i. institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects
Master of Architecture
Master of Architecture with emphasis in Interior Architecture
- To allow the timely, less expensive printing of paper documents as needed
- To create an archive of student work and curriculum initiatives as evidenced in student production.
b) Technical Description Overview
AIADO currently uses an internally developed system for archiving and reviewing student
documents. This is built on a standard Linux / Apache / MySQL / PHP (LAMP) platform and
uses LDAP authentication and secure HTTP to limit access to its data and documents.
c) Software
This system contains two main components:
o The “Drop Box”, an authenticated web system which allows faculty to upload and
assess documents from anywhere on the internet, rather than having to be on-campus
or on the SAIC network. It cross-references SAIC data regarding faculty, AIADO courses,
and rosters, with current NAAB assessment criteria, and allows faculty to easily review
and assess only those documents relevant to their courses. Uploads to this system are
automatically packaged, indexed and transferred to the Archive described below.
o The Archive, which exists on a separate, limited-access server, provides long-term
storage of the uploaded documents. Access to this system is restricted to selected
groups via LDAP, and is only available to teams working on accreditation or similar proj-
ects, as-needed. This system also provides a complex searching and reporting interface,
including searches of text within each document, in order to identify and view docu-
ments pertaining to specific semesters, courses and/or accordance with specific NAAB
criteria.
d) Hardware
Two separate servers exist for this system, and both reside in restricted segments of the Art
Institute’s data center. Each system is backed up and maintained by a team of system admin-
istrators, according to enterprise maintenance standards.
e) Data input procedure overview
o Students receive precise instructions on documenting their work in course syllabi.
Work that addresses appropriate and agreed upon NAAB Student Performance Criteria,
and schematic work leading up to finished work, should be part of the final compilation
each student prepares and turns in at the end of each semester.
o Students produce work using InDesign in PDF format, normally 24” x 36” for consis-
tency, with a specific file-naming protocol, and submits disc to faculty.
o Faculty examine the PDF work from each student, storing it on their faculty com-
puter hard drives, and correcting the naming protocol as necessary.
o Faculty access the data entry interface of the system (each new course must get its
course data through software hooks from the registrar’s PeopleSoft system).
o Faculty select student names, performance criteria, and assessment terms from pull
down lists with minimal keypunched data entry. This becomes the meta-data file.
o At the end of data entry Faculty upload PDFs of each individual student into the
archive system.
o Faculty review digital course documents, then print to paper and save to DVD the
NAAB course book, including syllabus, assignments, hand-outs, and readings.
o For newer versions of previously uploaded projects, as happens with incompletes,
these are marked as subsequent to old versions. Old versions do not get upgraded or
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