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Frequently Asked Questions about Implementation of the WSLS
Enrollment
WSLS Maintenance
WSLS & Other DPI Applications
Technical Issues
- Who is responsible for submitting and updating student records in the
Wisconsin Student Number Locator System (WSLS) data base?
All Wisconsin school districts (ch.119 and ch.120, stats.),
nondistrict charter schools (s. 118.40(2r), stats.), and schools governed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Department of Health Services (DHS) are responsible for
submitting and updating records for students enrolled. Requirements that apply to school districts also apply to nondistrict charter schools, but are limited for DOC and DHS schools. Data for students served by County Children with Disabilities Education Boards
schools, Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the
Wisconsin School for the Deaf are submitted by the districts sending
students to these schools.
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- Which students count as enrolled for WSLS purposes?
A student is "enrolled" in your district if the student receives his/her
primary PK-12 educational services either (1) directly from
district employees or (2) from a third party (not another Wisconsin district) under the direct supervision of your district. Services provided by district employees or third parties might be received
in a school building, library, hospital, county corrections, college, or any
other location. Services include but are not limited to IEP services and may or may not be provided in standard full school day increments. PK includes a wide range of services such as Title I preschool, Headstart, special education birth through age 2 programs and more.
Many districts/schools arrange and supervise educational services for
enrolled students through agreements or contracts with third-parties.
Third parties might include technical colleges, community-based
organizations, nonprofit-nonsectarian agencies, universities, school to work
program providers, cooperative educational service agencies, out-of-state
school districts, private schools, residential care centers, Wisconsin
Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Wisconsin School for the Deaf,
County Children with Disabilities Education Board schools, etc.
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- How will the WSLS data base be kept current to reflect student
movements between schools and districts?
Your district will need to update and/or add enrollment records to the WSLS data base to document all student movements between schools and districts. If the student exits a school then the student's enrollment record at that school should be updated to include an exit date. If a student enrolls at a new school, then a new school enrollment record should be added for that student.
This means that exit/update files submitted after the initial student load should include exit dates for students exiting any school(s) in your district. This also means that the student load files (AKA locate/assign WSN file transactions) submitted after the initial student load should include the following students:
- Any student who enrolls in the district/school at any time after the
initial student load.
- Any student who was enrolled in a school, exited that school, and later
came back to that same school.
If the student enrolls and exits from a school before the file is sent, then
the student should be sent along with the enroll date and exit date for that
school. If the student enrolls in a school and it has been determined that
they were previously at that school, then the WSN can be sent to enroll the
student. This allows the school to speed up the process of claiming a
student and enroll the student in the school at the state level.
Exit/update and locate/assign transactions can also be processed via on-line data entry. From the WSLS Main Menu, click on Individual Student Update to enter exit dates or to update data in an existing school enrollment record. Click on Individual Student Search/Match Review or Mass Student Entry to add new students or to add new school enrollment records for existing students. Click on Mass Student Transfer to process mass movements of students between schools such as occurs between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next.
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- What is meant by the phrase "school term"?
School term is defined by s. 115.001, Stats, to mean "the time commencing
with the first school day and ending with the last school day that the
schools of a school district are in operation for attendance of pupils in a
school year, other than for the operation of summer classes." The beginning
date of the school term is usually on or after September 1. [More]
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- In which schools should districts submit students who receive
services from multiple schools simultaneously?
Submit students as enrolled in one and only one school at any given point
in time. If a student receives services from multiple schools
simultaneously, then report the student as enrolled in the school that
directly supervises the primary educational services for this
student. In determining the scope of the services supervised by a school,
consider services provided by school employees and, when applicable, third
parties pursuant to district contracts or agreements. Educational programs
that have no students enrolled are not considered schools. See school
definition at http://dpi.wi.gov/lbstat/defini.html
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- In which schools should districts submit students receiving services
from third parties and/or at locations outside of school buildings or students with disabilities covered by a service plan recieving services from a private school?
For most students, submit students as enrolled in the school that is responsible for
supervising his/her primary educational services regardless of where the
services are provided. All students "enrolled" are expected to receive
services under the supervision of a school within the district whether these
services are provided by school employees or by a third party that is
directly supervised by the school. Usually the school with this
responsibility is the school that would serve the student if the student
physically attended classes in a school building in your district.
Sometimes a separate school is assigned responsibility for supervising
educational services provided in this manner. Certain larger districts have
created a school specifically for this purpose of supervising the education
of students not served within school buildings.
For the small number of students with disabilities covered by a service plan who are placed by a parent in a private school, submit students as enrolled in the school that is responsible for supervising the service plan.
Generally, public reporting of student outcomes including test results,
dropouts, high school completion, and attendance will be by school of
enrollment. Examples of exceptions include students residing in another
district who attend school in your district pursuant to an IEP.
See also the definition of a school provided at:
http://dpi.wi.gov/lbstat/defini.html. Contact
dpistats@dpi.wi.gov for more information.
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- Which district submits data for students who receive services in
multiple districts simultaneously?
Submit students as enrolled in one and only one district at any given
point in time. If a student receives services from multiple districts
simultaneously, then submit the student as enrolled in the district that
most directly supervises the primary educational services for this
student. Examples are provided below.
Example 1: If pursuant to District A IEP a student with
disabilities is receiving his/her primary educational services from District
B, then District B submits data for that student.
Example 2: If pursuant to District A IEP a student with
disabilities is served by the Wisconsin School for the Deaf and if the
School for the Deaf has an agreement with District B to provide some
services to the student, then District A would submit data for this
student.
Example 3: If a student attends District A under part-time open enrollment, but the student's primary educational services are provided by District B, then District B would submit data for the student. (Note: If a student attends District A under a full-time open enrollment program, then District A would submit data for the student.)
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- What enrollment date should be used for students who have enrolled
and withdrawn multiple times during the school term?
Beginning in 2004-05 we will need a separate enrollment date for each
continuous period of enrollment at any given school. The school enrollment
date should not be before a student is actually present to receive services
in a school.
Enrollment status would be considered "continuous" if it is not
interrupted by enrollment status in another school. Enrollment is not
interrupted simply by truancy, suspensions, breaks in school sessions, or
breaks during the operation of summer classes. Expulsions do not interrupt
enrollment status either, if the student continues to receive his/her
primary educational services through the school.
Beginning in 2006-07 we will need a separate enrollment date for each
continuous period of enrollment for students with disabilities covered by a service plan who are placed by a parent in a private school. The enrollment date should be the first day the student received services covered by the service plan.
Example 1: Student receives services in School A beginning
on September 7, 2004. This student attends every school day through
November, but he/she is truant most of November and is suspended in
December. After winter break the student shows up again and attends every
school day through end of the school term. The student shows up the next
fall and continues to attend. This student has one enrollment date for
School A: September 7, 2004.
Example 2: Student receives services in School A beginning
on April 7, 2004. This student takes the summer off, reappears at School A
on September 7, 2004, transfers to School B on October 20, 2004, then
transfers back to School A on November 8, 2004. The student has separate
enrollment dates for each continuous period of enrollment in each school:
School A - April 7, 2004 (exit date October 20, 2004), School B - October
20, 2004 (exit date November 5, 2004), and School A again -November 8,
2004.
Enrollment dates are needed for each period of continuous enrollment in
each school in order to meet attendance, full academic year, and acquisition
of English proficiency reporting requirements under ESEA.
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- What is meant by the phrase "school session"?
School session is defined by s. 115.001, Stats, to mean "the time during
a school term
that the schools of a school district are operated for the attendance of
pupils.
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- When can districts add students to or change existing student data in
the WSLS data base?
Any time. Student data in the WSLS data base should be kept as
current as possible. Every time a student enrolls in a new school or
district, a new enrollment record should be added to WSLS data base. Every
time a student exits a school or district, his or her legal name changes, or
errors are found, changes should be made to existing WSN records. These
records can be added and changes made at any time by authorized
district/school personnel through on-line data entry. Records can be added
by uploading new csv or xml files. Some smaller districts or schools may
choose to add or change records on-line on an occasional, as needed basis.
Larger districts and schools may do batch file processing daily or weekly.
Districts may establish internal procedures governing the method and
timing of additions or changes to student data. Districts may download
their WSLS data at any time to cross check with local student information
systems. It is recommended that data base additions and changes be
processed prior to any reporting to
DPI that uses the WSLS data base including but not limited to
ISES reporting (October). Your district will need some lead time to process
data errors and possible student matches in the WSN assignment process.
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- Why is it important to keep the WSLS data base complete
and current?
If WSLS data base records are complete and accurate, then
the automated matching process will be more efficient and identifying the
transferring student in the list of possible matches will be easier for
districts and schools. Schools and districts are strongly encouraged to
provide as much optional data about as many students as possible and to
update data as necessary to facilitate the matching process. If this is
done, then schools can better account for students who are highly mobile,
more readily exchange student records, and respond more quickly to student
needs.
If the data base is not current, or if the data are
inaccurate or incomplete, then the system will be less efficient and
students are more likely to have more than one WSN. Timely submission of
exit dates are especially important to facilitate WSN system
processing of movements to new schools. Students with more than one WSN
will be associated with more than one enrollment record, increasing the
likelihood that students who have transferred to a new school will be
reported as dropouts by a previous school, and student records from previous
schools will not be accessible to the new school.
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- What is the relationship between the WSLS and the
ISES?
To meet ESEA report card requirements, we are in the process of
developing a WSLS and an Individual
Student Enrollment System (ISES).
The purpose of WSLS is to assign permanent, unique, and
unduplicated numbers to students. WSNs will be used in lieu of names to collect data in the fall of each year through the Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES). Gender,
race, and school enrollment dates needed for fall ISES-reporting are
included in the WSLS data base.
The purpose of the ISES is (1) to report disaggregated dropout,
graduation, attendance, and English proficiency acquisition data by school
as required to produce ESEA-mandated reports and (2) to collect a limited
amount of other data as necessary related collections including WSAS Pre-ID IDEA
reporting.
For more information about ISES, see
http://dpi.wi.gov/lbstat/isesprepar.html. For more
information about the WSLS, see
http://dpi.wi.gov/lbstat/wsnprepare.html.
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- How will the WSLS affect
attendance data used for Wisconsin School Performance Report purposes?
The Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES) replaced the 2004-05 Wisconsin School Performance Report attendance collection in the fall of 2005. Attendance data as collected in ISES for each student in each school attended so these data can be aggregated by school and by student group. Gender, race, and school enrollment dates needed for the fall ISES collection will come from the WSLS data base. Additional student demographic data needed for full disaggregation under ESEA will come from ISES.
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- What is the relationship between the WSN/ISES enrollment count and
the PI
1563 membership count?
Both ISES and PI 1563 are used to produce fall student counts of
students. Both include data about students served within school
buildings, outside of school buildings, by district employees, and by third
parties. Differences in the purposes of these two collections affect
which students count for which districts and whether or how much each
student counts. ISES student counts are primarily used to meet
federally-mandated accountability requirements. PI 1563 membership counts
are used as a basis for state aid payments under state law. State aid
payments and accountability do not always go hand in hand.
Generally state law provides that districts receive state aid for
students who reside in their district and who attend district schools or for
whom the district pays full-time tuition. These districts may have little
or no control over services affecting the academic progress of certain
students for whom state law requires that they pay tuition. Some examples
include open enrollment (118.51), tuition waiver (121.84), integration
transfer (ch. 220), and certain youth challenge academy (Department of
Military Affairs) placements. Districts have only limited control over
educational services provided to nontuition private school students who
attend district schools while taking only a course or two (118.145). These
part-time private school students are counted for state aid purposes on a
prorated basis to cover costs.
A district is accountable for a student's progress only if the
district directly provides, or oversees the provision of, the primary
educational services for the student. ISES data for a student are
generally (but not always) submitted by the accountable district which may
or may not be the district of residence. In relatively rare situations a
district oversees the provision of the primary educational services by
another district (e.g. IEP placements); in these situations the latter
district submits the ISES data but the former district may be accountable.
(See FAQ #2 and FAQ #11.) The ISES data collection will include fields so
adjustments for public accountability reporting purposes can be made after
ISES data are submitted as appropriate.
Total statewide counts under ISES and membership will not match. Certain
students are outside the age range for state aid eligibility so don't count
for membership. Enrollments in part-day or part-week preschool and
kindergarten programs or in a high school course or two are prorated for
membership purposes. All students count for ISES if they receive their
primary PK-12 educational services either directly from a district or
through a third party agreement/contract regardless of the student's
age or the number of hours the program operates. So many of the
students enrolled in part-day or part-week preschool/kindergarten programs
would count in the ISES headcount (not prorated) and many of the students
taking only a high school course or two would not count in ISES at all.
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- Will ISES and membership collections be consolidated?
Full consolidation will be a challenge without changes in laws. Lack of alignment
between educational and financial responsibilities complicate efforts to
consolidate. But the major barrier to ISES/PI 1563 membership consolidation
appears to be the need for membership data in early October in order to make
state aid payments.
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- How will school enroll dates and exit dates be used in the WSLS and in ISES?
Enrollment and exit dates will be used for multiple data collection, reporting, and accountability purposes including logic checks, routing of email requests and notifications, student counts on count dates, duration of enrollment at a school, calculation of certain fields/codes and more
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- How should districts and schools use sequence numbers in naming files
for upload to WSLS?
Each file to be uploaded to the WSLS must be uniquely
identifiable by its filename. The district number, school number, date, and
sequence number are included in the filename and are used for this purpose.
Each time a file is created locally for potential upload to the WSN Locator
System, districts or schools should increment the sequence number by one
even if the file is not actually uploaded. The sequence number for each
district or school file to be uploaded does not have to be consecutive. An
error will not be generated if the first file uploaded is 00001 and then
file uploaded is 00003. Files for the same district or school on the same
day will be assumed to have been generated in the order of the sequence
numbers. Districts and vendors can choose whether or not to make the
sequence number dependent upon the school number. For more information see
the Interface Specifications at
http://dpi.wi.gov/lbstat/wsnspec.html
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- Is there a preferred file format for uploads to the WSLS?
The preferred method is XML since it will allow for more flexibility.
Both CSV and XML are options. There are no plans to discontinue the CSV
option. Districts using spreadsheet software to create CSV files may find the CSV tips page useful.
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- Can a district or school use spreadsheet or word processing software to create CSV files for upload?
Using spreadsheet or wordprocessing software to create CSV files for WSLS purposes is possible but is likely to be a challenge. These types of software have features that change your file or file name without notice. Districts may find the CSV tips page useful.
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- Can a district or school submit files in XML format and receive
files in CSV format or vice versa?
Each district and school will specify the format (AKA "Data Submit Method") of files they will submit and
receive from the WSLS. The format for file upload/download to/from
the WSLS must be the same. To specify or change file formats for upload/download, authorized WSLS users can select the District/School WSLS Preferences option from the WSLS Main Menu.
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- Are there certain characters that should not be used in CSV or XML files?
Yes. DPI recommends that ONLY numbers, letters, "-", and "." be used for WSLS and ISES purposes. Note that certain commonly used characters such as < (less than), > (greater than), & (ampersand), ' (apostrophe), ~ (tilde), ` (accent), and subscript will cause file failures.
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- When I attempt to upload a file, I receive an error that the file extension does not match the value in the preferences table. How do I correct this?
You need to specify the "Data Submit Method" (CSV or XML) using the District/School WSLS Preferences screen. WSLS uses the "Data Submit Method" for file uploads and download purposes. The "Data Submit Method" specified for your school(s) must match the file being uploaded. You must complete the District / School WSLS Preferences before you can submit WSLS data.
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- How do I retrieve the WSNs of students who required Match Review?
Select "File Download Request" from the WSLS Main Menu to create a file that includes these WSNs. Under “Select Student File Layout” select "Layout"(Baseline/WSN File). Under "Select Student File Type" select "Assignment Date". Under "Enter Date Range" include the Start Date and End Date during which you worked on Match Review.
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- I am submitting a CSV file, but receive an XML error report stating that file processing has stopped at a fatal error. What must I do to correct this?
The WSLS file upload converts CSV files to XML files for processing. This error occurs when the file is severely flawed. Work with your local programming staff or vendor to correct the file. Refer to the interface specifications for further information.
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- The result report shows a failure and several specific error messages. After I correct the errors, do I submit all the students in the original file?
Yes. When a file failure occurs during processing, correct the errors, then resubmit the entire file Do not attempt to work through possible matches until you receive a successful result report.
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- How do I resolve the error stating that the file format is incorrect when attempting to upload a file?
Review the following list to determine the cause of your error.
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- The submission status shows my file is completed, but there are no reports on the results screen. How do I continue?
Select 'All Schools' and click the 'Refresh' button. If you do not see a result report for your file, contact the WSLS Help Desk such that we may resubmit your file for processing.
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- The district administrator has designated me as the WSLS / ISES Administrator via the Delegated Authority application, why am I not able to access the WSLS?
The WSLS / ISES Administrator must use the Delegated Authority application to assign himself / herself a role within the WSLS. Note that there is a short wait time following role assignment before a user may access the WSLS.
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- When completing Match Review to request a new WSN, I receive an error creating the WSN which instructs me to contact the system administrator. What must I do?
This error is sometimes experienced during periods of heavy useage of the WSLS. In most cases, the request is
successful on the second try.
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- What are the supported browser and operating system configurations?
Platform Browser/Version
PC / Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
PC / Firefox 3.0 or higher
This is subject to change when additional browser versions are identified to be in compliance with WSLS requirements.
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- When I attempt to log into the WSLS, I receive an error stating that my login is locked. How do I unlock it?
Too many unsuccessful login attempts will result in a locked user account. To unlock your account you must reset your password using Account Recovery.
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- I do not remember the answer to my secret question, how do I complete Account Recovery?
To retrieve the answer to your secret question, you must contact the 'Support Center' at ON.WISCONSIN.GOV. On the support center form, specifically state that you have forgotten the answer to your secret question and request that it be emailed to you.
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- How do I resolve an Information Alert - Error 403?
Refer to the instructions on the WSLS Link page.
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- What is the purpose of the three character codes included in WSLS file names?
These codes tell WSLS how to process files submitted by your district, and they tell districts about the contents of files returned by WSLS. For more information see "WSLS File Naming Conventions."
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Last updated on 6/14/2011 12:13:24 PM
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