POSTGRADUATE ACADEMIC SUPPORT (PAS/NAO)

1. POSTGRADUATE ACADEMIC SUPPORT (PAS/NAO) GENERAL GUIDELINES

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM USING PAS/NAO? WHERE DOES THE INFORMATION COME FROM? WHO HAS ACCESS TO PAS/NAO? HOW DO I GAIN ACCESS TO PAS/NAO? WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE? General Console Groups of people Function Bar

3. BACKGROUND What is PAS/NAO • PAS is the abbreviation for Postgraduate Academic Support, and is a web based system developed for staff members concerned with the management of postgraduate students • PAS/NAO provides integrated and timeous information of postgraduate students concerning the outcomes of administrative processes such as application, registration, funding, etc • PAS/NAO provides a simple interface for capturing Study Leaders, Examiners and Titles securely to the central system of SU • Various Excel reports can be generated via PAS/NAO • Historic data of postgraduate students are available for as far back as 2000 • Groups of students can be contacted via PAS/NAO

4. BACKGROUND The following needs were identified – • Staff members involved with the daily management of postgraduate students need a consolidated system which makes information on postgraduate studentsavailable in an integrated and user-friendly way • Different groups of staff members need access to the same information to improve processes and cooperation • Making contact with groups of postgraduate students according to faculty, department, programme etc

5. WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM USING PAS/NAO? • Postgraduate Coordinators from Academic Departments • Heads of Academic Departments • Staff members from Departments or Faculties involved with Postgraduate students and / or Research • Faculty Managers • Faculty Secretaries

6. WHERE DOES THE INFORMATION COME FROM? • From the SU Central Administrative System • The main PAS/NAO console information is refreshed on a daily basis and reflects all transactions captured during the previous day • All data captured via PAS/NAO is stored in the SU Central Administrative System and is readily available at all times

7. WHO HAS ACCESS TO PAS/NAO? • All academic staff members have automatic access to only their ‘own’ postgraduate students via PAS/NAO • Departmental staff members have access to only their own Department’s postgraduate student information • Faculty staff members have access to information of all postgraduate students falling under the particular Faculty • If staff members require broader access, a request may be submitted to PGIO • Staff members not belonging to an Academic Department or Faculty may submit a request to PGIO to gain access to PAS/NAO

8. HOW DO I GAIN ACCESS TO PAS/NAO? • Presently by means of a URL provided by PGIO or IT if your request is accompanied by an email from your line manager authorising your access • Hopefully PAS/NAO will be made available via my.sun.ac.za in 2014 in such a way that you would be able to apply for access to the system once only with the approval of your line manager (same principle as annual leave) • If your line manager changes, you will have to apply for access again

9. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?LANDING PAGE Keep an eye out for notices! New functions and other news will be announced here

10. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?CONSOLE Your registered postgraduate students are shown automatically Choose any other group of students on the menu to the left

11. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?CONSOLE • Sort by clicking green headings • Light brown rows are International students (hover cursor over row for more information) • Icons in 2nd column show that Functionaries and /or Research Outputs have been captured

12. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?STUDENT GROUPS Click the student group that you would like to display on the console

13. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?STUDENT GROUPS All groups are persons of the Faculty or Department where you are employed • Interested Persons - All persons who have requested that a yearbook of your Faculty be mailed to them • Final Year Undergraduates - For postgraduate recruitment purposes • Applicants - To facilitate planning • Current students - All registered postgraduate students and those currently busy with postgraduate studies but not registered yet

14. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?STUDENT GROUPS All groups are persons of the Faculty or Department where you are employed • GraduatesAll students who have graduated during the current or previous year • Postdoctoral FellowsCurrently shown only per Faculty but the facility to display the group per Department will be made available during 2014

15. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: FILTER OPTIONS Filter on the fields below, e.g. Department, Programme Type and many others

16. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: ADMINISTRATION Choose a student on the console and view the information by clicking an item on the menu

17. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: STUDY GUIDANCE Choose a student on the console, capture the information shown on the menu below to the central SU system and generate Excel reports

18. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: RESEARCH OUTPUTS Choose a student on the console and submit the thesis/dissertation or publish it via the e-thesis system

19. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: REPORTS Print an Excel report of the following students: • All students appearing on the console when the report is requested • All registered and non-registered students to whom you have access, on the same report

20. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: EMAIL Send email to all students on the console Create email wording in both Afr and Eng and the system will dispatch emails correctly

21. WHAT DOES PAS/NAO LOOK LIKE?FUNCTION BAR: FORMS As many forms as possible are to be created interactively with data from the central SU system. This task will receive priority in 2014.

22. REFER TO THE PAS/NAO MANUAL FOR FURTHER DETAILS