Decision Academic has developed AMANDA^.edu, the architecture on which Decision Academic's Student Services are built. In creating AMANDA^.edu, Decision Academic has leveraged the concepts of Decision Support Systems (DSS), a specific class of computerized information systems that support decision-making activities, and applied it to the particular needs of institutions serving today's Students.

The underlying technology is .Net, C# and XML. Industry standards are complied with when and where applicable.

AMANDA^.edu Schematic

AMANDA^.edu is the architectural foundation which allows Decision Academic to customize our product implementations to meet the individual needs of an institution. Faster implementation translates to lower initial and ongoing maintenance costs and the ability to rapidly respond to changes in policy. The four dimensions of customization with AMANDA^.edu are:

Presentation Layer

The look and feel of the AMANDA^.edu presentation layer can be easily customized to support each institution. The presentation layer is compliant with Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, providing accessibility to disabled persons. An institution can control:

Alternative terms/labels
Style sheets
Colors
Fonts
Banners

Configurable Services

AMANDA^.edu Configurable Services are what gives the architecture the power to adapt to the functional needs of each institution and to evolve over time.

Workflow Engine

The Workflow Engine has a graphical UI which allows for fast implementation and modification of your institution's processes.

Business Rules Engine

This XML based tool enables the institution to specify conditions and outcomes that meet their needs.

Notifications Manager

The Notification Manager manages email between stakeholders and participants when events occur.

Scheduling Manager

Events (e.g. batch report) are scheduled by the Scheduling Manager.

Reporting Manager

The Reporting Manager provides an easy to use ad hoc reporting capability.

Forms Manager

Presentation and input of data is controlled by the Forms Manager. The institution can hide or display data and change the data label, order, and editing.

Access & Privileges Manager

The Access & Privileges Manager provides role management combined with both functional and data access privileges.

Extensible Data Layer

The Common Database contains the following:

Course information
Degree descriptions & requirements
Transfer & Articulation information
Course registration rules

AMANDA^.edu tools manage and control the database:

Content approval processes
Inputs from external sources
Push/pull to institutional SIS

Finally, AMANDA^.edu supports Variable Data - institutions can extend the AMANDA^.edu database to meet their needs.

Interoperability

The Interoperability Layer uses web services and open standards to integrate with disparate SIS's, CMS's and other systems across multiple institutions. Technology partners using multiple formats are supported; IMS, XML and HTML.