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User Accounts for DOE Web-based Data Collections

1. Introduction

This document describes how users can gain access to web-based applications hosted by the New Jersey Department of Education. Primarily, these users are staff members in school districts, Charter Schools, and County Offices of the Department of Education. This document is available on the department’s home page (http://www.state.nj.us/njded/data/collections).

2. Overview

The New Jersey Department of Education plans to build internet-based applications to replace existing DOS-based (EDCPC) data collection software and to meet new requirements as they arise.

Each of these internet-based applications will be accessible through a password-protected login page. To successfully login, a user must provide their district code, userid and password. The login requirement prevents unauthorized persons from gaining access to or modifying data for a particular district or charter school.

Each individual who uses an internet-based application must have their own personal account, consisting of their district code (9999 for county office staff), name, and an individual password. Each user may be authorized to access several data collections.

The creation, authorization and modification of these individual user IDs is managed within each district or charter school by a single individual. This individual is referred to as the Web Administrator of a district or Charter School. Specific, written authorization from the School Business Administrator or Charter School Lead Person is required to establish an internet-based account for the Administrator.

Once an account for the Web Administrator has been established, the Web Administrator can create and maintain individual User accounts using an online application. Maintaining a User’s account includes authorizing them to use individual data collection applications.

It is extremely important that Administrator and User account passwords not be shared with any other staff. Accounts are established for the use of a specific individual; the individual’s identity will be associated with all data created or modified during a session initiated by their login.

It is important to keep your list of accounts current. To do this:

Each Web Administrator can add or modify User accounts as staff members are hired, leave, or change roles. This person has access to User account passwords and the ability to modify them. See Sections 4-6 for details.
Web Administrator accounts should be replaced whenever the person responsible for this role changes. See Sections 7 and 9 for details.
Current, accurate email address information must be maintained for all Web Administrators. See Section 8 for details on how to update this information.

3. The Web User Administrator Application

To access the User Admin application, choose the "Web User Administrator" link on the data collections home page (http://homeroom.state.nj.us/). Only Web Administrators may access this application.

To login as the Web Administrator for your district or Charter School, type the appropriate District ID (your district code), User ID and Password.

Once you have logged in to the application, you have access to the following two parts of the application:

User Administration- this section lets you Update or Delete existing User accounts, Add or Delete authority for each account to use "Projects" (data collection applications), and Add New User accounts;
Administrator Profile- this section lets you update email, password, phone number and fax number information.

4. Establishing User Accounts

Within the Web Administration application, you may create new User accounts with the following information: User ID, Password, First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Fax Number, Email Address. A second, Alternative Email Address can be provided.

To create a User account, click the "User Administration" button. On the next page, locate and click the "Add New User" Button at the top or bottom of the User table. You must enter the appropriate information on the "Add User" page and click the "Add" button when finished.

Please note that each account can be authorized as either a District-level or a School-level user. In some cases, data entry may be done by personnel who are authorized only for data related to a certain school. If you want to make certain that a User account will have access to all of your district’s data, accept the default and create the user as a District Level user. This particular decision cannot be modified later, so choose carefully.

When you create a User account, you must select a single "Project" (data collection application) that this user will be authorized to access. Others may be added later. We have included the first authorization in the process for creating accounts for your convenience. Please note which project is selected by default as you create a new account. You may wish to select a different project instead.

5. Authorizing Users For a "Project"

Each user is authorized for a single project during the process of creating the User account, as described above. Additional projects can be added later, as needed. Each user must be explicitly authorized for each "project" to which they should have access.

To add authorization for additional projects, find the account you wish to modify under User Administration (User ID is shown in the 2^nd column of the User Administration table). Click on "Add" in the "Add Project" column of the row corresponding to this User ID.

This will bring up a new page. Unauthorized applications are shown on the left; applications for which this User account has already been authorized are shown on the right. Select a "Project" (application) you would like to add from the list on the left and click "Add Project." Do this once for each "Project" you want to authorize. When you are finished, click "Back to Previous Page."

6. Unauthorizing Users for a "Project"

To remove access to a "project" from a user account, find the account you wish to modify under User Administration (User ID is shown in the 2nd column of the User Administration table). Since this account may appear in several rows of the table, find the row with "project" you want to unauthorize in the Delete Project column. CLick on this project name. You must confirm that you want to remove authorization for this project by clicking the "Delete Project" button on the next page.

7. Changing User Profiles

To change a User Profile, find that User in the User ID column of the User Administration table. Click on the User ID.

This brings up a Modify User Profile page where user information can be modified. Password, Last Name, First Name, Phone Number, Fax Number, Email Address and Alternative Email Address can all be modified on this page. Click into each field to modify the information, then click the "Modify" button at the bottom of this page (the changes will not be implemented until after this button is clicked).

8. Establishing Administrator Accounts

Each School District or Charter School must have only one Administrator account. Until this account has been established, none of the functions described here can be carried out.

To create an initial Web Administrator account, the Create Administrator form should be filled out, signed by the School Business Administrator or Charter School Lead Person, and faxed to the Office of Information Technology at (609) 633-9865. A PDF version of this form is available on the department’s website at http://state.nj.us/njded/data/collections.

An email will be sent to the address given on this form to notify you that the Administrator account has been created.

9. Updating the Administrator Profile

Because we periodically send information about the status of current and upcoming data collections via email, it is very important that each Web Administrator Profile includes a current and accurate email address. This and other Profile information can be modified online.

To change Profile information, login to the Web User Administrator application using the Web Administrator’s User ID and Password and select "Administrator Profile". In much the same way as User account information can be modified (see above), this function can be used to change the Administrator’s Password, Phone Number, Fax Number, Email Address and Alternative Email Address.

Select the appropriate fields, change the information and click "Modify" (the changes will not be implemented until after this button is clicked).

10. Changing Administrator Accounts

Transfers of responsibility for the Web Administrator role from one individual to another require the creation of an account for the new administrator. This should be done using the same procedures used to establish the original Administrator account (see Section 7). Any existing Web Administrator account will be disabled when a new one is created. Please note that this is more easily done while the outgoing administrator is still available to explain the role to the incoming administrator.