DATA ENTRY STANDARDS

Standardization of information within RockValleyCollege’s databases is a necessity to ensure accuracy and consistency. The information provided herein should be adhered to byall personnel involved in the maintenance of any part of any module.

GUIDELINES
GENERAL
Data in field names should always be spelled out. Addresses, in particular, should be completely spelled out, even if it means using two address field lines. If, because of field length, it is impossible to spell out each word, standard abbreviations should be used. / A list of commonly used standard abbreviations is included in Appendix A. (For a more complete list of standard address abbreviations, see the National Zip Code Directory or check the United Postal Service website at
Do not enter prefixes
Generally, all dates will be entered using a six digit number representing MM/DD/YY(e.g. Entering 062204 will generate 06/22/2004). However, you may need to enter an eight digit number representing MM/DD/YYYY for certain years to ensure that the correct year appears (e.g. if you wanted 1904 instead of 2004). / For years ending in 00-29, putting in the two digit year will return 2000-2029, while for years ending in 30-99, the two digit year will generate a year of 1930-1999.
The “/” is only required between numbers when using a free form text field (e.g. Met with John Smith on 06/22/04).
In free form fields, all data should be upper/lowercase, with all data spelled out. If, because of field length, it is necessary to abbreviate, use standard abbreviations (some of which are listed in Appendix A).
ADDRESS
Enter zip codes in the CITY field so that the appropriate CITY, STATE and ZIP will automatically be entered. If the city name that appears is not the same as the one received, you can then type over the CITY name (e.g. 12309 pulls up Schenectady instead of Niskayuna). / This will prevent typographical errors, since the zip code table is tied to the appropriate city. You can even enter zip codes with extensions – do not include the hyphen (e.g. 12309-4206 should be entered as 123094206).
This also allows the COUNTY field to automatically update.
Abbreviate directions included in street names (e.g. 37 NE 87th Street but NOT South St).
Abbreviate compass points NE, NW, SE, SW without periods when they are used following a street name to indicate a section of the city (e.g. 407 Massachusetts Avenue NE).
Abbreviate North, South, East and West following a street name, and omit any punctuation(e.g. 10 Park Avenue S).
For addresses which include apartment, suite or room number, this information should immediately follow the street name on the same line (with no punctuation). Where the name of the street or building address is too long to include additional information on the same line, the apartment, suite or room number should be placed on the line immediately ABOVE the street or building address (per US Postal Service Standards). / e.g. If 123 Vanderheyden Boulevard Apt 3456 doesn’t fit on one line, the address fields should be:
Apt 3456
123 Vanderheyden Boulevard
Boulevard will shorten to Blvd as will other common
Street names like Road, Street, etc.
Employee address changes need to be made in H.R.
NAMES
The middle name field must include the “.” if there is only an initial entered. / If only the initial is entered with no “.” the preferred name will not appear correctly (e.g. Donald R Brown, instead of Donald R. Brown).
Maiden/Birth name updates must include both the last name and first name fields (even though first name doesn’t change) for lookup purposes. This also applies when updating the “Other” name field. / If only the maiden/birth last name field is updated, you will be unable to search on the combination of first name and maiden/birth last name.
Hyphenated last names should be entered in the last name field, with no entry in the maiden name field. / e.g. Jane Doe-Smith (hyphenated) should appear as:
LAST NAME: Doe-Smith
FIRST NAME Jane
MAIDEN LAST and MAIDEN FIRST NAME: blank
Non-hyphenated last names that include both maiden and married names should be entered as normal (with last name containing the married last name and maiden name containing the unmarried last name), but the preferred mail name should appropriately reflect the complete name. / e.g. Jane Doe Smith (no hyphen) should appear as:
LAST NAME: Smith
FIRST NAME: Jane
MAIDEN LAST NAME: Doe
MAIDEN FIRST NAME: Jane
Her mail name fields should be edited to reflect her complete name “Jane Doe Smith”.
Individuals using initials with their first name should be entered with their initial and middle name together in the first name field. The other name field should then be entered to reflect each part of the name appropriately. / e.g. J. Roger Johnson should appear as:
LAST NAME: Johnson
FIRST NAME: J. Roger
MIDDLE NAME: blank
OTHER LAST NAME: Johnson
OTHER FIRST NAME: J.
OTHER MIDDLE NAME: Roger
This will allow name lookup to work correctly and FIRST NAME and LAST NAME to appear correctly.
TITLES & MAILING LABELS
The word “and” will be used instead of the “&” character when used in a joint title/label. / e.g., Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brown.
Do NOT use both a prefix and suffix in a title. / e.g. John C. Brown, M.D. or Dr. John C. Brown, NOT Dr. John C. Brown, M.D.
Do NOT use a prefix before a name if the term Esq. follows the name. A comma should separate the last name and the suffix. / e.g. Rita A. Henry, Esq. NOT Ms. Rita A. Henry, Esq..
Use a comma before Jr. or Sr. in a title, but not before II, III, etc. / e.g. John Adams, Jr., Edward W. Adams II
Use a comma between the last name and any academic degrees or religious orders. / e.g. Nat K. Johnson, Ph.D. or the Reverend John Day, O.S.B.
If a person has a military title and suffix, both should be used. If the field length doesn’t allow, then drop the suffix first. / e.g. Captain Mary K. Vandenhoven, USN or Captain Mary K. Vandenhoven.
If mailing label is too long, drop the middle initial. If the label is still too long, drop the suffix. If still too long, drop the prefix. / e.g. Ms. Georgiana D. Constantinopopolis may become Georgiana Constantinopopolis.

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ADDRESS FORMATTING

(Reprinted from the National Zip Code Directory, Volume I - 2003,

with information from the U.S. Postal Service)

The following examples illustrate various addressing formats that include ZIP+4 codes. Use them as a guide in preparing address lists.

International Addresses

(postal/zip codes do not appear on last line of the mailing address)

David Lewis

48 Summer Road

Summertown

Oxford 0X27 QD

England