Student Information System Security Facts

This document gives important facts about security in the Student Information System.    

Links to information about SIS Security:

• SIS Security Administration (Defines roles & responsibilities of Security Officers) 
• SIS Security Classes (List of SIS classes)
• SIS Security Forms (Forms on SIS Classes and SIS Model Operator Ids)

Creating SIS Security Classes 
List of Panels/Menu Items in SIS
Creating SIS Security Model Operator Ids
Changing SIS Security Values 

• Directory Manager (How to use the Directory Manager)
• Customer Account Administration Manager (How to create your Customer Id/Pin Number)

SIS Security Facts:

Before completing the forms, Creating SIS Security Classes, Creating SIS Operator Level Security (Model Operator Ids), and Changing SIS Security Values ALWAYS download the most recent copy on the web. 

When completing the Creating SIS Security Classes Form, the Display Only option takes precedence over any other action types.  If any other action types are selected with Display Only, then display will be the default for that panel..  

When completing the Creating SIS Security Classes Form, and choosing any Process or Report panels,  the Add and Update/Display option must always be selected so that the customer can add a run control id and then be able to select and update the run control ids.

In order to use the flashlight icon on the SIS panels, choose the Maintain People Data-Inquire-Search/Match panel on the Creating SIS Security Classes Form.  The Maintain People Data-Bio/Demo panel must also be chosen to see the record once the search is done.  Whatever access chosen for the Bio/Demo panel, is the access displayed when the record is open.  For example, if for Bio/Demo the display only access is chosen, when the flashlight icon is used, the record being searched for will come up in display only mode.  The flashlight icon does not work automatically; both of these values must be chosen.

When display only access is chosen for the Bio/Demo panel, it prevents the service indicators from displaying on the Bio/Demo panel even if the model operator id has service indicator security.  To view the service indicators on the Bio/Demo panel, do not give display only access for the Bio/Demo panel.

When display only access is chosen for the Inquire-Search/Match panel, it prevents the customer from performing searches.  All the search boxes where values to give criteria for the search are entered, are grayed out.  To allow searches to be performed, do not give display only access to the Inquire-Search/Match panel.

A model operator id can have many classes, but one class must be the primary class.  If combining a student financials class with any other type of class (records, admissions, etc.) then the student financials class must be the primary class.

When completing the model operator id forms and looking for a class value to supply, don't concentrate so much on the class name.  What is a supervisor or assistant at one college could be something different at another college. Concentrate instead on finding classes that have the panels desired for the job functions at the college.  The customers will not see the class name to know what the name was called.  The customer only sees their panels when they logon SIS.

If adding or deleting a panel(s) from a model operator id, always supply the model operator id name. There are two options to choose from when requesting additions/deletions to available panels:  
1.  Fill out a new excel spreadsheet and only mark the new or deleted values that are needed.   The spreadsheet is located at http://www.vccs.edu/its/security/sis_menu_items_All.xls. Or use the existing spreadsheet and highlight in some sort of manner only the new items that are needed.  Send the spreadsheet to the VCCS Information Security Officer.
or
2.  Send the VCCS Information Security Officer an email with the requested change giving the exact panel navigation and changes. An example of such a request is as follows:    
Please add Update Display to the following:
Go/Manage Student Financials/Administer Payment Plans  
Use/Payment Plan/Payment Plan 1

During setup for the session term table, the session time periods must be updated with session time periods and end dates for dynamic session classes for each Academic Career. If this is not done, when enrolling in classes, the error : Invalid Access to Enrollment Transaction is received.  Security verifies the term time period and end dates and if there are no values or the dates have exceeded, then no access is granted to the enrollment transaction.  

All SIS security testing should be completed in the TEST database before moving to the PROD instance of the database.  All SIS security forms should be completed and everything tested from the completed forms while you are in the TEST database.

Admissions and Program Actions
Admission actions signify a change in the status of an application regarding an Academic Program.  Program actions designate the status of a student in a program from the time he or she is an applicant, throughout their Academic Career.

• Admission actions and Program actions are assigned by class.  A model operator id obtains its admission actions and program actions from the primary class.  Even if a model operator id belongs to several classes, the admission and program actions will only come from the primary class (the values are not combined from each class). 

• While defining model operator ids, if a pre-existing class is used, then the admissions actions and program actions already defined for that class must be used.  Below are these values.

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