NYSSIS Resources and Information
翱惫别谤惫颈别飞听触触听搁别蝉辞耻谤肠别蝉:听NYSSIS User Guide听|听Data Flow听|听Timeline
Level 1/LEA Support听|听NYSSIS FAQ听(Frequently Asked Questions)
Overview
NYSSIS听(NYS Student Identification System) provides unique statewide identification numbers to all students participating in the NYS P-12 (Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade) Student Information Repository System, or听SIRS, also called the statewide (Level 2) student data warehouse. Regional (Level 1) data center operators send NYSSIS ID request files to the NYSSIS application in the form of data extracts containing local (Level 0) student records, which have been submitted by participating LEAs (Local Education Agencies, such as Public school districts, Charter schools and Nonpublic schools).
Typically, student records are processed by LEAs through a local "Level 0 application" (or equivalent system), and these records are in turn staged in the LEA's host site's (their regional Level 1 data center's) data warehouse. The Level 1 host then does comparisons against its Student tables to compare the local ID, date of birth, and first and last names to determine if the student already has an assigned NYSSIS ID elsewhere in that L1's region. If a match cannot be made, a "request file" extract is submitted to the NYSSIS application (along with additional data elements to improve matching candidacy outcomes), which will determine whether the student should be matched to an existing record from another L1 Center within NYS, or if it should be assigned a new NYSSIS ID. Details of this process are outlined in the听NYSSIS User Guide.
The NYSSIS application currently employs a complex series of 鈥渘ear-matching鈥 algorithms performed by ChoiceMaker software, which compares any of the 24 possible data elements. Overall, name and date of birth are most critical, and are weighted higher than any other elements. Near-matching uses dozens of sophisticated statistical and other variably weighted analyses. These include natural language processing such as SoundEx, Jaro-Winkler, and Edit Distance; custom clues to detect naming conventions used within many languages; geolocation clues such as zip code and street address proximity; and many others.
NYSSIS IDs are maintained in a transactional data table, storing all submitted changes to demographic data elements associated with each ID, as well as associations to related records when IDs are changed (merged, deprecated, etc.). This allows NYSSIS to better maintain data accuracy and improve matching quality over time. This master table is leveraged by Level 2 systems for data synchronization across Level 1 Centers and within the Level 0 Historical application (used to make corrections to prior year records when applicable).
NYSSIS IDs are now also used outside the NYS P-12 system to provide longitudinal linkages for disaggregated research on students who have gone on from the P-12 system to higher education at SUNY and CUNY campuses. NYSSIS IDs may also make future longitudinal education research across 鈥淧-20鈥 groups possible (agencies outside the Education Department), such as collaborations on workforce development initiatives and so on.
More high-level information on NYSSIS and the levels of the statewide student data warehouse, including systems and data flow diagrams, can be found in the SIRS Manual (found on the IRS Web听SIRS resources page; see link at top of that page).
NYSSIS听Resources
NYSSIS User Guide听|听Data Flow听|听Timeline
Level 1/LEA Support听|听NYSSIS FAQ听(Frequently Asked Questions)
NYSSIS (NYS Student Identification System) User Guide:
听
- For data flow specific to the interactions between the NYSSIS application and the L1 regional warehouse, and between NYSSIS and the statewide Level 2 production warehouse, as well as when and how NYSSIS IDs may be updated (unlinking or merging IDs, deleting IDs) and propagated back to both L1 and L2 as well as to the Level 0 Historical applications, see the NYSSIS User Guide (above).
- For general data flow through the SIRS data warehouse, see the SIRS Manual, found on the IRS Web听SIRS resources page; link is at the top of the SIRS page.)
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NYSSIS is generally available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This allows Level 1 Centers to schedule automated processing if desired, and allows all NYSSIS Users to access the Student Search and other features at their convenience.
There are times, however, when NYSSIS may be down temporarily for maintenance (usually to implement small changes to the user interface or add new components to the application). In these cases the NYSSIS technical team will post a "down for maintenance" message on the NYSSIS main landing page, and will, whenever possible, notify the NYSSIS Users listserv in advance.
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Troubleshooting and Support for NYSSIS users听:
LEAs听should follow all guidance below.
1.听LEA NYSSIS users听should first review the听NYSSIS User Guide.
2.听LEA NYSSIS users听should next confirm that their official records (entry/exit enrollment codes, dates, etc.), as stored in their own student management system (SMS), matches what their RIC or other regional Level 1 data hosting site has recorded (through the Level 0 application, if applicable, or through any reporting service provided to them by their Level 1 provider).
3. Each LEA has a School Data Coordinator or District Data Coordinator who is responsible for overseeing data flow from the local LEA to the regional Level 1 Host Center. Each Level 1 Host Center manages and maintains the connection between students' Local IDs at the LEA level and the state-provided NYSSIS IDs.听LEA NYSSIS users听working with NYSSIS IDs must work with their own School or District Data Coordinator.听LEA School and District Data Coordinators听must work with the NYSSIS听t听(PoC) at the Level 1 Host Center.
4. Any discrepancies between official records and data recorded in the local SMS (or at Level 1) should be considered for correction following accepted State or local protocols if required for such changes. In many cases,听it may be necessary for Data Coordinators to communicate with another LEA's Data Coordinator听if records conflict. In other cases, Data Coordinators may need a Level 1 NYSSIS PoC to assist in resolving students' statewide NYSSIS IDs discrepancies (see听NYSSIS User Guide听for more information).
All local issues should be submitted to the LEA's Data Coordinator. If an issue need to be escalated to a Level 1 NYSSIS PoC, the Data Coordinator should submit issues to Level 1 (RIC or Big 5 City District) according to the Level 1/Big 5's established troubleshooting procedures. (An overview of 糖心logo入口's guidelines may be found in the听Guidance for RIC/Big 5 UIAS PoCs, Step 4, below.)听LEA NYSSIS users听should听not听report NYSSIS issues directly to 糖心logo入口, as 糖心logo入口 does not directly handle LEA data movement.
If an LEA Data Coordinator's request for assistance cannot be resolved by the Level 1 RIC or Big 5 CSD support team,听Level 1 RIC/Big 5 NYSSIS PoCs听may submit documented inquiries to 糖心logo入口 to听糖心logo入口 datasupport听using the听HELP link in the NYSSIS application.
Recommended troubleshooting documentation听includes capturing and editing screenshots, documenting a click-path (steps/clicks taken to get from point A to point Z), and data that should (or should NOT) be included might include:
- Student NYSSIS and Local IDs (mandatory),
- BEDS code(s) of enrollment location(s) (mandatory),
- Date of relevant report run (if issue is manifesting in such a environment) and/or last known data refresh if referencing local, Level 0 or Level 1 data movement,
- Screenshots,听ensuring that Personally Identifiable Information (PII) are excluded or permanently masked,
- Click-path, including descriptions of links and/or URLs as appropriate,
- Type of PC/Mac, O/S and/or browser software if applicable.
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NYSSIS FAQ听(Frequently Asked Questions):
NYSSIS Accounts and Access
Q:听How can I get access to the NYSSIS application?
A: You must (1) be a member of one of the following organizations: a SIRS-participating LEA (Local Education Agency) such as a public school district, charter school, BOCES, participating nonpublic school, or NY state-operated school OR a member of a 糖心logo入口 Child Nutrition Office-authorized SFA (School Food Authority) AND (2) you must receive authorization from the LEA's or SFA's SEDDAS Administrator (CEO by default; or other CEO-Delegated Administrator (SEDDAS DA))
Q:听I belong to a qualified organization, but my CEO does not seem to have access to grant me a NYSSIS account. What do I need to do?
A: (1) Most importantly,听your CEO鈥檚 contact information must be up to date in 糖心logo入口鈥檚 SEDREF system听() before the CEO has the appropriate SEDDAS account that can manage NYSSIS (or any other 糖心logo入口 System) accounts for your location. The CEO cannot "inherit" CEO-level permissions from a "regular" SEDDAS account created by a previous CEO (or other Delegated Administrator) within the organization. ONLY听updating the CEO contact information听(in the CEO Administrative Role fields)听in SEDREF itself听will allow full CEO rights to be ascribed to that account.
(2) Anyone can publicly access (and/or verify) what 糖心logo入口 has on file about your institution and your institution's CEO using our听.
(3) If the CEO information is wrong, this can be changed by going to the听听(and scrolling down past the SEDREF Resources PDFs, to the section that starts with 鈥淚f you are a representative from a School District, Public School, Nonpublic School, Charter School, BOCES, or RIC and you need to contact SED for a change in your contact information鈥︹) and following the instructions.
(4) If the CEO information in SEDREF is correct, however, the CEO should have the ability to create accounts in NYSSIS or create an additional SEDDAS account and permission for a Delegated Administrator in their organization to do so on their behalf. If the CEO information is correct in SEDREF but the CEO is unable to access their SEDDAS account, they should go to the听SEDDAS Resources page听for instructions and help.