on the git repository for everyone to see and comment. If you want to get involved with the continued development of eduTrac, take the time to learn the new Liten Framework and become an active member of the community.
Where’s the Book
The development of the eduTrac book was started a few months ago. It will be available in several formats: hardback/paper, Kindle, online. The book should be available by the beginning of the fall semester. The book will be extensive and cover everything from installation to management to understanding your data. There is also a chance to get free, unlimited access to the online version of the book. For more information, click here.