“Differences between OASIS Data Model and
CEN/ISSS Project Team Data Model”
Version 1.0
January 19th 2004
Contents
1 COMPARISON BETWEEN BOTH DATA MODELS ....................................................................... 3
1.1 COMMON ELEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 FOOD SERVICES OBJECT ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 HUMAN RESOURCES & FINANCIALS OBJECTS .................................................................................... 5
1.4 LIBRARY OBJECT ................................................................................................................................ 5
1.5 STUDENT, STAFF PERSONAL AND SCHOOL INFORMATION OBJECTS .................................................... 5
1.5.1 School Information..................................................................................................................... 5
1.5.2 Student Information ................................................................................................................... 5
1.5.3 Staff Personal Information ......................................................................................................... 6
1.5.4 Student Curriculum and Gradebook information ...................................................................... 6
1.6 TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION ....................................................................................................... 6
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1 Comparison between both Data Models
The CEN/ISSS Project Team has developed three versions of its document “Adaptation of SIF Data
Model to a European context” before it become final and has also developed a document based on the
Data Model generated by the OASIS group, “OASIS Data Model”. Both the OASIS version and the
CEN PT version are based on the SIF Data Model with some updates to cope with the specific
European needs.
Many of the changes by the CEN/ISSS/WS/LT Project Team had been done using the
recommendations in the CWA “Internationalisation of SIF and harmonisation with other
specs/standards”. This document identified those elements that should be extended in order to be
used in a worldwide context. In this particular case only the things necessary to cope with a
European context have been taken into account.
CEN/ISSS/WS/LT PT’s and OASIS’s data models have some differences:
1.1 Common Elements
OASIS common elements are exactly the same as SIF whereas this PT has defined four new
elements:

DateTime: SIF Data Model does not specify how dates should be represented. The first
recommendation could be to explicitly define the date format in the conceptual data
model with a widely used standard like ISO 8601:2000, i.e. in the form YYYY-MM-DD.
As SIF is to be used in multicultural environments an extended solution should be found.
Although the format proposed above assures interoperability, other national formats for
dates or Eras (reference points) are not taken into account. The suggestion is to include
an additional local Date that corresponds to the DateTime in ISO 8601:2000 format
whenever possible. Provided there exists a unique format/era reference, localisation
would be identified using the country code (using ISO 3166-1:1997 and ISO 31663:1999). This also supports different formats to represent dates (e.g. DD-MM-YYYY).
Nevertheless, since there may be some cases where the country identifier is not enough,
an additional reference to the standard document where the format is specified could be
needed.
In order to ensure interoperability in a multicultural environment the ISO 8601:2000
standard could be used as the canonical form to represent dates. The alternative
representation proposed here should be used whenever providing a localised reference
point in time is especially relevant.
This way, this object is used to represent a date, a time or both including the time zone.

DMESINumber: This is a new object which is used to specify the format of numbers.
The agreement for representing decimal numbers and thousands may be different in the
different European countries. Several countries use a point to separate the integer part
from the decimal one while other countries use a comma. The same thing occurs to
separate thousands. The solution adopted was to propose a canonical representation
together with the option to represent different localized representations.

Measurement: Some of the measures expressed in the SIF specification do not have the
unit. This is a new object that solves this situation by making an aggregate object with
three sub-elements: an identifier of the unit, an identifier of the country where the
measurement is done and the value.
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
MonetaryAmount: In SIF there were several references to money but no indication of
the currency to be used (dollars are supposed to be taken as the default). In the case of a
European context there are multiple currencies although many countries have unified
their currency into the Euro. The solution adopted was to create an aggregate element
(MonetaryAmount) with a sub-element containing the currency, another sub-element
containing an identifier of the country where the currency is used and the last one with
the value.
Apart from these new objects the CEN/ISSS has changed other common elements to fit the
European requirements.

Address: Some elements have been removed: Street/Line1, Street/Line2, Street/Line3,
Street/Complex,
Street/StreetNumber,
Street/Prefix,
Street/StreetSuffix,
Street/AptType, Street/AptNumPrefix, Street/AptNumber, Street/AptNumSuffix,
County and StatePr and other elements have been added: Number, Floor, Gate and
AdministrativeTerritorialUnit.

Demographics: This PT has substituted the element EnglishProficiency by
LanguageProficiency, which, in turn, is based on the CWA 14590 “Description of Language
Capabilities”. The element Ethnicity has also been removed since it does not provide any
relevant information in an Educational environment. The elements CountyOfBirth and
StateOfBirth
have
been
substituted
by
a
single
element
AdministrativeTerritorialUnitOfBirth (canton, county, department, district, parish,
province, region, state, etc.)

Email: This PT has added a new sub-division of the type of email to distinguish whether
it is the personal address or the e-mail at work.

MeetingTime: This common data element defines a time slot for an event within a
section or a course. It has been completely changed to harmonise it with the iCalendar
specification.

Name: This object has been updated to cope with European needs. The element
LastName was prepared for an only surname but in Europe, in some countries two
surnames are needed. This way, the element LastName has been substituted by another
element, Surname with two parts, being the latter optional.

PhoneNumber: This object has been completely changed to adapt it to the European
format of phone numbers. In Europe, all the phone numbers are divided into two parts:
an area code and a subscriber number (although the area code can be null).
1.2 Food Services Object
OASIS has removed the food services object present at SIF, StudentMeal. On the contrary the
CEN/ISSS PT has considered necessary to maintain this data object to manage information related
to the school cafeteria.
Value space of some elements (LastBrkDate, LastLunDate, Cash, BrkCredits and LunCredits) has
been updated using the new common elements introduced by this PT (DateTime, DMESINumber
and MonetaryAmount)
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1.3 Human Resources & Financials Objects
OASIS has added some new objects of this kind: Purchasing, Lending, GlobalSubsidy,
Project_Financials and Budgetary_Declaration. OASIS has also done a translation of the objects into
French.
The CEN/ISSS PT has updated the value space and data type of some elements using the new
common elements and types defined.
The LOM LangString type is also proposed by this PT when textual info must be introduced into
an element to define the language used.
1.4 Library Object
OASIS’ library object, LibraryPatronStatus is exactly the same as the one in SIF whereas this PT has
updated several value spaces and data types with the new common elements. For example, the
element DueInfo is considered by OASIS, like in SIF, as an aggregate element composed of two
sub-elements, Date and Time, the latter with an attribute, Zone.
The CEN/ISSS P changed this element by another one, DueInfo, based on the DateTime common
element. The same update was taken in the element Message.
To find the value of some elements (NumCheckouts, NumOverdues, NumFines and
NumRefunds) the object DMESINumber must be applied. In other elements (CopyPrice,
FineAmount and RefundAmount) the MonetaryAmount object should be applied.
1.5 Student, Staff personal and School Information Objects
1.5.1 School Information
OASIS has removed some elements from the SchoolInfo object: SchoolJurisdiction, PrincipalInfo,
SessionType, LowGradeLevel and HighGradeLevel and added a new data element: Email as
defined in the common elements.
This PT has made some changes in several elements. Good examples of these changes are those
ones made in the GradeLevel elements. A new aggregate element has been built to distinguish
among the different countries because there is no agreement in the educational systems. The new
element is formed by two sub-elements: Country and Level, being the former the identifier of the
country where the grade level is applied and the latter a vocabulary of the grade level for that
particular country. All the Educational systems from the European Union countries have been
verified and depending on the country the vocabulary for the Level sub-element is different.
Also other elements like the StateCourseCode and the DistrictCourseCode have been updated by
the AdministrativeTerritorialCourseCode in order to cope with the multiple types of
administrative divisions of European countries.
Some vocabularies have been changed, for example the Code of the CourseCredits element
within the SchoolCourseInfo object. The ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) has been
added to also take into account the European common credit system for Higher Education.
1.5.2 Student Information
OASIS student information is exactly the same as SIF whereas this PT has done some changes. For
example the GradeLevel’s vocabulary is not suitable for Europe and was replaced by a different
one that fits better the European needs. Other elements’ value spaces and data types have been
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updated with the new common elements and types defined by this PT. Also some vocabularies
have been updated, for example the one for the element Relationship within the StudentContact
object.
1.5.3 Staff Personal Information
Both OASIS and this PT have maintained the structure of the StaffPersonal object. Only some data
types have been added and some elements have been updated with the new common elements
defined by this PT.
1.5.4 Student Curriculum and Gradebook information
OASIS has considered necessary defining two new objects: StudentCurriculum and
StudentGradeBook. All the elements within these objects are translated into French.
1.6 Transportation Information
OASIS transportation objects are exactly the same as SIF but this PT has updated some elements’
value spaces and data types with the new common elements and data types defined by it. For
example dates and times follow the new structure of the DateTime object, the element
RouteDistance within the BusRouteInfo follow the structure of the Measurement new common
element, the element DayOfWeek within the StudentTransportInfo has been formally defined
using the EBNF notation, etc.
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