Dashboards for Student Success
  • 22 Nov 2023
  • 2 minute read
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Dashboards for Student Success

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Article Summary

Dashboards can be embedded in many Slate tools. They display custom, read-only data meant to be read at a glance. Dashboards can be further customized with some advanced liquid markup, a classic example being color-coded data points that indicate levels of severity.

Some example locations where you might find a dashboard include:

  • The dashboard tab of a person or dataset record

  • An Inbox message

  • While comparing two records within Consolidate Records

  • Batch Acquire

Example Dashboard - Advisor Snapshot

An example dashboard on a person record

Summit 2023 Feature: Dashboard Editor

To create or edit a dashboard, navigate to Database > Dashboards. A list of existing dashboards appears. Select one of the location filters on the right to narrow the list.

Dashboard Editor

Creating a dashboard

To create a new dashboard:

  1. From the main navigation, select Database.

  2. Under Records and Datasets, select Dashboards.

  3. Click New Dashboard. A pop-up appears.

  4. Configure the following settings:

    • Name: Enter a short, descriptive name, such as "Advisor Snapshot" or "Student Success Dashboard."

    • Type: Select a location in which the dashboard should appear. Options include:

      • Batch Acquire

      • Consolidate Records

      • First Draft

      • Inbox

      • Record (used in this example)

      • Research

      • Slate Voice

      • User

    • Base: Select the base on which the dashboard query should run. Available bases depend on the selected type. In this example, we've selected Person

  5. Click Save.

Create New Dashboard

You are redirected to the edit dashboard page.

Editing a dashboard

Two tabs are available: Edit Dashboard and Edit Query. Start by selecting the Edit Query tab.

Edit Query tab

The Edit Query tab lets you craft a Configurable Joins query that can pull and dynamically display on the dashboard any data point in your database.

Filters

Filters allow you to select the attributes of the records on which you'd like the dashboard to appear.

Example Filters

Sample filters for an advisor snapshot dashboard

Exports

Select the exports you'd like to appear on the dashboard.

For use in merge fields, rename each export to be computer-friendly (all lowercase, no special characters except for hyphens and underscores).

Tip

Keep dashboards lean by using a simple test: “If the student walks into the office, what information would I need to know immediately?” Often, it’s only a handful of data points. 

Example Exports and Joins

Sample exports and their associated joins for an advisor snapshot dashboard

With the query configured, head back to the Edit Dashboard tab.

Edit Dashboard tab

The Edit Dashboard tab lets you craft the appearance of the dashboard. Merge fields appear on the right.

Open the source editor to add CSS and HTML styling to your dashboard.

Tip

Use translation codes to assign color values to selected number ranges.

Edit dashboard tab

Sample code: Declared major

In the Edit Query tab, make an export for academic major and rename it declared-major.

Then, try pasting the following sample code in the source editor of your dashboard. It will render as a block that displays the person's academic major.

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title></title>
<style type="text/css">.dash_table {display: flex; flex-flow: row wrap; justify-content: flex-start; align-content: flex-start; }
</style>
<style type="text/css">.dash_table > div { margin: 8px; padding: 15px; box-sizing: border-box; width: 175px; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
 <div class="dash_table">
<div style="border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 10px; border-radius: 5px;">
<b>Major</b>
<div style="font-size: 1.25em; margin: 5px 0;">
{{declared-major}}
</div>
</div>

Click Preview Dashboard. A pop-up appears. Enter a name in the Search Records field. The dashboard element appears below as it would on that person's record.

Tip

Person Record Dashboards can also include iframes. Any embedded portal from an external system can appear dynamically on the record. This includes other dashboards, videos, data tables, and more. 

Sample Dashboard - Declared Major

Sample dashboard element provided in this example


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