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Date:         Fri, 20 Nov 1992 14:43:00 -0600
From:         Keith Natschke <9070NATSCHKE@VMS.CSD.MU.EDU>
Subject:      Request for data entry information

Greetings,

   I'm part of a Computer Service task force that is studying data entry
alternatives at Marquette and I hoped members of the CUMREC list could
offer some information or ideas for us to consider. Our situation is as
follows:

   1. For those of you not familiar with Marquette, it is a private
      Jesuit University located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our FTE is about
      10,500 students.

   2. We currently use a Pertec XL-40 data entry system. We began leasing
      the current equipment in the early 1980s and made a decision to
      purchase it in 1985 after looking at other alternatives. We own 4
      entry stations but only two of them are currently connected. The
      system has a 9-track 1600 bpi tape drive that we use to transfer
      data to our VAX/VMS Cluster.

   3. The people who use the Pertec equipment are very happy with it.
      They have worked other places using other types of data entry
      equipment and feel Pertec is the best. More specifically they are
      happy with it's speed, it's ability to setup new formats easily and
      it's verification/duplication capabilities.

   4. The number of regular data entry jobs has decreased dramatically
      since the equipment was obtained. Most of the data for our
      administrative systems is now entered on-line by the users or
      electronically via tapes and interfaces. We only have two daily
      administrative data entry jobs (admissions applications and a small
      amount of fee accounting transactions). However, we still have a
      few large data entry jobs that are done periodically such as grades
      and parking permits.

   5. The number of one-time special jobs has increased significantly
      over the years. Most of those jobs involve entering data from
      surveys faculty and graduate students are conducting as part of
      their research. The Pertec's ability to set-up new formats comes in
      handy for these types of jobs.

   6. Data entry at the computer center is the responsibility of our Data
      Services department which is comprised of 3 full-time people. The
      department has many more responsibilities besides data entry. Only
      one of the people in the department has the title of Data Entry
      Operator but the other two people help out with entry during busy
      times.


Our reasons for undertaking this study are:

   1. Although the Pertec equipment has been fairly reliable over the
      years, we are concerned it may be difficult and costly to maintain
      in the future. There are not many Pertec customers left in the
      Milwaukee area and the service people have warned us that it may be
      difficult to obtain parts in the future.

   2. The amount of data entry we do has dropped since the Pertec
      equipment was obtained and we no longer need a 4 station system.
      The monthly maintenance fee is substantial and our Director wants
      to know if there is a less expensive alternative.

   3. We want to determine if some better data entry equipment/software/methods
      have been developed since we last studied our data entry situation 7
      years ago.

My questions include:

   1. How does your computer center do data entry? Specialized equipment
      similar to the Pertec or do you use PC or mainframe based data
      entry software? Are you happy with your current equipment and
      software?

   2. If you used to have Pertec equipment and replaced it, what did you
      replace it with? Are you happy with the replacement?

   3. How much scanning do you do? Our Data Services department has an
      optical scanner that is used for inputting data from test sheets
      and other jobs such as Student Commentary on Teaching. Do you use
      scanning for other types of jobs such as grade collection, surveys
      or time cards?

   4. The data entry service for surveys is something we starting
      offering a couple of years ago. Does you computer center offer a
      similar service?

   5. Is there any other information or advice regarding data entry you
      would like to offer?

You can e-mail your responses to me directly or post them to the CUMREC
mailing list. I will summarize to the list if there is interest.

I apologize for the length of this message but I thought explaining our
situation in detail would result in better responses. Thanks in advance
for any information you can provide.

                            Keith Natschke
                            Assistant Director for Application Systems
                            Marquette University Computer Services
                            internet address: 9070natschke@vms.csd.mu.edu
                            Phone: 414-288-3765
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