As most sites are aware, the Ministry of Education will be requiring all 2008 Single Data Returns (SDR) onward to furnish both permanent and term address postcodes as part of the extraction process.  For both permanent and term address postcodes, the Ministry has said they will accept 9999 for International Students and 8888 for domestic students where the postcode is not known.

With this upcoming change comes a potential problem.  When sites want to use Artena to produce mailings, the 9999  or 8888 will go on the address labels and cause havoc with the post.  We have analyzed this concern here, in consultation with sites, and have a path we would like to take.  The best way forward is to NOT INPUT 8888 or 9999 for the postcode on permanent and term addresses.  Continue to enter postcodes for international and domestic students as you normally would for mailings.  If a domestic student doesn’t have a postcode, leave it blank.   

We will add logic to the SDR extraction process to carry out the following two processes:

1.       If the students’ domestic address postcode for permanent and/or term is blank, the postcode(s) will be automatically set to 8888.

2.       If the student is an international with a foreign address postcode for permanent and/or term, the postcode(s) will be automatically set to 9999. 

This path of implementation should allow sites to keep their work processes as they currently are.  Because of the implications these postcodes have on mailings, be certain to circulate a notice to staff advising them on how you wish to proceed internally.  If you have any queries or concerns, please contact us.

Regards,

David Stember

Business Analyst

SMSS