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Admin Guide for Skyward SMS 2.0 Final Grade Import
Configure Skyward Import File Builder to import a final grade report from Otus into Skyward SMS 2.0
Written by Dave Smith
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This article outlines the general process for importing a final grade report exported from Otus into Skyward SMS 2.0. Final grades are imported into via Skyward’s Import File Builder.
❗This article is a high level outline of the process intended as a general guide, not a step-by-step procedure. The specific details of the process will depend on your district's or school's unique Skyward setup. Any examples provided below are for illustration purposes only and may not apply to your situation.
Please contact Skyward support for assistance or questions.
The process begins by contacting your Otus Client Experience Partner (CXP) to request a final grade export. This will be a custom report designed to meet your district's or school's specific import requirements. A meeting will be scheduled to discuss the file format requirements, for example, the date range to include in the export and the data fields required for import into Skyward.
The custom report can take up to one week to complete. Your CXP will share the report with you when it is completed.
Create a File Import Interface
To import the grades you need to create a File Import Interface in Skyward.
Click here for the high-level steps to create a File Import Interface
Log into Skyward SMS 2.0 and select the Student Management portal.
Click on Administration, then select Imports - IM under the Skybuild - SB area, this will take you to the Imports page.
On the Imports page, click on Import File Builder - IF under the Imports - IM item in the list, this will open the Import File Builder window.
In the Import File Builder window, click Add which will open the Import Interface Maintenance window and allow you to create a new import and assign the fields appropriately:
Interface Name/Description: the name and description should probably reference that it's an Otus grade import
Product Type: Gradebook
Other Options: these depend on your district/school requirements. You should seek further guidance from Skyward support if you have questions.
After assigning the fields, click Save, which will return you to the Import File Builder window.
Set Up a File Upload
Skyward has a two-phase process for importing files.
The first phase is to upload a file into Skyward and define the field mapping. Think of it as staging a file for import, but not actually importing the file yet. This phase is described in this section.
The second phase is to import the uploaded file into the gradebook. This phase is described in section Import a File below.
Click here for more information about the first phase: uploading a file into Skyward and mapping the data fields.
Expand the File Import Interface created in the previous section. Click the Add Import File link, which will open the Import File Maintenance window:
Select Course Grades in the Data Type drop down
Fill in the File Short Description and File Long Description fields
Click Contains a Header in Line 1 because the Otus report will have a header row
Under Import File, select Upload for Import File Type
Under Import File Upload, click Choose File to select the import file from the local computer, then click Upload. This will populate the file name in File To Import and the Last Upload time.
Click Save, which brings you back to the Import File Builder window
With the file uploaded, now the import fields need to be defined. From the Import File Builder window:
Next to Import Fields click Edit Selected Fields. This opens the Field Selection/Maintenance window.
In the Field Areas column, select the Skyward fields that correspond to the fields in the import file. For example, Student Links->Other ID might correspond to the student ID in the Otus export.
Click Add Field to Import.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 above to map the fields for Course ID, Section ID, Term Grade, etc.
Click Save to save the field mapping.
Set Up Data Transformations
Sometimes Otus data values will not match what Skyward expects. For example, Otus may export T1, T2, T3, and T4 for term values but your Skyward instance requires 01, 02, 03, and 04. In this case, we want to transform T1 to 01, T2 to 02, etc.
Click here for more information about setting up a data transformation.
In the Import File Building window:
Click the Edit link for the row where the transform is needed (e.g., for the Term transform example, click Edit for the Term row). This brings you to the Field Maintenance window.
In the Data Cross Reference area, click Add. This opens a Data Cross Reference window.
In Data Cross Reference, enter the required information for the transformation. For the Term example, enter a Current Value of T1 and a Convert To value of 01 (the rule will be: if Current Value IS T1 then Convert To 01). Click Save.
For the Term example, repeat the above steps three times to convert T2, T3, and T4 to 02, 03, and 04, respectively.
Import a File
Once the file is uploaded and any data transformations are in place, the file can be imported.
Click here for more information about importing a file.
In the Import File Builder window:
Click Import. This will import the file that was previously uploaded. A pop-up window will display the status and eventually the window will display Request Complete.
In the Request Complete window, click View Report to see the results of the import. This will open a window displaying a PDF file of the import results. There may be errors in the file, in which case import parameters and/or data transformations need to be adjusted, or possibly there are issues with the Otus grade report and a new report needs to be generated.
Please contact Skyward support for assistance or questions. Otus is not able to provide support for Skyward.
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