TECH TALK SESSION
The word “import” can set many of our end-users quaking in their shoes. It usually reminds them of the work IT has to do before a term to make sure all the correct data is mapped into Accudemia from the SIS. For the IT folks, it’s a breeze, but for the end-user who isn’t used to working with data, it can be intimidating.
That’s why if you’re an end-user, it may surprise you to know that there are several center management processes that can be much easier to perform in Accudemia if you use imports rather than entering the information manually. And yes, we do mean they’re simple enough for you to do them yourself!
This week, Support Specialist Nick Armstrong, went over the most common types of imports that end users perform to aid in managing tutors and the centers. Then he reviewed how to perform these imports from an end-user perspective while demonstrating the manual processes the imports will replace.
Tutors Import
While some centers may only have a few tutors or support staff that they need to onboard, others can have a dozen or more, and that can get extremely time-consuming. Even if the tutors are already students in the system, they still need to be marked with the appropriate new role. That’s why we recommend importing tutors using a simple spreadsheet.
This spreadsheet must contain the ID number of the tutor, plus their first name and last name. You can also include other information such as email, phone number, or address. We recommend including an email and also recommend adding their cell phone number if you are using Accudemia’s text messaging capabilities.
Overall, this import is likely to save you a ton of time, particularly if you have a significant number of tutors or support staff.
Tutor Assignments Import
Even if you only have a few tutors, it’s likely to be very time-consuming to manually enter all the courses each of them can assist with, especially if they’re imported by section number (which is our recommendation as it makes for more accurate reporting).
That’s where the tutor assignments import comes in handy. Each row on the import file represents a tutor (for which you only need their user ID number), and the subject area name, prefix, and course code for one of the courses they can assist with. Keep in mind that courses should already be imported into Accudemia before this particular import can run, and if you aren’t sure how IT has coded your courses, you can simply export them into a spreadsheet and paste that data into your tutor assignments import.
Another thing to note is that while tutor assignments are importable, tutor schedules are not. This is a question we get often but ultimately, most clients find it very easy to set tutor schedules simply by clicking and dragging on the weekly calendar.
We hope that it’s clear how much time this import can save you. And even better, while the course data will change from term to term, the basic structure of the import will remain the same, meaning that the speed with which you can build this spreadsheet will improve each term.
Center Assignments Import
Similar to the Tutor Assignments Import, this import controls which courses a specific center can assist with at that location. The required fields per row are the name of the center and the same course information entered for the Tutor Assignments Import.
As you might imagine, this import is not used as often as the two listed above, but it can be very helpful if your center can only assist with certain courses due to policies or grant limitations. Otherwise, if your center can assist with any course, or if the assistance you provide is not course-based, it’s likely not necessary. You can also limit these courses through the tutors’ assignments and their availability in your center which allows you to technically use the “Assign all Courses” option when editing the center manually. You can determine best what setup works for your centers.
How to Import
Once you’ve set up your spreadsheet, it’s time to import! The first and most important thing, of course, is to make sure that you have import permissions on your Admin account. If you don’t, you’ll want to contact your main account admin to secure them. If you are not sure who this person is on your account then you can use the “Help” option in the top-right of Accudemia and select the “Contact Center Administrator” option.
If you do have the right permissions, you’ll go to “Administration” in the main Accudemia menu, and then to “Imports,” and to download/install the ADX tool.
Once the ADX tool is running, you’ll need to enter your username and password, as well as your account’s domain (the bit in the URL before “accudemia.net”) to log into Accudemia. First, click on the “New Import Job” button. Follow the prompts to choose the correct import type and run the import:
- Select the file you want to import and click Next.
- Map the file to the appropriate columns for that import as mentioned above. Click “Next” when done.
NOTE: The ADX tool should warn you of any potential errors that could cause the import not to run properly. - Set the Import behaviors for how you want the data handled. This means you may want the import to “overwrite” the Tutor Assignments from a previous import, etc. Click “Next” when done.
- Finally give the import a relevant name like “Tutor Assignments”, “Tutor Upload”, etc. and click the “Finish” button.
Once this process is complete you’ll simply click the “View details” and select the “Run Job Now!” to import the file.
Although it may seem intimidating to import files if you don’t work in IT, please know that it’s just a matter of creating the files and mapping the fields. Once you’ve done it, you’ll get the hang of it very quickly, and it will likely save you a ton of time! We hope that this article has been useful as you explore the best ways to set up your center in Accudemia. As always please let us know if you have any questions, and we hope to see you at the next Accudemia weekly session!
Join us next time!
Engineerica Systems is pleased to present our Tech Tip segment recap for 09/07/2021 for the weekly Accudemia sessions. Held every Tuesday at 1 pm EST, Accudemia clients can join a session to learn about a quick, useful topic from one of our Support Specialists. Each Thursday, we’ll follow up Tech Tip Tuesday with a blog recapping that week’s topic. If you’re an Accudemia client and would like to join us for the next session, just visit https://www.engineerica.com/accudemia-weekly-sessions/.
