Students & Families Adult Education Adult & Community Learning Services
Adult and Community Learning Services

SMARTT Update, January 2010

1. Waitlist Verifications --- 80 Projects Submitted Verifications as of 1/11/09

   • Thanks to all of you who updated the waitlist information. As of 1/11/09, we have received verification from 80 projects that the waitlist data is accurate.

   • There are 29 Community Adult Learning Centers (CALCs) that still have not submitted the waitlist verification. Please take note that the wait list policy for CALCs requires grantees to submit the verification by December 1st each year. (See Guidelines for Effective Adult Basic Education for Community Adult Learning Centers   , page 15). This information must be updated annually for the Department to report accurate waitlist numbers to legislators and policymakers.

   • Those programs that have not yet submitted the verification are requested to complete it by the end of January.

   • Excerpts from the Wait List Policy
     Programs are expected to maintain an active wait list for applicants who are unable to enroll in any instructional classes due to capacity constraints. Programs must keep their wait list up to date. At a minimum, all students placed on the wait list must be contacted annually to confirm they are still interested in enrolling in the program. Any waitlist records older than 18 months should be reviewed and deleted as appropriate so that SMARTT wait list numbers are accurate. Programs must submit the "Wait List Update" in SMARTT by December 1st each year indicating that the wait list information is up to date and accurate... Only applicants for whom such confirmation is obtained shall remain on the wait list and all others removed Programs must immediately enroll any student in good standing who seeks to transfer from another ESE-funded ABE program or place this student at the top of the appropriate waiting list. This includes students from other ESE-funded ABE programs including workplace education and the ABE for Incarcerated Adults programs.

   • Information on how to verify that the waitlist has been updated was provided in the November update.

   • The current waitlist counts displayed on our ABE Directory are:

     ABE	4,446
     ESOL	15,223
     TOTAL	19,669

     
     

2. 18 Outstanding Partial Intakes
   There are still 18 outstanding partial intakes at 8 sites that have not been converted or deleted. If the student left prior to MAPT testing, please delete the partial intake. Partial intakes can be deleted if no tests were administered using that SMARTT ID. Please contact one of the SABES regional field techs if you need assistance. Once a primary area is selected in the Student Assessment screen, the assessment information will appear in the Site Primary Assessment Report and Site MAPT Report.

3. ABE Program Design Trainings

   Four Day Training For New Directors

   • Please remember to e-mail Donna Cornellier (dcornellier@doe.mass.edu) by the end of January to sign up for this four-day training, which will be held at the MWCC/Devens Learning Center at One Jackson Place, Devens, MA. The trainings will be held from 9:30 - 3:30 pm these four days:
     • Friday, March 5th
     • Friday, March 19th
     • Thursday, April 1st
     • Friday, April 16th
     
     

   • Participants will receive a confirmation e-mail after register. Pre-reading materials will be sent out a month prior to the training.

   • This training is for all directors and other staff who may be required to enter program plans into SMARTT (e.g., site coordinators, assistant directors). Such staff must complete this four-day training within their first 12 months of hire. As you know, the application process for both new and continuation ABE funding from ESE requires the applicant to utilize the tools in SMARTT to develop a program plan. The ABE Program Design training is designed to enable participants to develop a fundable plan, using SMARTT, which is consistent with the Guidelines for Effective Adult Basic Education and ESE policy requirements.

   Regional Refresher Trainings
   The following dates have been scheduled for the five regional refresher trainings. These trainings will be held from 10:00 - 12:00, and will be followed by open labs scheduled from 1:00 - 3:00 for those who want individualized assistance in preparing program plans for FY2011. Registration information and more details will be provided in the February update.

   Monday, April 26	Northeast region
   Wednesday, April 28th	Boston region
   Thursday, April 29th	Central region
   Friday, April 30th	Southeast region
   Monday, May 3rd	West region

   
   

4. GED Data Matching --- Matches Completed on 12/14/2009 and 1/7/2010

   • The last two GED data matches with Oklahoma Scoring Service were completed on 12/14/2009 and 1/07/2010.

   • In the December data match, one hundred forty three (143) records were matched for students who attended classes in FY10. Out of this, one hundred and thirty three (133) students had set the "attain GED" goal, which is ninety one percent (93%). Ten (10) students or seven percent (7%) did not set the goal, and therefore will not be included in the Federal Report.

   • In the January match, fifty five (55) records were matched for students who attended classes in FY10. Out of this, forty seven (47) students had set the goal, which is eighty five percent (85%). Eight (8) students or fifteen percent (15%) did not set the goal, and therefore and will not be included in the Federal

   • Remember that we cannot include in the Federal Report the achievement of any goal if that goal was not set. It is important to meet with students on a regular basis to make sure goals are set, new goals are identified, and the dates set are entered into the system.

5. Cognos Manual
   We have currently hired a practitioner to work with us to write a comprehensive Cognos manual. We are looking for feedback from users to help us design this manual. If you have ideas as to the content or format of this manual, please send your ideas to both Helen Jones at hjones@doe.mass.edu and Donna Cornellier at dcornellier@doe.mass.edu, so that we can make this a useful tool for everyone.

6. SMARTT Training Schedule
   The updated training schedule is now posted.

   • Two SMARTT New User trainings will be offered on February 11, 2010 at the Northern Essex Community College, Amesbury Campus, and March 23, 2010 at the Holyoke Community College from 9:30 - 3:00.

   • Three SMARTT Updates focusing on "Reviewing Mid-Year Data" are being held in the regions in January.

   • One Introduction to Cognos and three and Intermediate Cognos trainings are being held in the regions in between January and March. Note that the on-line version of the Introduction to Cognos training is open to everyone in all regions.

   • Check the SABES calendar for dates and times. To register for these and other trainings, please go http:\\calendar.sabes.org and click on your region; or, you may contact your regional office directly.

Questions? Please contact Donna Cornellier at dcornellier@doe.mass.edu