Infinite Campus:
Your Grades Online
by Callie Johnston
Staff Writer
Some of us have probably noticed at the beginning of class that the teachers are always at the computers. Did anyone ever wonder why?
Infinite campus is the online database that stores student’s grades and other information such as schedules and contact information. The program was launched in 1996 in Minnesota. The creator of the program says that it will eliminate “islands” of information and improve data gathering and management.
The school system purchased the program because it is easily managed, and it was time for an update. This program is less expensive on a per-student basis than others used in the past. The money to pay for it came out of the general fund and, in addition, funds that were used for the last student management software are also being used.
Some may ask about the system crashing or getting hacked. No need to worry about that. Infinite campus uses the same security system as the Department of Defense. Also, it is password protected, so the users have to change their password often. What about crashes? The system is backed up locally and at the Infinite Campus headquarters.
The best part (for some) is the Parent Portal. It is a place where your parents have access to their child’s grades and attendance. Now kids can’t run home to hide their bad report cards! The Parent Portal will be open in the second quarter and parents will be receiving information about it at conferences and at a parent night in November. Teachers can still make comments like they always have on grade cards. If a family can’t access the internet, a hard copy will be sent home.
The Perry School System seems to be greatly pleased with the product since they started using it in March of 2007. They have over 2,000 logins to the Parent Portal on a weekly basis. Their chief technology officer, said, “The biggest benefit that we have gained from our implementation of the product is the ability to collect and use a variety of data in one single system that helps to inform our administrators, teachers, and parents...”.
For more information go to www.mentorschools.org and click on Infinite Campus support or go to www.infinitecampus.com.