Maryland Annual Collections - MAC2

EXTERNAL CREDIT SYSTEM (ECS)

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A. Collection Description

B. Adhere to Due Dates and Record Frequency

C. Comply with the Selection Criteria

1. Who to include:

a. One record per undergraduate student receiving an award in the DIS file for the same period per source of credit submitted 1 time a year.

D. Helpful Insights

Helpful Insight to Reduce Errors – This list only includes select data elements or statements that are prone to errors. Please review the documentation page for full ECS layout links and details for more extensive reporting information.

1. Do not insert a space between commas when a data element is not reported.
2. ECS and the Degree Information System (DIS) collection files are very closely related.
3. For every ECS record reported, there MUST be a corresponding DIS record for the same collection year and student identifier.
4. Source OPEID (DD153) – This 8-digit code identifies the source of each source of external credit.

E. Data Collection Websites, Emails, and Responsibilities

To secure and ensure data collection integrity, it takes the cooperation of each institution partnering with the MHEC team to manage collections. Websites, specific email addresses, and established responsibilities all work together to offer guidance for data collections, reporting problems or concerns, and outlining due diligence necessary for successful data submissions and management. Detailed information about the websites, emails and responsibilities can be found on the responsibilities page of the data website.

F. Follow the File Layout

The ECS file layout can be found on the documentation page of the data website. The required format is comma-separated values (CSV), which means each data element is separated by commas and the file extension is .csv. Data element submission details for the file layout relies exclusively on MHEC’s online data dictionary. The layout provides the item number, field length parameters, data type, name and the data definition (DD) link to the data dictionary for comprehensive, up-to-date data element guidance, explanations, and examples in some cases.

G. Include the Header Record

The ECS header record can be found on the documentation page of the data website. It is required as part of the uploaded .csv file. It is critical that the uploaded header match MHEC’s header for data editing purposes. Headers that do not match create errors in the validation process.

H. Review the Sample Records

The ECS sample record can be found on the documentation page of the data website. The sample records are available for your reference and serve for demonstration purposes only. The .csv version of the records shown below the samples is what a submitted record should look like. Note that if a field is empty please do not include a space between the commas.

I. Transfer the File to MHEC

To transfer a .csv file to MHEC, user credentials are required. File transfers between higher education institutions in Maryland and the Commission are secure. Please use the prescribed secure file transfer process and refrain from emailing submissions. The File Transfer page has different functional areas. Select the “Maryland Annual Collection 2 (MAC2)” link to begin the file transfer process. Use “P” to preface UserID credential. Select the option to perform either a preliminary edit or an official submission after editing is complete. Complete the form for the upload and include comments if necessary.

J. Perform File Editing Procedures

The submission process provides editing guidelines that includes an edit report for the purpose of reviewing and verifying data submitted. The report offers frequency distribution counts on selected variables that can be used to verify data counts. The edit program also checks records for proper data element ranges and position. If there are fatal errors or warnings, an explanation will be associated with the infraction and corrections should be made before a subsequent preliminary edit resubmission is performed. The correction and resubmission process should be repeated until the file is free of errors. Before submitting the official version of the file, internal institutional edit confirmations should be performed to check frequency output against uploaded data to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data. At the time of the official submission, if there are remaining fatal errors or warnings on the edit report that cannot be addressed with a correction, then comments with a detailed explanation from the institution must be included in the comments section of the upload form

K. Check MHEC Internal Validations

The Stata syntax code used for validations can be found on the documentation page of the data website. Stata code is used to validate file submissions. Additional validation testing may be completed contingent upon the results of this baseline code. New validation steps may be added over time as the scope of the collection changes.

L. Data Cookbook

Data Cookbook is MHEC’s MAC2 on-line data dictionary. It contains all the data elements in all the unit record data collections managed by MHEC. On the “Functional Areas” tab, under “Sharing” in the far right column, select the definitions link to view the data elements for one of the MAC2 collections. Each data element name is listed in alphabetical order with its functional definition

To contact MHEC for questions or support, submit an email to mac2help.mhec@maryland.gov.