What is Argos?
The new institutional reporting tool is called Argos. It is much more user friendly and is available to all faculty, staff and administrators. Argos is an enterprise reporting tool that allows end-users to access and extract information from various databases in a report format.
How do I request an account?
Submit an Argos Account Request Form.
How do I obtain training?
Argos is relatively easy to use without having any previous experience; however, if you believe you need training contact the Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness at ire@pvamu.edu.
Why do I need to learn Argos?
Argos is a much easier tool for creating reports and does not require much technological knowledge and expertise. This will enable anyone in the campus community to request and access reports and allow for a more efficient turnaround time to run a report. It is important that everyone evaluate their reporting needs, establish a procedure within the department regarding who can create and view reports. Every person within the department can be a viewer.
How do I request and run a report in Argos?
Identify reporting needs within your department and review the report request procedures guideline document to initiate report requests in Argos. It is important to be thorough in your report requests and be sure that you have included all information needed on the report.
After you have completed the Argos training and have been granted access to Argos, you will be able to run pre-defined reports by selecting them from a list. Most of the reports will require that you enter parameters to tailor the reports for a specific term, college, course, etc. Once generated, the report can be saved, printed or forwarded via e-mail, all within the Argos tool.
What is a DataBlock?
DataBlocks contain user input forms and queries to retrieve information from one or more data sources. In other words it identifies data from Banner to be grouped together and then a report writer creates a report based on the data identified in a DataBlock. Multiple reports can be written using one DataBlock.
DataBlocks are the foundation for any report written in Argos and the department of Information Technology Services is coordinating their efforts to establish a core set of DataBlocks for the campus community of report writers to use. DataBlocks are created by DataBlock designers, which consists of a select group of individuals on campus with the knowledge and expertise regarding Banner tables and forms as well as a higher level of access to information within Banner. Once a DataBlock is formed, report writers can use it at will.
What browsers are supported in Argos?
Argos is designed to run under Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 8 or above as well as Mozilla Firefox.
If I need help, who do I go to?
The Argos Help is designed to answer questions about what certain items on a given screen are, what they do, how they function, and how you might use them. The content is intended to be functionally descriptive yet brief and to the point. If you need additional assistance please feel free to send your questions to itops@pvamu.edu.
How do I use the Argos Help feature?
Most dialogs in Argos have a Help button for you to use to access the Help. You can also go to Help > Argos Help, on the toolbar, or press the F1 key to launch Help. You can search through the Help using the Contents and Index tabs, or type a search string in the box in the upper right.
Click the Argos Help icon on the Argos Desktop Toolbar
- User guides and training videos are available for each user type.
- Use the available search tools in the left panel, Table of Contents, Index, Search and Favorites to locate and save the information you need.
- Click the “X” on the Evisions WebHelp tab to close Argos Help.
For questions or additional help email itops@pvamu.edu
Is my data secure?
All data transmitted from the server to Argos is “point-to-point” encrypted, meaning that anyone other than the intended user would see only gibberish.