Update from Trinity Online

IN 2002 we reported on developments at Trinity College, London, an international examination board in the performance arts, where an ageing database was put online by Sense Internet to better serve its users—6,000 examination centres in more than fifty countries. Benefits were immediate because paper-based processes, including mailing and faxing information, were dropped in favour of web-based administration giving all users access to the database allowing them to keep up-to-date immediately, at any time.

Since 2003 major developments have included the implementation of Phase 2 of Trinity Online: new features for diploma examinations, variable fee structures for allowing discounted admission schemes, and extensions to support new kinds of exam-inations. In January 2004, Sense ported diploma examination data from the original ‘old’ database to Trinity Online, accommodating the different examination and attainment behaviours of Trinity’s departments.

Historical diploma data was then extracted from the old database and ported into TrinityOnline. In March Trinity amalgamated with the Guildhall Examination Service and asked Sense to port all the data from Guildhall’s ageing Interbase database to Trinity Online. The software had originally been based on a library administration system and tweaked to suit Guildhall’s examinations. The migration was completed after Trinity Online was enlarged with added functionality for the new users from the Guildhall and after Sense held workshops with Guildhall staff to make sure they were happy with the new service they would be getting.

Recently, a set of government-led examinations called Skills for Life were added to TrinityOnline. Skills for Life is a new string to Trinity’s assessment portfolio and the extra functionality required forms an important extension to Trinity Online.

Sense Internet Ltd, Devonshire House, 38 York Place, Leeds LS1 2ED. Tel: 0113 293 7373; fax: 0113 293 7374; www.sense.co.uk/; e-mail: sense@sense.co.uk

IM@T Online January 2005