ctcLink PeopleSoft Reporting FAQ

Please find below a list of our most frequently asked questions. Click on the arrow to expand or collapse the answer. You may also select to expand or collapse all answers.

What is a Designated Query Developer?

A Designated Query Developer is a person selected by the institution’s Reporting Lead to develop queries and reports for their institution. They receive requests from their college and either perform the work themselves or create a ticket for the Data Services Reporting Team.

What is a Reporting Lead?

The Reporting Lead is a person selected by the institution to be the liaison between the Data Services Reporting Team and the institution’s Query Developers. They help decide on query conventions and protocol and select the Designated Query Developers for their institution.

How do I become a Designated Query Developer?

To become a Designated Query Developer, you must first obtain permission from your college Reporting Lead. Once you have permission, then you must successfully complete the QDLC and PS Query 101 Canvas courses. You must also send an email to pmcdaniel@sbctc.edu with a copy of a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) form.

What are the requirements to gain access to Query Manager in PCD?

Be a designated Query Developer for your institution

Submit a signed NDA form to pmcdaniel@sbctc.edu (electronic signatures are okay)

Pass the QDLC course with a score of 80% or higher

Pass the PS Query 101 course with a score of 80% or higher

Send an email to pmcdaniel@sbctc.edu requesting access once all requirements have been met.

I am a college end-user. How do I find out who the Reporting Lead and Query Developers are for my college?

If you don’t know who your Designated Query Developers are, please see this spreadsheet for a list by college.

I need a query developed. Who do I go to for that?

Per the process set up by the College Reporting Leads and the Data Services Reporting Team, all query-related requests should first go to your College Query Developer team. If you don’t know who your Designated Query Developers are, please see this spreadsheet for a list by college.

I need to find a query. Can Data Services help me find it?

Query searching is covered in the ctcLink Reporting Course - here is the link where you can enroll in the course: https://sbctc.instructure.com/enroll/MNKCBJ It’s a short course with instructional videos that teach end-users to use ctcLink PeopleSoft Query Viewer and metaLink, our Data Dictionary and search tool, to search for existing queries. metaLink is a good search option, as it provides more information about a query than Query Viewer. The link to metaLink is: https://dataservicesmetalink.sbctc.edu/. If you still can’t find the query, you need contact your College Query Developer team. If you don’t know who your Designated Query Developers are, please see this spreadsheet for a list by college.

I want to develop a query in the Production environment. Can I?

No, unfortunately, access to Query Manager in the Production ctcLink environment is not available to anyone outside of SBCTC due to data security concerns. We realize that situations will arise when a potential data issue will need to be analyzed and a data dump of a table would be useful in performing that task. If you have an immediate need for data, please submit a ticket with DATA DUMP as the first part of the request detail. Include the name of one table in your request. The goal of the Reporting Team is to work that ticket as soon as possible (three hours and probably fewer) so you will have it available to you in Production.

I need data out of Production immediately. How can I achieve this?

We realize that situations will arise when a potential data issue will need to be analyzed and a data dump of a table would be useful in performing that task. If you have an immediate need for data, please submit a ticket with DATA DUMP as the first part of the request detail. Include the name of one table in your request. The goal of the Reporting Team is to work that ticket as soon as possible (three hours and probably fewer) so you will have it available to you in Production.

I need to know what query and other reporting tools’ naming conventions are. Where can I find that?

The Query Development Life Cycle (QDLC) is the document that houses all of the conventions and protocols used for ctcLink query and report development. This document lists the pillar and module abbreviations to be used at the beginning of query and other reporting tools’ names. If you are unsure of which module to use in the name of your query, etc., please see Campus Solutions Commonly Used Tables for modules associated with commonly used tables/records/views in the Campus Solutions (CS) pillar, Finance Commonly Used Tables for modules associated with commonly used tables/records/views in the Financials (FS) pillar, and Human Capital Management Commonly Used Tables for modules associated with commonly used tables/records/views in the Human Capital Management (HCM) pillar.

I need to know in which folder to save my query. Where can I find that?

There are folders that correspond with each module (e.g., a query beginning with QCS_CC_ will most often belong in the CAMPUS COMMUNITY folder). However, there are times when the correct folder is not always clear because there is more than one folder that may fit (e.g., the QCS_SR_ADMIT_POPSEL query belongs in the POPULATION SELECT folder and not the ADMISSIONS or STUDENT RECORDS folder). As a general rule, any population select query should be saved in the POPULATION SELECT folder regardless of module, and any FTE query should be saved in the FTES folder regardless of module. If you have a question about which folder to save your query in, please include it in your Service Desk ticket when you submit your query migration request form.

I am a Designated Query Developer with a college live on ctcLink. I just completed the requirements for Query Manager access in PCD. What are the next steps to take to get the access?

Once you have completed all of the necessary requirements for access to Query Manager in PCD, please send an email to pmcdaniel@sbctc.edu, and a ticket requesting access will be submitted for you.

I am a Designated Query Developer with a college not yet live on ctcLink. When will I have access to Query Manager in PCD?

The Monday of go-live, everyone will log into PRD and get themselves set up. In the late morning or early afternoon, the PCD refresh will be complete, and Query Developers will be able to log into PCD and access Query Manager. Use the First Time User link and set your password and security questions for PCD. Only those individuals who have passed the QDLC and PS Query 101 courses and have submitted a signed NDA will have the Query Manager role in PCD.

I need the link to access PCD. Where do I get it?

Please submit a request to Paula McDaniel at pmcdaniel@sbctc.edu for the link.

I am a Designated Query Developer with a college not yet live on ctcLink. Can I write a query in a project environment before we go live?

Yes. Once you have completed all of the training and other requirements necessary for writing queries in PCD, you may write a query in a project environment. When it is complete, it will be reviewed by Data Services in the same way queries written in PCD are reviewed. For more information on writing queries in project environments, please contact Data Services at: dataservices@sbctc.edu.

I am a college end-user and want to know what query/reporting training is available to me.

The ctcLink Training page has the list of available reporting training for college end-users. On the right-hand side of the page, look for: Courses for PeopleSoft Reporting End-Users. The links to enroll in the courses are found below.

I am a Designated Query Developer. What training is available to me?

The ctcLink Reporting Page on the Data Services website has the list of available query and report development training for Designated Query Developers. Click on the ctcLink PeopleSoft Query Online Course Links tab. The links to enroll in the courses are found below.

Where can I find the Non-Disclosure Agreement for dataLink access or for Designated Query Developers?

The Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is found on the Data Services website under the tab ctcLink PeopleSoft Query Developer Forms.

Where can I go to learn about ctcLink data?

Data Services manages the metaLink Data Dictionary created by Application Services to house the ctcLink records and fields metadata. It is also a search tool for searching queries, reports, pivot grids, and views. metaLink is crowd sourced, so all college end-users and SBCTC staff are able to populate the application if they have a logon. To request a logon, send an email to pmcdaniel@sbctc.edu or cmckenzie@sbctc.edu.

What does Competency Based Course Mean?

A competency-based course is one where you simply have to demonstrate your skill level to pass the course. All PeopleSoft ctcLink Query courses are competency based. This means if you have prior knowledge of using the tool, you must only score an 80% or higher on the final assessment in order to pass the course. It is not necessary to go through each screen or take each quiz if you have the knowledge to pass the assessment.