The EMP has three channels for adding records to the system. The first two, manual entry via add student and the student facing form-fill, allow for the creation of one record at a time. The EMP importer allows for creating and updating records in bulk. At this time, the importer only accepts csv (comma delimited text file) files. Please make sure that all csv files being uploaded or retrieved from a transport have: header names in the first row, columns that are separated by commas and all quotes escaped by quotes. To access the importer, go under the Students menu bar, then choose Import Students.

The first step in importing a file is to upload the file. The importer has two options for this:

1. Uploading from your local computer
2. Retrieving a file from a transport. This option is set under the Origin label.

When the local upload option is chosen, a file upload button will appear below the Origin option. Use this to upload the list to be imported.

If the transport option is selected, three additional options will be shown:

1. Transport: This option sets the pre-defined transport that will be used for this import.
2. File Name: the name of the file to be imported once the EMP connects to the transport location, such as "to-be-imported.csv"
3. Reoccurring Imports: If the import is set to reocurring, the schedule is set using the Reoccurring Imports option.

If the import is to be reoccurring, the schedule is set using the Re-occuring Imports option.

• If set to repeat daily, the file will be picked up every night at 12am Eastern time.
• If weekly is chosen, then the file will picked up once every seven days from the day the import is first scheduled at 12am Eastern time.
• If a schedule is chosen, then an additional option is shown for File Prefix.

If the files being sent to the transport location have dates appended to the file names (‘exported_10-23-2014.csv’) the prefix option should be set to all of the text up to the variable section (‘exported_’). If the file name is to remain unchanged from day to day, use the entire file name minus the ‘.csv’ at the end. When setting up a reoccurring import for the first time the entire file name must used for the File Name option. The importer will then use the prefix name for all subsequent imports.

Once the upload method and schedule are set, the last option to change is the Source bucket. All imported files are assigned to a source and all of the records found in the imported files will have the associated source saved to their source history. It is therefore important to ensure the imported files have proper source buckets selected. In the case a source is incorrectly assigned, it is possible to change the assignment after the list has been imported using the Source Manager. Once all of the required import options are set, continue to the next step, field mapping, by clicking the blue ‘Upload’ button at the bottom of the page.

The second step in importing is the mapping of file fields to EMP fields. If the upload of the list was successful, the page will show four columns: File field, EMP field, Data in first row and Update rules. Before going any further, please review the text in the blue box at the top of the page. Any data fields that are required to import a list are listed here. If your list does not have the required fields, please add them to the list before continuing.

For each column in the file that was uploaded, a corresponding row will appear in the EMP. For each file field listed, two options must be set: EMP field and Update rules. EMP field should be set to the corresponding field in the EMP you wish the file field to map to, for example LAST_NAME in the file should be mapped to Last Name in the EMP.

Update rules are the actions to be taken if a record is found to be a duplicate. If a record is flagged as a duplicate, the update rules will dictate how the data of each of the fields will handled. There are four update rules available: If the EMP value is blank and file value is not blank (the default), if the file value is not blank, always update and never update. There are two fields with special update rules: Stage and SpectrumID. The Stage field special rule is ‘Update to a higher stage only’, which ensures records do not go backwards in the enrollment process (for example from Applicant to Inquiry). The SpectrumID field does not have update rules. SpectrumID will be used for deduping purposes only.  If available, SpectrumID is the most effective way to prevent duplicates from being created in the EMP. Please makes sure that when using SpectrumID, the ID’s correctly match with the ID’s in the EMP. If the ID’s are not correct, it can cause major data corruption.

The ‘Data in first row’ column will display the content of the first record that would be imported for reference purposes.

Once all of the file fields have been mapped to the correct corresponding EMP fields and the update rules have been set, click the blue ‘Match Fields’ button on the bottom of the page. Please keep in mind that when setting up recurring imports, subsequent files must match the file format of the file used to setup the import. If the number of fields changes after the reoccurring import is setup, the reoccurring import will fail.

In order to import a Highschool CEEB code, you must first make the field to map to if it isn't already there. Click on the "Don't see the field you are looking for?" to bring up a dialogue box.

You can label the name anything you like, but it should resemble something related to the CEEB/hs code. Under the field category you will want to choose the name 'High School'.

Click save, and the field will be available to map your HSCEEB field to.

The third step in importing is matching the values of fields to their corresponding values in EMP. If a EMP field that has pre-defined options has been mapped to, it will need those options mapped to the values found in the file. An example of this would be the Stage field. The EMP will scan the file and return all of the different values under the Stage column. Each of these unique values then must be matched to the correct corresponding EMP Stage option.

In addition to fields that have pre-defined options, ‘date’ fields must also have their formatting defined for the importer to convert them for use in the EMP.  

If the Entry year and/or Stage fields are not mapped in Step 2 (Field Mapping), then default values will need to be chosen for any new records that could be created or updated during the import. These fields are required for any new student record being added to the system.

After the import is completed, the EMP will remember the values chosen for all of the fields mapped for future imports, greatly reducing the time needed to import lists. If a reoccurring import is being setup, this section has an additional requirement. Since the file being used to setup the reoccurring import may not contain all of the possible values for certain fields, those options need to be mapped at this step. There is a blue text link at the bottom of each field section to manually add more mappings. Be sure to have every possible value included in the mapping, otherwise the importer will skip importing that value. Once done mapping, click the blue ‘Match Options’ button to continue to the next step.

The fourth step in importing is to match the EMP asset fields.

If a EMP asset field is mapped, then this step is required. If no asset field is mapped, this step will be skipped. The matching of asset fields works similar to matching field options. The left hand side column will contain all of the unique values found in the file. The drop down options to the right of them are the corresponding EMP values. If a reoccurring import is being setup, this section has an additional requirement. Since the file being used to setup the reoccurring import may not contain all of the possible values for certain assets, those options need to be mapped at this step. There is a blue text link at the bottom of each field section to manually add more mappings. Be sure to have every possible value included in the mapping, otherwise the importer will skip importing that field. Once done mapping click the blue ‘Match Assets’ button to continue to the next step.

The fifth and final step is the preview page. A preview of the first 50 records in the file, with all of the proper matching done to the fields, will be shown for inspection. If everything looks correct, then click ‘Complete Import’ to finish the import. If there is an error, click on ‘Back’ to change any settings. Once the import has completed it can be found under the source bucket it was imported under. Notifications will also be sent out to those users who have subscribed to import notifications.

Recurring imports should be setup as completely as possible in the initial import setup. However, if a modified import needs to be made, it can be accessed through the source manager. If an import has been set to repeat two options will appear to the right side: Edit (pencil icon) and Unschedule (power icon). Clicking the edit option will bring you to Step 2 (Field Matching) of the import process where any of the previously saved mappings from Step 2 through Step 4 be edited or added on to. It is not possible to edit any of the options available in Step 1. If a recurring import needs to be turned off, click the Unschedule button. Once a import is unscheduled, it cannot be scheduled again.