Student Tracking/Assessment Computerized System-(STACS)

In fall 1999, the Cabinet approved the plan of the IRE to implement a student tracking database, titled the Student Tracking/Assessment Computerized System (STACS). According to the plan, IRE would implement STACS for the benefit of the whole college community. When fully implemented, STACS will allow IRE to create a wide variety of student data sets from eclectic data sources for the purpose of producing management reports, research studies, and statistical data. 

IRE is able to create student data sets for its internal needs and has the capability of producing additional student data sets for different need-to-know stakeholders at the College.

STACS was built with four design criteria:

1. to capture student data longitudinally
2. to store student data for key process and performance indicators
3. to provide links to different student data sets using a common identifier (i.e., social security number or college identification number)
4. to employ programming software to create ad-hoc student cohort data sets by linking disparate data sets in the database.

The first step in building STACS was to create a term/demographic student file from the College's administrative computer system. With seven years of data pulled from the system, some of the key student data elements included: grade point average, credit hours attempted and completed, gender, ethnicity, age, high school, developmental courses, graduation status, student intent, and program declarations. After this first step, IRE began adding a variety of smaller student data sets to the database architecture. The following are just some of the student data sets that are a part of the STACS system:

• Student Opinion Survey data collected each semester since spring 2000 and CCSSE (the Community College Survey of Student Engagement) collected bi-annually in the spring
• special student population data sets (e.g., dual-enrolled, A+ program, First Alert, etc.)
• 180-Day survey data
• Academic Year and Demographic Term data
• Graduates by Academic Year
• GRS Right-to-Know cohorts
• general education rubric scores

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