This discussion paper explores the possibilities and risks that data linkage presents for the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Along with a broad overview of the nature of data linkage, it highlights possible applications for data linkage in the VET sector and examines the key challenges associated with its use. A number of case…

It is common for information about students to be transferred from one learning institution to another or to some other location. The ease with which student records can be transferred and understood often depends on their design, the efficiency of the delivery system, and how the information is handled by the receiver. The Standardization of…

This paper describes the first-year results of Distributive Information Systems for Campuses (DISC), a project implemented in the Austin Independent School District (Texas). The goal was to increase the data access and information-generating capabilities of campuses by decentralizing data manipulation functions, while maintaining centralized data…

Microcomputers can vastly improve the efficiency of data management, data analysis, and communications in the school office, but implementation should be carefully planned, with attention to relative cost for benefits obtained, appropriateness of software and hardware, and potential security risks. (TE)

Description of a comprehensive student administrative data system developed by Los Angeles Unified School District and embedded in a large distributed processing computer network discusses hardware, software, implementation, and further enhancements. Subsystems described include student identification, attendance accounting, class registration,…

The process of planning the role of the microcomputer in higher education administration is investigated through a survey of a sample of universities and colleges in California engaged in such efforts, and through a review of literature in education as well as computing. A major objective of the study was to systematically investigate the…

Reviews networking projects that have been developed by educational institutions and computer companies. Highlights include minicomputers that network personal computer workstations; voice mail messages; data processing systems; linking university databases; the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET); a computer link between a high school…

This report presents an information needs assessment for an office automation plan to be undertaken for the School Building Services Branch of the Alberta Department of Education. This exercise complements the work of two senior committees within the Department: (1) the Electronic Information Processing Needs Study Steering Committee, and (2) the…

Texas school district fiscal response to a state-level call for increased emphasis on technology is examined. The response, in this instance, is budgeted expenditures on a per-student basis on computing and data processing for the 1988-89 school year. Response is investigated as a function of district characteristics such as wealth per student,…