Blackbaud

School Passport supports Secure Data Sync with a wide range of the district's student information systems (SIS). One of them is Blackbaud SIS. A top-class solution to help you manage school data with confidence and ease. Gain efficiencies and end data stress with Blackbaud’s student information software solution that enables K-12 private schools and higher education institutions to easily manage attendance, academic records, schedules, grading, and much more.

 

To configure the Blackbaud data sync app, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Log in to your School Passport profile, and navigate to the Connect (Data-Sync) module.
  2. Go to the Application Gallery section, and find the Blackbaud app. Once identified, click ACTIVATE button. You will be redirected to the configuration section.

    Note: you will be offered two options for the Blackbaud App: Blackbaud Native API - proprietary API data scheme; Blackbaud - data scheme of OneRoster API.

  3. Insert required credentials (Service URL, OAuth Client ID, OAuth Client Secret) in the corresponding fields of the Delivery Config tab:

    Screenshot 2023-02-13 at 15.43.11

    There are also Advanced Settings present here. Press the following button to open a drop-down list:
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    You will be offered to populate checkboxes related to additional settings. There are four checkboxes responsible for the following settings:

    • Bulk upload mode. The system will detect deleted records based on a comparison with the last upload.
    • Data will be uploaded from multiple data sources (for example, from the SIS and the Active Directory). Do not check the box if you plan to upload data from a single data source (e.g. only from the SIS).
    • Compare records accordingly to the Domains of Uniqueness.
    • Preview of data upload (you will have to approve every data sync). Your new data will be not available until you accept the changes.
    • There is the ability to set up a “Sync hold threshold”. If the system detected significant changes, updated data would not be available for export until you approve changes. 

    Also, you can set up the SIS prefix field. The prefix is used mainly for multiple Data Sources of the same type to avoid merging entities with equal SIS IDs.

    After making all required settings, you can test the connection with Blackbaud SIS by clicking the corresponding button:

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  4. In the Schools Mapping step, select all or individual schools’ data you want to be synced with School Passport. To choose an individual school just drag the button slider to the right in front of the school you need. To select all, click on the AUTO MAPPING button. 
  5. In the Attributes Mapping step, you can configure under what attributes, data of a separate entity from Blackbaud will be synchronized to School Passport.

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    Note: You can finish the configuration of the Blackbaud App in this step. To complete the configuration, click the corresponding button at the top-right corner of the screen.

  6. In the Data Requirements step, you can configure what actions should be taken if some data attributes are missed. There are two options here: Report if Missing; Skip if Missing
  7. In the Filter Rules step, you can set up data filtering by different entity types. There are seven entity types: student, contact, teacher, course, class, calendar, and admin. To make the filtering process easier to use, ready-made templates are provided. The additional attributes for more accurate filtering are present in the ready-made templates. Also, you can add a Custom Filter where custom attributes and conditions can be used. 
  8. Domains of Uniqueness define parameters that require to be unique. The main goal of Domains of Uniqueness is to avoid duplicates in the data system. There are seven entities you can set DoU for: Student, Contact, Teacher, Course, Class, Calendar, Admin. First Name, Last Name, and Email attributes are set by default in DoU to be unique, but you can also select (add) others: birth date, gender, grade, phone number, etc.

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  9. Master Fields step: data to a district account can come from multiple data sources. One data source may not have a complete list of required data, or this data might be inaccurate. In order to avoid duplication of data from different data sources, the user can configure which attributes from which data source will be the main ones. This configuration occurs in Master Fields.

    Note: For more details about Master Fields click here.

  10. In the Sync Schedule section, you can set up periodicity (daily, weekly) and the exact time for the sync. You can also choose the date when data sync will be expired.
  11. In the last "Done" step, click the FINISH button to finalize the configuration.
  12. Once the configuration is complete, you can force data sync by clicking on the RUN IMPORT button.

    Screenshot 2023-02-13 at 15.40.44

If you have any questions about Blackbaud App configuration, please reach out to GG4L Support.