NSN-NSI
The National Student Index (NSI) is a database system maintained by the Ministry of Education. This system is used to allocate a unique identifier, a National Student Number (NSN) to every tertiary learner and National Certificate of Education Achievement (NCEA) candidate. When a learner has been assigned an NSN they retain this number even if they study at different institutions over different years.
Note: The NSN does not replace the identification numbers that ebs will assign to learners for internal purposes.
This user guide describes the steps necessary to set up, collect and maintain the NSN. The NSN is a unique identifier assigned by the system to each learner on the NSI. Each NSN is individually generated by an algorithm.
Different ebs modules allow users to interface with the NSI. This is primarily in order to obtain NSN values for learners. The NSN value for a learner is a required value for the Single Data Return (SDR).
The NSN functionality in ebs is contained in the ebs Learner module and the ebs NSN module.
An NSI record is unique to a learner and records basic identification details. The fields on the NSI include:
- Surname
- Forename(s) (3 fields)
- Date of birth
- Gender (Male, Female, Unknown)
- Residential status (Citizen, Australian citizen, Permanent resident, Overseas or Unknown)
- NZQA paid status
- Record status
- Date of death
- Alternative names
- A preferred name indicator
- Verification indicators for the Name/DoB and for the Residential status fields
The name field at the top of the record is referred to as the ‘Main name’ field. All other names are recorded in what is referred to as the alternative name section.
This user guide uses screenshots of the standard ebs: central screens as shipped. If the screens shown in this user guide differ from those shown in your version of ebs: central, it may be due to configuration changes that have been made in the institution (for example: SMC changes), or due to updates in later versions of the software.
The NSI processes are driven by the state of a learner. These different states and the types of actions that are relevant to these states are described in the following sections:
Unregistered learner
An unregistered learner is one who has an active enrolment but no NSN value. For this type of learner, a user must search the NSI to determine if the learner details already exist there. If they do, the ebs learner can be matched to the selected NSI record. If they do not, a new record can be added to the NSI.
Unverified learner
An unverified learner or unverified NSN value is where a learner has an NSN value but the NSN has not been confirmed as correct with the NSI. This situation can occur if a learner believes they know their NSN and this value has been entered in ebs by a user with the relevant role. However the NSN has not been confirmed as correct with the NSI.
For this type of learner, a user must search the NSI to determine if the NSN is a valid value and is associated with the correct NSI record. If it is, the ebs learner can be matched to the selected NSI record. If they cannot be matched, a new record can be added to the NSI.
Updated learner
An updated learner is one who has an NSN value but certain ebs fields that are relevant to the NSI have been updated since the last interaction with the NSI. For this type of learner, a user must search the NSI (using the NSN value) to identify the NSI record. When the correct NSI record has been identified, the user can update the NSI record.
Processes
The NSI processes can be actioned for:
- A single learner in the ebs Learner module
- Groups of learners in the ebs NSN module
- Groups of learners using the NSI Batch Interface
Related Topics
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