This help article discusses the 3 different ways of importing students and how to assign relationships.
The main reason behind importing student lists is to add approved relationships to those students so you know who is allowed to sign out each student. First we will discuss how to import students into your Visitor Aware account and then how to add relationships. Please make sure you have the correct location selected and displayed in the upper right portion of your screen.
There are 3 main ways that can be used to import students:
- Bulk Student Importer
- Single Student Creation
- Student Information System Sync (Enables Student Rostering)
- OneRoster API
- SFTP
Important Step: Please make sure that you have the correct location selected and displayed in the upper right portion of your screen, for example where it says "Visitor Aware Office" in the picture below. This is the location where your student information will be uploaded.
1. Bulk Student Importer:
To access the bulk student importer, navigate to the "Settings" link within the lefthand navigation menu and select "Import Resources".
Scroll down under the "Templates and Requirements" section and under "Students" click on "Download Students Template". This will give you a .csv file that can be opened in excel and populated with student information.
Be sure to include all of the required headings and fill in all of the required fields as noted below:
- Required Headings: Student ID, First, Last, DOB, Grade, Teacher, Room Number, Self Signout, Notes
- Required Fields: Student ID, First, Last
- Optional Fields: DOB, Grade, Teacher, Room Number, Self Signout, Notes
Important Step: Before saving, please make sure that the "DOB" column is formatted as text. This can be done by clicking on the associated column (in this case "D") to select the entire column, then right click and select "Format Cells". Then select "Text" under "Category" and hit "Ok". Another option would be to add a comma before the text in each cell. As an example, Tim Potter's DOB is highlighted in the formula cell above. Once you have entered the comma it will not show up unless you have the cell highlighted/active.
Once you have saved your student information in either a .CSV or .XLS file format, you may now upload your student information. Scroll back up in the current "Import Resources" screen and select "Students" out of the "Select an Import Type" drop down menu. Next you will click "Choose File" to find the file that you just saved and hit "Import".
If there were fields that weren't filled out or any errors, you will be shown those in red highlighted text at the top of the screen. Please correct those errors and try to upload the document again. If successful, you will see a screen that looks like what is pictured below.
To import another spreadsheet of student information, hit the "Back" button to go back and repeat the above process again.
2. Single Student Creation:
To create a single student, navigate to the "Students" link within the lefthand navigation menu and select "Add Student".
Within the available empty data fields, you can enter student information for a single student. The required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
You may also assign people that have been pre-approved to sign out students within this screen.
From the student management page, begin typing the name of the visitor or volunteer in the "Approved Relationships" field and it will automatically pull up the person with that corresponding name as well as their photo, gender, and age. Click on the corresponding person that matches who you are looking for and then start typing the next approved individual for that specific student until all approved individuals are listed.
Always hit the "Save" button after you have finished making changes. If you are adding another student, hit the "Save and add Another" text to quickly add another student. "All Students" will navigate you to the current list of all the students that have been added to the current location.
Managing Relationships:
Please note: Any student that does not currently have assigned relationships can be signed out by any adult who attempts to sign them out. Only the students with currently assigned relationships will be protected from being signed out by any adult not listed on the approved relationship list for that particular student. Please make sure all approved relationships stay updated to prevent unauthorized student sign outs.
Users can add or delete relationships at any time. This can be done by navigating to the "Students" tab under the lefthand navigation menu and clicking "View Students". Next, search for the student that you're looking for to adjust relationships. In the example below, we are searching for Donald.
To adjust Omari's listed relationships, click on the gear icon to edit.
The next screen will be populated with that specific student's information as shown below.
As we did with entering a single student, begin typing the name of the individual that you'd like to add as a relationship to this student in the "Approved Relationships" field.
If you'd like to remove someone from the approved relationships list, simply click the "x" that is located on the left side of the individual's icon. Always hit the "Save" button to save any changes that were made.
3. Student Information System Sync:
This is the only way to import student information and have it be tied to rostering data. This will enable family reunification and allow the software to know what student is with what teacher.
1. OneRoster API:
To sync guardian and student information via a OneRoster API connection, please reference this help article:
2. SFTP:
If you'd like to sync your SIS via an SFTP connection, please reach out to your Singlewire representative directly or submit a support ticket to start that process. Here's a bit more information on that process: https://visitoraware.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/43000556260-setting-up-direct-sync-with-sftp