Q. What is NRS?

A. The National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS) is the accountability system for the Federally funded adult education program, mandated by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The NRS includes student measures to describe adult education students, program participation and assessment of the impact of adult education instruction, methodologies for collecting the measures, reporting forms and procedures, and training and technical assistance activities to assist states in collecting the measures.

With the help of State directors of adult education, the project has developed indicators of performance to demonstrate State adult education agencies’ impact, and has developed a national system for collecting information on adult education student outcomes. The NRS requirements were effective beginning in July 2000.

Q. What are the topical areas on the left menu bar?

A. We have re-designed NRSWeb to make it easier to navigate and more user friendly. The left menu reflects this commitment by organizing materials topically rather than by resource type. About NRS provides useful information about the Web site, the history of NRS, and contact information for project staff, technical working group members, and U.S. Department of Education staff. NRS Guidelines contains the core of the accountability system - the NRS Implementation Guidelines - and other key documents that provide guidance to states in implementing the NRS. Making NRS Work contains documents and training resources that are application-based – for example, how to improve your data quality, how to use NRS data, and how to best monitor your programs. The State and National Reports pages provide visitors with state-specific information and access to national reports, and finally, Training lists both recent events and archived training events, along with all associated training notebooks, guides, and facilitators notes, as well as links to online training courses and webinars.

Q. What are NRS training events and meetings about? Who is invited and how?

A. NRS project staff focuses on providing training and technical assistance to State and Local program staff in areas relevant to implementing NRS and using data effectively. Several types of training are offered including face-to-face training for program staff on ensuring data quality and using data for program improvement, policy and procedure meetings which inform State staff of recent and upcoming policy changes, online NRS Webinars which are facilitated by NRS project staff, and online self-paced training modules. State directors are informed regularly on upcoming training events and select participants at their discretion.

Q. What online training does NRS offer?

A. We have designed online training courses for adult education program administrators that explain NRS requirements and provide guidance on how to improve the quality of NRS data collection. Courses are available on NRS-related topics including:

• What is the NRS?
• NRS Data Flow
• Using NRS Data
• Data Quality Guide

These online training courses are provided as professional development opportunities for adult education staff. The training courses can be used by administrators for their own certification purposes and for in-depth learning.

Q. How do I log in to access the online training courses? Why is this required?

A. Anytime you try to access an online training course, you will be prompted to log in to your account. If you do not have an account you will have to register for one by providing your name, e-mail address, location, organization, username, and password.

• Logging in enables you to track your progress throughout the training courses. On the course page you will see one of the following displays: Not attempted, In progress, or Completed.
• Logging in provides you with a record of course progress and completed courses.
• Log out by following the link as shown on the page.

Additionally, a course reset feature is available. Resetting a course will erase all answers you have entered for a course; however, the system will retain a record of your having completed that course.

The information entered at registration is private and will not be shared with anyone outside the NRS project. We may use your e-mail address to contact you regarding your account. Otherwise, the only e-mail you will receive from NRSWeb is when you request that your login information or password be sent to you. The only time your answers to training questions are seen by anyone other than you is when the webmasters perform site maintenance.

Q. Can I receive certification for completing an online training course?

A. The online training courses are provided as a free service to adult education professionals. We do not offer formal certification. Actual certification is left to the local administrators and the courses/scenarios they deem essential for their program. The training courses can be used by administrators for both certification purposes and in-depth learning.

Q. What is an NRS Webinar?

A. NRS Webinars are an opportunity for state directors of adult education and their staff to attend regular online training courses on topics pertinent to NRS including the revised NRS Implementation Guidelines and planning for a successful data system. These training courses are announced on the home page of the Web site and listed under the Calendar. Additionally, state directors are invited via e-mail several weeks prior to each event. All NRS Webinar materials are available on NRSWeb.

Q. What is NRS Tips?

A. NRS Tips is a quick reference tool for state staff, program directors, and adult education teachers. NRS Tips is available on a number of growing topics including:

• Revised NRS Implementation Guidelines
• Planning an NRS Data System Creating Longitudinal Data Systems
• Adult Education Assessments (coming soon)
• NRS Goal Setting (coming soon)

Q. What is an NRS FastFact?

A. An NRS FastFact presents different statistics about adult education at the national level with state highlights, such as attendance rates and age groups.

Q. What State and National reports are offered? What new items are coming soon?

A. The redesigned NRSWeb site offers state and national pages which will provide visitors with state-specific information. Also available will be national reports such as the Report to Congress and NRS FastFacts.

Q. What is the difference between What’s New and In Focus?

A. NRSWeb offers a regularly updated What’s New link to new publications and upcoming NRS-related events. The In Focus section spotlights a particular publication, event, frequently asked question, or other topic of interest related to NRS.

Q. How do I contact NRS with questions and comments?

A. Contact NRS project staff at nrs@air.org with any questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you! To see a list of NRS project staff and U.S. Department of Education staff visit Who’s Who at NRS.

Q. What are the computer requirements for accessing this website?

A. To fully operate within this website, you will need to have a JavaScript, Style Sheet enabled browser (Firefox, Netscape, Opera or Internet Explorer version 4.5 or higher) with the Macromedia Flash plug-in installed. Unfortunately, the Data Scenarios in the online training courses do not work in Firefox. Those individuals who do not wish or are not allowed to alter their current browser settings may find that the training courses do not function properly; however, you will still have access to the remainder of the website.

The Macromedia Flash plug-in is used in the online training courses. You may go directly to Flash Installation Page to install it in your browser.

Other downloads that you may need in order to access files on this site:

• Raindance Player
• Adobe Reader