Student Performance Tracking Database Application

Sansoft IMS, a provider of highly affordable, data-driven business applications and services, successfully developed custom-built database application for Cornell University’s Department of Food Science.
Cornell University’s Department of Food Science is part of Cornell’s Graduate School Program. Students with an undergraduate degree that are interested in pursuing an advanced degree in Enology (food science) can enroll in one of four programs: PhD, MS, MPS, or the Summer Scholar Program. In order to provide the best academic experience for their students and the level of support desired to their alumni, the Department of Food Science needed a customized technology solution that would meet their requirements without breaking their budget.
Cornell’s Department of Food Science decided in order to support the academic goals of the department and the ongoing needs of both students and alumni that a custom application needed to be developed. The application would need to provide functionality supporting the four different food science programs. Additionally, any solution had to be versatile enough to add value for both current students and alumni and provide a wide range of services ranging from academic planning to financial reporting.
Janette Robbins, who joined Cornell 12 years ago, had created her own Microsoft Access database to start tracking the department’s graduate students and alumnae.
What I created was, well, frankly it was terrible,” Robbins says with a laugh. “I’m a computer literate person, and I was able to get everything I needed into the database but, after a while, I found that the really important thing is being able to get out what you need.
“I was spending all of my time trying to get the information I needed out of that database. It was frustrating. I realized I needed some help.”
The Food Sciences Program realized that in order to effectively and efficiently handle the needs of both their students and alumni, they needed a comprehensive data-driven solution. Microsoft Access, the fastest prototyping tool in the world, was the perfect platform to rapidly build the custom data functionality the program required at a fraction of the cost of purchasing, modifying, and implementing an off-the-shelf solution.
Sansoft IMS’s engineering team wasted no time working with the department’s subject matter experts in order to gain a solid understanding of the project’s high level business requirements. This detailed understanding enabled them to design the right solution to meet the program’s needs. By leveraging the power of Microsoft Access in conjunction with MS Excel, the team rapidly turned the pre-approved business requirements and conceptual design into a high-quality solution, completely customized to meet the needs of the Food Science Program.
“By leveraging the core competencies of our team, we were able to provide the Food Science Program with comprehensive functionality tailor-made to meet their needs. Working closely with the team members from the University made it possible to provide a rapidly developed, fully customized solution that met all of the program’s needs.”
The Sansoft IMS team designed and built a Microsoft Access solution that provides customized functionality to support the Food Science Program; tracking the progress of each student as they complete their courses and degree requirements, allowing for continued tracking and support even after graduation. The application supports the needs of all four programs and provides functionality for academic planning, exam administration, project tracking including deadlines, and annual reports requiring financial information.
For educational institutions, custom-built solutions using Microsoft Access are a cost-effective way to meet their technology needs. The custom solutions developed by Sansoft IMS using the Microsoft Access platform offer the perfect option for exceptional performance and comprehensive functionality, balanced by low cost and low risk. Solutions such as this allow educational institutions like Cornell to get what they need without spending precious dollars on big pre-made packages, where they pay for many extraneous features they don’t need.
About Sansoft IMS
Since 1997, Sansoft IMS has delivered nearly hundreds custom solutions with 100% success. This immeasurable practice has made us capable of eradicating risk from the business analysis, the design, and the coding. We know the critical path to success of your project because our team has traveled that same path over a thousand times. We adhere carefully to best practices and industry standards. The key to success we've learned is that regular communication and agile development are the most cost efficient.
Over the years, we have managed to build a solid team of software outsourcing professionals that come from various backgrounds and expand the creative potential of the company. The expertise that they posses embraces a wide range of custom programming skills involving the latest and most effective development technologies and databases like Visual Basic (.NET), SQL Server, SQL Azure and Microsoft Access along with reporting tools like Crystal Reports, SQL Server Reporting Services, and the Microsoft Office tools Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. This, to a great extent, defines the quality and reliability of the custom software applications that we develop. Our competence and experience ensure that we deliver excellent services and products to our customers. At every stage of the development process, from conceptual design to product release, the highest quality standards are maintained. Our extensive communication facilities allow us to keep in touch with our customers 24 hours a day.
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