Using and reporting on Arbor IDs and unique identifiers

This article explains how to use Arbor IDs and Globally Unique IDs for identifying and reporting on profiles in the MIS. It highlights the importance of these unique identifiers to distinguish between individuals with the same basic ID across different profile types and schools. The article also provides guidance on how to include these IDs in custom reports and clarifies that Arbor IDs are assigned in ascending order but may not be consecutive.

Every profile on the MIS is given a basic ID number. You can see this ID number at the end of the URL when you are viewing their profile, which is useful for finding profiles when given the ID.

In a custom report created in the Custom Report Writer, the basic ID is available to select as a column e.g. Student ID. 

• Because there are three different profile types (staff, guardian and student), it's possible to have multiple profiles with the same basic ID number. You could have a teacher and a student both with the basic ID number 123.
• Just using basic ID numbers means that when looking at Custom Reports on the MAT MIS, as it's possible that two staff members working at two different schools in the trust could have the same basic ID number as well. You could also have more than one person with the same name, so you'll need a way to identify the individual.

So you can report on and identify all staff, students or guardians in all your schools, you can use our Unique IDs.

In the school or MAT Custom Report Writer, you can choose to add columns for Arbor ID or Globally Unique ID.

Arbor ID

If you add the Arbor ID column, this will by default show the basic ID number.

If you edit the column, you can choose whether or not to display the Unique MIS ID instead.

If you tick the Unique MIS ID box, the Arbor ID column will show a combination of the basic number ID and whether the person is a staff member (3), guardian (2) or student (1).

Globally Unique ID

If you add the Globally Unique ID column, this will show an ID that is unique to that individual person across all profile types and schools, so even if two students have the same basic number ID you will be able to distinguish them.

• The global ID begins with the school's ID. In the example above, you can see the IDs begin with uk_demo, as this has been taken from a demo school site.
• The middle number of the ID tells you whether the person is a staff member (3), guardian (2) or student (1).
• The final digit of the ID is the basic number ID that can be found in the URL or the person's profile.

FAQ

How do these fields work in the MAT MIS?

If you are reporting on staff on the MAT MIS, only users who have a profile on a school site will be shown, not MAT users.

We recommend using the Globally Unique ID column on the MAT MIS. If you use the Unique MIS ID field, you still may have more than one person with the same ID (if there are staff members on different sites with the same basic ID number).

Where can we report on IDs?

These IDs are only shown in custom reports, nowhere else.

How are Arbor IDs assigned?

Arbor IDs will always be assigned in ascending order, so a new profile created will always have a higher ID than one created before.

However, IDs may not be assigned consecutively. To ensue unique IDs in the background, sometimes there may be gaps in the numbers assigned and they will not be right next to each other in sequence. This has no effect on the system, or integrations with third party API integrations.

Can you change the IDs?

It is not possible to change these identifiers.

If you wish to set your own identifiers, you can use other fields such as the Student Number, or User Defined Fields.