TER - PTI Setup (SU)

Overview

This program is where Parent-Teacher Interview conferences are set up and maintained.

It is recommended that you have read the Parent Teacher Interviews (Overview) before creating the Parent Teacher Interview (PTI) setups.
In particular, you should have an understanding of the 3 methods that are available to process a conference, as the following section of the documentation refers to these:

Parent Preference Order and Teacher Subject Weightings.
Appointments Allocated on a First in First Served Basis.
Direct Selection of Appointment Times by Parent.

It is also recommended that you follow 'How to Setup and Run a Parent Teacher Interview'.

The program will operate in a viewing only mode until you select the 'Edit' button.

Once the initial parameters for this area have been established and processing has commenced, subsequent changes should be made with extreme care. Changes should only be made if you are absolutely sure of the ramifications for PTI processing.

General Tab

General Details
Next PTI Number	This is the next conference number that will be allocated by the system.
*Minimum Appointment Length	The value entered here will become the minimum interview appointment time that is able to be entered when creating a conference using program Student Admin > Teachers Records > Parent Teacher Interview > PTI Conferences. Choose a value between 4 and 90.
Maximum Number of Appointments	This field defines the default settings used for the maximum number of appointments a parent may request in any one conference. The number entered in this field sets the default number that loads into the 'Maximum Number of Appointments' field in TASS.web program: Student Admin > Teacher Records > Parent Teacher Interviews > PTI Conferences. You can then modify this number when you create a new PTI Conference. The radio buttons next to this field will become active when you enter a maximum number of appointments. Select either: Per Student: The system will set this to be the default. In the case of a split family with two parent account logins, this means that each parent will be entitled to half the number of appointments, e.g. The maximum number of appointments equals 6; therefore, each parent in a split family arrangement will be entitled to 3. Per Parent (Parent Lounge Account): If you select this option, then in the case of a split family with two parent account logins, each parent will be entitled to the full number of appointments, e.g. The maximum number of appointments equals 6; therefore, each parent in a split family arrangement will be entitled to 6. If you modify the ‘Per Student’ or ‘Per Parent' radio buttons after a PTI Conference has been created, all generated and active Conferences will be updated to align with the new value that you have entered in this field. If the 'Maximum Number of Appointments' is set to an odd number, the halved amount is rounded up for each Parent account login (where the 'Per Student' option is selected). When this field is blank, ‘Per Student’ will be used as the default setting when you create a new PTI Conference in TASS.web program Student Admin > Teacher Records > Parent Teacher Interviews > PTI Conferences. If both 'Maximum Number of Appointments' fields are left blank in PTI Setup and PTI Conferences, parents can book one appointment for each single Subject Class and Teacher combination without any restrictions.
Deletion Password	The password entered here is used to control access to the function that allows the deletion of a conference.
*Appointment Allocation Method	This is used to nominate the default method that will appear for a user when creating a conference using program Student Admin > Teachers Records > Parent Teacher Interview > PTI Conferences. Click on this link for details of the three methods. This can be overridden for individual conferences.
*Allow Subject Preferences	This parameter is only relevant for conferences run in Method 1. Teachers can add preferences using Staff Kiosk to the subjects that they want to have appointments allocated first, e.g. A teacher takes Maths, Physics and PE. The teacher would like priority allocation of interviews to be given to Maths and Physics.
*Allow Split Appointments	This parameter determines if teachers are allowed to split appointment times using Staff Kiosk, e.g. A teacher may be oversubscribed and decide to split an appointment slot into two to be able to see more parents. A teacher cannot split an appointment time into two appointments that are less than the 'Minimum Appointment Length' specified above. Therefore, the minimum appointment time that can be split is 8 minutes as the lowest 'Minimum Appointment Length' is 4.
*Allow Blocked Appointments in Teacher Kiosk	This parameter determines if teachers are allowed to block out appointment times for a conference using Staff Kiosk.
*Allow Appointment Maintenance in Teacher Kiosk	This parameter determines if teachers are allowed to change appointment times for a conference using Staff Kiosk.
SMS Details
*Message Details	Enter the message that will be sent to parents with bookings prior to their first conference appointment. Information relating to the first appointment is sent as a general reminder of the conference event. Message can contain up to 160 characters. Keywords: Keywords can be inserted into the message, which will translate with the specific details applicable to the recipient. Select a keyword from the picklist, then 'Add Keyword'. The keyword will be inserted at the location of the flashing cursor. Keywords available: Conference Description Conference Date First Appointment Date First Appointment Time First Appointment Room First Appointment Subject First Appointment Teacher Name Parent Name Example: ‘This is a reminder for your appointments booked for [Conference Description] starting on [First Appointment Date] at [First Appointment Time].’ translates as… ‘This is a reminder for your appointments booked for Semester 1 Parent Teacher Conference starting on Thursday 6 April 2023 at 09.20 AM.' An SMS Gateway must be set up, with the 'Enable Multi-Part Messaging' option ticked.