BluegrassData.com

I feel honored to have been part of a project to receive national recognition with a Best Practices Award. I created a web service that served high school transcripts to CFNC (College Foundation of North Carolina). While it was a small part of the effort, it lies at the heart of this system.

The PESC (Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council) Best Practices Competition can be found here. An excerpt from a press release is below…

College Foundation of North Carolina’s

“Electronic High School Transcript System”

Wins Top Award in PESC’s 11^th Annual Best Practices Competition

Kristi Blabaum of NASLA and Michael Morris of ACT

Honored with Distinguished Service Awards

Washington DC – The Board of Directors of PESC – the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council is very pleased to announce “Electronic High School Transcript System” submitted by the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) as Winner of PESC’s 11^th Annual Best Practices Competition for 2009. This submission received high praise from the Board Review Committee for Best Practices as it focused strategically on the use and support of data and standards and the infrastructure necessary to carry out its long-term goals and vision. The Best Practices Competition is held each year by PESC to promote innovation and ingenuity in the application of standards for business needs. An Awards Ceremony will be held immediately prior to the keynote address of PESC’s Spring 2010 Data Summit being held April 1 – 2, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

In making this submission, Robin Greene, Senior Associate Director, Technology and Internet Services, CFNC, UNC General Administration highlighted its innovative approach stating, “[this system] is the first and only implementation of electronic high school transcripts in the state.” To support its long-term vision, Ms. Greene added, “[this system} is built on a sustainable system infrastructure among a unique collaborative partnership of secondary and postsecondary education entities… it is expandable to include future growth state- and nationwide with additional secondary school districts as well as postsecondary entities using national data standards such as those created and adopted under PESC.”

The “telecommute” conversation seems to be coming up more often at the office. With gas breaking the $4.00/gallon mark, it’s no wonder. The benefits for an employee to telecommute are obvious: less money spent on gas and food; less time spent on commuting; less stress; increased job satisfaction; and a more pleasant working environment. But are employers seeing the benefits for them? The manager I work for seems firmly against telecommuting, but I haven’t been able to get down to the reasoning behind his decision.

Here’s an interesting list of benefits I found on a Department of Transportaion site promoting clean air:

Employer benefits

• - Employees’ increased productivity due to fewer interruptions and distractions, and ability to work during most productive hours
• - Fewer unscheduled absences resulting from unforeseen events
• - Continuity of operations during weather-related or other emergency situations
• - Improved planning ability
• - Employees’ ability to respond to unforeseen/unscheduled workload
• - Reduced real estate costs due to less, or more flexible, need for office space
• - Lower employee-relocation costs, because work is not location dependent
• - Enhanced employee satisfaction and morale
• - Less labor turnover and lower recruitment costs
• - Better customer service as employees stay longer and become more proficient
• - Access to larger labor pool – regional, national, international, military spouses, retired, physically-challenged
• - Enhanced compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• - Enhanced public relations and goodwill

Community Benefits

• - Less air pollution, which improves human health and increases Clean Air Act compliance
• - Less traffic congestion and fewer automobile crashes/deaths due to fewer people on the road
• - Less wear and tear on transportation infrastructure, which postpones funding requirements
• - Safer neighborhoods and less juvenile crime due to greater adult presence during the day
• - Less dependence on imported oil, improving national security
• - Smaller national budget deficit
• - Less vehicle-related runoff from roads, ensuring cleaner water and improving ecosystem and human health

Employee Benefits

• - Less, or no, commuting time
• - Better work/life balance due to more time for family, the community, and volunteering
• - Less stress
• - Increased productivity due to fewer interruptions and distractions
• - More flexibility to work during most productive hours
• - Increased ability to respond to unforeseen/unscheduled workload
• - Ability to design and control work environment
• - Increased job satisfaction
• - Reduced commute-related costs – gas, tolls/tickets, parking, maintenance, and depreciation
• - Reduced personal expenses, including clothing, grooming, and food costs
• - Reduced child- and elder-care costs due to later drop-offs and/or earlier pick-ups, and ability for teenagers and elderly dependants to be at home pursuing their own activities
• - Satisfaction of helping the environment