Versions Compared

Version Old Version 4 New Version Current
Changes made by

Adi A

Adi A

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

Ready Education integrates with CSV files to bring notifications based on targeted groups into the mobile app. To learn more about Dynamic Audiences, check out our Support Helpdesk: 

...

Have you already integrated with CSV Courses? If yes, skip to the section: "Customizable Fields" Customizable Fields

Table of Contents

...

Integration Flow

...

Client Requirements:

  1. Downloads student population information into a CSV: student-info.csv

  2. Transfers the CSV file to Ready Education's servers using SSH File Transfer Protocol Server (SFTP).

The CSV data is downloaded from your SIS - Student Information System e.g. Banner, PeopleSoft, Campus Management, etc. We can support any SIS system. 

Ready Education Configuration Requirements:

  1. Provides access to the SFTP Server

  2. Checks CSV files for accuracy and required fields 3. Configures the CSV files for Dynamic Audiences Integrations

...

Ready Education requires the Student Info CSV file to be downloaded from your system's Student Information System e.g. SIS per our requirements. Examples of SIS include Banner, PeopleSoft, Campus Management, Jenzabar, Colleague, etc. 

Naming Convention

The CSV files must follow a specific naming convention. The name for the CSV file used in Integrations will be:

Code Block
<school _code>_<file _type>.csv

An example of a student-info file and course-info file name are:

...

The fields are as follows:

  • <school_code> is an a string used to denote your institution - typically an abbreviation of the institution name e.g. mcgill

  • <file_type> is "course-info" for the course data and "student-info" for the student data.

The fields in the file name are separated by underscores ("_").

File Content, Text Delimiters, and Qualifiers

The CSV files must follow the below specifications to run successfully. Please ensure your files meet the below requirements before sending them through the SFTP server:

Requirements:

  • [ ] Each file should contain all the data (not a delta from the previous file)

  • [ ] Include headers and use the data field's label as the header name

    • (eg. "student_unique_id"|"course_unique_id"|"name"|"gender")

  • [ ] Text fields are separated by a pipe character character  | or   or comma , 

  • [ ] The contents of any text field is enclosed within double quotes (""). We do not accept single quotes. Text using double quotes can be escaped with a backspace (e.g. "The \"New\" Normal: Post-pandemic")

student-info.csv

Extending CSV Courses Integrations to Dynamic Audiences: Already integrated to our SFTP Server through the CSV Courses Integration? If yes, scroll down to the section Customizable Fields.

...

Title

Sample Response

pell_grant_eligible 

Yes, No

fafsa_status 

Yes, No

missing_documents 

Yes, No

outstanding_balance 

Yes, No

grant 

Yes, No

scholarship 

Yes, No

work_study 

Yes, No

loans 

Yes, No

Associating One Student with Multiple Fields

A student cannot be associated to multiple records in the student info csv file. Each student should be associated to one record and have data for each field. For example, if a student it studying Biology and Mathematics only one may be inputted in the "Major" field.

SAMPLE: STUDENT-INFO.CSV file

View file
namestudent-info.csv

Extending Dynamic Audiences to Courses Integrations - Handling multiple student lines  When leveraging the student-info.csv file for Courses integration and Dynamic Audience integrations, your files will have multiple lines due to the multiple courses associated to each student. However, the custom fields must be identical and replicated for each student record. 

For example, here is a student-info.csv example for a student with the custom fields appended:

View file
namestudent-info-multiple-courses.csv

Key Point in Mapping Integrations

...

CSV integrations involve multiple key mappings for a successful end-to-end integration. 

Mapping from Authentication to CSV:

  • The email released in the student-info.csv must match the email released in your school's SSO (SAML, CAS, D2L, et.c) or LDAP log-in flow. Please confirm with your Technical Project Manager and with your LDAP or SSO admin to confirm the correct email to release.

Accessing and Sending Files to the SFTP Server

...

The CSV files are transferred to Ready Education using SSH File Transfer Protocol Server (SFTP).

To access the SFTP server and transfer data, your technical project manager will provide you with:

  • the hostname of the SFTP server

  • a designated folder to deliver the file

  • a username and password to gain access (option for SSH private/public key access)

Timing of imports from the SFTP server

We recommend setting up an automated nightly file transfer. Our system regularly checks for new CSV files and typically completes processing within 6 hrs of new files being transferred.

  • Minimum - At least once every 24 hrs.

  • Recommended - Up to four times a day.

Initial Set-up and Testing

...

Done reviewing the Documentation? Here are the next steps on set-up and testing!

  1. Client Verification: Complete the checklist* to ensure your files are ready for integration!

  2. Send the files: Download and Transfer the student-info.csv file to the Ready SFTP server.

  3. Ready Verification: Notify your Technical Project Manager. Your project manager will verify the CSV files and notify you if any edits are required.

  4. Configuration: Once the files pass verification, they will be configured in our system.

  5. Dynamic Audiences ready!

*CSV Quick Checklist

The files:

  • Match the naming convention (e.g. readyed_student-info.csv and readyed_course-info.csv)

  • Include headers (eg. "student_unique_id"|"course_unique_id"|"name"|"gender")

  • Text fields are separated by a pipe character  |  or comma  , 

  • The contents of every field is enclosed within double quotes ("")

  • Consider the mapping between Authentication and CSV

  • If applicable, consider the mapping between CSV and LMS

All checked off? You're ready to send the files to Ready's SFTP servers.

Column Ordering:

  • Subsequent file transfers do not need to be re-configured in our system if the column ordering remains the same.

  • If you change the order of the columns, or add columns, notify your Technical Project Manager.

...

FAQs

Expand
title1. Can I send just a delta of the file in a subsequent file transfer?

No, we do not accept deltas from a previous file. We require each file sent to include the full data for the student-info.csv.

Expand
title2. Do I need to include a header line?

Yes, it is required to include a header. Here's an example for the student-info.csv:

(eg. "student_unique_id"|"unique_id"|"email")

Expand
title3. If I don't have all the data for each field, how do I omit fields?

We prefer a user friendly name such as "No GPA Range". However, if that's not possible you may omit a field by using an empty string as the value (""). 

Expand
title4. If I omit fields, will it break the integration?

If omitting a required field, the record will be skipped. It will not break the whole integration, however all information tied to that record will not be processed.

If omitting an optional field, such as  ethnicity , the record will be processed and the integration will be successful. 

Expand
title5. How do you handle return carriages?

We handle return carriages ie. line breaks in our logic. There is no need to escape them using '\n'.

Expand
title6. What happens if there are duplicates in the file?

Our system skips duplicate records. The integrations are unaffected.

Expand
title7. Can I send the files every hour?

We accept any frequency of CSV file transfers to our SFTP server. However, our system checks for new files once every 4 hrs, so there is no improvement in performance from transferring files once every 4 hrs to once every hour.

Expand
title8. What is the lag time between new files being sent over, and when they begin to appear in the mobile app?

Our system will typically complete processing of any new files within 6 hrs of being received. The first import during the configuration phase may take longer than 6 hrs, but subsequent imports will typically be under 6 hrs.

Expand
title9. If I change the column order or add new columns, do I need to notify Ready Education?

Yes. If you change the order of the columns or add columns please reach out to your Customer Success Consultant or Technical Project Manager. 

If you'd like to add new columns (e.g. filters options to Dynamic Audiences), you can add those to the CSV file and notify Ready Education to have the new columns configured. 

We do not recommend changing the order of columns as it may break your integration. If you must change the order, please reach out to your Customer Success Consultant or Technical Project Manager immediately to let them know to reconfigure the integrations. 

Expand
title10. Can I manually send over CSV files to the SFTP server?

Yes, it is possible to manually upload the data. However, we recommend automating the process and sending files over at least every 24 hrs (up to 4x daily) to keep the data in sync and relevant.