Focus Guardian FAQs

 

How do I access the new TTU K-12 Focus Portal?

If you already have an account, open a Web browser and navigate to the TTU K-12 Focus Portal.

From the login screen as shown below, enter your username and password and click "Log in".

If this is your first time here, then please use the following link to create your account https://ttu.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus/auth/.

Note: If your students have already created their account, you will need to have their Student ID number to link to their account.

You will then have several options to choose from:

If you need a create a new student account, please select "I do not have an account Registered" on the Parent Portal. Once you do, you should see the screen below which will allow you to create the account.

Please note* The password that you create at this page will be for the account creation only. Once you have created your account, you will be directed to the following page:

Note: if your student is already enrolled, please ask them for their Student ID number. This will allow you to link to their account and prevent duplicate accounts from being created in the system.
After completing the enrollment form, the following information will display:

If you need to add another student, you may, or you may select "finished" and return to the portal login page.

After selecting the I am Finished adding students. Please take me to the portal, you will then be taken into the portal.

From this page, you will have the option to add courses to the shopping cart, see any items that are pending as well as view your student's information:

 

Please Note* If you have multiple students connected to your account, the catalog allows for purchasing courses/cbes for both students at the same time. Upon adding all courses, please select "checkout". A confirmation page will display both courses and which student the courses are for.

Selecting checkout, will then take you through the payment process. We ask that you please have payment information available as the checkout screen may time you out for inactivity.

After successfully logging into the portal, you will be taken to your Dashboard that shows your active students. The dashboard is your starting point in accessing student information, contact information, reviewing the student's enrollment history, enrollment details, course grades, lesson grades, and contacting TTU K-12.

Dashboard

On the left hand side of the menu, towards the bottom, you should see your student's name. If you have additional students, each of their names will be listed below.

The name of each attached student will display at the bottom of the sidebar menu. Parents can select a sub-menu under the student's name to view that particular information for the student.

A separate block will display for each student that is enrolled in the district and linked to the respective parent. Each student information block will contain the following tabs specific to the student:

• Grades Tab – The Grades tab displays the student's current courses and the final course grade for any completed courses.
• News Tab - The News tab displays an overview of system announcements or district news.
• Reports Tab - The Reports tab contains links to report cards and test score reports.

Request Forms

If you need to request accommodations, change of information, course extensions, etc. You may click on the Forms Summary link under the name of the student you are submitting the request for.

Schedule

To view the student's schedule, please select the class schedule on the left menu. The student's current courses and the final course grade for any completed courses will be displayed.

Course History

Course History displays all completed courses as well as the final course grade for any completed courses.

Shopping Cart

When it is time to purchase additional courses, students and or parents can click the Purchase & Pay menu to gain access to the internal catalog. The catalog gives the parent the ability to search via the subject for course/CBE. There are multiple ways to search for classes:

• Keyword - The keyword search bar allows users to type in key words, such as a word in the course title, and narrow the search results by the criteria entered.
• Subjects - The Subjects drop-down lists all available Subjects offered by Texas Tech University. By default, all subjects will be selected. Click in the Subjects drop-down and deselect subjects as necessary to remove courses assigned to the subject from the search results.
• Courses – The Courses drop-down allows users to narrow the search results by course title. By default, all courses will be selected. Click in the Course drop-down and then deselect the check box to the left of a course title to remove the course from the search results.
• Course Types – The Course Types drop-down allows users to narrow the search results by course type. All course types will be selected by default. Click in the Course Types drop-down and deselect the check box to the left of the course type to remove courses of that course type from the search results.
• Delivery Methods - The Delivery Methods drop-down allows users to narrow the search results by delivery method. By default, all available delivery methods will be selected. Click in the Delivery Methods drop-down and deselect the check box to the left of the delivery method to remove courses of that delivery method from the search results.

Once you have found the course that you are enrolling in, please select the "Add to Cart". Once the item has been added to your cart, catalog will update to indicate "Added to Cart".

Note: parents that have additional students, will have the ability to purchase and pay for both students at the same time. However, it is necessary to select the "Purchase and Pay" under each student separately.

Checkout

Once you have selected each student's courses, your shopping cart on the right will update to indicate which course is currently selected for each student. If you selected the wrong course for the student, please select the "remove from cart" button.

Remove Items from Cart

Once you are ready to proceed to checkout, please select "checkout". A confirmation screen along with the total will display. Please select "continue" to be directed to Touchnet to complete the payment process.

How do I reset my password on the TTU K-12 portal?

Users have 5 attempts to login before their account becomes locked. If your account gets locked out, please wait 2 hours before trying again.

To change your password, click on the preferences option in the left menu and then click the password tab. Provide your current password and then your new password in the boxes. Click save in the upper right corner of the screen.

The rules for creating a new password are:

• passwords must be at least 9 characters long,
• must contain a mix of upper- and lower-case characters,
• have at least 1 numeric character,
• have at least 1 special character.

The password change dialog will display a Valid Password message when the typed  password meets all the requirements.

 

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How do I view my students in the Learning Management System (LMS)?

If you need to check your student's progress or view their assignment grades, click the LMS button on the left menu option and you will be taken directly into Blackboard.

Blackboard Home Page

Once you are in Blackboard you will click the Parent Dashboard link in the Tools Menu on the left side of the Blackboard Home Page.

Parent Dashboard

If you have multiple students you will see them listed by username, number of classes, and last system access. To observe a student click their username.

If they have more than one course enrollment you will see them listed on the next page where you click the dropdown list and click Observe.

Course Home Page ->My Grades 

To view your student's assignment grades, click the "My Grades" link in the left menu option.

You can view All, Graded, Upcoming, or Submitted assignments. You can also change the order in which they are viewed using the Order by dropdown menu.

To observe another student, click the My Institution link on the top menu bar and you will be returned to the Blackboard Home Page. Click the Parent Dashboard to be taken back to your student list to select another student to observe.