Importing Transfer Coursework via the SIS Import

Overview

Adding transfer coursework into SS&E from the SIS via the SIS Import process involves a few key decisions made by an individual institution.

The primary question to answer is whether your institution wants to see transfer work represented in the same term as other institutional courses taken, or if your institution prefers to see this coursework separated into its own term. The answer to this question guides the SIS Import approach.

Regardless of your strategy, it is important to note that a relationship exists between a Transcript record, a Transcript Course record, a Course Section record, and an Academic Calendar (term) record.

• If no equivalent Course Section record exists in the underlying SIS, you may have to create a fictitious Course Section record to import from the SIS on the Course and Course Section data feeds in order to ensure that the linkage between Transcript Course and Academic Calendar can be made. Ultimately these relationships drive how the data is stored and displayed within SS&E.
• In addition, it is important to note that SS&E does not calculate anything from the individual Transcript Course records. The Cumulative GPA Credits displayed on the student's Transcript tab import on the Transcript data feed and are not calculated by adding the credits imported on the individual Transcript Course records, also displayed on the student's Transcript tab.

Student Transcript Tab is Missing Data and/or Displays Incorrect Data

If the Transcript tab is missing data or displaying data that is incorrect, the first place to check is the data extract file to see what is importing from the SIS. Please click here for instructions to help troubleshoot the SIS Integration.

• If transfer courses are missing from the UI, you should check the Transcript Course data extract file to see if the transfer courses are included in the data extract. If yes, the next step is to check for Import Errors to see if there is anything preventing the data from importing into SS&E. If any data included on the Transcript Course transfer coursework record is not found in SS&E, such as the associated Course Section Id or the associated Transcript Id, the data will not import. 
• If Transcript Course records representing transfer coursework are included in the data extract and are not importing due to an import error, this must be resolved in the data extract definitions. Once the underlying issue is fixed, the data will import successfully.
• Fixing the data extract definitions is out of scope for Base Support and can be managed either in the source data systems and/or Accelerate Configuration, depending on the individual institution. For additional assistance, our Managed Services team can help with SIS Integration issues by utilizing a customer's subscription package or by engaging with customers via Watermark Academy. 

Transfer Coursework Alongside Existing Coursework

If your institution wishes to see transfer coursework alongside existing term coursework, then the only requirement is that the TranscriptCourse data import row references a valid CourseSection record that references a valid institutional term.

• For example, you may have a transfer registration record that you want to associate with academic term Fall 2019. In that case, you'll need to associate the transfer credit TranscriptCourse record to an existing CourseSection record that references the institution's AcademicCalendar ID (eg. term) for Fall 2019. 
• Using this method, the system will not display which credits are associated with transfer coursework, since the Transcript Course data import is not sending data that indicates which courses and terms on the student's Transcript tab represent credits transferred from another institution.

In the example below, Olivia has transferred into our institution with two transfer courses (BUS1150A and MGT2500A) yet this is not clear by looking at the UI.

• Here, the student's Transcript tab includes transfer coursework displayed under a "regular" academic term with course section equivalents representing courses for which Olivia is receiving transfer credit.

Transfer Coursework in an Transfer Term

If your institution wishes to keep the transfer coursework in a separate transfer-based term, you'll need to consider whether you already have a transfer term in your SIS.

• Based on the transfer term being used, all CourseSection records representing transfer coursework in the TranscriptCourse data import file should be linked to the proper transfer term on the CourseSection data feed.
• Many institutions have an overarching transfer term that all transfer coursework is applied to, while others may add a transfer term per year (Transfer 2020, Transfer 2021, Transfer 2022 for example).

In the example below, Olivia has transferred into our institution with two transfer courses (BUS1150A and MGT2500A), and we can clearly see this from the student's Transcript tab.

• Here, the course section equivalents representing transfer coursework are listed under term TRANSFER 2020, indicating that these courses represent transfer credits.

How to Troubleshoot Missing or Mismatched Transfer Coursework

Once imported, transfer coursework will appear in SS&E based on the above decision.

• Equivalent coursework imported from the SIS will display on the Student Courses tab and on the Student Transcript tab, associated either with a dedicated transfer term or a "regular" term.

If transfer courses and credits are missing or displayed incorrectly for all or some students, either the transfer records are not included in the Transcript Course data extract or or the data is being excluded, or imported with incorrect transfer coursework on the Transcript Course data feed via the SIS Import process.

For example:

• A "transfer" term may be missing from the SS&E academic calendar data, or an equivalent course section may be missing from the SS&E course section data. If such data is missing, transfer coursework data importing on the Transcript Course data feed will not import into SS&E until the underlying issue is resolved.
• Another reason transfer coursework may be missing is that it's being excluded by the Transcript Course data extract definitions. If that is the case, the transcriptCourse.json file downloaded from Datafeeds Administration will also not include the missing transfer coursework data. To resolve this, the data extract definitions must be examined on the institution's Connect server in order to determine why transfer coursework data is excluded.

Resolution Steps:

1. 1. 1. Check the student's courses tab, transcript tab, or the Transcript Course data view to verify that the transfer coursework is missing from SS&E.
      2. Check the Transcript Course data extract to make sure the transfer coursework is included in the data imported from the SIS.
      3. If transfer coursework records are not found, that is why the transfer course data is missing from the UI and this must be corrected in the data extract definitions.
      4. Add any missing data to the Transcript Course import file.
      5. Check the Academic Calendar data view to verify that the term associated with the missing transfer data exists.
      6. Add any missing terms to the Academic Calendar import file.
      7. Check the Course Section data view or Course Section Administration to verify that the equivalent course sections associated with the missing transfer data exist.
      8. Add any missing course data to the Course and Course Section import file, as needed.
      9. Check the Import Errors displayed in SS&E to find what is preventing transfer data from importing into SS&E.
      10. For more information about SIS Integration Troubleshooting, click here.