Understanding Cohort Process Windows

Cohort Process Windows are used to support institution control of the accessibility of Callista Connect applications. These Cohort Process Windows are normally defined by a Start Date Alias (with optional time component) and End Date Alias (with optional time component) within Calendars appropriate to the business application or process. Cohort Process Windows can also support fine-grained restrictions on access to applications/processes based on characteristics of the user's key elements. For example, restricting access to results details by Surname.

Cohorts are groups of students, courses or units with common characteristics. For example, all students in the course ABC123 or all students with Surname A-K. These groups are defined through Cohort Rules. Cohorts are used to create Cohort Process Windows for Callista Connect applications/processes. See below for further details on Cohort Process Windows.

Cohorts are created in GENF1000 (Maintain Cohorts). Using GENF1000, a rule can be created defining the Cohort. Cohort Rules are grouped into Six types - COHORTPRSN rules, COHORT-SCA rules, COHORT-SUA rules COHORT-GRD rules, COHORTAA rules and COHORT-FEE rules.

There is the potential for Cohorts to be used more widely in Callista. They may, in the future, be used to run reports for a specific group of students more easily defined through Cohort Rules than through the available report parameters. As the Cohorts functionality is enhanced, the number of available Cohorts has the potential to become quite large. With this in mind, a facility has been provided to group Cohorts by category. Cohort Categories are created in GENF1010 (Maintain Cohort Categories). These categories can be used to group Cohorts into similar areas. For example, Enrolment Cohorts and Results Release Cohorts.

Cohorts are mapped to categories in GENF1020 (Maintain Cohort Category Mappings). The mapping of Cohorts to categories is optional.

A Process Type represents a group of System Transactions or an application requiring an Access Window structure. Examples are ENROLMENT (initial Enrolment/Re-Enrolment), VARIATION (Enrolment changes after the initial Enrolment/Re-Enrolment), ADD-UNIT (adding a new Student Unit Attempt, within the ENROLMENT or VARIATION processes) and DROP-UNIT (discontinuing a Student Unit Attempt, within the ENROLMENT or VARIATION processes). The Process Type, when associated with a Calendar Instance and one or more Cohorts is used to define how Callista Connect applications are used/accessed.

System Process Types are mapped to Calendar Categories within the System. This mapping determines which Calendar Instances may be associated with each Process Type when creating Cohort Process Windows. The available Process Types are listed below. A System Administrator can create other Process Types. Refer to technical documentation for further information. For a detailed summary of Process Types refer to the special topics section.

Cohort Process Windows are periods of time when applications (associated with the Process Type) are available to the group of users defined by the Cohort. For example, for the Process Type PE-RESULT, students with the Surname A-K have a Cohort Process Window that begins at 6:30pm on Friday July 12. Students with the Surname L-Z have a Cohort Process Window that begins at 8:00pm on Friday 12 July.

Cohort Process Windows are created for a Process Type and Calendar Instance. A Cohort created in GENF1000, associated with a particular Process Type and Calendar Instance, and optionally assigned a Start Date and Time and an End Date and Time defines the process window. These Start and End Dates define the period of time the Cohort Process Window is available. Cohort Process Windows are defined in GENF1100 (Maintain Cohort Process Windows).

Special Note: Normally, the Process Type PE-RESULT (results inquiry) will have at least one Cohort Process Window for each assessment period. If not, the results application is available at all times. The application has logic that displays results for Teaching Periods in the latest occurring Academic Year with finalised outcomes. However, the display of results for individual unit attempts can be protected by setting the unit attempt override outcome due date, which is effectively a publication date. It protects the Unit Attempt Outcome from view if the current Date/Time is less than the Override Outcome Due Date/Time. This date is set via the job ENRJ0100 (Set Student Unit Attempt Override Outcome Date).

The Roll Over Cohort Process Window job, GENJ0040, is used to create new instances of Cohort Process Windows in another calendar, using existing instances as a pattern.

Accessing Applications with Cohort Process Windows

The use of Cohort Process Windows when accessing applications is transparent to the user. When selecting an application from a menu, a process automatically checks the Cohort Process Windows to determine if the user has access to the application. If a valid Cohort Process Window is open, the application is displayed to the user. If they do not satisfy any of the valid Cohort Process Window rules for the application, access is denied and an information message is displayed explaining why they have not been provided access. For example, if a student attempts to access their results and results release is not available yet - a message is displayed.

A background process performs Cohort Process Window checking. Each application in Callista Connect has one or more Process Types mapped against it. The method of checking the Process Types for valid Cohort Process Windows differs depending on whether the application has a single Process Type mapped against it or if it has multiple Process Types (see below).

If a person satisfies standard authentication checks and other application-specific checks, they are granted access to an application if the following Cohort Process Window checks are satisfied:

A Cohort Process Window exists for the context Process Type, if Cohort Process Windows are required. See details provided above about how some Process Types do not necessarily require Cohort Process Windows to enable access.
The Cohort Process Window Start Date and Time is less than or equal to the current Date and Time.
The Cohort Process Window End Date and Time are greater than the current Date and Time.
The Prevent Access indicator for the relevant Cohort Process Window has not been set.
The rule definition for the relevant Cohort Process Window has been satisfied; and
The Cohort status is ACTIVE.

If any of the above are not satisfied, the student is not given access to the application. However, there are several variations to these conditions that can affect access. They are:

When an application is accessed via another application with a different Process Type (ie. a sub-application), Process Window checking is performed for the context Process Type and not the Process Type of the application. For example, a student has gained access to the Self-Enrolment application through the ENROLMENT Process Type. If they then access the GOVT-STATS application as an Enrolment step within the Self-Enrolment application, they have a context Process Type of ENROLMENT. Any Cohort Process Window checking for the GOVT-STATS application is performed against the context Process Type - ENROLMENT and not against any other Process Types mapped to the application such as the GOVT-STATS Process Type.
If a person has more than one Course Attempt and a valid Cohort Process Window exists for only one of those courses at the time of access, then only that course will be available through the application. For example, a student is enrolled in courses X and Y. A valid Cohort Process Window exists for course X in the PE-RESULT application. The ability to view results for course Y is not yet available at the time of access because a valid Cohort Process Window does not exist. When the student accesses the PE-RESULT application they can therefore only see results for course X. Course Y results will be displayed as '**'.

For a detailed summary on Process Types and the issues with accessing related applications refer to the Special Topics.

Applications with a Single Process Type

When a user accesses an application with only one Process Type mapped against it, the Cohort Process Window checking is performed only for the Process Type mapped to the application. If the person cannot access the Process Type mapped to the application because they do not satisfy the Cohort Process Window rule, the process does not examine any other Process Types for valid Cohort Process Windows.

Here is a list of applications with a single Process Type mapped:

Application	Description	Purpose	Process Type
ADV-STND	Advanced Standing Inquiry	Enables users to view details of all GRANTED Advanced Standing within a specified Course Attempt	SCA-CENR
AS-ALTUNIT	Advanced Standing Alternate Units Inquiry	Displays the alternative unit/s for a unit from which the students has been precluded	SCA-CENR
CMPREQ-CRS	Course Completion Requirements Inquiry	Enables a user to evaluate their Course Attempt in relation to Course Version Completion rules	SCA-CENR
CMPREQ-CST	Course Stage Completion Requirements Inquiry	Enables a user to evaluate their Course Stages in relation to Course Stage Completion rules	SCA-CENR
CMPREQ-CUS	Course Unit Sets Completion Requirements Inquiry	Enables a user to evaluate their Unit Sets in relation to Unit Set Completion rules.	SCA-CENR
CRSCMP-DTL	Course Completion Details Inquiry	Enables a user to view their course details in relation to Credit Point requirements and nominated completion year.	SCA-CENR
ECAN	Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Notice	The Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Notice (eCAN) is used to enable students to view their Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) details online.	ECAN
ENR-COE	Confirmation of Enrolment	Using Callista Connect, a student can now check Enrolment details by going to the Confirmation of Enrolment screen.	ENR-COE
FEE-TYPE	Fee Type Inquiry	Displays explanations for the user's Fee Types	FIN-INQ
FEETYP-DTL	Fee Type Detail Inquiry	Display's all of the users Fee information for a Fee Type (FIN-RSTRCT for Student Connect to prevent students from seeing Course Attempt Fee details for certain courses)	FIN-INQ FIN-RSTRCT
OUTSTND-BAL	Outstanding Balance Inquiry	Displays debt or amounts still owing (FIN-RSTRCT for Student Connect to prevent students from seeing Course Attempt Fee details for certain courses)	FIN-INQ FIN-RSTRCT
PE-ADDRINQ	Person Address Inquiry	Displays the user's current and future Addresses	PE-ADDRINQ
PE-RESULT	Person Results Inquiry	Enables a user to view their current and past Results	PE-RESULT
PYMNT-RECV	Payments Received Inquiry	Display's all Payments by the user (FIN-RSTRCT for Student Connect to prevent students from seeing Course Attempt Fee details for certain courses)	FIN-INQ FIN-RSTRCT
SCA-CENR	Student Course Attempt Current Enrolment Inquiry	Enables a user to view details of all of their Course Attempts	SCA-CENR
SCA-EX-UPD	Student Exam Location Update	Enables the user to update their nominated Examination Location	SCA-EX-UPD
STUD-EXAM	Student Exam Timetable Inquiry	Displays details of the user's Examinations	EXAM-TT
SUA-CENR	Student Unit Attempt Current Enrolment Inquiry	Enables users to view details of all of their Unit Attempts within a specified course	SCA-CENR
SUSA-CENR	Student Unit Set Attempt Current Enrolment Inquiry	Enables users to view details of all their Unit Set Attempts for a specified course	SCA-CENR
SUSA-ENR	Student Unit Set Attempt Enrolment	Allows users to view Unit Set Attempts, Add/Cancel Unit Sets, access Unit Set Selection and maintain Unit Set Enrolment	SUSA-ENR
UOO-SELECT	Unit Offering Option Select	Enables the user to select Unit Offering Options for inclusion in their Course Attempt	UOO-SELECT
US-SELECT	Select Unit Set	This restriction is part of SUSA-ENR and should be used for US-SELECT also. If no Cohort is defined, then students will still be able to enter application. When coming through Enrolment Steps, and a valid SUSA-ENR Cohort Process Window does not exist, then do not show any actions or allow any updating. However, students should be able to view the Unit Sets. When coming through Standalone mode, and a valid SUSA-ENR Cohort Process Window does not exist, then do not allow the student into the application	SUSA-ENR

Applications with Multiple Process Types

For an application with multiple Process Types mapped, process window checking is undertaken in the order defined within the System.

Here is a list of all applications with multiple Process Types and the order the Process Types are checked for valid Cohort Process Windows

Application	Description	Purpose	Process Type	Process Order
ENR-SCAE	Enrolment Course Attempt Selection	Enables a user to view their current Course Attempt details	VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2
ENR-STEPS	Enrolment Course Attempt Steps	Defines the available steps for Self-Enrolment	VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2
GOVT-STATS	Government Statistics	Enables a user to update their Government Statistics details. For example, citizenship	GOVT-STATS VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2 3
PE-ADDRUPD	Person Address Update	Enables a user to update Addresses, but only for Address Types with an existing current or future Address	PE-ADDRUPD VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2 3
PE-PERSON	Person Details Update	Enables a user to view their basic Person Details and update selected details	PE-PERSON VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2 3
PERSON-INQ	Person Inquiry	Displays information to a user such as disclaimer information or a declaration	PERSON-INQ VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2 3
SCA-UPD	Student Course Attempt Maintenance	Enables a user to update selected Course Attempt details	SCA-UPD VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2 3
SUA-UPD	Student Unit Attempt Maintenance	Enables a user to update their Unit Attempt details such as confirming a unit or discontinuing a unit	VARIATION ENROLMENT	1 2

Applications Without a Process Type

Within Callista Connect there is a facility for recording user-defined applications. This is to allow institutions to incorporate their own applications in Callista Connect. However, these user-defined applications do not have a System Process Type mapped to them and therefore Cohort Process Windows cannot be applied to the user-defined application.

If it is necessary to associate user-defined applications with Cohort Process Windows, a new Process Type may be added to the S_PROCESS_TYPE table. By giving it the same name as the user-defined application Cohort Process Windows can be created for the application.

Special Topics

A Special Topics document is included to provide a detailed summary of Process Type information.

The Special Topics section also includes information on setting up Cohort Process Windows in such a way as to prevent access to the Enrolment variation process if the initial Enrolment process has not been completed and using the ADD-UNIT or DROP-UNIT Process Type.

Last Modified on 4 November, 2010 2:39 PM

History Information

Release Version	Project	Change to Document
13.1	1633 -Cohort Process Windows Rollover	Added section on Cohort Process Window rollover

In this section: