User Data: Groups, Classes, SIS Connections, Load, Check & Distribute User Accounts

In most cases it is possible for Empower to communicate with your SIS (Student Information System) so that Empower can pull user data at regular intervals. This prevents districts from needing to do double entry as student populations fluxuate.

Create Accounts Manually

Accounts can be created manually in Empower. Note that these accounts will not interact with the SIS or any interoperability. The below videos show how.

Create Teacher Users

Create Student & Parent Accounts

Loading User Data via Spreadsheet

Attached to this article is the "SIS import Sheet" which users can download, fill out and turn in so that we can upload data.

Highlighted fields on this sheet are required.

There are 2 rules to this sheet:

1) Do not move or delete columns.

2) DO NOT MOVE OR DELETE COLUMNS!!!

The attached "SIS Import Spec" serves as a guide for formatting the data fields.

Once this sheet is ready, it can be posted to Empower's Helpdesk in a ticket requesting it be loaded into your site.

Setting Up Data Interoperability

Tips for checking your SIS data BEFORE connecting to Empower

It is strongly recommended that you have emails for all stakeholders in your SIS.
The data that is brought into Empower is only as good as the source data. It may be advisable to give your SIS data a once-over to make sure it is as you expect it to be in Empower.
You must activate your current school year in your SIS for that data to come across to Empower. The SIS will only export ACTIVE school year data.

GG4L

GG4L makes it really easy for schools to utilize GG4L's Roster Data Integration service. Here is what the customer on-boarding process looks like for a customer:

Empower will introduce the GG4L team via email by using our customer support email address (onboarding@gg4l.com) to the customer and GG4L can address any question that they may have in regards to the integration. If they are ready to move forward with the GG4L service to connect with your solution their support team will send them a link to this survey for completion.
Once the customer completes the survey, the GG4L team will work them directly to complete the data sync process. GG4L will send the customer step by step instructions to complete the data setup.
When the customer provides GG4L access to the SIS Data needed for your product, their team will complete the integration via GG4L Connect and the sync will be completed.
Empower will be notified once the integration is completed and working successfully.
The onboarding process for most customers takes 1-2 business days, upon completion of the customer survey. The process may vary due to the size of the customer, the amount of data needed, etc.
GG4L will assign a Project Manager for managing the customer on-boarding process and can schedule calls for reviewing statuses and discussing key aspects of the process.

Kimono

These are the data fields Kimono needs to be given in order to set up an install. Send this to Steve Setzer ssetzer@kimonocloud.com

to get the process started. He sets it up on his end and then Empower takes it from there.

Institution Name:
Institution Web Site:
Student Information System:
State where Institution is Located:
Institution Type: (for example, K12 Charter School):
NCES ID: (optional)
Number of Empower student seats:

If connecting to Aeres, client wil need this link:
https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/folders/14000115099

ZIS

If you have a ZIS set up we should be able to connect as long as it can support SIF versions 2.0 - 2.3. To access the ZIS we will need ...

Zone URL:

Zone Id:

Mode: Pull

Version:

Agent ID:

We typically call our agent 'Empower' and that agent would need to be set up in the ZIS as a subscriber to the following objects ...

SIF objects

SchoolInfo

StudentPersonal

StudentSchoolEnrollment

StudentContact

StaffPersonal

StaffAssignment

RoomInfo

TermInfo

SchoolCourseInfo

SectionInfo

StudentSectionEnrollment

Check Data

There are a few places you can check for users in Empower. Which you use depends on what you're checking for.

The following quick videos quickly show a few methods to check on different data.

The Batch User Tool

For a quick bird's eye view of the users that are in each school site.

The Profile Tools

For a view of more specific information including if emails have synced.

View As User/ Roster

To check if courses have come across

User Account Info Sheets

Useful if you want to export the data to carefully check for gaps.

Trouble Shooting

If the data isn't looking as expected, use the decision tree below to troubleshoot the issue. Get more help from Empower's Helpdesk.

Distribute Accounts

Before inviting company over, make sure you own furniture and the house is clean. In the same way, before you hand out access to Empower, you want to make sure the data that users will expect is in there. This may potentially included Courses, Classes, Emails and Standards. See above to learn how to check for most of those. Once you feel good about things, you will probably want to invite Teachers, Students and Guardians. That order is recommended.

Students and Guardians won't have much to see until Teachers have been in for a bit creating and gathering evidence. Additionally, Students are often the ones best suited to teach their parents how to use the system. This video shows a few ideas about distributing accounts.

Manage Existing Accounts

Manage Users as batch

Change or view passwords for large batches of users at the same time.

Edit Users, Change Passwords, Unlock Accounts, Delete Users

Students' historical scores are kept in Empower and are associated with the teacher who gave the score. Deleting a teacher would affect this data, so instead of deleting users, they can be deactivated by administrators.

User Emulation

Admin & Staff users can View As other users. This is very handy for troubleshooting.