Steps to Add a Custom FieldAdd the following seven custom fields to the Employee File: 1) Education Attained (referenced custom field, with the appropriate 2-digit codes as the referenced values); 2) Paraprofessional Assessment (referenced custom field, with the appropriate 1-digit codes as the referenced values); 3) Contract (referenced custom field, with Y for Yes and N for No as the referenced value); 4) Include on NSSRS Report (referenced custom field, with Y for Yes and N for No as the referenced value); 5) Primary Subject Area (referenced custom field, with the appropriate 2-digit codes as the referenced values); 6) Staff ID (text custom field); and 7) Date of Contract (date custom field). If this step has already been completed, skip to Step 2.
Note: The Include on NSSRS Report field is used as another level of selection when specifying which employees to include on the report, in addition to the pay groups selection. For those school districts with the Human Resources module, if designated, the system will use the Education screen of the Employee File to determine the education attained by the employee as based on the Degrees and the Continuing Education courses (only those with the Count Toward Education Level field selected and the Degree field blank), if applicable; therefore, only define and complete a custom field for Education Attained to override the information of an employee as entered in the Employee File, if applicable.
Tip: Refer to the codes given with the instructions for the Nebraska Student and Staff Records System issued by the Department of Education when creating the IDs and values for the Education Attained, Paraprofessional Assessment, and Primary Subject Area referenced custom fields as valid codes are required.
Complete the custom fields added in Step 1 for each applicable employee to be included in the Nebraska Staff Reporting option (and for those who should be excluded from the applicable pay groups by entering N in the Include on NSSRS Report custom field).
Note: If desired, use the Adjust Custom Fields option to complete the custom fields, or import a file containing this custom field information for the employees (for example, import a file from the state containing the assigned staff ID number for employees into the School Accounting System).
In the Employee File, bring up an employee and then click the Custom Fields tab.
Tip: To bring up the first employee for which to edit the custom fields, click the First Record button and then utilize the Next Record button to scroll through all the employees.
If the employee’s contract is held by your school district, enter Y for Yes in the Contract custom field. If the employee’s contract is held by a different school district or organization, enter N for No in the Contract custom field. If the response is the same as the default (entered in the Default Value field for Contract when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option), leave this field blank.
Tip: If desired, only complete this field for those employees whose contracts are held by a different school district or organization, or for those employees with the applicable assignment codes (for example, paraprofessionals, substitutes, and coaches) and it is their only assignment, by entering N. Then when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option, enter Y as the Default Value for Contract for use with all other employees.
Note: If a Default Value is not entered for Contract when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option and the Contract custom field is left blank for an employee, the system will assume N for No.
Enter the appropriate 2-digit code for the type of degree earned by the employee in the Education Attained custom field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one. If the code is the same as the default (entered in the Default Value field for Education Attained when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option), leave this field blank. For those school districts with the Human Resources module, only complete this custom field to override the education attained by an employee as entered on the Education screen in the Employee File, if applicable.
Note: This field is only required for those employees with a contract held by your district or for employees with an applicable assignment code and building (for example, instructional support paraprofessionals working in schoolwide Title I buildings); however, if a Default Value for Education Attained is entered when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option, this field should be completed for all employees not equal to the specified default value, including the employees for which the field is not required to be completed.
Tip: If desired, only complete this field for those employees for which it is required, and then when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option, do not enter a Default Value for Education Attained.
If desired, enter N in the Include on NSSRS Report custom field for those employees who should not be included in the report, and enter Y for those employees who should be included. If the response is the same as the default (entered in the Default Value field for Include on NSSRS Report when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option), leave this field blank.
Tip: If desired, only complete this field for those employees within the applicable pay groups who should not be included in the file (by entering N here). Then when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option, enter Y as the Default Value for Include on NSSRS Report for use with the other employees.
For those employees who are instructional support paraprofessionals only, enter the appropriate 1-digit code for the assessment passing score in the Paraprofessional Assessment custom field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one. If the code is the same as the default (entered in the Default Value field for Paraprofessional Assessment when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option), leave this field blank.
Enter the appropriate 2-digit code for the subject area primarily taught by the employee in the Primary Subject Area custom field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one. If the code is the same as the default (entered in the Default Value field for Primary Subject Area when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option), leave this field blank.
Tip: If desired, only complete this field for those employees who are teachers by entering the applicable code for their primary subject area. Then when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option, enter 00 for 'Position does not require a Primary Subject Area' as the Default Value for Primary Subject Area for use with all other employees (those in non-teaching positions).
Enter the 10-digit number assigned to the employee by the Department of Education in the Staff ID custom field.
Note: For newly hired employees, leave this field blank at this time if the ID number is not known; then when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option, complete the process for obtaining the staff ID numbers from the state for new employees and importing the data into this custom field for those employees.
Enter the date of when the employee was most recently contracted by the school district for the current school year in the Date of Contract custom field. Use the mm/dd/yyyy format or click the down-arrow button to select the desired date. If the date is the same as the default (entered in the Default Value field for Date of Contract when completing the Nebraska Staff Reporting option), leave this field blank.
Note: The Department of Education recommends to use the first day of the contract period (for example, 09/01/2024) as the Date of Contract so that the majority of the employees will have the same date.
Click the Save button.
Verify that the following fields of information are also completed for the applicable employees on the other various screens of the Employee File: 1) Name & Address screen—Middle Name field and the Email Addresses section with at least one email address entered with the Other Communication field selected; 2) Employment screen—Gender, Ethnicity, Years of Service (Internal), Years of Service (External in State), Years of Service (External Out of State), and Race fields; and 3) Wages screen—Regular Days and Additional Days fields for the contract pay codes used to pay the base salary. If needed, complete the fields at this time for the applicable employees; then click the Save button.
Tip: The Years of Service (Internal) field should reflect the total number of years of experience the employee has in education (in whole numbers) at your school district including the current school year.
Note: The email address is only required for those employees with a contract held by your district. The years of experience are not required for paraprofessionals, substitutes, or coaches.
Repeat Steps 2-3 for each applicable employee to be included in the report (and for those who should be excluded from the applicable pay groups by completing the Include on NSSRS Report custom field).
Continue with Step 2 on the Nebraska Staff Reporting Completion Checklist.
