The Monthly Statistical Report
The Monthly Statistical Report is used by Extension employees to record the amount of time they devote to various program thrusts. For each block of time reported, the individual completing the report also records the number of contacts made with clientele during that time block. All professionals and paraprofessionals are required to submit monthly statistical reports.
The data collected through this module are used to generate a profile of how the organization is utilizing its human resources in terms of days expended toward various programmatic thrusts and to document our compliance with various civil rights and affirmative action requirements. It also provides county staff with important data for sharing with local decision-makers.
The monthly statistical report should be submitted no later than the the 10th of the month following the report period. The Monthly Statistical Report is a part of the CATPAWS web-based reporting system.
How do I quantify my time?
Most Extension employees work on a number of different projects during the course of a single day. But it is unrealistic to expect individuals to report what they are doing every minute of every day. With this in mind, the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service has selected one-half day as the minimum unit for reporting time in the Monthly Statistical Report. For our purposes, one-half day is considered to be four hours. A morning, afternoon, or evening worked are each equal to one-half day. (Consequently, it is possible to work more days during a given month than there are actual calendar days.)
But it is not necessary to make a separate entry for each four-hour block of time. Time from several different days may be lumped together into a single entry. For example, an agent may work on a particular project for eight hours on Thursday, four hours on Friday, and another four hours the following Tuesday. All of that time can be reported as a single entry of two days in the Monthly Statistical Report.
Many times an individual will work on projects in blocks of time that are less than four hours in duration. Again, like time can be lumped into larger time blocks and reported as a single entry. So an agent devoting one hour per day toward a particular project for four consecutive days, could aggregate that time into a single half day block.
While it is possible to make a separate entry for each half-day worked in the Monthly Statistical Report, but most individuals choose to report their work in larger blocks.
Tagging Blocks of Time with C-MAP and Program Accomplishment Codes (PACs).
County Major Areas of Programming (C-MAPs) are high priority programming thrusts identified at the county level designed to address local issues or needs. During development of your county plan of work, you identified your county's C-MAPs, specified desired outcomes for each C-MAP, made plans to measure relevant outcome indicators, and identified the specific strategies you would use to achieve the outcomes specified. You probably identified 5-8 different C-MAPs upon which your work would focus.
But much of the work done by a county Extension employee does not necessarily fall under one of these program thrusts or C-MAPs. And since Extension employees who work at the area or state level do not report time by C-MAPs, a special code is included in the Monthly Statistical Report for reporting time not directly related to one of the C-MAPs.
Program Accomplishment Codes (PACs) are numerical code numbers associated with the strategic goals and outcomes of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service's strategic plan. In the Plan of Work module you identified the PACs most closely related to the each of the county's C-MAPs. In addition to codes for each of the strategic goals and outcomes special PACs are assigned for staff development, administrative functions, and several specially-funded programs. In theory and in practice, all of the contacts we make and the time we expend should be able to be linked to one of the program accomplishment codes.
When entering statistical records, the reporting software will ask that you identify both the Major Area of Programming and the Program Accomplishment Code with which the time being reported is associated. Consequently, each block of time reported has a unique C-MAP/PAC code identifier. So for each unit of time devoted to a single project, program, or activity, an individual first selects the C-MAP to which the work is most closely related, and then selects the PAC code that best represents the desired outcomes of the work. But remember, it is not necessary to make a separate entry for each individual block of time. Blocks of time that can be tagged with the same C-MAP/PAC identifier can be lumped together and reported as a single entry.
What is a Contact?
Since the work done in Extension generally involves people, each block of time reported in the Monthly Statistical Report will normally have contacts with clientele associated with it. So for each block of time we report, we must be prepared to supply information regarding the number contacts made during the course of that work. Generally, a contact is defined as any interaction with clientele where there is an exchange of information and the individual with whom that information was exchanged can be effectively identified and quantified. Let's take that definition a little further.
The first criterion used to determine whether or not an interaction constitutes a contact is that an exchange of information occurred. Being at the same meeting with 200 other individuals does not necessarily constitute a contact. However, if you make a presentation at the meeting, you are facilitating an exchange of information with those individuals, and may then count them as contacts.
The second criterion used to determine whether or not an interaction constitutes a contact is whether or not the individuals with whom information is exchanged can be identified and quantified. Consequently, exchanges of information through meetings, telephone calls, newsletters, e-mail, and office visits are generally considered contacts. However, it is often difficult to determine how many people actually hear a radio program you do or read a newspaper article you prepare. Consequently, contacts made through media such as newspapers, radio, and television are not generally considered contacts for the purpose of this report because the individuals with whom information was exchanged cannot be effectively identified or quantified. However, viewers of a satellite program received at various sites may qualify as contacts if a roster of who watched the program at the various sites can be produced. Similarly, a web page through which individuals can identify themselves and request information may also qualify as a contact.
Contacts reported through this system are generally with individuals not employed by the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. However, in situations where an Extension employee is involved in teaching, consulting, or presenting information to other Extension employees, then those contacts may be reported through the monthly statistical report. For example, a specialist conducting an in-service training, may count the participants as contacts.
Contact the Program and Staff Development office at 257-7193 if you have questions about what constitutes a contact.
Sorting Contacts by Type
The Monthly Statistical Report requires that contacts be sorted according to the race and gender of the clientele contacted.
Race - Civil Rights and Affirmative Action guidelines suggest that individuals should be allowed to self-disclose the racial-ethnic group that best describes them. Often, however, individuals do not choose to disclose such information or that information is impossible to obtain. That, however does not relieve the Cooperative Extension Service of providing documentation that its programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, and a host of other factors. When information about a person's racial-ethnic group is available, simply report that contact under the appropriate racial-ethnic group. Racial-ethnic categories included in the Monthly Statistical Report are:
When information about a person's racial-ethnic group is absent, the total number of contacts with individuals for whom race could not be determined can be reported as unknown.
Gender - The Cooperative Extension Service is also under obligation to ensure that its programs do not discriminate on the basis of gender. Consequently, to meet that obligation the Monthly Statistical Report requires that the number of contacts with female clientele be reported. (By subtracting the number of contacts with female clientele from the total, the number of contacts with male clientele can be calculated.) Obviously, the number of female contacts cannot exceed the total.
Methods of Summarizing Statistical Data
As mentioned earlier, the Monthly Statistical Report allows a great deal of flexibility in the method by which the user records data. An individual may enter as few as two or three screens of summary data per month or as many as three entries per day. This is determined by whether or not the user chooses to lump similar data and enter it as a single entry and the scope of the work done by the individual. For example, someone who reports data in separate half hour blocks will have many more entries than someone who lumps similar work into a single entry. Similarly, an agent working on five different C-MAPs may need to make more entries than a specialist with a much narrower focus to their work.
To make a separate entry for each four-hour block of time, select the month in which that block falls. Select the C-MAP (if any) and PAC toward which the work is focused and enter .5 as the number of days being reported. Enter the contacts associated with that work by race and gender. An individual who works in the office during the day and participates in a night meeting may make as many as three entries for the day. Few individuals enter data in this fashion.
Entering summary data, however, requires fewer entries but involves more manual or mental summarizing. To generate summary data, many individuals simply use their personal calendar which may include notes about such things as what they were working on each day or the number who attended a particular meeting. They may also use such data sources as the county phone log or Extension mailing lists to ascertain how many contacts they may have made during a particular month. After sorting time (and contacts associated with that time) by C-MAP and PAC code, they are then ready to input their statistical data.
To enter summarized data, select the month in which the time block falls. Select the C-MAP (if any) and PAC toward which that block of work is focused and enter the total number of days being reported. Report the total number of contacts associated with that work by race and gender. For example, during a given month a person may devote 12 days toward a particular C-MAP/ PAC combination. All of the contacts associated with that block of time can be reported on one data entry screen. Using this method it is easy to see how some individuals enter as few as 5 or 6 records per month.