SAM V2

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SAM V2 is used by Disability Service Providers to manage students receiving accommodations from disability services.

In addition to tracking student data, SAM V2 allows users to manage and report on:

SAM V2 can also auto-generate accommodation notification letters.

Architecture and Features

SAM V2 is functionally similar to SAM V1 in terms of data tracking, but differs in terms of architecture, user interface, and reporting. While SAM V1 follows a software as a service model, SAM V2 requires that the software be installed on computers owned and managed by the user. Please review the SAM descriptions and pricing document for a comparison between SAM V1 and SAM V2.

SAM V2 was developed using the leading open source solutions of PHP and MySQL. For an overview of PHP and MySQL and why these products where used, see Why PHP and MySQL.

Other features of SAM V2 include:

  • Web-based
  • Accessible
  • Custom, printable reporting
  • Access control via logins
  • Data encryption
  • Data export

Knowledge of SQL is required to create custom reports using the SAM V2 interface. Additionally, SQL can be used to import or manipulate data.

Terminology

SAM V2 is a relational database application, and as such, an understanding of the following database terms and concepts is essential:

Access

Login and Password

Access to SAM V2 requires a login and password. Users are provided with their own login and password that are maintained by the application administrator within the SAM V2 application.

Multiple logins with the same login are allowed.

Passwords are case sensitive.

Permissions

Within SAM V2, permissions are setup per user for each table. It is possible to control if the user can add, edit, delete, or view records within the table. There is no field or record level permission in SAM V2, so if a user can view a table, they can view all records and all fields within the table.

Tables

SAM V2 is comprised of the following tables:

For each table, records can be added, edited, deleted, or viewed, depending on the user’s permission. To view table descriptions, relationships, process flows, and detailed field information, click on a table name listed above.

Installation

SAM V2 requires the customer to have a web server with PHP installed. The PHP installation must also have the MySQL extension installed. MySQL should also be installed, either on the web server or another computer that can communicate with the web server. For information on installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL, read this recommended PHP MySQL Tutorial.

Once the above software is installed and configured, SAM V2 is installed as follows:

  1. Create the MySQL sam database using the sam_shema.sql script. Typically this database is created by running the following MySQL command: mysql -u root -p[root password] < sam_schema.sql
  2. Create a MySQL user and grant all schema privleges for the sam database to this user. Typically, the easiest way to do this is to use the MySQL Administrator logged in as root.
  3. Install the SAM V2 PHP source code onto the web server by unzipping and extracting the samv2.zip file. Be sure to extract the files to the location you intend to use as the URL. If your web server address is 128.192.60.163 and you extract samv2.zip to the projects directory, then your SAM V2 software URL will be 128.192.60.163/projects/samv2.
  4. Modify the following programs:
    1. header.php - Change the $institution variable to be the name of your institution
    2. dbconnect.php - Change the MySQL connection parameters to be IP address of the machine running your MySQL database, the port number (typically 3306), and the username and password you setup in step 2.
  5. Log into the SAM V2 application as the administrator. Before any users can access the application, you must define users and permissions. Tools to create users and configure permissions are located under the Administration menu.

Licensing

Pricing

Initial Fee
  • One Payment of $950
  • AMAC Members $750 (Reduced)
Hosting/User Fees
  • There are no hosting or user fees:
    • PHP and SAM V2 PHP source code are installed on web server owned and managed by institution
    • MySQL and SAM V2 MySQL database are installed on server owned and managed by institution
    • PHP and MySQL are open source
Support Fee
  • $500/year
  • Covers application training, application questions, assistance with report creation, data import/export, and integration with external systems (i.e. Banner).
Customization Fee
  • $125/hour