5.16 SP1 ebs-Link Release Notes

Note regarding submissions

We would like to remind providers to create a submission early and check for any errors using reports from the appropriate software (i.e. the FIS or LLWR-Inform). Welsh providers should also remember to download their ULI file. After submission to the ESFA or DfES, providers should check that data has submitted correctly using the available reports. Providers should check that all their expected starts and completions are submitted correctly, and that start and outcome payments correctly match the PFR or ACE funding reports.

Our support desk gets extremely busy in the days prior to the submission deadlines, and although we try and prioritise submission-related queries, we cannot guarantee assistance if queries are sent late. If you do encounter any issues, please ensure that you contact Maytas Support as soon as possible, as we can only rectify issues of which we are aware. We also recommend checking Maytas.net regularly for information on any known issues and solutions. Tribal cannot be held responsible for any issues caused by your failure to comply with this advice.

Technical specification

The latest Maytas and e-track technical specification can be found here.

Once the upgrade has been completed, the version number should be checked to ensure it has been successful.

  1. Start Maytas and go to Support on the toolbar.
  2. Click About.
  3. The version numbers should read 181.20 / 5.16.6850.1. If you have any other version, please ensure you have followed the upgrade instructions correctly. If you require assistance, please contact Maytas Support.

It is the responsibility of customers to ensure that users carry out any required user acceptance testing and sign off on the upgrade.

Complete the Upgrade

Features Added in the Upgrade

These are the main updates in the upgrade:

Re-Import the FIS Data Sets

The FIS data sets must be re-imported for this upgrade, even if they were imported in a previous upgrade.

It is essential that the latest aim information is imported into Maytas for use by the ILR export. This should be done by importing the relevant information directly from the Data Service’s Funding Information System (FIS). To do this, you must have the FIS installed and correctly configured (please refer to the Data Service’s instructions for setting up the FIS).

Please ensure you have the latest version of the FIS with the 2018/19 components installed.

Once the FIS is installed and configured, the information can be imported as follows:

  1. Perform a sync in Maytas 5, then restart Maytas 5.

  2. Go to Exports | Uploads | Upload FIS Data Sets.

  3. There are three items to configure:
    • Database Machine Name – If the FIS is installed on the same machine that you are using for Maytas 5, this can be left as (local). Otherwise, enter the machine name of the SQL server where the FIS database is held.

    • Database Instance – If the SQL server holding the FIS database has a named instance (e.g. MACHINENAME\INSTANCENAME), select Named Instance and enter the instance name. Otherwise leave this as Default Instance.

      If you have no named instance and Default Instance does not work, you may need to select Named Instance and leave the instance name blank.

    • Connection Type – This is the login for the SQL server holding the FIS database. Trusted Connection will use Windows authentication. If you wish to specify the login details, select Specific Connection and enter the credentials.
  4. Click OK. The FIS data will now be imported.
  5. If you have an Adult Skills budget contract and a transition factor, this must be entered on the contract:
    1. Go to Management on the toolbar and click Contracts on the ribbon.
    2. Select the relevant contractor, then select the Adult Skills contract on the right.
    3. Click the button.
    4. Go to the Uplifts tab.
    5. Enter the ASB Transition Factor and click OK.
    6. Click Apply to save the change.

Import PFR Reports

The PFR reports for 2018/19 should be imported as follows:

  1. In Maytas, go to Home on the toolbar and click Import on the Reports panel of the ribbon.
  2. Click Add Files.
  3. Browse to the Maytas 5\Extras\Module Reports folder of the upgrade.
  4. Select PFR Reconcilers – 1819.m5rep and click Open.
  5. Click Finish.
  6. Once the reports have finished importing, click Finish.

Due to the size of the .rdl file for the FM36 PFR report, some report servers may produce the following error when importing: 

Error: There was an exception running the extensions specified in the config file. —>
Maximum request length exceeded.

This means that the report server's MaxRequestLength property is configured to only allow uploads up to a certain size, and the configuration must be changed to allow larger files to be uploaded. Please contact your system administrator to do this. Please note that Maytas Support cannot offer support on how to configure a SQL Server Report Server, as these are Microsoft products.

Note on Postcode File

The ESFA have not released a postcode file for 2018/19. However, this file would not be required as the relevant data is now imported into Maytas via the FIS import.

Note on the Funding Cache

By default, the funding cache will update overnight so that funding information in Maytas uses the newly-imported FIS and postcode information. Please check with your system administrator if you are unsure if or when the funding cache is updated on your system. You can also manually set the funding cache to update by going to Management | Profiles and clicking the Funding Cache button, though please be aware that this may take a long time and may use a large amount of system resources, which could affect performance for other users on the system.

Import Updated ILR 2018/19 Tab

The ILR 2018/19 tab has been updated to include Agreement ID on the employment grid. To import the tab in Maytas:

  1. Go to Tools on the toolbar.
  2. Click Import on the Screens panel of the ribbon.
  3. Click Browse.
  4. Browse to the ebs-Link\ebs Tabs folder of the upgrade, select ebs ILR 2018.m5tab and click Open.
  5. Click Next, then click Finish.
  6. Sync Maytas to apply the tabs to all clients.

Maytas 5 Release Notes – Version 5.16.6850.1

2018/19 PFR Reconciler

New PFR reconciler reports are now available to work with the 2018/19 PFR files. This year there are separate reports for funding models 35, 36 and 81 to reflect the substantially different formats of each PFR. While the FM35 and FM81 reports are largely similar to how the PFR reconciler has worked in previous years, the FM36 reports have several key differences which are detailed below.

There are separate import options for each PFR file:

  1. Go to Management on the toolbar.

  2. On the PFR section of the ribbon, click Upload and select the required 2018/19 PFR import option:

    For FM35, go to PFR | Upload PFR (2018/19).

    For FM81, go to PFR | Upload Trailblazer PFR (2018/19).

    For FM36, go to FM36 Funding Reports and choose the file type to upload.

  3. Browse to and select the PFR file and click Open.

The file will now be imported. Click OK on the confirmation message which appears.

Funding Model 35 PFR Reconciler Reports

The FM35 PFR reconciler reports can be accessed as follows:

  1. On the Home tab, click Reports Library.
  2. Go to the Finance folder and select one of the new reports:
    1. PFR Reconciler FM35 – 1819 – This shows a summary of funding differences, as well as tables showing matched rows with funding differences, rows in Maytas but not the PFR and rows in the PFR but not in Maytas.
    2. PFR Reconciler FM35 – Non-Funding Differences – 1819 – This shows matched rows which have differences in the non-funding columns (i.e. all columns which are not the month-by-month funding columns).

  3. The parameters window will appear:

    PFR – Select the PFR file from the list.

    ILR file – Select the corresponding ILR file from the list.

    Measure up to end of – This tells the report to only reconcile funding differences up to the end of a specific month. This is because Maytas data is highly likely to be updated in the time between the PFR being produced and the report being run – for example, leavers may be entered in Maytas who were live when the PFR was produced. This can result in inaccurate comparisons. Comparing Maytas funding data up to the period in which the PFR was produced should give a more accurate comparison than comparing current Maytas data.

    Note that the following two parameters do not appear on the Non-Funding Differences report.

    Show Differences Threshold (pence) – This determines the threshold in pence for the funding differences to be shown in the report. For example, the default of 10 will only include rows where there is more than a 10p total difference between Maytas and the PFR.

    Show missing rows with zero values – For the section at the end of the report showing rows in the PFR but not in the Maytas ILR export (and vice-versa), this allows you to hide rows which have no funding against them. By default, these rows are included.

  4. Click View to run the report.

The FM35 PFR reconciler is almost identical to the 2017/18 PFR reconciler, with the addition of the Campus Identifier column.

Funding Model 81 PFR Reconciler Reports

The FM81 PFR reconciler reports can be accessed as follows:

  1. On the Home tab, click Reports Library.
  2. Go to the Finance folder and select one of the new reports:
    1. PFR Reconciler FM81 – 1819 – This shows a summary of funding differences, as well as tables showing matched rows with funding differences, rows in Maytas but not the PFR and rows in the PFR but not in Maytas.
    2. PFR Reconciler FM81 – Non-Funding Differences – 1819 – This shows matched rows which have differences in the non-funding columns (i.e. all columns which are not the month-by-month funding columns).
  3. The parameters window will appear:

    PFR – Select the PFR file from the list.

    ILR file – Select the corresponding ILR file from the list.

    Measure up to end of – This tells the report to only reconcile funding differences up to the end of a specific month. This is because Maytas data is highly likely to be updated in the time between the PFR being produced and the report being run – for example, leavers may be entered in Maytas who were live when the PFR was produced. This can result in inaccurate comparisons. Comparing Maytas funding data up to the period in which the PFR was produced should give a more accurate comparison than comparing current Maytas data.

    Note that the following two parameters do not appear on the Non-Funding Differences report.

    Show Differences Threshold (pence) – This determines the threshold in pence for the funding differences to be shown in the report. For example, the default of 10 will only include rows where there is more than a 10p total difference between Maytas and the PFR.

    Show missing rows with zero values – For the section at the end of the report showing rows in the PFR but not in the Maytas ILR export (and vice-versa), this allows you to hide rows which have no funding against them. By default, these rows are included.

  4. Click View to run the report.

The FM81 reports are similar to the FM35 reports in terms of how they work, with the main difference being the columns which are included.

Funding Model 36 PFR Reconciler Reports

The FM36 PFR reconciler reports can be accessed as follows:

  1. On the Home tab, click Reports Library.
  2. Go to the Finance folder and select one of the new reports:
    1. PFR Reconciler FM36 – 1819 – This shows a summary of funding differences, as well as tables showing matched rows with funding differences, rows in Maytas but not the PFR and rows in the PFR but not in Maytas.
    2. PFR Reconciler FM36 – Non-Funding Differences – 1819 – This shows matched rows which have differences in the non-funding columns (i.e. all columns which are not the month-by-month funding columns).

  3. The parameters window will appear:

    Report type – This lets you choose whether to reconcile the indicative earnings report, the monthly payments report or the co-investment payments report. Each of these will determine the available PFR files to select from and the content displayed when the report is run.

    PFR – Select the PFR file from the list.

    ILR file – Select the corresponding ILR file from the list.

    Measure up to end of – This tells the report to only reconcile funding differences up to the end of a specific month. This is because Maytas data is highly likely to be updated in the time between the PFR being produced and the report being run – for example, leavers may be entered in Maytas who were live when the PFR was produced. This can result in inaccurate comparisons. Comparing Maytas funding data up to the period in which the PFR was produced should give a more accurate comparison than comparing current Maytas data.

    Note that the following two parameters do not appear on the Non-Funding Differences report.

    Show Differences Threshold (pence) – This determines the threshold in pence for the funding differences to be shown in the report. For example, the default of 10 will only include rows where there is more than a 10p total difference between Maytas and the PFR.

    Show missing rows with zero values – For the section at the end of the report showing rows in the PFR but not in the Maytas ILR export (and vice-versa), this allows you to hide rows which have no funding against them. By default, these rows are included.

  4. Click View to run the report.

The greatest difference between the FM36 PFR reconciler and previous PFR reconcilers is that it can be run against three different PFR datasets for FM36: indicative earnings, monthly payments and co-investment payments. This can be chosen in the Report type parameter.

Of the three options, we expect the indicative earnings report to match the Maytas figures the closest, as this PFR data does not depend on certain factors which must be assumed in Maytas (these factors are not available and cannot be derived before the PFR data is produced). The monthly and co-investment payments reports do depend on these factors and so are likely to match the Maytas figures less closely. In very broad terms, the indicative earnings are the 'expected' figures and the payment reports are the actual figures.

Implementing more than 9 App Forms in the Screen Designer

We have received queries from providers who need to implement a large number of application forms published via the Maytas screen designer, as the app form ID appears to be limited to the numbers 1 to 9. However, the app form ID can take alphanumeric characters, not just numbers, and lowercase letters are counted separately from uppercase letters. Making use of letters for the ID therefore vastly increases the number of app forms which can be implemented in the system.

AS Export – Exclude POT Restarts

A configuration option can now be set to prevent POT restarts being included in the Apprenticeship Service (AS) export. To enable this:

  1. Click the M5 button at the top-left of the screen and select Options.
  2. Scroll down to the Maytas 5 section on the left and select Miscellaneous.
  3. On the right, locate the AS Export section and the config Show the “Exclude POT Restarts” option.
  4. Tick the box next to the config and ensure the toggle button is set to ON.
  5. Click OK.

The option to exclude POT restarts will now appear on the Apprenticeship Starts Export screen. When this option is ticked, an apprenticeship will be excluded if the POT on which the apprenticeship starts has the restart indicator entered on the programme aim.

If the POT has been restarted and there is an employment record showing a change to a different employer after the POT start date, the apprenticeship will not be excluded.

This means that with the option ticked, changes in pathway (which the export treats as separate apprenticeships) will be excluded.

5.16 SP1 e-track Online Release Notes

PCRS

Overdue Tasks

When an assessor or learner user views their tasks, any tasks that are overdue will now display as red. Tasks are considered overdue when their target date is in the past and they are not completed.

Ordering of Communities

The order in which communities are displayed on the main communities screen can now be controlled with a display index.

  1. Go to Community on the taskbar.
  2. Click the Actions button and select Edit Mode.

  3. Click the button next to a community and select Edit.

  4. Communities are ordered by the Display Index field, which defaults to 0. Enter a number for this community and click Save.
  5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for other communities to order them with the display index.

Message Folders

Messages in e-track can now be organised into folders. Folders are user-specific and are available for assessor and learner users.

To create a folder:

  1. Go to Messages on the taskbar.

  2. Click Manage Folders.

  3. Click Create New Folder.

  4. Enter a name for the folder. You can also enter a display index, which determines the order in which folders are displayed.

  5. Click Save Folder.
  6. The folder will appear in the Manage Folders list, and also on the left under Inbox. Click a folder to edit it. You can also delete folders from the edit screen or delete them in bulk from the Manage Folders screen by ticking the box next to the folders to delete and clicking the Delete Selected button.

To put messages in a folder:

  1. On the Messages screen, click Inbox.

  2. Tick the box next to each message you wish to move.

  3. Click Actions and select Move to Folder…

  4. Select the folder to move the messages to from the dropdown list and click Move.
  5. A message will appear asking you to confirm the move. Click OK to continue.

  6. Click the folder on the left to view the moved messages.

Confirmation of Online Applications

Online application forms can now include the option to send a confirmation message to the learner upon completing the form. The learner must have a valid email address entered against them.

To enable this feature, a change is required to the form in the Maytas screen designer:

  1. In Maytas, go to Tools on the toolbar.
  2. Click New / Load on the Screens panel of the ribbon.

  3. Browse to and open the screen which is used for the application form.

  4. On the Overview tab on the left, tick the Email Learner box. Note that this will only appear if Application Form is selected above.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Go to Home on the toolbar and click Sync.

The email body sent to learners can be modified in the e-track system configuration options:

  1. In e-track, go to Settings on the taskbar and click the System configuration button.
  2. Select Admin on the left (under the e-track Online header).
  3. Scroll down to the Online Applications section on the right and locate the config Email body for successfully completed applications.

  4. Ensure the checkbox is ticked for the config. The config consists of the email body that will be sent, in HTML format.

    <p>Hi {FNAME} {LNAME},</p>
	<p>You have successfully completed an online application form.</p>
	<p>Thanks, Admin</p>

    The {FNAME} and {LNAME} parameters will automatically retrieve the learner's first name and last name.

  5. Modify the body as required and click Save.

File Picker in e-track Screens and Forms

e-track screens and application forms created in the Maytas screen designer can now use file picker controls so that files can be uploaded to a learner's file store. To do this:

  1. In Maytas, go to Tools on the toolbar.
  2. Click New / Load on the Screens panel of the ribbon.
  3. Browse to and open the screen to modify (or create a new screen).
  4. Go to the Controls tab at the bottom-left.
  5. Under Trainee Controls on the left, expand the Custom section.
  6. Drag the File Picker control onto the screen where required.
  7. Click Apply.
  8. Go to Home on the toolbar and click Sync.

  9. The file picker will now appear on the screen or form in e-track.

View Visits when Assessing Evidence

When an assessor assesses evidence files submitted by a learner, the first screen which shows a list of visits to assign the files to now has a button at the end of each row to open the visit. The outcome of the visit is also now displayed, and all visits for the learner are included regardless of which assessor performed the visit.

Visits Evidence Guide

When viewing the list of visits for a learner, there is now a Modules button which appears on visit rows where modules have been referenced.

Clicking the Modules button will show a pop-up which lists the referenced modules.

Files Ordering

The files tab for learner users now orders files by descending upload date, so that the most recent files are at the top. This matches how the files tab for assessor users already worked.

Objectives Ordering

The module editor now lets you enter a display index against units and elements within a module so that the order in which they appear can be manually specified. If no display index is entered, the module code is used to order instead.

To order units and elements:

  1. Go to Browse Modules on the taskbar.
  2. Search for the module you wish to order and click edit at the end of the row.

  3. The units and elements will be displayed.

    Select the first unit or element you wish to order and click Edit.

  4. Scroll to the bottom of the editing pane and enter a value in the Display Index field.

  5. Scroll back up and click Save.
  6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 to enter additional index values as required.

The specified ordering will take effect on the following screens:

Please note that the ordering is not applied to the module editor.

Tasks Ordering

Tasks are now ordered by their target date. This applies to tasks on the learner summary screen for assessor and learner logins and the learner home page for learner logins.

Module Exports and Imports

When exporting modules from the module editor, all editable fields from the module table are now included, and these fields are also now included on imports.

Pending Tasks

When a learner submits evidence for a task, the task will now show as amber for the learner until the assessor has accepted or rejected it.

GeoTrack Standard Code Filter

Apprenticeship standard code has been added to GeoTrack as a filter for the map. To access it, click the Filter button and select Standard Code.

Select the codes to filter on click the cross at the top-right of the pop-up. The filter is based on the standard code from the programme aim, not the main/POT aim.

Note that GeoTrack filters work by showing results that match ANY of the selected filters, rather than showing results that match ALL of the filters. Therefore, you may need to de-select some of the sector filters for the standard code filters to take effect (and vice-versa).

Task Numbers or Names

Tasks can now be configured to show either the task number or the task name:

  1. Go to Settings on the taskbar and click the System configuration button.
  2. Select Admin on the left (under the e-track Online header).
  3. In the General section on the right, locate the config Display task numbers instead of task names.
  4. Ensure the box for the config is ticked. To display task numbers, set the toggle button to ON. To display task names, set the toggle button to OFF.
  5. Click Save.

Automatic Yes to New POT

A config can now be set so that there is no confirmation message when a new learner or framework is added to e-track. With the config disabled, users are presented with the question Create new POT Record YES/NO when a new learner or framework is added. With the config enabled, adding a new learner will automatically assume NO, and adding a new framework for an existing learner will assume YES.

To enable this:

  1. In e-track, go to Settings on the taskbar and click the System configuration button.
  2. Select ebs Link on the left (under the Others header).
  3. Scroll down to the System section on the right and locate the config Align frameworks to POTs.
  4. Tick the box next to the config and ensure the toggle button is set to ON.
  5. In the same section, locate the config Always create new POT instead of prompting.
  6. Tick the box next to the config and ensure the toggle button is set to ON.
  7. Click Save.