🚀 go-pugleaf

Western New England College has been using a scanner to collect course
grades for about four months, and so far things are going rather well.

Each sheet given to an instructor is preprinted with course information,
student ids and names, and a list of legitimate grades for each student.
In addition, a unique id code, cross-referenced on file with the contents
of the sheet, is preslugged on a special grid in the corner.  It is up to
the instructor to merely fill in the appropriate grade bubbles (good old
#2 pencil preferred), sign the sheet, and turn it in.

As far as security is concerned, nothing new was added, but instructors
here have always been required to turn in their grades personally and
confirmation of what was loaded is always sent back to them.

As to the remaining questions:

We are using an OpScan 5, connected to a Data General MV/20000 running a
Cobol program to operate the scanner and process the information.

The forms are continuous forms, but this was really an arbitrary decision.
Getting the forms lined up properly is a hassle for the computer operator,
but the scanner seems to read the ink much better than the output from a
laser printer.

The forms were designed in-house with coding sheets and WordPerfect, with
NCS producing the final version.  It took NCS a surprisingly large number
of tries to produce an acceptable proof, but the spacing was unusually
critical and we wanted it to be right the first time.

A few miscellaneous tips:

Avoid data fields where the number of bubbles filled in is variable.  If
you need a binary field, don't count on parity to catch all of the errors.
Separate bubbles for +, -, and A-F is not as reliable as A, A-, B+, etc.

Expect lots of problems the first time, as you receive sheets with staple
holes, messages scrawled across inappropriate places, grades marked in
invisible inks (like red), and other assorted head-shakers.

If you're printing anything that needs to be read by the scanner, a good
ribbon is essential.


Brian Annis
BANNIS@WNEC