[SIMS] SIMS Alumni module

[number34]

I have been asked if there is any way that we can use the SIMs data on leavers as an 'Alumni module'. Has anyone any experience of using it in this way? I would assume that those of you in the indepenent sector might make use of one.

[vikpaw]

What would you hope to achieve with it? What exactly do you expect the 'module' to do? Data is there, but it's not great and not very usable. e.g. reg groups either disappear or become bracketed. It's very had to browse for all year xx/yy leavers. You could search using reports, but it's difficult to know what you're trying to achieve.
If you setup some kind of alumni system, you could run a report for all students with leaving dates between two dates and send that data onto that system.

[GREED]

I investigated this for a previous independent school. We spend a long time looking at this and what we could modify to make it usable. Our findings were you could use it happily as a simple data store to collect update and retrieve details, but other than that not much. It actually suited us for a little while like that too, but soon found the limitations difficult. We had to add a lot of UDFs and it was very static.

You've actually given me a couple of thoughts for Aspen MIS talking about this... ta very much! :P

[number34]

Vik - asked by governors to investigate. I think the main reason is to use the resevoir of experience that our ex-pupils have of work and higher education to advise and support our current sixth-form students. I therefore assume that they would want to collect data relating to that. In the independent sector I would assume that fund raising would also be a feature.

Graham - thanks, I definitely do not want to add lots of UDFs to SIMS, the fewer the better in my opinion.

[GREED]

Have a look at Web Alumnus, we used it for a while. Seemed to do the job

webALUMNUS Web-based Alumni Software - WCBS