2016.4.0

4/9/2016

This was a LACES NexGen release only. No legacy LACES functionality was affected in this release.

LACES NexGen has been updated to be 'responsive' to various monitor display sizes. Most of the changes required to make this update did not affect the overall look of the application, but you will notice that a few things look differently.

What changed?

  1. Detail records and detail headers now display in 3 columns. For example, when you open a student record, the fields at Key Info display in three columns. Intake pages also display in three columns.
  2. On smaller monitors, the field names may be truncated to maintain the 3-column format. To see the whole field name, hold your mouse over the field label.
  3. Additional areas display at the top bar, and will compress under the 'More' area if you are working on a smaller monitor display.
  4. Long field names in the student assessment header have been abbreviated.
  5. Depending on your browser, some pop up windows may be smaller.
  6. The Tech Support/Feedback link has been changed to an icon that looks like a question mark, located at the top right next to the person profile icon.

Other Features and Functionality Added

  • Staff and tutors may get non-instructional hours in a class, group, or workshop between their assignment and start date.
  • A new field has been added at the student Education panel called Last Instructional Hours Date. This field is read only and displays the student's last instructional hour. This field may be added to a view
  • The field Last Hours Date at the student Education panel has been updated to display the date of the student's last hours date, regardless of hours type. This field may be added to a view.
  • Three decimals are now allowed on the enrollment record in the Possible Credits, Grade Points, Earned Credits, and Quality Points numeric fields. The fields do not round up or down, but maintain the number entered.
  • The Pair Data tab in the pair record now has two panels - Student/Tutor and Key Info.
  • The Add Hours workflow has been updated. The calendar, hours type, and number of hours is now a separate window from the hours grid. This change allows the hours grid to be maximized after clicking the Add button so more hours records are visible.

Fixes

  • Numeric fields have been fixed: 2-digit year in IE 11 is now allowed; you now get the Save button when you enter a numeric field (such as the Max Enroll field in classes, groups, and workshops) by using the keyboard or stepper button in the numeric field.
  • The shared view 'NRS' at the student and staff areas has been renamed to NRS Key Data. This is only a view to show key fields that populate NRS reports and the data that has been entered in those fields. This view has no bearing on whether a student or staff is NRS reportable or fundable.
  • Assessment levels were not updating correctly when the user clicked Save on the assessment card without first clicking elsewhere on the window. This has been corrected.

GED Update

GEDTS announced in January 2016 that the passing scores for the GED 2014 assessment that was released in January 2014, have been lowered. A passing score for each subtest is now 145 - 200.

This change was retroactive to January 2014. To accommodate the new scores, the following was done in this release.

  1. The assessment configuration in LACES was updated with the new passing score for all ABE and literacy clients EXCEPT those ABE states who are not changing their assessment policy. If you are not sure if your ABE state changed to the new passing score, please contact your agency or state director.
  2. GED scores already entered from January 1, 2014 to the present were recalculated based on the new passing score. This means that some students in previous fiscal years who took the GED but failed, may have actually passed based on the new score.
  3. Assessments were synced for the current fiscal year only. This updated the current level for any student who pre-tested at High Adult Secondary, then failed the GED prior to the score update. If the student actually passed the GED based on the score change, the assessments were 'synced' to show that the student Completed High Adult Secondary.
  4. Assessments will NOT be synced for prior fiscal years to affect a level change. Only the GED 2014 total score was recalculated for prior fiscal year students.

For more information regarding the score change, visit GEDTS..