Caption: ASCC Student Support Services Director Dr. Repeka Ala'imoana Nu'usa congratulates Tepatasi Alofi of Samoa Digital Pro on the successful installation of the division's new Data Management System. (Photo: J.
Kneubuhl)

The Student Support Services (SSS) division of the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) recently made a substantial investment in streamlining its data process, and held a workshop last week to unveil their new Data Management System. The new system, the result of eight months of development by the team of father Tepatasi Lealofi and son Shon Lealofi of Samoa Digital Pro, will greatly assist the SSS staff with the collection and management of student data, records, and reports. All of this information forms the basis of the required Annual Performance Report to the Federal Department of Education. During last week’s workshop, Lealofi Sr. gave an explanation to both the SSS staff and representatives of the College on how the system will function internally and with the College as a whole. 

SSS Director Dr. Repeka Ala’imoana-Nu’usa explained that the idea of improving her division’s data system first came about when ASCC student Shon Lealofi volunteered as an SSS math tutor last year. “Shon did an analysis of our old system and offered some very good ideas on how we could make it more efficient,” said Dr. Ala’imoana-Nuusa. “This led me to make a major upgrade, which will now enable us to manage a vast amount of record keeping. The programmers designed the system specifically to meet SSS needs and reporting purposes, and I feel that it gives us an advantage in terms of maintenance to have a system created by a firm based here in American Samoa. This makes it much easier to work together in upgrading it to meet our record keeping needs.”

Tepatasi Lealofi, who graduated from ASCC in 1983, recalled getting his first introduction to computers at the College. Lealofi subsequently worked as a computer technician for Samoa Packing, and then ASPA, before forming his own company, Samoa Digital Pro, last year. Today, he provides consulting services in American Samoa as well as other U.S. Trust Territories. Asked about the prospects of the computer industry here in the Territory, Lealofi offered the opinion that, “Fortunately, in American Samoa we have a good number of Information Technology personnel skilled in networking and hardware, but we need more programmers, especially those who can write source code.”  On a lighter note, he hopes the fiber optic cable currently under discussion will eventually turn into a reality for American Samoa because, “Then those of us in the Information Technology field could upgrade and manage systems across the globe while sitting under a coconut tree wearing a lavalava.”

Student Support Services focuses on providing educational learning activities to increase the retention and graduation rates of its participants. SSS also strives to increase the transfer rate of eligible students from two-year to four-year institutions, and to foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of low income and first generation college students. Every year, SSS serves around 160 developmental students from the College’s English Language Institute.

Federal regulations require SSS to maintain participant records that show eligibility of students, academic needs, services provided, progress of each participant, and the performance and progress of all participants until graduation from ASCC and beyond in their educational endeavors. 

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