Data may be imported from a campus SIS (Student Information System) into AdvisorTrac. Importing student data has many advantages: it saves time, improves accuracy, and facilitates more tracking capabilities.
If a campus has only a few hundred students visiting their center, it may be preferable to manually enter the students. This may be done before students visit the center or as they log in.
Data that changes periodically should be updated in the AdvisorTrac system on a continuous routine. Examples of information that is likely to change is the student's address, major, or GPA. Some information does not change, such as gender or birthdate.
Two files are necessary to successfully complete an SIS data import: the data file and the import map file. The campus needs to provide the data file, but the import map file is provided by Redrock Software.
In order to import the data, first decide what fields to import. A simple way to decide, is to print out a student entry form from AdvisorTrac. This allows you to visualize the fields and how they would import from the (SIS). More information on importing student data can be found in FAQ03-0013.
After deciding which fields to import, create a sample data file and send it to Redrock Software Corporation. Acceptable data file formats are tab delimited (ASCII), comma delimited (csv), or fixed character position (ASCII). An import map is then created based on the sample file.
The data file may be located anywhere on the server machine. However, if the data is to be imported on a regular basis, the file should stay in the same location. The import map file must be located in the Scriptfolder directory in the AdvisorTrac directory.
An Administrator has the capability to import the SIS data maunally. From the students listing, click on 'Import SIS' to begin the import process. The user may continue to use AdvisorTrac while the import process executes. The SIS Import should be run as often as the SIS exported data file is updated.
After the fields are chosen, the data file is created, and the import map is written, AdvisorTrac can run an import automatically. First, the data file should be updated and saved to the same location everyday. The campus IT personnel may write a script to automate this process. On page 12 of the Preferences, set a time to run the import each day. The import will update each day automatically, providing the most current information from the campus SIS database.