This article explains how to import a Common Transfer File (CTF) to manage student data when transferring between schools. It covers the steps to upload the file, select fields for import, match students, resolve duplicates, and enroll new students after import.
A Common Transfer File (CTF) is a standard format for sending student data between schools, often used when a student transfers schools. A CTF can be used to:
- Create new student profiles
- Update information on an existing student profile
Importing the file
Step 1 - Import your file
To import a CTF go to School > Data > Import > CTF Import.
Click +Add and select the report to upload. Please note: You only need to select an intake season if the CTF you're importing contains new students. If it doesn't, you can leave the box blank.
When you click Upload CTF, You will then be taken to the Import Overview (Shown in the section below).
Step 2 - Choose which fields to import
You can set what fields will be imported in bulk, just click the Bulk Set Import Sections button on the right-hand side of the page.
For example, you may choose to not import student email addresses to prevent students from having the same email address as their parents.
Top Tip: It won't tell you all the fields being imported (including what the ULNs are for each student), but you can see more details of what's included in a CTF here: What is included in a CTF?
If you click an individual student's name, you can also choose which ones to update on an individual basis.
Select the student, then click on the Select Import Sections arrow. Untick the boxes next to the information you don’t want to import for this specific student, then click on the Save and import later button.
Step 3 - Match and import your students
If the student profile in Arbor and the student in the CTF have the same UPN we will automatically match them.
If Arbor can’t match the student profile in Arbor and the student in the CTF (if one of them doesn’t have a UPN) we will by default create a new student profile.
To prevent duplicates, you must match the CTF to an existing student profile - just follow the steps in this article.
If no match exists and you want to create a new student, you can import them right away.
You can see that once each student's details have been imported, there will be a green tick next to their name. This means the upload has been successful. You won't receive a notification.
Step 4 - Resolve any duplicates
If you have accidentally created duplicate students by not matching them to an existing student, you'll need to resolve them by merging. Take a look at this article.
How do we import only certain students?
If you only want to import CTF data for some of the students included in the CTF, you won't be able to use the bulk button. You'll need to click into each student you want to import data for.
If you have a lot of students, you may find it easier to bulk import the students, then delete the profiles for the ones who won't be joining your school. Please note that this would only apply to new students, not data imported for existing students.
Next steps
Once you've imported any new students, you won't be able to use the search bar to find them as they're not yet enrolled in your school.
You'll need to find them using the Global search, then enrol them into registers.
Comments
Article is closed for comments.