dwhyte85 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Is anyone else in the same boat with the examinations module? I've only been told a patch will be rolled out within 48 hrs but I have an angry member of SLT who seems to think I can fix it...
creese Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 From SupportNet SIMS Exams issue with import of all Unit results. We have identified a problem in our SIMS Exams software with the import of all Unit results under Version 13 of the JCQ Formats which was in the Autumn 2010 release. Unfortunately, the error cannot be corrected by means of a database patch. A revised version of the Exams Organiser application will be required, which we will make available as soon as possible. You can be assured that from the moment we identified the issue we have been working to fix for it which we now believe we have done. Our intention is to make the fix available via our helpdesk within the next 48 hrs, once it has been fully tested. In the meantime, it is still possible to record candidates’ results manually through appropriate marksheets. Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience. Posted: 12th January 2011 by Chris Sherwood
dwhyte85 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 Ok, it's a fix... very grumpy examinations officer!
creese Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 We've had a few calls. Telling them that it will be fixed in a few days has kept them quiet so far but only manual entry would be the solution if they were so desperate.
dwhyte85 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 Yes, they quickly ignored the manual entry advice...
Sivadam Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Yes, they quickly ignored the manual entry advice... Not all! Ours was completed very early this morning!
LosOjos Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Or you could upload the results from a spreadsheet via Assessment Manager, that's what I did
LosOjos Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Patch now available KB106125 Do you have a link please creese? Not even a link to it on the news page, SupportNet really frustrates me
creese Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) Do you have a link please creese? Not even a link to it on the news page, SupportNet really frustrates me Sorry, just managed to copy that then can't get back on to Supportnet. Not sure if it our system or theirs. Edited January 12, 2011 by creese
Sivadam Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) Sorry, just managed to copy that then can't get back on to Supportnet. Not sure if it our system or theirs. It's ok from here. I love SupportNet! http://dl.capitasolus.co.uk/DownLoads/BinaryPatch/SIMSExamsKB106125.zip Another way round was to just edit the result file(s) to version 12 rather than 13. Apparantly it then imports. Looks like the Exam boards and MIS suppliers got their wires crossed. Edited January 12, 2011 by Sivadam 1
LosOjos Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 It's ok from here. Another way round was to just edit the result file(s) to version 12 rather than 13. Apparantly it then imports. Looks like the Exam boards and MIS suppliers got their wires crossed. Have you compared v12 and v13 files to make sure they're the same format? If they are it's great that you can just change the version, but why would they have bothered changing the version in the first place if the format is identical? I'd just be a bit wary of doing that without a proper comparison between the two versions...
Sivadam Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) Exam entries for the Summer will be Version 13, I assume. Results prepared by some exam boards will be Version 12, I assume, as that is the version they were entered under. I haven't checked this with my exam officer. She was informed the minute she walked thro' the door this morning that we would be manually entering results so it was completed very quickly! This sort of issue happens quite regularly. It ain't usually AQA files that don't work though. Quite a lot of users on SupportNet have just changed formats without any problem! Edited January 12, 2011 by Sivadam
creese Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 http://support.capitaes.co.uk/websupport/RenderXSL.aspx?KB=KB106125.xmlTrue 1
LosOjos Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 What's annoying is that Capita must have been aware for a while now that there was going to be a change made to the file format, the publicly available documentation on the new file format has been on the JCQ website since October; why on Earth hasn't SIMS been updated in time? And why weren't centres given more notice there would be a problem? I'm not expecting answers I just can't get my head around how it's happened, it's not like there hasn't been time to sort it!
Sivadam Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 You may well be correct. Except it may be because Capita HAVE upgraded but the new and old versions do not match? Each time this happens the Exam Boards blame the MIS and the MIS providers blame the Exam Boards! We get caught in the middle and it has been happening for many years!
creese Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I'm not expecting answers I just can't get my head around how it's happened, it's not like there hasn't been time to sort it! I've given up those questions in life, it just gives me a headache. There is an old saying when asking a SIMS support person why they are not mad, "When Capita c*cks up, I let them" Apologies to the original quotation.
LosOjos Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 You may well be correct. Except it may be because Capita HAVE upgraded but the new and old versions do not match? Each time this happens the Exam Boards blame the MIS and the MIS providers blame the Exam Boards! We get caught in the middle and it has been happening for many years! That I could accept, if not for the fact that the file version is part of the file and therefore there is no good reason the system couldn't handle both! I suppose without being on the inside we'll never know who's to blame, but somebody done f-ed up!
Sivadam Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 That I could accept, if not for the fact that the file version is part of the file and therefore there is no good reason the system couldn't handle both! I suppose without being on the inside we'll never know who's to blame, but somebody done f-ed up! I suspect that on this occasion it is an error on Capita's part - as per the original wording in Chris's SupportNet News Item this morning. When it is the exam board that is wrong Capita usually say that there is an error on the particular Exam Board's Result File! They have not said that this time.
GNewnham Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Our results files imported into iSAMS this morning with no problems at all. A few minutes later I had our stats info all extracted for the Head of Exams. Job done in about 5 minutes from starting to download the results files to finishing the whole job. Two clicks tomorrow morning to publish the results to our pupil and parent portals.
PhilNeal Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Yes it was our mistake and obviously we are sorry it happened. We do have to fly blind with exam board results as they haven't got test data. We are hopeful that they will supply it in the future. 3
MattGibson Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 We too just changed the version numbers on the first line if you open the file in notepad from 13 to 12. Imports without fail. Cheers Matt
jimmy_2k Posted January 15, 2011 Posted January 15, 2011 ugh! had this one as well. Our Data Systems Manager managed to get around it though, not sure what he did but the patch is now on the exams officers PC now.
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