What are Basedata Files?
Details of examinations are supplied by Examination Boards as basedata files. The Boards distribute a complete set of Basedata appropriate to a particular time of year that they refer to as a Series. The Basedata files contain most of the required information including Syllabuses, Options, Components, dates and duration of examinations, maximum marks for coursework, assessments and whether forecast grades should be sent to the Boards etc. All this information is made available in separate files.

Downloading Basedata Files
The examination boards supply Basedata files - these should be downloaded and unzipped to the root of the examin folder defined within the module.

  • There may be occasions when some Basedata files are incomplete. For example, some Examination Boards include details of the fee for the examination and some include the QCA subject code. It is therefore wise to check whether any further details need to be added once the basedata has been imported. Information regarding the Boards structure can be found on the Boards' websites.

Understanding the Examination Series Code
The Series Code consists of a number of sections. The Series Code in this example is 6a18_01, where:

  • 6 denotes the Series, e.g. 6 is June.
  • typically denotes the level but is arbitrary as the file can contain results at more than one level. This character is defined by the Examination Board, e.g. A Level examinations.
  • 18 relates to the year in which the examinations take place, e.g. 2006.
  • 01 is the issuing Examination Board code, e.g. OCR.

A Couple of Considerations before Importing the Basedata into Examinations Organiser

  • Basedata must be imported into the correct Season - ensure that the appropriate Season has been made current.
  • The Series files issued by the selected Examination Board must match the months within the Season Pattern on which this Season has been based e.g. Series file S6a04_01 can only be imported into a Season with the month 6 =June, 04 =Year 2004, _01 =Board 01 ( OCR)
  • Another example: Basedata Series S1C03_11 can only be imported into a Season Pattern that has the month 1 = January, 03 = Year 2003, _11 = Board 11 (Edexcel/GCE)

You will not be able to import Basedata if the Season is not correct as it will display a message of ; 'Import files are not present for the selected board and season'. Please see here.

How to Import Basedata into Examinations Organiser

  1. Select Focus | Basedata from the Menu Bar to open the Basedata for Season dialog. NOTE: To view the properties of the Examination Board, right click the required Board and select Properties from the pop-up menu. The Boards' 'routing code' must match the Series code.
  2. Right click the Examination Board from whom you wish to import the Basedata and select Import Basedata from the pop-up menu to open the Import Basedata wizard.
  3. Click the Navigator button to display a list of the files available for import, for the selected Examination Board.
  4. Highlight the required file and click the OK button to continue. The selected file will then be displayed in the Series file to import field.
  5. Click the Next button to continue.

Selecting the Basedata to Import
The next stage is to select the Awards and Elements you wish to import as part of your Basedata. This is achieved by navigating from the top level (Award) to the second level (Element) by clicking the + button to expand the Award tree. The Elements will be displayed beneath the Award.  NOTE: To ensure that you make the correct selections from the available Basedata, you can view the properties of any Award, Element of Component present in the Basedata files by right clicking the appropriate item and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu.
When importing basedata, you must decide whether you wish to import JUST the Elements within an Award or to import Elements TOGETHER with the Award with which they are associated. In MOST cases, and if you are at all unsure about this process, you should choose to import both.
 

Importing Elements With Their Associated Award

  1. It is also possible to import some or all Elements, together with their associated Award.
  2. Locate the Award you wish to import and expand the tree structure to display the associated Elements.
  3. Select the check box adjacent to EACH Element you wish to import. The Awards check box will be automatically selected and appears shaded.
  4. To import the Award, in addition to the selected Elements, you MUST select the Award check box again after selecting the Elements to ensure it is black and not grey. This denotes that the selected Elements AND its associated Award will be imported. 
    NOTE: Where an Award check box appears shaded, only the selected Elements beneath will be imported.
  5. Repeat the process for as many Awards and Elements that you wish to import.

Before clicking the Next button, please check that:

  • you have selected the check box adjacent to the Elements you wish to import
  • for each Award you wish to Import, the check box is selected and NOT shaded

Once all the selections have been made, click the Next button to continue. NOTE: Once imported, it is possible to attach Elements to, or detach Elements from an Award at a later date, if required. Please read the guide for Importing and Structuring Basedata - available through SIMS Homepage | Documentation | Exams and Assessment | Examinations.

Importing Elements Without Their Associated Award
It is possible to import ONLY the Elements within an Award, i.e. NOT import the Award itself. This is particularly useful when dealing with Examination Boards such as OCR and Edexcel, whose basedata is structured for Curriculum 2000 items to assign each unit or certification to its own syllabus header. There is, therefore, almost a one-to-one relationship between Option and Syllabus records and since the idea of the Award is to enable users to collect related items into a single structure, it will generally be found inappropriate to import the syllabus record as an Award. As a result, once Elements have been imported, they should be attached to existing Awards or Awards should be created to which Elements can be associated.

  • Expand the Award to display the Elements beneath.
  • Select the check boxes of the Elements you intend to import. The Award check box is automatically selected and appears shaded to denote that ONLY Elements have been chosen for import. If you only import Elements, it is possible to attach them to Awards at a later date.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Following import, you can view the data that has been imported. It is important to note that Elements without an associated Award will not be visible. These Elements will only become visible once they have been associated with an Award.