Q&A: Automatic Logoff Times

I wanted to take some time to answer a few questions that I have been asked quite a few times lately:

Question:  Why does Outlook Web Access (webmail) log me out after only 15 minutes?

Answer: 
The automatic logoff of Outlook Web Access is determined by the Security setting that you choose when you log in to your account.  If you choose the "Public" (which is the default option), the system will log you out after 15 minutes of inactivity.  If you choose "Private", the system will log you out after 8 hours of inactivity. 

It may also help to explain inactivity.  Inactivity is calculated by the time since the last page was submitted to the server.  Things like typing a new email are done in the browser and are not submitted to the server until you click the send or save button.  So if you are using "Public" security and it is taking you a while to type your email message, click on the save button if you are getting close to the 15 minute logoff.  Saved messages are stored in the Drafts folder.  If you exceed the 15 minutes while typing (using "Public" security) , the system will log you out and the letter will be lost when you try to send it.

For more information take a look at the Exchange Team Blog article: Time Out! for Outlook Web Access

Question: Why does PowerSchool/PowerTeacher/GradeBook log me out after only 1 hour?

Answer:
The automatic logoff of PowerSchool is determined by which site you are logged in to.  If you are the Administrator portion of PowerSchool, the system will log you off after 60 minutes of inactivity.  (This value was changed from 3 hours when we implemented PowerSchool 7 to increase security on the Administrator portion of PowerSchool.)  If you are in the PowerTeacher / Gradebook portion of PowerSchool, the system will log you off after 60 minutes of inactivity.  If you are in the Public portion of PowerSchool (students, guardians, etc.) the system will log you off after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Inactivity in PowerSchool is very similar to Outlook Web:  Inactivity is calculated by the time since the last page was submitted to the server.  Things like typing on a page do not count as activity.   It is not until you submit a page or navigate to another page the logoff time is reset.

Hope that helps clear up some of the confusion.

PowerSchool Public Access Available in Spanish

On Thursday the IT Department began upgrading the Public Access portion of PowerSchool.  New in PowerSchool 7, Pearson is offering over 50 different translations of the parent portal screens.  Over the next few weeks we will be working with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction to identify and implement the native languages of our district families.  On Thursday last week, we implemented the Spanish version of the pages.  Look for new languages to join English and Spanish over the next few weeks.