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Welcome to Pathways Data Integration!

Follow this guide to send your SIS data to Pathways

Table of Contents:

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Introduction

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Data Sets

When your data integration is complete, Pathways will receive a number of data sets from your SIS. The total number of data sets varies because each SIS structures its data differently.

In most cases, data is retrieved from your SIS by loading one or more import files which are designed to export data.

Then, that data is sent by one of two Transfer Methods.

Transfer Methods

API - makes a direct connection with your SIS. API relies on secrets, keys, custom endpoints, and/or standardized import files to securely send data to Pathways.

SFTP - a CSV data export to be configured within your SIS. These files are then sent to Pathways via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). If your district is using this method, Pathways will provide you with credentials to your custom Pathways SFTP bucket.

Data Send Schedules

Please schedule your SIS to send data to Pathways nightly, Monday-Sunday, before 2 a.m. CST. We recommend sending data on weekends to ensure that Pathways is updated on Monday morning for your councilors.

Data Transfer & Responsibilities

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Pathways view your SIS as the Single Source of Truth for all data. Please review the steps below for how data is sent from your SIS to Pathways.

1 - Manage Data in SIS –Sending data to Pathways begins with adding, updating, and maintaining the accuracy of course request, student, and teacher data within your SIS.

2 - Export Data from SIS – Your district IT, with help from your Pathways Data Integrations Engineer, will configure SIS data exports that create the Pathways data files.

3 - Send Data to EAI – Your SIS/District IT will send data files to Pathways on a regular basis (via SFTP or API, depending on your SIS).

4 - Maintain Servers – Pathways will create and maintain servers for the purpose of securely retrieving data from your SIS.

5 - ETL & Data Security – EAI will retrieve the data files from SFTP, encrypt, and store data using AWS. See EAI’s Data Privacy page for more information on how EAI secures your data.

6 - EAI Product -EAI will display your district data in Pathways.

Timeline & Checklist

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Your Pathways Data Integration will take approximately two weeks to complete.

Day 1: Tech KO (Optional):

Before your data integration begins, you will receive an email containing all of the information you need to begin exporting and sending data to Pathways.

However, if you need assistance, your data Integrations Engineer will be happy to meet with you for a short, 15-30min Tech KO to answer your questions.

Week 1: Setup Exports and Send First Files:

Set up SFTP (if applicable) within the 1st 48hrs of the Tech KO.

Setup Data Exports in your SIS (see Part 4, below, for details)

Complete Data Validation Worksheet that your Pathways Data Integrations Specialist will use to review your data within Pathways and approve your district for training.

Send First Data Sets to Pathways via API or SFTP

Email your Pathways Data Integrations Engineer your Users Data and Data Validation Worksheet.

Week 2: Validate Data and Automate Data Transfer

Data Validation will be performed by your Pathways Data Integration Engineer. They will then reach out to you with any recommended changes to the data export within your SIS.

Update Exports in SIS based on the recommendations of your Data Integrations Engineer.

Enable Automatic Sends of all data sets within your SIS. All data sets should be sent Monday-Sunday before 2 am CST.

3 Days before Training: Final Data Review

Your Pathways Team will review your SIS data within Pathways and approve your district for training. Please note that training may be postponed if the data does not match the information provided in the Data Validation Worksheet.

Instructions for Exporting SIS Data:

Locate your SIS, download the attachments, and follow the provided steps to configure your data exports for Pathways. If you have any questions, please contact your Pathways Data Integrations Engineer for assistance.

Ascender SIS

If your Ascender SIS is hosted/managed by…

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Instructions:

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Step 1: Your ERC will build the following export files:

All data files must be in CSV format and pipe-separated.

  • students.txt - First Name|Last Name|State Student Id|Ascender Student Id|Gender|Graduation Year|Birthdate|School Id|GPA|IBC PEIMS|Sum|Total Credits District|Sumt|Total Credits Transferred|Stem Endeavors|Public Service Endeavors|BUS Industry Endeavors|Multi Discipline Endeavors|Arts Humanities Endeavors|Distinguished Coursework|Foundation Coursework|College Career Instruction|DT CPR|DT Police Interact|DT Speech|FAFSA Status

  • current_grades.txt - Student ID|Course Name|Course ID|State Course ID|Potential Credits|Credits Earned|Grade/Score|Year Taken|Grading Period|Counts Toward GPA|Is AP Class|Earned Dual Credit|ONRAMPS|Final Grade

  • historic_grades.txt - Student ID|Course Name|Course ID|State Course ID|Potential Credits|Credits Earned|Grade/Score|Year Taken|Grading Period|Counts Toward GPA|Is AP Class|Earned Dual Credit|ONRAMPS

Step 2: Send test data exports to Pathways:

  • Notify your DI Engineer that your ERC has completed the data exports.

  • Send these files via SFTP using the SFTP creds provided by your DI Engineer.

  • Your DI Engineer will then validate the data and load it to Pathways.

Step 3: Request Nightly Sends from ERC:

Once the data has been validated by your DI Engineer, forward the SFTP details to your ERC so they can schedule the export.

eSchool & eSchoolPLUS

Cognos Report Templates:

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Instructions:

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Step 1: Download Cognos files:

Download the Cognos Report Template files, above.

Step 2: Load the files to Cognos:

  • Load each report template file to Cognos.

  • Then run each report to confirm that the expected data was exported.

Note: The template files may need to be customized for your specific table structure. Your Pathways DI Engineer can assist you with this process.

Step 3: Schedule and send CSV files via SFTP:

Schedule all reports to run and send data to Pathways nightly, before 1am CST using the SFTP credentials provided by your Pathways DI Engineer.

Harmony

Instructions:

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Complete the following steps every quarter/trimester/semester to update data in Pathways:

  1. Log into Pathways and click on Import Data under Utilities:

  1. Click on the link to select the Harmony SIS file you wish to import:

  1. Select Choose File and then Upload File to complete the update.

PowerSchool

Pathways uses a custom API to export data from PowerSchool.

Instructions:

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Step 1: Download API file from Pathways

  1. Log into your Pathways account.

  2. Go to Utilities in the green ribbon and select District Settings.

  3. Scroll down and click Student Information System (SIS) Settings and Import Policies under Student Information System (SIS) Settings.

  4. Download the API ZPI file by clicking the link:

Step 2: Install the API file in PowerSchool

  1. Open a new tab and log into PowerSchool. Go to Plugin Management Configuration.

  2. Install and Enable the API ZIP file. Do not unzip this file before installation.

  3. Find and open Standards for Success Plugin on the plugin list.

  4. Click Data Provider Configuration to view the your API Key and Secret.

Step 3: Configure API in Pathways

  1. Go back to your Pathways account to Student Information System (SIS) Settings and Import Policies

  2. Enter the following information under the PowerSchool API Access section:

  1. Click Test Connection to confirm the API is retrieving data.

  2. Then click Save at the bottom of the page.

Step 4: Notify your DI Engineer

Email your DI Engineer that the plugin has been configured. They will then validate data within Pathways and follow up with you on next steps, if needed.

Skyward Q

Indiana Import Files:

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Introduction:

Pathways relies on State-specific import files to automatically create data exports in Skyward Q.

You do not need to manually create Pathways Export files (smile)

Step 1: Download Import Files

Download your State-specific Pathways import files, below. The data files are:

Import Files:

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Step 2: Load Import Files to Skyward Q:

  1. Log into Skyward Q. Then select the green menu. Go to Reporting, then Report Manager.

  2. Select Upload Reports and chose all downloaded Pathways import files.

  3. Finally, click Run Process to create the reports.

Step 3: Schedule and Configure SFTP:

Complete the following for each Pathways Import file.

  1. In Skyward Q, go back to Report Manager.

  2. Search for “Education Advanced” and click the Details button.

  3. Click Scheduled Reports then Add Scheduled Report.

  4. Enter a Report Name of your choice. Then enter of Start Time before 1am CST.

  5. Click on Save & Add Export Location.

  6. Enter the Skyward @ Report Name from the chart in Step 1, above.

  7. Click Add FTP/SFTP Connection or search for your existing Pathways SFTP connection.

    1. Use the hostname and credentials provided by your Pathways DI Engineer to add a new SFTP connection in Skyward Q. Please click Test Connection before saving.

  8. Save and manually send the file. Then email your Pathways DI Engineer to notify them that the files have been sent.

See Skyward Q’s Technical Knowledge Base for more information on configuring data exports.

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Introduction:

Pathways relies on State-specific import files to automatically create data exports in Skyward SMS’s Data Mining and SkyBuild export tools. You do not need to manually create Pathways Export files (smile)

Step 1: Download the Pathways Import Files

Download the Import Files (below) for your State.

When completed, each Import File will generate the following Reports in Skyward SMS:

IN Skyward SMS Import Files:

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TX Skyward SMS Import Files:

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Step 2: Load Import Files to SkyBuild:

Follow these steps to load the Students and Course Crosswalk import files to SkyBuild.

  1. Log into Skyward SMS. Then go to the Administration tab and click Exports under SkyBuild.

  2. Select Export File Builder. Then click the Load Interfaces from File button.

  3. Select the Load Interface from File option. Then click Choose File.

  4. Locate the import file on your computer. Then click Import.

Include Headers?: Please Include headers for the Students export only. Do not include headers for the Course Crosswalk export.

Step 3: Load Import Files to Data Mining:

Follow these steps to load the Grades, GPA, and IBC (TX only) import files to Data Mining.

  1. Log into Skyward SMS. Then go to Data Mining.

  2. Click the Import Layout button.

  3. Enter the Pathways Report Name, as indicated on the chart above.

  4. Chose the matching import file from your computer and click Import.

Include Headers?: Please Include headers for all three Data Mining files: Grades, GPA and IBC (TX only)

Step 4: Configure SFTP and Send Files

Configure SFTP in Skyward and schedule the files to send nightly (including weekends) before 2am CST.

Data Retrieved by Report Name:

For your information, here are the data elements retrieved from your Skyward SMS.

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