One sentiment we often run into is the idea that EMA (Electronic Management of Assessment) is largely similar to a Student Administration System (SAS). And we get the connotation. As soon as someone says ‘management’ in an educational setting, the first thing that comes to mind is a SAS, a place to record, document and manage educational information. And often the administration of EMA is placed within the educational institutions existing student administration system, adding to the misconception.
This is not what EMA is about. Both systems manage important functions for educational institutions, but the functions differ widely. While a SAS retains information about students and keeps it easily accessible, EMA partakes in and facilitates the process of creating the information in relation to exam and assessments.
WISEflow – and EMA in general – is rooted in the academic environment and among the students. Rather than being a system for the student administration alone, it is a system for the students, the educators and the assessors too. In EMA, it is important how these different academic groups work, as it is reflected in the system. Meanwhile, a SAS is set up with the student administration as its primary user group in mind. Because EMA is an academic system, it is also involved in the review and quality assurance processes that take place in the academic environment – not in the student administrative environment.