PCR Educator Transforms School Life for Families, Teachers, and Administrators
Discover how PCR Educator transforms school life by keeping students, parents, teachers, and administrators connected and organized. [Link]
From Inquiry to Enrollment: PCR Educator's Seamless Process
Discover how PCR Educator transforms school operations from inquiries to enrollment with advanced technology and personalized communication. [Link]
Transform Your School Operations with PCR Educator: A Seamless Journey from Inquiry to Enrollment
.Discover how PCR Educator not only simplifies administrative tasks but also strengthens school-family connections, leading to enhanced efficiency and engagement. [Link]
Configuring Grade Book Templates
Grade Book Templates aims to streamline the process of establishing consistent grading structures across courses within a school. By using Grade Book Templates, schools can set up predefined category configurations for courses, allowing teachers to focus solely on creating assessments without the need to set up grade book categories manually.

Setting Up Grade Book Templates in Campus

Step 1: Set Up Grade Book Templates
  1. Navigate to the Administrator>Maintenance>Grade Book Templates tab.
  2. Click New in the upper right-hand corner.
  3. Configure Grade Book Templates.
Step 2: Associate Grade Book Templates with Courses
  1. Navigate to the Administrator tab.
  2. Select Courses.
  3. Click on Details for the desired course.
  4. In the Registrar section, find the Grade Book Template dropdown.
  5. Select the appropriate template from the list.
Impact of Disabling the Grade Book Management Page

  • Category Associations: For templated courses, teachers will not be able to specify or modify category associations. All assessments created will be tied to the categories defined in the template.
  • Assessment Creation: When creating assessments, the category selection will be restricted to those defined in the template for templated courses. Non-templated courses will retain the ability to use non-templated categories.
  • Consistency: This approach ensures that all templated courses adhere to a uniform grading structure, simplifying the grading process and maintaining consistency.

Notes

  • Teacher Responsibilities: Once templates are set, teachers will only be responsible for creating assessments and assigning them to the appropriate categories as defined by the templates.
  • Non-Templated Courses: Courses that are not associated with a Grade Book Template will continue to use the existing grade book category setup process, allowing for more flexibility in category management.
New Feature: Saving Time with Grade Book Templates
We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of a powerful new feature: Grade Book Templates. 

What's New?

Grade Book Templates will enable schools to establish consistent, pre-defined category setups across desired courses. This feature aims to streamline the grading process and ensure uniformity in assessment categories. Here are the key highlights:

Consistent Category Setup: Schools can now define and enforce category associations for courses, ensuring a standardized structure across the board.

Simplified Assessment Creation: Teachers will no longer need to set up categories; they can focus solely on creating assessments within the predefined categories.

Hybrid Flexibility: For schools that prefer a mix, administrators can allow teachers to manage categories for some courses while retaining control over others. This ensures flexibility and customization to meet the specific needs of each school.

For any questions or further information, feel free to contact our support team.
 
Enhancing Admissions Decisions with PCR Educator's Innovative Support and Analytics
"The change in how we make decisions is amazing. With PCR Educator's smart insights and detailed analysis, we're making wiser admissions choices. And with their team always ready to help, we're never on our own. It's not just software; it's like having an extra team member who's always there for us." [Link]
Close Of The School Year 2024 Announcement
The Closing the School Year Wizard is available! Keep in mind that you can send notifications to next year’s families, and give them access to the Parent Portal (including next year's schedules), prior to closing this school year. As always, please plan ahead and reserve multiple business days with us in case you need support in closing the school year.

Note: The close of the school year wizard will not be available if your school exceeds the purchased database storage amount. Please contact support@pcreducator.com for help addressing this.

Handling Voided Receipts on Deposits
After a receipt is voided, if it was created by auto-pay (for payments created after 6/18/24), you can associate it with a deposit on the date of the void for the same payment processor.

Features:
  1. Void Count and Net Deposit Columns: The deposit list now includes two new columns:
    • Void Count: Displays the number of voided receipts associated with the deposit.
    • Net Deposit: Shows the net amount of the deposit after accounting for voided receipts.
  2. Associated Voids Dashboard Element: You can include an Associated Voids dashboard element to view voided receipts linked to the deposit. This element provides a clear and organized view of all voided receipts, enhancing transparency and ease of tracking.
Steps to Handle Voided Receipts
  1. Void a Receipt:
    • If a receipt needs to be voided, follow the standard procedure to void the receipt.
    • Note: This functionality applies to auto-pay receipts created since the 6/18 release.
  2. Associate with a Deposit:
    • Once a receipt is voided, it can be associated with a deposit on the date of the void, provided it is for the same payment processor.
    • This ensures that the voided receipt is accurately reflected in the deposit records.
  3. Review Deposits:
    • Navigate to the deposit list to review the updated columns:
      • Void Count: Verify the number of voided receipts for each deposit.
      • Net Deposit: Check the net deposit amount after void adjustments.
    • Add the Associated Voids dashboard element to your view. This will display all voided receipts connected to the deposit, making it easier to manage and reconcile your records.
Transformative Decision-Making in Admissions with PCR Educator
PCR Educator's advanced analytics and support system revolutionizes decision-making in school admissions, effectively turning the software into an indispensable team member that enhances institutional effectiveness.
Streamlining School Admissions with PCR Educator's Personalized Guidance
"And here's the really cool part: PCR Educator doesn't just help us collect applications; it's like a guiding light for families, leading them step by step with automated reminders and personalized communication. It's like each family has their own guide, making their way from just looking to fully enrolling a smooth ride." [Link]
Application Setup
The Application Setup contains many general settings for the school database as a whole rather than individual division settings in school info.  To access this page, navigate to Security > Maintenance > Application Setup.  You need Security Full roles to access this page.

Culture controls how currency is shown in Finance (decimal, thousands separator, negative amounts) as well as how dates work.  This includes controlling the display format for financials as well as DAT Query, DAT Fields - Step 2.

Currency Symbol controls the currency symbol shown.  This includes controlling the display format for financials as well as DAT Query, DAT Fields - Step 2.

Time Zone controls how email jobs are scheduled to be sent out, parent teacher conferences start and end times, and DAT date time calculations.  Rather than being based on the local PCR Educator server time, you can specify the timezone the school is located at.  Once specified, times are relative to your timezone time instead.

Email Sender Prefix is a default prefix for various automated notifications.  It replaces everything before the @ in an email address.  Note: Email senders should always be explicitly specified on email templates, and all staff users should always have a valid school email address. 

Email Domain is the institution's email suffix.  It should include the @. Example: @myinstitution.edu  Note:  An SPF Record must be registered with your domain before you can specify an Email Domain in the school database. If the SPF Record is not configured properly and doesn’t pass the validation, the Email Domain setting is ignored.

Merge Link Expiration (days) determines how many days a Reset Password link is valid.

Notification Sender is a default sender for automated emails.  This field is for backward compatibility and should have a generic email like no-reply@pcreducator.com.  Note: Email senders should always be explicitly specified on email templates, and your school personnel users should always have a valid school email address.

Budget Periods determines whether finance enters budgeting data yearly, quarterly, or monthly.

Reconciliation determines if you see individual transactions or a summary on the transaction register for the transaction on the finance reconciliation page.  Generally, it is recommended to reconcile by transaction register as there is less data for you to have to work through.

Deferred Schedule determines when revenue is recognized, considering factors such as invoice dates and deposit dates. Each setting provides a different approach to handling deferred revenue, allowing flexibility based on specific business needs and scenarios. Note: “No Deferral” is used for the “Manual Revenue Recognition” method of recording Finance Unearned/Deferred Revenue. Note: “Earn on Receipt Earn Date Only”, “Earn on Invoices Before Earn Date”, and “Earn on Invoices Always” are all three options used in the Earn Date Revenue Recognition method.

Inquiry Online must be the page in your CMS where a new Inquiry is entered.  The New button in Admissions takes you to the inquiry online page to create the new inquiry.

Apply Online must be the applicant profile page in your CMS, where an applicant applies.

Anticipated Close Date is the date you expect to close out the School Year.  The student’s status and substatus for next year is based on the anticipated close date and any actions associated with the student.  Note: This might be best understood from the Contract where you might have students Pre-Enrolled for the current year to complete the contract, and fully Enrolled as of the next school year.  Such students are anticipated to be fully enrolled as of the Anticipated Close Date.  So their next year status is calculated based on any next year action issued before or on the Anticipated Close Date.

Development Fiscal Month is the month that the development fiscal year switches.

Development Fiscal Day is the day that the development fiscal year switches.  Note: Typically, the Development Fiscal Month and Development Fiscal Day for development is July 1st.

Finance Require Student determines whether every invoice and receipt must have a student specified on each record.  If you are using Balance Calculation - By Student you want to have this setting turned on.

Disable Prerequisites turns off the prerequisite logic.  If you are not using prerequisites, checking this setting improves system performance for Scheduling.

Recurring Donation Email is the email template used to remind donors of an upcoming charge for their recurring donations.

Check In/Out Pincodes determines whether the pin codes must be unique in the entire database, or whether multiple households might have the same pin code when students or other contacts are checking in or checking out the student.  Everyone within a household must have a separate pin code in order to positively identify who is picking up a student.  Emergency Contacts must have Can Pickup checked, and are identified by first name, last name, and pincode in order to check out a student.  Parents must be marked as Okay To Pickup on the student - household relationship in order to check out a student.  Note: The “Check In/Check Out” widget in the CMS has different options to check out student including by Pin Code.  This Check In/Out Pincodes setting works in conjunction with the CMS widget.

Development Post Type determines whether when Recording Development Activity in Finance the activity is recorded as journal entries or miscellaneous receipts.  

Translation Token is based on a subscription to Weglot.  Place the token you receive from Weglot here to enable translation on Contracts and the CMS.

Translation Location determines where the Weglot translation options appear.  Note: It may take several minutes for changes to this setting to appear on the Contract or CMS.

No Attendance Record allows you to override the text shown when no attendance record is present. If no value is specified, the default text "Present" will be used.

Email Css File is a CSS file which determines the visual properties of all emails (typically font type, color, size). 

Top 3 table sizes shows the 3 largest tables by size in your database.  The table size must exceed 0.1GB to appear.
Auto-Pay Configuration (Finance)
Auto-Pay Configuration is a record that represents a collection of rules for payment processing for Automated Payment Processing,  used to pay invoices using the Stored Payment Info, or to accept payments for Contracts or through the CMS. Navigate  to Finance > Maintenance > Auto-Pay Configurations to set up Auto-Pay configurations.  You need the FinanceAR Full role to access this page.  Note:  For fully automated payment processing, create a Customer Invoice Filter which selects the invoices to be paid.  The filter should be sufficiently generic that on any given day, it selects the desired invoices to be paid.

Auto-Pay Configuration Type determines how the Auto-Pay operates.
    - Inactive: The auto-pay configuration is no longer used.
    - Auto: The auto-pay is processed automatically.  The Customer Invoices paid are determined by the Customer Invoice Filter.
    - Manual: The auto-pay configuration is available when using the Finance > AR > Invoices, Auto-Pay multi-action or to accept payments for Contracts or through the CMS.

Payment Configuration is the Payment Configuration used to process the payments.

Stored Payment Type is the type used when processing payments.  For Contracts and CMS if this is specified then the payment used will be recorded with the Stored Payment Info.  Note: If no Auto-pay type is specified, no Stored Payment Info is recorded. Note: When paying invoices via multi-action, if a customer doesn’t have a Stored Payment configured with this Stored Payment Type, no payment is processed for that customer.

Payment Method determines which Stored Payment method this configuration is applicable for.  

Pay Type determines how to charge the invoice.
    - Due Amounts: charges the amount due today if any, as well as any overdue amount.
    - Low Balance: charges the Autoload Amount if the current balance drops below the Autoload Balance. Note: This is typically used to auto-charge for Lunch ledger balances.  
    - Overdue Amounts: charges overdue amounts only.

Pay Options is either Per Customer or Per Student.
    - Per Customer: One payment is charged per customer for all their payable invoices.
    - Per Student: One payment is charged for each student for all that student’s payable invoice.
Note:  If the Application Setup is set for Finance Require Student, then choose the Per Student option.  Otherwise, to minimize convenience fees charged, select Per Customer.  Example:  If a customer has 3 students and 5 invoices to be paid for each student, the Per Customer option initiates only 1 charge to cover all 15 invoices.  The Per Student option initiates 3 charges, one for each student paying the student’s 5 invoices.  

AR (Credit) Account is the Accounts Receivable account used for the customer receipt. Note: If the desired Auto-pay configuration is for Deferred/Unearned revenue, and the “Deferred Schedule” in Application Setup is set to “Earn on Receipt Earn Date Only,” "Earn on Invoices Before Earn Date," or "Earn on Invoices Always," then the AR (Credit) Account must be set to the corresponding Unearned/Deferred Revenue Account. 

Deferred/Unearned Account is only visible if the “Deferred Schedule” in Application Setup is set to “No Deferral”.   It represents the unearned revenue account utilized for payments designated for future invoice applications. Note: The Unearned/Deferred Account is used for deposit receipts being applied to future invoices.  When you finalize the deposit, the reported Accounts Receivable balance will be adjusted from the deposit date through the invoice issued date as long as the invoice is dated later than the deposit.  Example:  In the following example, the customer paid their deposit on 6/1/2016.  The invoice is issued on 7/1/2016 for the next fiscal year.  The unearned account is specified as “Unearned Revenue (Tuition).”  When the receipt is “Finalized,” the following transactions are added to the general ledger.  This results in the AR being reported accurately during the period between when the receipt was received and the invoice is issued: AR is re-increased during the span between the receipt date and the invoice date.

Account Fiscal Year Date Type Amount
Unearned FY16-17 7/1/2016 Debit $1000.00
AR FY16-17 7/1/2016 Credit $1000.00
Unearned FY15-16 6/1/2016 Credit $1000.00
AR FY15-16 6/1/2016 Debit $1000.00


Classification determines the classification used for customer receipts.

Deposit choose “New Deposit” for Credit Cards.  For E-Check, you may specify a deposit which will act as an Undeposited Funds which never gets posted, or “New Deposit”

Deposit Account determines which general ledger account appears on the deposit.  This account represents the bank account where the Payment Processor deposits funds.

Deposit Description determines the description which appears on the deposit.

Deposit Date is required for the initial setup, but the current date is used when creating the actual deposit.

Deposit Classification determines the classification used on the deposit.

Receipt Method determines the receipt method appearing on the customer receipts.

Receipt Memo is the public customer memo used for the customer receipts and statements.

Internal Memo is any internal comment that is not visible to customers.

Convenience Fee Product is the product used to determine any convenience fee for each payment.  Note: The convenience fee is applied as a separate invoice.  Note: Fee information is not required.

Fee AR (Credit) Account is the Accounts Receivable account used for the Convenience Fee invoice.

Fee Classification is the classification used for the Convenience Fee invoice.

Convenience Term is the payment term used for the Convenience Fee invoice.  Note: The payment term is typically set to  “Due Immediately” or similar terms.

Convenience Memo is the customer memo that appears on the convenience fee customer invoice and customer statements.

Post Fee Invoices determines if the convenience fee invoices are posted to the general ledger automatically.

Customer Invoice Filter determines which invoices are eligible to be paid by the auto-pay configuration.  Note:  This field is only applicable if the Auto-Pay Configuration Type is “Auto.”  Note: Customer Invoice filters are configured on the Finance > AR > Customer Invoices page.  You need FinanceAR Full or FinanceAR Read to access this page.  Note:  The Customer Invoice Filter should only include unvoided invoices with an unpaid balance.  Add additional conditions to restrict the invoices based on due dates.  Additional restrictions are at your discretion.  Example: Add additional restrictions for posted only invoices, or Contract 2018 only invoices.

Receipt Email Template is the template for the email that is sent after their payment has been made successfully.  This template is based on an email using the Finance > AR > Receipts multi-action Email. You need FinanceAR Full or FinanceAR Read to access this page.  Note: The email is only applicable to Automated Payment Processing. The email will not go out when the payment is made through the CMS Portal.
 


Administrator Emails are email addresses which receive a payment summary email once the payments are processed.

Note: Convenience Fee Product, Fee AR (Credit) Account, Fee Classification, Convenience Terms, Convenience Memo, and Post Fee Invoices are fields necessary for creating a Convenience Fee invoice.  If no fee is to be charged, leave all of these fields blank.
GL Account
GL Account is an account or record used to sort, store and summarize a school's transactions. These accounts are arranged in the Chart of Accounts.

Note: If you select any of the following “Deferred Schedule” options in Application Setup: "Earn on Receipt Earn Date Only," "Earn on Invoices Before Earn Date," or "Earn on Invoices Always," you must create a new Unearned/Deferred GL Account in the General Ledger for all unearned/deferred revenue. This account functions as both the "AR Credit Account" on the Auto-Pay Configuration for unearned/deferred revenue and the credit account on invoices for all unearned/deferred revenue transactions.

To create a new account, select the correct ledger in the top right corner of the page. Go to Finance > Ledger > Chart of Accounts. Click New on the right side of the page to enter the new account details.

Account Name is the name of the account listed in the chart of accounts. Note: Changing the account name of an existing account will update the account name on all associated transactions.

Account Number is the account number associated with the account. You can enter the account number directly, or click the Account Number link. The account number link has the section, description, and numbers that are listed in Finance > Maintenance > Account Number Mapping. Note: Changing the account number of an existing account will update the account number for all associated transactions.

Account Description can be any description you want to be entered for the account.

Category is the classification the account belongs to. Example: Asset, Liability, Equity, NetAsset, Revenue, Expense, Gain, Loss. Note: This MUST be set to “Liability” for all Unearned/Deferred Revenue Accounts.

Type is the type of account based on the category. Example: Category Revenue - Type Income, Category Asset - Type Bank Account. Note: This MUST be set to “Unearned Revenue” or “Deferred Revenue” for all Unearned/Deferred Revenue Accounts. 

Account Sub Types are a further classification of the account. Make a selection from the drop-down. Note: Sub Types can be added by clicking the Account Sub Types link.

Contra to Account is where you set the account the new account is contra to, if applicable. Note: A contra account is an account that offsets the balance of the associated account.

Is Aggregate? is a checkbox to mark if the account will include the sum balance of this account and any sub-accounts connected to it.

Suppress Reporting? is a checkbox that prevents the account from being listed in the reports.

Note: You can associate accounts with multiple ledgers by going to Finance > Ledgers > Chart of Accounts > Details > Associate with Ledgers.
Finance Unearned / Deferred Revenue

Unearned / Deferred Revenue is when payments are received before the invoice issued date.  An example of unearned/deferred revenue is collecting deposits for re-enrollment contracts for the next fiscal year.  Note: The general ledger account must have a Type of “Unearned Revenue” or “Deferred Revenue.”

There are two approaches to consider when recording unearned/deferred revenue in PCR Educator.
1. Manual Revenue Recognition - Recording the unearned/deferred revenue on the invoice line items: Using this approach, a manual journal entry must be made to move the amounts from unearned/deferred revenue (liability) to revenue (income). Note: Use this approach when the revenue must be recognized in a prorated manner over the course of the year.
2. Earn Date Revenue Recognition - This method involves managing deferred revenue recognition across various scenarios and transaction types. It begins by understanding the conditions under which revenue should be deferred, such as when a receipt is associated with an invoice. The approach varies depending on scenarios like “Earn on Receipt Earn Date Only,” "Earn on Invoices Before Earn Date," and "Earn on Invoices Always," each dictating when revenue is recognized. Overall, the method ensures accurate and compliant deferred revenue recognition, optimizing financial reporting and management.

Note: In the examples below, we've adopted a system where Debits are displayed as positive numbers, while Credits are represented as negative numbers. This method ensures that the total comes out to zero when we sum up all the credits and debits. It's important to note that due to this convention, Revenue might appear as a negative number, even though it signifies gains.

Earn Date Only:

A receipt of $5000 on March 1st will be earned on July 1st. Since this is for Earn Date Only, invoices do not matter.

Record Entry GL Date Cash A/R Deferred Notes
Receipt 3/1/2024 3/1/2024 5000   5000 Dr Cash, Cr Deferred
  3/1/2024 7/1/2024   -5000 -5000 Added automatically when posting Receipt, Dr Deferred, Cr Cash
Total:     5000 -5000  

Earn on Invoices Before Earn date: 

A receipt of $5000 on March 1st will be earned on July 1st. An invoice for $200 will be added on May 1st. Invoices dated after the earn date do not matter.

Record Entry GL Date Cash A/R Deferred Revenue Notes
Receipt 3/1/2024 3/1/2024 5000   5000   Dr Cash, Cr Deferred
  3/1/2024 7/1/2024   -5000 -5000   Added automatically when posting Receipt, Dr Deferred, Cr Cash
Invoice 5/1/2024 5/1/2024   200   -200 Dr A/R, Cr Revenue
  5/1/2024 5/1/2024   200 -200   200 is no longer deferred as of May instead of through July
  5/1/2024 7/1/2024   -200 200   200 is no longer deferred as of May instead of through July
Total 7/1     5000 -4800   -200
 
Earn on Invoices Always: 

A receipt of $5000 on March 1st will be earned on July 1st. Invoice A for $200 will be added on May 1st, and Invoice B for $400 will be added on September 1st.
Record Entry GL Date Cash A/R Deferred Revenue Notes
Receipt 3/1/2024 3/1/2024 5000   5000   Dr Cash, Cr Deferred
  3/1/2024 7/1/2024   -5000 -5000   Added automatically when posting Receipt, Dr Deferred, Cr Cash
Invoice A 5/1/2024 5/1/2024   200   -200 Dr A/R, Cr Revenue
  5/1/2024 5/1/2024   200 -200   200 is no longer deferred as of May instead of through July
  5/1/2024 7/1/2024   -200 200   200 is no longer deferred as of May instead of through July
Invoice B 8/30/2024 9/1/2024   400   -400 Dr A/R, Cr Revenue
  8/30/2024 7/1/2024   -400 400   400 is now deferred through Sept 1st
  8/30/2024 9/1/2024   400 -400   400 is now deferred through Sept 1st
Total 9/1     5000 -4400   -600  
New Feature: Flexible Revenue Recognition
We are thrilled to announce a powerful new feature: Earn Date Revenue Recognition. This enhancement is designed to provide you with more flexible deferred revenue recognition, ensuring your financial reporting and management are optimized.

Key Benefits of Earn Date Revenue Recognition:

Precision and Compliance: Manage deferred revenue recognition across various scenarios and transaction types with accuracy.
Flexibility: Choose from multiple recognition methods to best fit your financial practices.
Improved Financial Reporting: Ensure your financial data reflects real-time, accurate revenue recognition.

Feature Details:

Our Earn Date Revenue Recognition method includes three versatile options:

Earn on Receipt Earn Date Only:
- Recognizes revenue solely based on the receipt earn date, regardless of when the invoice was issued.
- Ensures the timing of invoices does not affect revenue recognition.
Earn on Invoices Before Earn Date:
- If an invoice is issued before the earn date, revenue is recognized on the invoice date.
- Adjusts recognition based on invoice timing, ensuring compliance with financial standards.
Earn on Invoices Always:
- Recognizes revenue based on the invoice date, regardless of the earn date. 
- Overrides the earn date if an invoice is associated, aligning revenue recognition with invoice timing.

To get started, please review these articles and reach out to support@pcreducator.com:

Finance Unearned / Deferred Revenue
Application Setup
Earn Date Revenue Recognition
Auto-Pay Configuration (Finance)
 
Earn Date Revenue Recognition
The “Deferred Schedule” setting under Application Setup must have one of the following selected:

Earn on Receipt Earn Date Only
Recognizes revenue only on the receipt earn date, regardless of when the invoice was issued. In other words, the timing of the invoice doesn't affect when the revenue is recognized. Instead, it's solely based on the earn date listed on the receipt. So, even if an invoice was issued earlier or later, the revenue will be recognized only on the specific date when it's earned.
Earn on Invoices Before Earn Date
Revenue is primarily recognized on the earn date. However, if an invoice is issued before the earn date, the revenue related to that invoice is recognized on the date of the invoice itself. This means that the timing of the invoice impacts when the revenue is recognized. If the invoice date precedes the deposit date, the revenue is recognized as of the deposit date.
Earn on Invoices Always
Recognizes deferred revenue on the earn date, unless there's an invoice associated with the transaction. If an invoice exists, the system adjusts to recognize revenue based on the invoice date, regardless of whether it's before or after the earn date. This means that the timing of the invoice determines when revenue is recognized, overriding the earn date. If the invoice date precedes the deposit date, revenue is recognized as of the deposit date, aligning with the invoice's timing.

Ensuring Accurate Revenue Recognition: Key Requirements

Crediting the Unearned/Deferred GL Account:
To initiate the revenue recognition process, every receipt must be credited to an Unearned/Deferred GL Account. This step ensures that revenue is appropriately recorded and accounted for in our financial statements.
Linking Unearned/Deferred GL Account to Accounts Receivable (A/R):
The Unearned/Deferred GL Account must be directly linked to an Accounts Receivable (A/R) account. This linkage establishes a clear connection between the deferred revenue and its corresponding receivable, facilitating seamless tracking and reconciliation.
Alignment of Earn Date with Deposit Date:
Crucially, the Earn Date must align with or occur after the Deposit (or Credit) date. This requirement ensures that revenue recognition occurs in accordance with the timing of financial transactions, maintaining consistency and accuracy in our accounting records.

Transactions affecting Deferred Revenue and Accounts Receivable remain consistent regardless of whether the invoice precedes or follows the Earn Date.

In the realm of (Re) Enrollment Contracts, the utilization of new logic depends on the Auto-Pay Configuration settings, particularly the association of the Unearned/Deferred GL Account with an Accounts Receivable (A/R) account. When linked with an A/R account, receipts align their Earned Date with the contract invoice's Issued Date, while their credit account mirrors the Unearned/Deferred GL Account, streamlining transaction records. Conversely, when the Unearned/Deferred GL Account lacks A/R association, the receipt credit account will match the invoice A/R account, and the Unearned/Deferred GL Account is specified on the invoice/receipt association just like before. 

For billing automation, the calculation of Earn Dates is critical for streamlining invoice processing, whether through manual multi-action or automatic setups within Auto-Pay Configuration. Earn Dates are automatically determined as the day following the conclusion of the fiscal year associated with the receipt, contingent upon the presence of a suitable unearned credit account.
Navigating the Admissions Process with PCR Educator
PCR Educator enhances the admissions experience by providing families with automated reminders and personalized communication, effectively guiding them from initial inquiry to full enrollment. [Link]
PCR Educator Transforming School Outreach and Communication through Customization and Automation
"We've really seen a difference in attracting families. The way we can tailor our forms and use smart data to reach out has expanded our horizons, attracting a diverse mix of students. It's like we're speaking directly to each family's needs and doing it more efficiently with the system's smart automation and AI that cuts down our heavy lifting." [Link]
New Feature: Support Chat
Great news! We are thrilled to announce a new addition to our support options. Now, when you log into PCR Campus, you can easily start a chat with one of our support agents. Simply use the chat icon in your screen's bottom right-hand corner.

This new feature is designed to provide you with quick and convenient support, ensuring your questions are answered promptly and efficiently. We hope this enhances your experience with us.
 
Enhanced Family Engagement and Efficiency through Customizable Forms and Smart Automation
The ability to tailor inquiry forms and utilize smart data significantly enhances a school's outreach, attracting a diverse student body and streamlining communication, making interactions with each family more personal and efficient. [Link]
PCR Educator Streamlines Enrollment and Strengthens Connections
"PCR Educator has totally changed the game for us. It's like we've found a secret recipe that not only brings in more families but also helps them glide through the enrollment process. The system is so smart that it does a lot of the work for us, letting my team focus on what's really important — building real connections with families." [Link]
PCR Educator: Revolutionizing Enrollment and Enhancing Family Connections
PCR Educator has revolutionized school operations by attracting more families and streamlining enrollment process, allowing the admissions team to concentrate on building meaningful relationships. [Link]
Standard Query: [Admin] Attendance by Day
To access this query, you must have one of the following roles: Admin Full, Admin Read, Attendance Full, Attendance Read, Registrar Full, Registrar Read.

The query generates a comprehensive list of attendance descriptions for every day listed as “In School” in the daily rotation. It allows users to filter results based on Student ID, Student First Name, and/or Student Last Name. It presents essential information, such as the student's name and ID, along with the school day and the attendance description for each day.

The Student ID is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
The Student First Name is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
The Student Last Name is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
 
Standard Query: [Admin] Student Historical Marks
To access this query, you must have one of the following roles: Admin Full, Admin Read, Registrar Full, or Registrar Read.

The query generates a comprehensive list of historical marks for all students, allowing users to filter results based on the selected school year, course name, and/or department name. It presents essential information such as the student's name, ID, and details, including the course name, school year, department name, and term/final marks.

The School Year is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
The Course Name is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
The Department Name is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
 
Optimize Your Academic Planning with PCR Educator’s Course Requisite System
We would like to remind our users about the powerful capabilities of the Course Requisite System, an essential component of PCR Educator's comprehensive school management software. This robust system plays a crucial role in simplifying course registration and ensuring students meet the necessary academic prerequisites and co-requisites.

Key Features of the Course Requisite System:

- Customizable Course Requirements: Set specific prerequisites or co-requisites for each course, ensuring students meet necessary academic standards before enrollment.
- Flexible Course Levels and Types: Group courses into types and levels, making it easier to manage and apply requisites across similar classes.
- Bulk Assignment Capabilities: Quickly assign requisites to multiple courses at once, saving valuable administrative time.
- Registration Overrides: Provide special approval for students to register for courses under exceptional circumstances, offering flexibility when needed.
- Integrated CMS Portal: Allows for seamless entry and viewing of course selections through Teacher, Student, and Parent Portals.

The Course Requisite System is designed to support schools in maintaining a structured academic environment and to assist in student course planning effectively. By leveraging this system, schools can ensure a smooth course selection process that aligns with students’ academic progress and readiness.

For further insights into how to make the most of this feature or for any additional support, please contact our team at support@pcreducator.com. Let’s enhance the way your school manages academic planning and registration!
 
Google SSO (Single Sign-On)
Google SSO (Single Sign-On) allows students, staff, and administrators to use their Google account to log into PCR.

Please navigate to Application Setup and confirm that the Email Domain matches the email domain of your students, staff, and administrators. Next, refer to the articles below to enable Google SSO for both Campus and CMS Portals:

1. Google SSO (Single Sign-On) - Campus
2. Google SSO (Single Sign-On) - CMS Portal
 
Google SSO (Single Sign-On) - Campus
To turn on Google SSO (Single Sign-On) for Campus, please email support@pcreducator.com. 

Note: this feature is only available if your organization purchased the Google SSO module.

Note: Once Google SSO (Single Sign-On) is turned on, all users will be required to log into Campus with their Google account.
 
Google SSO (Single Sign-On) - CMS Portal
You will need the Website Full role to enable Google SSO (Single Sign-On) for the CMS Portal.

To turn on Google SSO (Single Sign-On):
 
  - Log in to the appropriate CMS Portal.
  - Navigate back to the login page.
  - Access the properties of the CMS Widget - Login Control.
  - Enable the setting Enable Google Authentication and click Save.

Note: Use this method only to enable Google SSO (Single Sign-On) for Staff and Student Portals, as staff and students are provided with a Google email account by the school.

Note: Once Google SSO (Single Sign-On) is activated, all users will be required to log into the CMS Portal using their Google account.

Note: this setting is only available if your organization purchased the Google SSO module.
 
Elevate Your Summer Camp Experience
In the bustling atmosphere of educational institutions, managing summer camp activities is crucial for enriching students' learning experiences outside the regular academic calendar. At PCR Educator, we're dedicated to assisting you in navigating the complexities of summer camp management.

The Significance of Effective Summer Camp Planning

An organized summer camp schedule is vital for maximizing engagement and learning opportunities for students. It ensures the effective allocation of resources, caters to diverse interests, and fosters an enjoyable and educational environment for students. However, orchestrating such a program involves various challenges, including activity planning, resource allocation, and communication with parents.

Benefits of Efficient Summer Camp Planning Include:

- Resource Optimization: Efficient use of facilities and materials for various activities.
- Diverse Offerings: A range of activities that cater to different student interests and age groups.
- Enhanced Communication: Streamlined information flow to parents regarding camp schedules, registration, and updates.

How PCR Educator Supports You

Our comprehensive summer camp management software simplifies the intricacies of planning and execution. With features designed to address the unique needs of summer camps, PCR Educator empowers you to deliver an exceptional camp experience.

Free Consultation Opportunity

We're offering a complimentary consultation to explore how our summer camp module can be tailored to your institution's specific requirements. Our experts are ready to demonstrate the software's capabilities, including activity scheduling, registration management, and communication tools.

During Your Consultation, We Will:

- Review your current summer camp planning process and identify improvement opportunities.
- Share best practices for effective summer camp management.
- Illustrate how our software simplifies activity scheduling, registration, and communication.
- Guide you on implementing our solutions to enhance your summer camp offerings.

Connect with Us

Don't let the complexities of summer camp management overshadow the joy and learning it brings to students. Contact us at support@pcreducator.com to schedule your free consultation. Let PCR Educator be your ally in creating an engaging, organized, and memorable summer camp experience.

At PCR Educator, we're more than just a software provider; we're your partner in delivering outstanding educational experiences. Let's work together to make your summer camp a success.
 
Join us in Reno at the ATLIS 2024 Annual Conference
We are excited to announce that PCR Educator will be attending the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS) 2024 Annual Conference, held from April 7-10 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. This prestigious event is a must-attend for technology leaders in independent schools, offering a rich platform for professional development, networking, and innovation in educational technology.

Under the leadership of our President, Maria Duhovich, our team looks forward to connecting with educators, technologists, and thought leaders to share insights and explore new frontiers in educational technology. The ATLIS conference aligns with PCR Educator’s commitment to providing robust, innovative solutions that empower schools and educators to enhance learning experiences.

Join us in Reno for a stimulating exchange of ideas and to learn more about how PCR Educator is driving transformation in independent schools through advanced technology. We are eager to demonstrate our latest products and discuss how we can support your institution in achieving its educational goals.

We invite all attendees to connect with us during the conference to discover the impact of cutting-edge technology in education and how PCR Educator can be part of your school's success story.

Visit our website for more details and follow us for updates on our participation in the ATLIS 2024 Annual Conference. Let's innovate and inspire together for the future of education.

#ATLIS2024 #EducationTechnology #IndependentSchools #PCR Educator
Navigate Annual Forms with Ease
In the fast-paced world of education, effectively managing annual forms is crucial for ensuring that all student, parent, and staff information is accurate, accessible, and secure. PCR Educator is here to support your school in streamlining this essential process, ensuring your focus remains on delivering top-notch education.

The Importance of Efficient Annual Forms Management

Annual forms are vital for keeping your school's records up-to-date. They play a key role in:

- Ensuring Accurate Information: Maintain up-to-date details on students, families, and staff.
- Compliance and Safety: Collect necessary medical, contact, and consent information to comply with regulations and ensure student safety.
- Resource Optimization: Efficiently manage resources by having current data on your school community.

How PCR Educator Can Assist

PCR Educator's comprehensive school management system is designed to simplify the management of annual forms. Our platform offers:

- Customizable Forms: Tailor forms to meet your school's specific needs, ensuring all relevant information is captured efficiently.
- Automation and Integration: Automate the distribution and collection of forms, and seamlessly integrate the data into your school's management system.
- User-Friendly Interface: Provide a straightforward experience for parents and staff, encouraging timely submission and reducing errors.

Exclusive Consultation Offer

We invite you to take advantage of our complimentary consultation service. Our experts are eager to demonstrate how PCR Educator can be customized to streamline your annual forms process, aligning with your school's unique needs.

During the consultation, we will:

- Review your current annual forms process and pinpoint areas for enhancement.
- Share best practices for efficient form management.
- Showcase PCR Educator's functionalities in streamlining form processes.
- Offer strategies for integrating our solutions to improve your form management system.

Get in Touch

Transform your school's annual forms management with PCR Educator. Contact us at support@pcreducator.com to schedule your free consultation. Together, we'll ensure your school's form management is streamlined, secure, and supportive of your educational mission.

At PCR Educator, we're not just a software provider — we're your partner in education, committed to creating a well-organized, efficient, and supportive learning environment.
 
A parent accidentally submitted the wrong (Re) Enrollment Contract. How can I have them complete the correct one?
If a parent has submitted the wrong (Re) Enrollment Contract, you should first clean the student record by following the (Re) Enrollment Contract Cleaning Control Options For Students. Next, void their current AR Invoice to allow for the creation of a new one upon contract submission. If the deposit has already been paid, permit them to skip payment by applying the skip payment action as described in (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup. Finally, send them the new (Re) Enrollment Contract. When it has been submitted, allocate the original AR Receipt to the new AR Invoice.
 
Welcome Jordan to the PCR Educator team!
Welcome Jordan to the PCR Educator team! Fresh from joining, Jordan hit the ground running at the NBOA conference in Atlanta. A heartfelt thank you to all clients and attendees who made a point to visit our booth and greet both Maria Duhovich and Jordan. Your engagement and support are invaluable to us. Here's to fostering stronger connections and advancing educational technology together!
Streamline Your School Scheduling with Expert Guidance
In the dynamic environment of educational institutions, building an effective class schedule is pivotal to ensuring a seamless academic experience for both students and teachers. Recognizing the challenges that come with class scheduling and the construction of a master schedule, we at PCR Educator are committed to supporting you every step of the way.

The Importance of Efficient Scheduling

A well-structured class schedule is the backbone of an educational institution's daily operations. It not only optimizes the use of resources and facilities but also accommodates the diverse needs of students and faculty. However, creating such a schedule can be a complex process, involving numerous variables and constraints.

Efficient scheduling ensures:

- Maximized Resource Utilization: Optimal use of classrooms, labs, and other facilities.
- Enhanced Learning Experience: Balanced class sizes and timings that cater to students' and teachers' needs.
- Reduced Conflicts: Minimized class overlaps, allowing students to enroll in their desired courses without hassle.

How We Can Help

At PCR Educator, we understand the intricacies involved in scheduling and are equipped with the tools and expertise to simplify this process. Our school management software is designed to tackle the challenges of scheduling head-on, providing flexible and efficient solutions.

Free Consultation Offer

To further support our valued clients, we are offering a free consultation service for those who wish to optimize their class scheduling and master schedule building. Our team of experts is ready to provide personalized advice and demonstrate how our software can be tailored to meet your specific needs.

During the consultation, we will:

- Assess your current scheduling process and identify areas for improvement.
- Provide insights on best practices for efficient scheduling.
- Demonstrate the capabilities of our software in simplifying the scheduling process.
- Offer guidance on implementing our solutions to enhance your scheduling system.

Get in Touch

Don't let the complexities of scheduling detract from your institution's educational mission. Reach out to us at support@pcreducator.com to schedule your free consultation. Let us help you streamline your scheduling process, so you can focus on providing an exceptional educational experience.

At PCR Educator, we are more than just a software provider; we are your partner in education. Together, we can create a more organized, efficient, and conducive learning environment.
 
Join Us in Atlanta on February 26th and 27th: Experience Educational Revolution with PCR Educator at NBOA - Updated
PCR Educator is thrilled to share that our President, Maria Duhovich, will be spearheading our presence at the forthcoming National Business Officers Association  conference in Atlanta. This event serves as a prime opportunity for attendees to explore the forefront of educational technology advancements that PCR Educator is introducing to schools and educational entities. Our portfolio, ranging from AI-enhanced tools to all-encompassing school management system, is designed to bolster your educational endeavors. We invite you to our booth to engage with Maria and our dedicated team, gaining insight into our contributions to the evolution of education. We look forward to welcoming you in Atlanta on February 26th & 27th and discussing how PCR Educator is at the vanguard of educational innovation.
(Re) Enrollment Contract Webinar - Part I
This article is an index with timestamps for the topics covered in the following webinar: (Re) Enrollment Contract Webinar - Part I

1. Chart of Accounts [Link]
2. Product Categories and Products [Link]
3. Deposit [Link]
4. Configuring Fiscal Year [Link]
5. Configuring Payment Terms [Link]
6. Customer Invoice Attribute [Link]
7. Enrollment Profiles [Link]
8. (Re) Enrollment Contract Filter [Link]
9. (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings [Link]
 
(Re) Enrollment Contract Webinar - Part II
This article is an index with timestamps for the topics covered in the following webinar: (Re) Enrollment Contract Webinar - Part II

1. Introduction [Link]
2. (Re) Enrollment Contract Student Profiles [Link]
3. (Re) Enrollment Contract Sections [Link]
4. (Re) Enrollment Contract Controls [Link]
5. (Re) Enrollment Contract Holds [Link]
6. (Re) Enrollment Contract Overrides [Link]
7. Thank You Screen [Link]
8. (Re) Enrollment Contract Testing [Link]
9. (Re) Enrollment Contract Cleaning [Link]
Enhance Your Security with Two-Factor Authentication
We are excited to announce an important update to Campus, our administrative portal. Understanding the critical importance of safeguarding your information, we have introduced an Email Based Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) as an additional layer of security for accessing Campus.

What is Two-Factor Authentication?
Two-Factor Authentication adds an extra step to your login process. Once enabled, in addition to the password, users will be required to enter a verification code sent to their email address each time they log in to Campus. This ensures that even if someone knows your password, they won't be able to access your account without also accessing your email.

How to Enable 2FA for Your School?
To activate Two-Factor Authentication for your school, please send an email to support@pcreducator.com. Our team will assist you in enabling this feature promptly.

What Happens Next?
Once Two-Factor Authentication is activated, all users accessing Campus will receive an email containing a unique code each time they attempt to log in. This code must be entered along with the password to gain access. It's a simple step for greatly increased security.

We strongly recommend all our clients to utilize this feature. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@pcreducator.com.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for your continued trust in our services.
 
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-Factor Authentication adds an extra step to your login process. Once enabled, in addition to the password, users will be required to enter a verification code sent to their email address each time they log in to Campus. This ensures that even if someone knows your password, they will not be able to access your account without also accessing your email.

To activate email-based Two-Factor Authentication for Campus, please send an email to support@pcreducator.com. 

Once Two-Factor Authentication is activated, all users accessing Campus will receive an email containing a unique code each time they attempt to log in. This code must be entered along with the password to gain access.

If you need to create or update users, please review Configuring User and Roles Dictionary.
 
Happy Holidays
Our office will be closed on Monday December 25th and January 1st in observance of Christmas and New Year's. We wish you all happy holidays!
 
Happy Thanksgiving!
Our office will be closed on Thursday November 23rd in observance of Thanksgiving Holiday. We will resume our normal business hours starting Friday November 24th.
 
Exciting New Feature Launch: Enhanced Student Name Tracking for a More Inclusive School Environment
We at PCR Educator are thrilled to announce the launch of our latest feature, designed with inclusivity and responsiveness at its core. Understanding the diverse needs of our school communities, we've introduced an enhanced student name-tracking system. This new feature allows schools to accurately track and manage students' legal names, ensuring that all records are precise and up-to-date.

Our commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive educational environment is reflected in this update. We've listened to the valuable feedback from our dedicated educators and administrators, and we're proud to deliver a solution that not only meets but exceeds your expectations.

Stay tuned for more innovative features as we continue to evolve our platform in alignment with the needs of our vibrant school communities.
 
PCR Educator Has Teamed Up with PaySimple!
🎉 Exciting News! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that PCR Educator has teamed up with another payment provider, PaySimple! 💳💻

With this new partnership, we continue to provide a seamless and secure payment experience for all our users. PaySimple's cutting-edge payment platform, known for its reliability and user-friendliness, aligns perfectly with our commitment to excellence and innovation.

What does this mean for you? 🤔
🔹 Streamlined Payments: Say goodbye to manual payment processing! PCR Educator's integration with PaySimple automates payment collection, saving you time and effort.
🔹 Enhanced Security: Your financial data is of utmost importance to us. Rest assured, PaySimple employs state-of-the-art security measures to protect your transactions.
🔹 Multiple Payment Options: From credit cards to eChecks, PaySimple supports a wide range of payment methods, ensuring a convenient experience for all users.
🔹 Real-Time Tracking: Keep tabs on your payment status effortlessly. You can monitor payments, check transaction history, and receive instant updates through PCR Educator's intuitive interface.

We continuously strive to improve our services and simplify processes for your convenience. The PCR Educator-PaySimple partnership is a testament to our commitment to innovation and providing you with the best tools in the industry.

Stay tuned for more updates on how this integration will elevate your payment experience. If you have any questions or need assistance, our support team is here to help!
Thank you for being a valued member of the PCR Educator community. Together, we are forging a path toward greater efficiency and success. 🚀

#PCR #PaySimple #PaymentProcessing #Partnership #Innovation #Education #Efficiency
 
Close of the School Year 2023 Announcement
The Closing the School Year Wizard is available (June 1st)! Keep in mind that you can send notifications to next year’s families, and give them access to the Parent Portal (including next year's schedules), prior to closing this school year. As always, please plan ahead and reserve multiple business days with us in case you need support in closing the school year.

Note: The close of the school year wizard will not be available if your school exceeds the purchased database storage amount. Please contact support@pcreducator.com for help addressing this.

Note: Closing the School Year webinar is available here.
PCR EDUCATOR Referral Program!
Dear valued customers, we're thrilled to announce our new PCR EDUCATOR Referral Program! We believe the best recommendations come from those who've experienced our services first-hand, and we want to show our appreciation when you share your positive experiences with your network.

Here's how it works:

🎯 Refer PCR EDUCATOR to another school.
🎁 If they attend a demo of our services, we'll credit your account with $500 as a token of our gratitude.

💰 If they sign up for our services, we'll add an additional $1500 credit to your account!

This is a great way to help other institutions benefit from our services while we show our appreciation for your continued support.
Thank you for being a part of the PCR EDUCATOR community. If you have any questions about our new program, feel free to drop us a message or comment below.

Let's grow together! 🚀

#PCR_EDUCATOR_ReferralProgram #ShareAndEarn #Education #SaaS
 
PCR Educator: Launching SOAP API
Dear PCR Educator Community,

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our brand new SOAP API! 🎉

Ever wished you could effortlessly access any data from PCR Educator automatically? Your wish just came true! Our SOAP API is designed to allow API users to seamlessly pull any data from PCR Educator, giving you the power to streamline your operations and make data-driven decisions.

This advanced feature further strengthens PCR Educator's commitment to providing cutting-edge, AI-driven school management solutions. We continue to innovate, offering you the tools to transform your educational experience and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving world of technology.

Whether you're a current user or thinking about joining our community, now is the perfect time to explore what PCR Educator can do for you. Reach out to our team for more information or to schedule a demo of this powerful new feature.

To our existing users, thank you for your continued trust in PCR Educator. We hope this new feature will make your experience even better. To potential new users, we can't wait to show you how PCR Educator's SOAP API can revolutionize your school management!

Let's continue to connect, communicate, and succeed together.

Here's to the future of education! 🍎👩‍🎓👨‍🎓

#PCREducator #SOAPAPI #AI #SchoolManagement #Education #Technology #Innovation
 
DAT API
PCR Educator’s school management software offers a dynamic feature, the Data Analytics Tool (DAT). This versatile module allows for the creation of tailor-made queries that can be exported to suit diverse needs and promote insightful analysis. To further extend its capabilities and flexibility, we have integrated an API, a game-changing addition that opens up new realms of possibilities. This API empowers other API users to pull data from the DAT, offering a seamless experience and making the tool more accessible, more powerful, and more adaptable to a wide range of scenarios.

Note: The DAT API module needs to be enabled by PCR Educator.  If you are interested in using this module, please contact support@pcreducator.com 

This API is accessible via SOAP protocol and the definitions can be reached at the following server address: https://webappsca.pcrsoft.com/Campus/Common/DAT.asmx?wsdl

The API is designed around three core methods: 

1. DAT API - Get DAT Queries
2. DAT API - Get DAT Parameters
3. DAT API - Get DAT Export

These methods collectively allow API users to view each available DAT Query, identify necessary parameters, and export the DAT Query.

A user login with an API Full role, other appropriate user roles (based on the roles specified on the DAT Query), the school connection name, and other inputs are required to access these API methods. 

Note: Please reach out to support@pcreducator.com to obtain the school connection name.
 
DAT API - Get DAT Queries
The DAT API Get DAT Queries method allows API users to pull a list of each available DAT Query based on the user's roles. This feature ensures that users only access the data they are permitted to view, maintaining the security of the data.

To use the Get DAT Queries method, three inputs are required: the username, the password, and the school connection name. Once these inputs are provided, the Get DAT Queries method retrieves a list of each available DAT Query for the user, offering a straightforward, secure method for API users to access the data they need.
 
DAT API - Get DAT Parameters
The DAT API Get DAT Parameters retrieves the necessary parameters that a specific DAT Query may use.

To use this method, four inputs are necessary: the username, the password, the school connection name, and the query id. 

Note: The query id, which can be accessed via the DAT API - Get DAT Queries call, specifies the DAT Query for which the parameters need to be identified.

By successfully employing the Get DAT Parameters method, API users can identify the specific parameters required by a DAT Query, enabling further customization and fine-tuning of the data analysis process.
 
DAT API - Get DAT Export
The DAT API Get DAT Export method enables users to export a specific DAT Query.

To use this method, five inputs are required: the username, the password, the school connection name, the query id, and any necessary parameters that the DAT Query might require. These parameters can be identified using the DAT API - Get DAT Parameters method.

Once these inputs are provided, the Get DAT Export method returns the results of the specified DAT Query, allowing API users to access, analyze, and utilize the data as needed.
AI Report Card Comments
AI Report Card Comments functionality allows teachers to generate personalized, insightful, and engaging comments for their students, based on their report card grades, skills assessments, and gradebook data.

To activate AI Report Card Comments, follow the steps outlined in AI Prerequisites.
 
AI Prerequisites
To access PCR Educator’s OpenAI  features, sign up for an OpenAI API account and provide us with the API key associated with your account. This will enable our school management system to seamlessly integrate with the OpenAI infrastructure.

We understand that adopting new technologies and services may raise concerns, so we want to assure you that OpenAI features are entirely optional. If your school decides not to utilize them, there will be no impact on your existing workflows or usage of our school management system. We deeply respect the autonomy of your institution and offer this feature solely as a valuable resource to further enhance the educational experience.

To proceed with enabling OpenAI features for your institution, please follow these steps:

- Sign up for an OpenAI API account by visiting https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys
- Navigate to the Billing section and set up a paid account.
- Navigate to the Usage section and set the desired usage limit according to your needs and budget. Remember, this will be the maximum amount of usage your account can reach before it is temporarily suspended until the next billing cycle.
- Upon successful registration, you will receive an API key. Please share this key with us by replying to your ticket or emailing us at support@pcreducator.com
- Once we have received your API key, our technical team will promptly assist you in integrating OpenAI into your school management system. We are committed to providing comprehensive support throughout the process, addressing any queries or concerns that may arise.

We would like to bring your attention to the limitations associated with certain features of our product that utilize the OpenAI API. It is essential to understand these limitations to ensure proper usage and manage expectations.

Reliance on third-party AI model:

1. The features provided by PCR Educator that utilize the OpenAI API rely on a third-party artificial intelligence (AI) model. While the AI model is trained on a vast amount of data and is designed to provide accurate and helpful responses, it may not always be flawless or error-free. There might be instances where the AI model generates responses that are not entirely accurate or may not meet your specific requirements.

Uncertainty and evolving nature of AI technology:

2. AI technology, including the OpenAI API, is constantly evolving. As a result, the accuracy, performance, and capabilities of the AI model utilized by PCR Educator's features may change over time. We make efforts to keep up with the latest advancements and improvements in the field, but we cannot guarantee continuous perfection or immediate adaptation to new scenarios.

Contextual and ethical considerations:

3. The OpenAI API relies on provided prompts to generate responses. The accuracy and appropriateness of the generated responses depend on the quality and specificity of the prompts. It is crucial to provide clear and concise prompts, taking into account the legal, ethical, and contextual considerations relevant to your specific use case. The responsibility to ensure the legality and ethical compliance of the generated content ultimately rests with the user.

4. User data privacy and security:

When utilizing the OpenAI API, certain data, such as prompts and responses, may be processed or stored by OpenAI. While PCR Educator takes precautions to protect your data, it is essential to review and understand OpenAI's data privacy and security policies to ensure compliance and mitigate any potential risks.

5. Continuous improvements and updates:

PCR Educator is committed to enhancing its services and incorporating customer feedback. This may involve making changes to the features that utilize the OpenAI API, including improvements, updates, or even the removal of certain functionalities. We will strive to keep you informed about any significant changes that may impact your usage.

Should you have any questions or require further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
 
🚀 Introducing PCR Educator's Newest Game-Changing Feature: AI-Powered Report Card Comments! 🚀
We know that writing report card comments can be a time-consuming and challenging task. That's why we've partnered with OpenAI to bring you a groundbreaking new feature that will revolutionize the way you create report cards!

Say goodbye to endless hours spent crafting the perfect comments for each student. With our cutting-edge AI technology, you can now generate personalized, insightful, and engaging comments for your students, based on their report card grades, skills assessment, and grade book data.

✨ Here's what you can expect from our AI-Powered Report Card Comments feature:
👩‍🏫 Accurate and individualized comments that reflect each student's unique achievements and areas for growth.
🤖 AI-driven insights that help you identify trends, celebrate progress, and address areas needing improvement.
⏱️ Save precious time and energy so you can focus on what you do best - educating and inspiring your students!

Join us in embracing the future of education with PCR Educator's AI-Powered Report Card Comments. Discover how this innovative tool can transform your report card process and make your life easier.

📣 Spread the word and share this exciting news with your fellow educators! Get started today by contacting our friendly support team for more information.

🌟 PCR Educator - Empowering Teachers, Transforming Education 🌟

#PCREducator #AIReportCardComments #TransformingEducation #EdTech #InnovativeLearning
 
Flag
The Flag functionality serves as an alert or indicator to bring attention to certain aspects of a person’s record. Flags are applicable to students, households, contacts, customers, and vendors and are beneficial for tracking various information, including academic performance, behavioral issues, special needs, and important milestones.

Note: Flags are module-dependent. Example: Customer flags do not show up on the household screen and vice-versa.

To implement flags, follow the steps for Configuring Flags.
 
Configuring Flags
To configure flags:

1. Create or Edit an Attribute in the appropriate module and specify the flag color.  See Creating Attribute for more information. 
2. Tag records with the Attribute by following the steps for Recording Attribute.  Note: You can use Calculated Attributes to automatically tag records. 
3. Navigate to the list page (Example: Administrator > Students) in the appropriate module and click on the gear icon on the right-side of the page.  Click on the Flags column to enable it.

Note: Flags automatically show up on the record’s dashboard screen (Example: Student Info widget on the student dashboard) once the attribute is applied.
 
Custom Flagging for Improved Student and Household Tracking
We are thrilled to announce an exciting new feature that will take your experience with our platform to the next level. Starting today, you can flag students and households, making it easier to keep track of your most important information.

With this new feature, you can easily mark students and households with custom flags, such as "in need of additional support," "honor roll candidate," or "staff child." This will allow you to quickly filter and sort your records, so you can focus on the most critical items on your to-do list.

We understand that keeping track of important information for every student and household can be a daunting task, but with our new flagging feature, you can stay organized and efficient, ensuring that no student falls through the cracks.
 
DAT Fields - Step 2 - Adding Calculated Field
Calculated fields are dynamic formula-based fields added to a DAT Query in DAT FIelds - Step 2.  

To add a new calculated field:
     - Identify the numerical or character fields and their corresponding variable names listed in the first column of the grid.  Note:  You cannot mix character and numeric fields in a calculated field.  Note:  Even if the character field has numeric data, it is only eligible for character fields.  Example: The student Alternate Id field is a character field.  Even if you have numbers in this field, it is still only eligible for a character calculated field.
    - Specify the desired formula below the grid using the variable names identified in the previous step. Example: A / 100 Example: A * B  Example: B +’, ‘ + A
    - Click “Add Calculated Field”

Note: Calculated fields can be constructed from other calculated fields.

Note:  For numeric fields, the type of number shown is determined by the type of numbers involved in the formula.  If only integer numbers are used, the result will be an integer number.  If a decimal number is used at any point, then the result will be a decimal number.  Example: Suppose A represents an integer column.  A / 100 will result in an integer value.  If the value for A is less than 100, the result will be 0.  Example:  Suppose A represents an integer column.  A / 100.0 will result in a value with decimals because the divisor is a decimal.

Note: The following characters may be used to create numeric calculated fields:

( ) Parenthesis controlling the order of mathematical operations. Note: Opening and closing parenthesis must match.
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
A-ZZ Variable names corresponding to an existing field.

Note: A calculated field may not be added if the resulting number is too large, too small, or results in an invalid mathematical result.  Example: Division by 0.

Note: The following characters may be used to create character calculated fields:

( ) Optional.  Parenthesis control the order of operations.  Note: Opening and closing parenthesis must match.  Note: Parenthesis are permitted but unnecessary for character calculated fields.
+ Concatenate characters or fields
' Use single quotes (apostrophes) to designate characters included in the calculated field.  Example: 'First: ‘ + A + ‘ Last: ‘ + B  Note: Apostrophes must always appear in pairs.  Note: Currently, it is not possible to include an apostrophe as a character in the calculated field.
A-ZZ Variable names corresponding to an existing field.
Update: Number Of Records
In our ongoing efforts to enhance the performance and user experience on our platform, we have decided to discontinue the option to display 1,000 items in grids or lists. This change will allow us to optimize loading times, reduce system strain, and provide a smoother, more efficient browsing experience.
Verifying Toll-Free Numbers and Preventing SMS Blocking: Action Required

Verifying Toll-Free Numbers

If you use toll free numbers, you will need to verify the numbers to get faster processing after April 1, 2023. Further guidance on the verification process can be found in the following article:
https://support.twilio.com/hc/en-us/articles/5377174717595-Toll-Free-Message-Verification-for-US-Canada

Preventing SMS Blocking

In an effort to curtail the prevalence of spam in text messaging, phone carriers such as AT&T and Verizon have implemented measures to block messages containing email addresses, URLs, and shortened URLs that do not belong to a registered domain associated with your organization.

To enable the inclusion of these items in your messages, it will be necessary to establish an organization and register the appropriate domains for the email address, URL, and shortened URL If email or URLs are not utilized in your messaging, setting up an organization will not be necessary.

For instructions on establishing an organization and registering domains, please refer to the following article:
https://www.twilio.com/docs/messaging/how-to-configure-link-shortening

Feel free to reach out to PCR Educator Support at support@pcreducator.com if you have any questions.
 
CMS Widget - Sign up Summary
The Sign up Summary CMS widget lists the fees and discounts corresponding to course registrations.  The Sign up Summary widget is found under the Registration option.  Note: These registrations commonly correspond to summer camp sign ups, but may involve any sign ups where the student is registered directly into a course.

Columns 
    - Schedule lists the dates and times the course meets.
    - Amount / Deposit / Total:  Amount is the price less the deposit.  Amount + Deposit = Total. Note: If there is no deposit amount, then the Deposit and Total columns are automatically hidden.

Course Description Page - Optional. This is a link to the page with the course description (Content - Course Page Presenter).  Note: If specified and Show Course Details specifies "Show New Page", a new column will appear in the summary grid for "More Details" which opens this page.

Deposit Product And Type - Optional.  Specify a deposit product and type.  The product applies once per year per record type.  Note: A new year is based around the school year closing date.  If they haven’t received this fee since the last closing date, then the fee will be applied.  Note:  This is often used as a one time registration fee.

No Payment Label - Optional.  The text to be shown when there are no records for the summary widget to present,

Show Course Details - Only Show New Page has an effect on this widget.  The other options are only applicable to the CMS Widget  - Course Sign Up (Tree).

Show Waiver Codes - Optional.  This shows a textbox entering waiver codes.  Waiver codes are applicable for discount products that “Requires Waiver Code”.

Use Credit Balance - This allows applying existing credit balances towards sign ups.  Note: Eligible credit balances must be associated with the customer household signing up for the courses.  Note: All eligible credit balances are in the form of unallocated Receipts or Credits. Portions of the credit balance specific to a student can only be applied to that students’ invoices.  Portions of the credit balance without a student specified may be applied to any invoices for the customer.  Note: Only invoices created during the submission will have credits applied.  Ensure that any unallocated receipts and credits have been applied to other unpaid invoices before turning on this setting.  Note: If the user still must pay a balance, the unearned account associated with the payment method is used when applying credits to the invoices.  If no balance is due upon submission, then the unearned account is determined in the following order:  The unearned account associated with the credit card payment configuration if available, otherwise the unearned account associated with the ECheck configuration if available, otherwise no unearned account is specified.  Note: The ledger for the credit balance is based on the ledger associated with the products for the courses.
(Re) Enrollment Contract Statistics

(Re) Enrollment Contract Statics provides details about potential issues with your (Re) Enrollment Contract Profile setup.

Enrolled Students Un-Accounted For shows a list of all Enrolled students who are not matching any of your existing (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles.  Since all students need to be accounted for, the only students appearing in this list should be current seniors who are graduating.

Students Match Multiple Profiles shows students who qualify for multiple (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles.  This number should be zero.

No Parent Login for Student Contract is a list of students who have any parents that do not have a login setup.  Such students’ parents are not able to start a (Re) Enrollment Contract.   You should create a login for those parents, and inform them of their username and password.  Note: If the number is not zero and the parents have logins, check to make sure that Households Status and Bill To Households options are correctly set in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup.

Profiles Missing Payment Terms is a list of (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles which do not have any payment term options set for them.  Such (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles result in an error when trying to create an invoice for students in that (Re) Enrollment Contract Profile.  This number should be zero if you are using (Re) Enrollment Contracts to create invoices or process deposit payments.

Profile Control Missing Payment Terms indicates that the (Re) Enrollment Contract Payment Options Control on the (Re) Enrollment Contract Profile has (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Options with no payment term specified.  Such (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles result in an error when trying to create an invoice for any students when the parent chooses the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Option with no payment term.  This number should be zero if you are using (Re) Enrollment Contract to create invoices or process deposit payments

The grid at the bottom lists out each profile and the Payment Terms and/or Products associated with each profile in the order that they appear.  This allows an easier way to review the tuition and deposits for each profile in order to determine if any profiles are missing fees or have incorrect fees.
Credit Balances Available Online for Parents
We're excited to announce a new feature that will make signing up for camps, activities, and summer school even easier for parents. Now parents can use their credit balance to pay for their child's summer programs. This convenient new option means that they can make the most of their available funds without calling your finance office!
Importing New Records - Vendor Invoice Items
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.

The vendor invoice item import allows you to import each invoice line item in its own row.  Note: If the Post Date, Vendor Info, Invoice Date, Vendor Memo, and Total are the same across multiple rows, then those invoice items will be imported as part of the same invoice.

Note: Total must be equal to the sum of the invoice item amounts (invoice_item_quantity * invoice_item_overriden_price) for the specified vendor invoice (determined by Post Date, Vendor Info, Invoice Date, Vendor Memo, and Total). Example: If an invoice has three items worth $10 each, the total amount on all three rows should be entered as $30.

To import all invoice items per invoice in one row, follow the steps for Importing Data for New Records - Vendor Invoices.

Depending on the export file that you are using for the import, you may prefer to use one import over the other.


Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
vendor_id Yes, if vendor_name is not specified Identifier "123"  
vendor_name Yes, if vendor_id is not specified Lookup "Amazon"  
post_date No Data "7/1/2021" Date the invoice is posted to the GL
invoice_date Yes Data "7/1/2021"  
due_date Yes Data "7/1/2021"  
total Yes Data "123" Total amount of the invoice (including all items)
accounts_payable_account_id Yes, if accounts_payable_account_number is not specified Identifier "123" The credit account. See GL Account for more information
accounts_payable_account_number Yes, if accounts_payable_account_id is not specified Lookup "1-00-00-1010-000"  
vendor_memo No Data "Printers" Memo that you may want to display on checks
internal_memo No Data "Printers"  
invoice_number No Data "abc123"  
invoice_alternate_id No Data "abc123"  
pay_to_address_id Yes, if pay_to_address_type is not specified Identifier "123" Create a DAT query to identify the id values
pay_to_address_type Yes, if pay_to_address_id is not specified Lookup "Billing" See Finance > Vendor > Details > Addresses screen
pay_to_address_line1 Yes, if pay_to_address_type is not specified and the vendor has more than one address Lookup "5 ABC Street" See Finance > Vendor > Details > Addresses screen
posted_date No Data "7/1/2021"  
voided_date No Data "7/1/2021"  
void_comment No Data    
invoice_classification_id No, unless you are using classifications Identifier "123"  
invoice_classification_name No, unless you are using classifications Lookup "Upper School" See Finance > Maintenance > Classifications screen
invoice_item_product_id Yes, if invoice_item_product_name is not specified Identifier "123"  
invoice_item_product_name Yes, if invoice_item_product_name is not specified Lookup "Printer"  
invoice_item_account_id Yes, if invoice_item_account_id is not specified Identifier "123" The debit account. See GL Account for more information
invoice_item_account_number Yes, if invoice_item_account_id is not specified Lookup "1-00-00-1010-000"  
invoice_item_overriden_price Yes Data "123" Price for the individual item
invoice_item_quantity Yes Data "123"  
invoice_item_note No Data "Printer"  
item_classification_id No, unless you are using classifications Identifier "123"  
item_classification_name No, unless you are using classifications Lookup "Upper School" See Finance > Maintenance > Classifications screen
Finance - Reports
Finance Reports may be accessed by navigating to Finance - Report or by using multi-actions PDF Reports.  You need Finance Full, Finance Read, FinanceAccountMgrFull or FinanceAccountMgrRead to access these pages.  Finance reports consist of three tabs: 

Finance - Reports General 
Finance - Reports  Fields
Finance - Reports Save
 
Finance - Reports General
The Finance - Reports General tab includes parameters configuring how the report operates.  All Finance reports have the following common parameters:

Parameter Description
Ledger The current ledger. Navigate to Home in order to switch to a new ledger.
Max Chart Layout Depth This determines how deep your selected Chart Layout will show. Any depth greater than the Max Chart Layout Depth will be summarized to the specified maximum depth.
Chart Layout Specify the chart layout to use for the report. Note: Only chart layouts you own or public chart layouts appear as options. Note: Chart layouts with an * are owned by you. Note: The default layout is a basic layout defined by PCR Educator. Please define a custom Chart Layout to use instead.
Include Unposted When checked, both posted and unposted records appear in the results. When unchecked, only posted records appear in the results.
Use Billing Address When checked, this shows the billing address in the report heading.
Report Heading This defines the heading/title on the report.
Font Name The font appearing on the report.
Font Size The font size used by the report.
Show Parameter Summary When checked, a list of all the parameters and their specified values will be appended to the end of the report.

Note: Individual reports include additional parameters specific to the report.
Finance - Reports Fields
The Finance - Reports fields give you control over which fields appear on the report.

Visible determines if the field appears on the report.

Field is an internal, unique reference name for the field.

Header is the header text for the column appearing on the report.

Inches determine how much space is allocated on the report for the field.  Note: The report resizes based on the maximum width of all columns specified.  You are not restricted to a standard paper size.

Formula is the formula used by Custom fields.  Note: To create a custom formula field, click the “New” button at the bottom of the fields list.  To include other fields in the formula, add brackets  around the standard field name.  Example: [ExistingFieldName].  Note: You can use parentheses () and basic mathematical functions +-*/ in a formula.  Make sure to include spaces before and after a mathematical function.  Example: ([ExistingFieldName] - 50) * 1.25

Selected Row allows you to select a row and use the Up and Down buttons at the bottom of the fields list to change the order that the fields appear on the report.
Finance - Reports Save
The Finance - Reports Save allows you to save a report with all of your specified parameters and fields.  The report is available in the Report Request list as a separate report when you wish to run it again.

Report Title is your custom name for the new report report.

Report Type is the name for the source report that may be ignored.

Public determines whether the report only shows for you or for anyone with suitable user roles for the Report Type.

Description allows you to provide a more thorough explanation regarding the report.
Finance - Reports - Budgets
The Budget report can be accessed by navigating to Finance - Reports.  You need FinanceAccountMgr or FinanceBudget roles to access this report.  This report is able to compare 2 different budget fiscal years.

Parameter Description
Budget 1 Budget and Fiscal Year for the first budget
As of Date The budget numbers used are from the start of the fiscal year through the month and day of the date for the specified fiscal year. The year portion of the date is ignored.
Budget 2 Optional. This is a second budget to compare against.

The fields ending in 1 are for the 1st budget specified and the fields ending in 2 are for the second budget specified.
Note: Variance is calculated as:  (Budgeted - Actual)
Note: Variance Percent Available is calculated as: Variance / Budgeted * 100
Note: Under each heading, the applicable date range for the amounts are shown.
Field Description
Annual [Budgeted / Actual / Variance / Variance Percent Available] These are the total annual numbers for the entire fiscal year. The As of Date is ignored.
Annual YTD Variance This is calculated as Annual Budgeted - YTD Actual
Annual Year -X Actual This is the Actual amount for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years prior to the selected fiscal year. The X refers to the number of years prior to the selected fiscal year.
YTD [Budgeted / Actual / Variance / Variance Percent Available] These are the Year To Date numbers for the selected fiscal year and the specified As of Date. Note: The budget numbers are prorated according to the number of days in the budgeting period for the As of Date.
Current [Budgeted / Actual / Variance / Variance Percent Available] These are the numbers through and including the Current Budgeting Period. Note: Current refers to the current budget period based on the As of Date. Example: If you are using quarterly budgeting, your fiscal year starts in July, and the As of Date is February, the current budgeting period is 3.
Current Month Actual This is the actual amount for the month. The month is based on the month specified in the As of Date and only transactions occurring through the As Of Date’s month and day are included in the results.
Previous Month Actual This is the actual amount for one month. The month is based on the month before the specified As of Date.
Pd X [Budgeted / Actual / Variance Variance Percent Available] These are the numbers for the specified budget period. Budget period 1 is the start of your fiscal year. Depending on if you do Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly budgeting the periods may not have any values. Example: If you use Quarterly budgets, only periods 1 through 4 may have budgets or values. Note: Amounts are for the entire period and ignore the As of Date.
Export/Import PEN
This article is only relevant for Canadian schools for BC Ministry Reporting purposes.

The PEN is a student number supplied by the British Columbia Ministry of Education, uniquely identifying each student across all schools. PCR Educator provides means to manage PENs efficiently through export and import functions.

Every year, as students matriculate to your school, you will need to acquire a PEN from the BC Ministry.  To do this, generate the export file with your students and provide it to the BC Ministry.  The BC Ministry will determine the students new (or existing) PENs, and send you the file back.  Next, you import the received file from the BC Ministry to update the PENs on your student records. 

Access this export by navigating to Admin > Students and using the Special multi-action.  You need Registrar Full or Registrar Read roles to access this page.

To create the export, enter the option header file information for your school, then click Export.

Access this import by navigating to Home > Import > BC PEN.  You need the Import role and the Registrar Full role to access this page.
 
To import PENs for students from the BC Ministry provided file, click Choose File and then click Import PEN.  Matched students that do not already have PENs will be updated with the PEN in the import file.  Note: The file name must match your school’s CEEB code, and the file extension must be either ".ids" or ".pen".
Export/Import Trax
This article is only relevant for Canadian schools for BC Ministry Reporting purposes.

The British Columbia Ministry of Education requires three different file reports for TRAX.  All three of these files can be exported by navigating to Admin > Students and using the Special multi-action.  You need Registrar Full or Registrar Read roles to access this page.

The TRAX export will export all the student, course, and mark data as appropriate for delivery to the BC Ministry.  It is important that the Mark Types are set up correctly for courses so that the correct marks will be pulled into the correct places for current year courses.  The ministry will expect 3 files, each of which is its own export.

The DEM option will generate the student demographics export file.
The CRS option will generate the non-examinable student courses export file.
The XAM option will generate the examinable student courses export file.

Later, after students have taken exams and the BC Ministry has updated grading information, they will send you an XAM file with these grades. The TRAX import is able to use the XAM file to create a new input file suitable for Updating Student Historical Mark in Bulk.  To access the Trax XAM import, navigate to Home > Import > BC Trax.   You will need the Import role as well as the Registrar Full role to access this page.  Any errors found will be included in the output file.  The resulting output file is will be created for importing the exam into Trax Exam %, the school final grade into Trax School %, and the final grade incorporating both into Final Mark.

Note: The files generated will adhere to the BC Ministry file format requirements.  There are numerous 1701 Student Fields and Trax Course Fields available for Canadian schools to accommodate BC Ministry reporting requirements.

Note: For DEM exports, BC Ministry requires a status of ‘A’ (active), ‘T’ (terminated), or ‘D’ (deceased).  In PCR, the student status must be either Enrolled, Withdrew, or Deceased to be mapped correctly.  Any student that has a different status will have a blank Ministry status and not pass the BC Ministry’s validation but will still be included in the export file. Thus, if you have students with an unsupported status, you will need to modify their Ministry status in the export file accordingly or remove their records from the file.

Note:  For DEM exports, the only students exported are those with a grade level code of 10, 11, 12, AD, AN, or the student is taking at least one examinable course.  The student must be taking a current year course.

Note: For CRS exports, non-examinable course records for students with a grade level code of 10, 11, 12, AD, or AN are exported.

Note: For XAM exports, historical examinable course records are exported for students with a grade level integer value of 10, 11, 12, AD, or AN.  All current year examinable course records are exported.

Note: For CRS and XAM exports, only courses with a Trax Course Code are reported.  You can force a course to report for an individual student by providing the Trax Course Code in that student’s override.

Note: For CRS and XAM exports, the course year is reported as follows:
    - If no month is specified, then the latter half of the current school year is used.  Example:  The current school year is 2010/2011 in school info.  No month is specified, so  2011 is used.
    - If a month is specified, and the month is September or later, then the former half of the current school year is used.   Example:  The current school year is 2010/2011 in school info.  The course month is 9 or greater, so 2010 is used.
    - If a month is specified, and the month is before September, then the latter half of the current school year is used.   Example:  The current school year is 2010/2011 in school info.  The course month is less than 9, so 2011 is used.
    - The student override month takes precedence over the mark type month takes precedence over the course month.
   
Note: For CRS and XAM exports, the course month is reported  as follows:
    - If there is an override on the student course, that month is reported.
    - If there is a month specified for a mark type associated with the course section and that course section meets for the mark type’s marking period, then the month associated with the mark type is reported.  Note: In the case of multiple associated mark types with months, the largest integer month will be reported.
    - If there is a month on the course, that month is reported.
    - If no month is specified, then 6 is reported for the month.
 
 
Posting Financial Records to the General Ledger
In order to post transactions to the General Ledger, the fiscal year must be open and the Open Period Date must be on or before the date listed in the chart below. Additional General Ledger transactions may be added as a result of Finance Unearned / Deferred Revenue.
Record General Ledger Date Debits Credits Additional Notes
AR Invoice Issue Date Accounts Receivable Acc Invoice Items Negative invoice items amounts are translated to positive debits in the General Ledger when posting.
AR Deposit Deposit Date The general ledger receives one Debit to the bank account for the sum of all receipts. Each receipt’s credit is credited to the general ledger separately. Regardless of the receipt dates of the receipts associated with the deposit, credits and debits occur on the deposit date.
AR Credit Credit Date Debit Account Credit Accounts Additional debits can be applied by specifying negative credit amounts. These negative credits are translated to positive debits in the General Ledger when posting.
Journal Entry Journal Entry Date Debit Credit
AP Invoice Post Date Invoice Items Accounts Payable Acc The Invoice Date does not impact the General Ledger
AP/Misc Payment Payment Date Debit Accounts Payment Account Negative debit amounts are translated to positive credits in the General Ledger when posting.
AP Credit Memo Credit Memo Date Debit Accounts Account to Credit Additional credits can be applied by specifying negative debit amounts. These negative debits are translated to positive credits in the General Ledger when posting.

Note: There are several dates you may see either in the DAT or on other screens. Post Date (Vendor Invoices) - The date to use in the general ledger for reporting purposes. Posted Modified Date / Posted Modified Date Time - The date/time someone clicked the “Post” button or otherwise caused the record to be posted to transactions.
Importing New Records - Inquiry Actions
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.
Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Inquiry_Id Yes if Inquiry_Last_Name and Inquiry_First_Name are unspecified Identifier "1234"
Inquiry_Last_Name Yes if Inquiry_Id is unspecified. Lookup "John"
Inquiry_First_name Yes if Inquiry_Id is unspecified Lookup "Doe"
Inquiry_School_Id Yes Identifier "1" School Id that the action is associated with.
Academic_Year Yes Datasource Data "20202021" No slashes or hyphens in the number.
Action_Type Yes, if Action_Description is unspecified Identifier "1" This is the id for the action type. Use Action_Description instead.
Action_Description Yes, if Action_Type is unspecified Lookup "Accepted"
Action_Date Yes Data "2020/1/15"
Comment No Data
Action_Applying_For_Grade No Data 11 If this is unspecified, the inquiry’s applying for grade is used. Matches against the grade level Description.
Interviewer_Name No, unless Interviewer_Time is specified Lookup "John Doe" Matches against the Display name for security users. The user must have an Admissions role.
Interviewer_Time No, unless Interviewer_Name is specified Data "4:15 pm"
Event_Id No, unless Attendee_Count is specified Lookup "1" The action must be associated with an event category associated with the event.
Attendee_Count No, unless Event_Id is specified Data "2"
Forms for Staff, Households, Customers, Vendors, and Donors!
Introducing Our Forms for Staff, Households, Customers, Vendors, and Donors! If you're looking for an easy way to collect and distribute important information such as re-enrollment forms, medical updates, emergency information, permissions, and consents, our Forms module is the perfect solution. Already a hit with student forms, we are now expanding our offering to include staff and household records. Don't miss out on the opportunity to streamline your data collection process - contact our support team to learn more and sign up for the new features today!
Translate your CRM Portals
As a part of our commitment to expand the accessibility of our system, we have added a new feature to CRM/CMS Portals that allows you to subscribe to Weglot service that translates all your content automatically.
Gender Inclusive Pronouns
You can now provide your constituents with a better opportunity to self-identify using customizable pronouns' and gender options. The genders and pronouns selected by your students and applicants can later be used for personalized communication via email, text, or mail.
Importing Data
Imports are used to  transfer data into the system in bulk from a text file.  
There are two different import processes:

  1. Importing New Records
  2. Importing Data for Existing Records

Note: Blank column headers must be removed.
Note: A common issue with pasting numerical values into Excel or similar software is that the numerical values get converted into scientific notation.  Online resources are available to help convert the values from scientific notation to a standard format so that the data can be imported.

Type:
Key Id Field - unique record identifier that will be used after the import to identify the imported records. Since this field requires uniqueness, you can only use values which are not previously used. You can also leave this field blank so that the system will automatically assign the next available numerical value. Example: when importing households, household id is a Key Id Field.  Example: if the max household id in the system is X, then using a value X + 1 is recommended. However, leaving this field blank is also a good option as it would allow the system to automatically assign sequential household ids starting with the first available id.
Identifier - identifies an existing record using its unique key id (same as DAT Key Id Field) to be used for the import. Example: student id and course id when importing student courses.
Lookup - identifies the record to be used for the import by looking up records. Typically, when Identifier values are not easily available or not convenient to use, it may be easier to identify referenced records by using Lookup fields. These fields are not necessary when corresponding Identifiers are present.  Example: student first name, student last name, student birthdate represent a lookup when Identifier student id is not available to lookup student_id and to use when importing student courses. Note: lookup fields are not imported themselves. Note: lookup columns can be removed from the import files or left blank if they are not used. Note: at times a record can be identified with just one lookup field, but usually it’s recommended to specify as many as you have available to ensure that the lookup process is deterministic.
Datasource Data - data fields that are being imported that have a predetermined set of available values. Example: student gender when importing students. When entering genders you usually see a dropdown of available values such as Male, Female. Male and Female are values that you predefine ahead of time as a list of available values. When importing, you can only use one of these values.
Data - data fields that are being imported that don’t fall under categories above. Example: student first name when importing students. 
 

Data Type Data Format Example                         
Boolean  0 or 1  0
Date yyyy/mm/dd 2020/02/25
Date-Time yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm 2020/02/25 20:01
Decimal A number with a fractional part and no formatting. Fields that store currency values may have up to two decimal points.  1.25 
File Name The name of the file. Do not include a path. Do include the extension. Note: File names must only include letters, digits, underscores, and periods. Note: When importing records with associated files, select the import template and all associated files for the upload. FileName.pdf
Integer Whole number with no decimal parts or any formatting 1
Text  A string (can contain letters, numbers, and special characters)  Tuition Payment
Labor Day
Our offices will be closed on Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day. We will resume normal hours on Tuesday, September 6th.
Financial Aid Categories
Financial aid categories are a way to group financial aid for students and inquiries.  Financial aid categories are also used by (Re) Enrollment Contract to determine which products to use when financial aid is applied to a customer invoice.  To access financial aid categories, navigate to Financial Aid - Financial Aid Categories.  You need the "FinancialAid Full" or "FinancialAid Read" roles to access this page.

Academic Year is the year the associated financial aid is applicable.  New financial aid categories must be created each academic year.

Financial Aid Type allows you to specify what kind of financial aid the category is for.  This type is used for reporting purposes only and has no other impact on software behavior.

Budgeted refers to the maximum amount of financial aid the category is intended to provide.  This amount is used for reporting purposes only and has no other impact on software behavior.  Note: You can still award a total financial aid amount in excess of the budgeted amount.

Product determines which product is used when the financial aid is applied to a customer invoice.  The amount on the invoice line item is based on the financial aid award amount for the student rather than the sales price on the product. The (Re) Enrollment Contract Financial Aid Control has further information on the financial aid product behavior.

Contract Behavior determines how the (Re) Enrollment Contract uses the financial aid.
  - Accept and Invoice copies the awarded amount to the accepted amount.  The financial aid appears on the (Re) Enrollment Contract invoice.
  - Accept Only copies the awarded amount to the accepted amount.  Financial Aid Awards of this kind would be manually converted to Customer Credits at a later date.
  - Ignore causes the associated financial aid to be ignored by the (Re) Enrollment Contract.

Contract Action applies the specified financial aid award action to the student's financial aid award when the (Re) Enrollment Contract is submitted. 
(Re) Enrollment Contract Financial Aid Control
The (Re) Enrollment Contract Financial Aid Control is a (Re) Enrollment Contract control which presents all of the student’s financial aid that has been entered in Fin Aid > Awards which will be applied to the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  The financial aid award needs to be for the same year as the contract and must not already be listed as accepted.  If there is no financial aid information for the student, this control is hidden on the student’s (Re) Enrollment Contract.  There are no additional (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Options for the financial aid control.  

Note: The currency is displayed in accordance with the Currency Symbol and Culture specified in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings.

Note: If the financial aid award for the student is supposed to be applied to the deposit, then you need to specify the deposit amount in the product associated with the financial aid award.

Note: If the financial aid category has a contract behavior of "Ignore" then financial awards in this financial aid category do not appear in the contract.
Why is the student's financial aid not showing in the (Re) Enrollment Contract?
- Check the academic year for the Financial Aid Award.  The year must match the (Re) Enrollment Contract year.

- Check if the award amount has been accepted.  If the accepted amount is already filled in, the (Re) Enrollment Contract will not use the awarded amount.

- Check that the Financial Aid Category does not have the Contract Behavior set to Ignore

- Clean the student’s (Re) Enrollment Contract Options and.  If the contract was started before financial aid was awarded, it will not appear in the contract.
DAT - Financial Aid Data Structure
The diagram describes the relationships between the main Financial Aid tables, including the link to Finance.
Announcing Support for Pronouns
Support for pronouns is added for students and inquiries.  

You can customize the pronouns available for your school by navigating to the details for students or inquiries and clicking the pronouns link.  You need DBA Full to modify the pronoun options.  When adding a new pronoun, the subject, object, possessive, and reflexive variation need to be provided.

Pronouns are not required for a record.  If no pronoun is specified, then the pronoun is calculated based on the record's current gender:
Male - He / Him / His / Himself
Female - She / Her / Her / Herself
anything else - They / Them / Their / Themself
Pronouns are available as merge fields in mail merges and comment bank comments.

You can use the multi-action "Update Fields" to mass update pronouns for records.  The student or inquiry imports also support pronouns.
 
Importing New Records - Student Attendance
Field Required Type SampleValue Notes
block_Id No Key Id "1234" All block_ids must have an explicitly defined block_id, or all blocks must not have an explicitly defined block_id
block_id must not be in use already and must be unique
block_code Yes Data "A"
block_code_second_line No Data "Advanced Math" Block_Code provides the main identifier, while Block_Code_Second_Line allows for additional details or differentiation within the same block category
Day_of_Cycle Yes Data "1" Day_of_Cycle must be in range 1-99
Cell_Of_Day Yes Data "1" Cell_Of_Day must be in range 1-99
Begin_Time Yes Data "08:20 AM" Begin_Time date must equal End_Time date (must start and end on the same day)
End_Time Yes Data "09:30 AM"
Template_Only Yes Datasource Data "1" 1 means this is a template block and will always show on a pdf schedule and students are not scheduled into this block, and 0 means that students are scheduled in this block
Print_On_Daily_Schedule Yes Datasource Data "1" 0 means do not show on pdf schedules and 1 means show on pdf schedules
School_Id Yes Identifier "1" Link to School_Id
School_Year Yes Datasource Data "0" 0 means the current year and 1 means next year
Importing New Records
The Import role is required when Importing Data.  However, a user must also have appropriate roles to access the module from where the data is imported.  See Roles Dictionary for more information.
Follow these steps to import new record: 

  1. Navigate to the desired import screen.  Note: Imports are available in the Home > Import menu.
  2. Select Separator (delimiter) and click Create Template to download the import template.  Note: By default, Excel uses tab delimiter.
  3. Open the file with a spreadsheet software.  Note: Excel or similar products can be used for this purpose.
  4. Populate the file and save it as either Text (Tab delimited) or CSV (comma delimited). 
  5. Select the file on the Import screen and click validate.  Note: If the file is validated, the “Validation Successful” message will appear.  Otherwise, validation failure errors will indicate what data needs to be corrected.
  6. Once the file is validated, select it one more time and click Import.

Here is a comprehensive index of Importing New Records articles:

Importing New Records - Addresses
Importing New Records - Alumni Households
Importing New Records - Ask Actions
Importing New Records - Asks
Importing New Records - Attribute Categories
Importing New Records - Attributes
Importing New Records - Blocks
Importing New Records - Budget Accounts
Importing New Records - Campaigns
Importing New Records - Chart Layouts
Importing New Records - Chart of Accounts
Importing New Records - Comment Bank Comments
Importing New Records - Comment Bank Tags
Importing New Records - Contact Actions
Importing New Records - Contact Attributes
Importing New Records - Contact Financial Info
Importing New Records - Contact Outside Donations
Importing New Records - Contact Relations
Importing New Records - Contacts
Importing New Records - Course Equivalencies
Importing New Records - Course Mark Type Headings
Importing New Records - Course Sections
Importing New Records - Course Type Levels
Importing New Records - Courses
Importing New Records - Current Marks
Importing New Records - Customer Credits
Importing New Records - Customer Invoice Items
Importing New Records - Customer Invoices
Importing New Records - Customer Receipts
Importing New Records - Customers and Addresses
Importing New Records - Daily Rotation
Importing New Records - Departments
Importing New Records - Discipline
Importing New Records - Evaluations
Importing New Records - Finance Address/Contact
Importing New Records - Financial Aid Award Actions
Importing New Records - Financial Aid Awards
Importing New Records - Financial Aid Categories
Importing New Records - Fixed Assets
Importing New Records - Funds
Importing New Records - Gifts and Pledges
Importing New Records - Gifts and Pledges (One Payment Per Row)
Importing New Records - Historical Attendance
Importing New Records - Historical Marks
Importing New Records - Household Attributes
Importing New Records - Household Persons
Importing New Records - Households
Importing New Records - Inquiries and Actions
Importing New Records - Inquiry Actions
Importing New Records - Inquiry Attributes
Importing New Records - Journal Entries
Importing New Records - Journal Entry Items
Importing New Records - Mark Entry Types
Importing New Records - Mark Type Headings
Importing New Records - Mark Types
Importing New Records - Miscellaneous Payments
Importing New Records - Miscellaneous Receipts
Importing New Records - MYP Conversion Chart
Importing New Records - Official Reports
Importing New Records - Period Code Blocks
Importing New Records - Period Codes
Importing New Records - Product Categories
Importing New Records - Products
Importing New Records - Rooms
Importing New Records - Staff
Importing New Records - Staff Attributes
Importing New Records - Student Actions
Importing New Records - Student Attendance
Importing New Records - Student Attributes
Importing New Records - Student Awards
Importing New Records - Student Courses
Importing New Records - Student Health Actions
Importing New Records - Student Immunizations
Importing New Records - Student Selections
Importing New Records - Students
Importing New Records - Users
Importing New Records - Vendor Credit Items
Importing New Records - Vendor Credits
Importing New Records - Vendor Invoice Items
Importing New Records - Vendor Invoices
Importing New Records - Vendor Payment Items
Importing New Records - Vendor Payments
Importing New Records - Vendors and Addresses
 
Importing New Records - Students
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.

Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Primary_Household_ID Required if Primary_Household_Name and Primary_Household_Alternative_ID are not unique Identifier "12345" Connects the student record to an already existing household as their Primary Parent household
Note, for adult students this household will represent students themselves (their address, contact information) as opposed to their parents.
Primary_Household_Name Required if Primary_Household_Id and Primary_Household_Alternate_ID are  not populated  Lookup "Smith Family"  
Primary_Household_Alternate_ID Required if Primary_Household_Id or Primary_Household_Name are not populated  Lookup "A1b3"  
Primary_Household_Relationship  Yes Data Source  "Parent", "Self"  Only the two sample values are permitted.
Billing_Household_ID Required if Billing_Household_Name and Billing_Household_Alternative_ID are not unique Identifier "12345" Connects the student record to an already existing household as their Billing household.

Note: The billing household must match with either the Primary or Secondary household.
Billing_Household_Name Required if Billing_Household_Id and Billing_Household_Alternate_ID are  not populated  Lookup "Smith Family"  
Billing_Household_Alternate_ID Required if Billing_Household_Id or Billing_Household_Name are not populated  Lookup "A1b3"  
Secondary_Household_ID No Identifier "12345" Connects the student record to an already existing household as their Secondary Parent household.
Secondary_Household_Name No Lookup "Smith Family"  
Secondary_Household_Alternate_ID No Lookup "A1b3"  
Secondary_Household_Relationship  Required if secondary Household is specified  Data Source "Parent", "Grandparent", "Self"  Only the three sample values are permitted.
 
Student_Id No Key ID Field "1234" If one row has this column populated, all rows must have this column populated
Student_Last_Name Required Data "Smith"  
Student_First_Name Required Data "John"  
Student_Middle_Name No Data "Pittock"  
Student_NickName No Data "Johnny"  
Birthdate No Data "1/1/2000"  
Sex No Datasource data "Male" "Female" This field is named "Sex" in the import but displays as "Gender" in the database. The values used must match the values found in the system. Custom values can be added.
Personal_Pronoun_Id  No Identifier   "1" Create a DAT query to identify the id values.
Lookup_Personal_Pronoun  No Lookup   "He" The lookup will check across subject, object, and possessive pronoun values to find a match.
Phone No Data "(123)-456-7890"  
Email No Data "jsmith@gmail.com"  
Current_Parish No Datasource Data "St. Mary's Catholic Church" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Parish" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Day_Or_Boarding Required Datasource Data "Day"
"Boarding"
"Virtual"		  
ESL_Yes_Or_No Required Datasource Data "Y" or "N"  
International_Yes_Or_No Required Datasource Data "Y" or "N"  
Previous_School No Datasource Data "Grant High School" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Previous Schools" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Financial_Aid_Yes_Or_No Required Datasource Data "Y" or "N"  
Birthplace No Data "Washington"  
Citizen_Of No Datasource Data "USA" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Citizenship" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Native_Lang No Datasource Data "Dutch" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Native Language" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Ethnic_Group No Datasource Data "African American" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Ethnic Group" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Locker_Number No Data "1B"  
Locker_Combination No Data "06-01-45"  
Religion No Datasource Data "Christian" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Religion" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Inquiry_ID No Identifier "12345" Links the student record to an already existing inquiry record. 
Legacy_Code No Datasource Data "Mother" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Religion" in an Admin > Students > Details > Priorities page.
Alternate_ID No Data "a1B45"  
Auditorium_Seat No Data "123b"  
Car_License_Plate No Data "B351A"  
Car_Parking_Registration No Data "5GBA"  
Car_Year No Data 2007  
Car_Make No Data "Toyota"  
Car_Model No Data "Corolla"  
Car_Color No Data "Red"  
Student_Suffix No Data "Jr"  
Care_Card_Number No Data "9281 051 185" For British Columbia only
BC_Pen No Data "129451214" For British Columbia only
BC_School_Funding_Code No Datasource Data "First Nations - 20" For British Columbia only
BC_Band_of_Residence_Code No Datasource Data "Adams Lake - 684" For British Columbia only
BC_Aboriginal_Ancestry_Yes_No No Data "Y" or "N" For British Columbia only
BC_French_Lang_Program_Code No Datasource Data   For British Columbia only
Campus No Datasource Data "Main" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Campus" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Dorm_Room_ID No Identifier "5"  
Student_Dorm_Room_Number No Lookup "5A"  
Student_Dorm_Building No Lookup "Building A"  
Student_Dorm_Lunch_Table No Datasource Data "Table A" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Lunch Table" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Dorm_Room_NY_ID No Identifier "5"  
Student_Dorm_Room_NY_Number No Lookup "5A"  
Student_Dorm_NY_Building No Lookup "Building C"  
Driving_License No Data "123DAV"  
Car2_Color No Data "Green"  
Car2_License_Plate No Data "1B34A"  
Car2_Make No Data "Toyota"  
Car2_Model No Data "Corolla"  
Car2_Parking_Registration No Data "1b3d"  
Car2_Year No Data 2017  
Student_Selection_End_Date No Data "1/1/2023"  
Day_Or_Boarding_NY Required Data "Day
"Boarding"
"Virtual"		  
International_Yes_Or_No_NY Required Data "Y" or "N"  
BC_School_Funding_Code_NY No Datasource Data "First Nations - 20" For British Columbia only
Grade_Level_ID Required if Grade_Level_Code not populated Identifier "1"  
Grade_Level_Code Required if Grade_Level_ID not populated Lookup "PK"  
Next_Grade_Level_ID No Identifier "1"  
Next_Grade_Level_Code No Lookup "PK"  
Pincode No Data "1234" Must pass the requirements set in Security>Maintenance>Application Setup 
Year_Grad No Data "2024" Planned graduation year.
Importing New Records - Inquiries and Actions
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.
Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Inquiry_Id No Key ID Field "1234" If one row has this column populated, all rows must have this column populated
Academic_Year Yes Datasource Data "20212022"  
Inquiry_Last_Name Yes Data "Smith"  
Inquiry_First_Name Yes Data "John"  
Inquiry_Middle_Name No Data "Kipp"  
Inquiry_Preferred_Name No Data "Johnny"  
Birthdate Yes Data "1/1/2000"  
Birthplace No Data "Anytown, USA"  
Sex Yes Datasource data "Male" This field is named "Sex" in the import but displays as "Gender" in the database.
Personal_Pronoun_Id  No Identifier   "1" Create a DAT query to identify the id values.
Lookup_Personal_Pronoun  No Lookup   "He" The lookup will check across subject, object, and possessive pronoun values to find a match.
Citizen_Of No Datasource data "Canada"  
Native_Lang No Datasource data "English"  
Ethnic_Group No Datasource data "Asian"  
Phone No Data "123-456-7890"  
Email No Data "Jsmith@gmail.com"  
Current_School No Datasource data "Lincoln High School"  
         
Inquiry_Source No Datasource data "Facebook"  
         
Current_Parish No Datasource data "St Marys"  
Legacy_Code No Datasource data "Parent"  
Day_Or_Boarding No Datasource data "Day"  
      "Boarding"  
      "Virtual"  
ESL_Yes_or_No No Datasource data "Y" or "N"  
International_Yes_or_No Yes Datasource data "Y" or "N"  
Financial_Aid_Yes_Or_No No Datasource data "Y" or "N"  
Religion No Datasource data "Catholic"  
Additional_Testing_Yes_No No Datasource data "Y" or "N"  
Academic_Support_Yes_No No Datasource data "Y" or "N"  
Inquiry_Suffix No Data "Jr."  
preferred_student_id No Data "12345"  
campus No Datasource data "Main"  
applying_grade_level_id Required if Applying_For_Grade not populated Identifier "2" See Grade Level for more info
applying_for_grade Required if Applying_Grade_Level_ID not populated Lookup "K"  
current_grade_level_id No Identifier "1"  
current_grade No Lookup "PK"  
primary_household_id Yes Identifier "12345" Connects the inquiry record to an already existing household as their Primary Parent household. 

For adult inquiries, this household will represent inquiries themselves (their address, contact information) as opposed to their parents.
primary_household_relationship Yes Datasource  "Parent", "Self" Only the two sample values are permitted.
secondary_household_id No Identifier "12345" Connects the inquiry record to an already existing household as their Secondary Parent household.
secondary_household_relationship Required if the secondary household is specified  Datasource "Parent", "Grandparent", "Self" Only the three sample values are permitted.
billing_household_id Yes Identifier "12345" Connects the inquiry record to an already existing household as their Billing household.

Note: The billing household id must match primary or secondary household id
Action1_Description No Lookup "Inquiry"  
Action1_Type_Id No Key ID Field "12"  
Action1_Academic_Year Yes if Action1_Description or Action1_Type_ID are entered Datasource Data "20212022"  
Action1_Date Yes if Action1_Description or Action1_Type_ID are entered Data "1/24/2020"  
Action1_Applying_Grade_Level_Id Yes if Action1_Description or Action1_Type_ID are entered and Action1_Applying_For_Grade is blank. Identifier "1"  
Action1_Applying_For_Grade Yes if Action1_Description or Action1_Type_ID are entered and Action1_Applying_Grade_Level_Id is blank. Datasource Data "PK"  
Action1_Comment No Data "Contacted via phone"

Note: Action1_Description, Action1_Type_Id, Action1_Academic_Year, Action1_Date, Action1_Applying_Grade_Level_Id, Action1_Applying_For_Grade, and Action1_Comment columns are repeated for a total of 10 times so that multiple actions can be added to the inquiries on import.
Clearing Form Completed Pages
To clear the checkboxes on form pages for all students:
- Navigate to Admin - Site Maps - Details,
- Edit the parent node for the menu's pages
- Click the "Clear Completed Tags" button.

All checkboxes for the child nodes are cleared and ready for new form submission for all students.  Note: The "Clear Completed Tags" button has no effect on nodes without child nodes within the sitemap.
DAT Fields - Step 2 - Totaling
Totaling is a part of DAT Fields - Step 2 process and adds a total at the bottom of the DAT Results - Step 4.  The totaling options depend on the type of data.  For numeric data types, a sum may be added to the results.
Closing the School Year Webinar 2022
The Closing the School Year webinar is available here.
Importing New Records - Historical Marks
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.


Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Student_Id Yes, if student first/last/birthdate is unspecified Identifier “12345”
Student_First_Name No Lookup "John
Student_Last_Name No Lookup "Doe"
Birthdate No Lookup "1/1/2000"
School_Year Yes Data "2000/2001" Courses in the same school year are grouped together on transcripts. Format must be xxxx/yyyy
Grade_Level No Lookup "11" Matches with the integer value in Grade Levels.  Note: This grade level is the grade level of the student when they took the course.
Grade_Level_Id Yes, if grade_level is unspecified Identifier
Course_Name Yes Data "Algebra I" Does not need to match course names offered by your school.
Short_Course_Name No  Data  "MAT104" 
External_Course Yes Datasource "0 1 indicates the course was taken at another school. 0 indicates the course is taken at the school.
School_Name No Data Name of the school an external course is taken
Number_of_Semesters Yes Datasource "2" Possible values include 1, 2, 3, or 4
Credits_Per_Semester No Data "0.5" Value may be 0 or blank.
Include_In_GPA Yes Datasource "1" 1 indicates grades are included in gpa. 0 indicates grades are not included in gpa.
Hist_Transcript_Course_Name No Data An alternative course name which may be shown depending on the transcript setup
Class_Rank_Type No Lookup "AP Only" Source is based on Course “Class Rank” types
Attribute1 No Data
Attribute2 No Data
Attribute3 No Data
Course_Type3 No Data
Department_Id Yes Identifier "5" The department id helps determine which school division the record is for
First_Mark No Data "A"
Second_Mark No Data "95"
Third_Mark No Data "P"
Final_Mark No Data "A"
Teacher_Last_Name No Data "Smith" Does not need to match a teacher name with your school
Teacher_First_Name No Data "Jane" Does not need to match a teacher name with your school
First_Effort No Data
Second_Effort No Data
Third_Effort No Data
Fourth_Effort No Data
First_Quarter No Data
Second_Quarter No Data
Third_Quarter No Data
Fourth_Quarter No Data
First_Exam No Data
Second_Exam No Data
Third_Exam No Data
First_Final_Exam No Data
Second_Final_Exam No Data
Third_Final_Exam No Data
Course_Id No Lookup Leave this field blank unless directed otherwise
Section No Lookup Leave this field blank unless directed otherwise
BC_Trax_Examinable_Course No Datasource "1" 1 indicates that the course is an examinable course, 0 indicates the opposite
BC_Trax_Electronic_Exam No Datasource "1" 1 indicates that the student takes the electronic exam, 0 indicates the opposite
BC_Trax_Course_Code No Data "EN"
BC_Trax_Course_Level No Data "10"
BC_Trax_Course_Type No Data "E" E means equivalency and C means challenge
BC_Trax_Month No Data "6" Must be a value 1-12 or blank
BC_Trax_Proc_Spec_Case No Data "D" R means Rewrite, D means Deferral
BC_Trax_Related_Code No Data “YSSC”
BC_Trax_Related_Level No Data "11B"
BC_Trax_to_Write No Data "1" 1 indicates the student opted to write the optional exam, 0 indicates the opposite
BC_Trax_School_Percent No Data "95"
BC_Trax_Exam_Percent No Data "95"
BC_Trax_Grad_Req No Data "F" F meets Fine Arts, A meets Applied Skills, B meets both requirements
Course_Start_Date No Data "9/1/2000"
Course_End_Date No Data “12/1/2000”
Course_Type_Level_Id No Identifier "6" Course Type Levels are typically used for Graduation Requirements or Prerequisites
Lookup_Course_Type_Level_Id No Lookup "6" Used to look up the couse_type_level_id
Lookup_Course_Type No Lookup "Math" Used to look up the couse_type_level_id
Lookup_Course_Level No Lookup "105" Used to look up the couse_type_level_id

Note: Typically, only First_Mark, Second_Mark, Third_Mark, and/or Final_Mark are showing on transcripts. Other marks are retained only for data mining purposes.
Note: Only one record per student may have the same School_Year, Grade_Level_Id, Course_Name, External_Course, School_Name
Note: Attributes 1-3 and Course_Type3 are used to store custom data
Note: For BC fields, see the TRAX Specification for British Columbia reporting requirements.
Note: Course_Id and Section are included for completeness. These fields are only intended for use by PCR Educator software when Closing the School Year.
Closing the School Year
Closing the school year is the process designed to finalize current school year academic activities and prepare the database for the new year. The Closing the School Year Wizard will walk you through the process.  For a webinar on closing the school year, please see the following video.

Note: The close of the school year needs to occur before the start of the next academic year. The school year may be closed at any point between when PCR Educator makes it available prior to the start of the next academic year.  

Note: If you are operating a Summer Camp in PCR Educator, then you will wait to close the school year until after Summer Camp has finished.  

Note: In general, closing the school year is required for any school that is using the Student Management System (any features related to managing students).

Note:  If you wish to share next year schedules in the CMS Parent/Student Portals prior to closing the school year, the widget properties can be switched to show the next year schedules.

Note:  Closing the School Year is a one-time process that affects every division in the school. There should be one person at the school who coordinates and performs the Closing of the School Year for the entire school. While the Academic Divisions are most affected, the school-based coordinator should understand the process and should ensure that ALL divisions are ready before proceeding.

Note:  Each summer, PCR Educator will open the “Close School Year” for advancing to the new academic year.

Note:  Closing Finance Fiscal Years operate independently of Closing the School Year.  Finance can close their Fiscal Years at their discretion.  

Closing the School Year Wizard
Closing the School Year Checklist
    - Closing the School Year Archive Individual Student Reports
    - Closing the School Year Copy Scheduling Data
    - Closing the School Year Set Next Year Student Fields
    - Closing the School Year Update Status/Substatus for Next Year
    - Closing the School Year Enroll Incoming Students
    - Closing the School Year Adjust the Parent Portal and Student Portal
    - Closing the School Year Confirm Teacher Categories
    - Closing the School Year Set BC Trax Month Field (BC Schools Only)
Closing the School Year Schedule Next Year
Closing the School Year Fix Different Courses with the Same Name
Closing the School Year Confirm Include on Transcript 
Closing the School Year Review Orphaned Grades
Closing the School Year Review Grades to History 
Closing the School Year Review Attendance to History 
Closing the School Year Fix Overlapping Marking Periods
Closing the School Year Review Users
Closing the School Year Request Closing 
Closing the School Year Close the Database Year Step
Closing the School Year Review Post-Close Checklist 
 
Closing the School Year Wizard
To begin Closing the School Year process navigate to Security > Maintenance > Close School Year.  You need the Security Full role to access this page.  Note: If the Close School Year cannot be started, an explanation is provided on the first step.  Note: The second to last step of the Close School Year will have you contact PCR Educator to make an archive.  This may take 1 business day so please plan accordingly.

Closing the School Year does the following:

    - Copies Next Year Student Fields to the current year
    - Moves students to their next grade level
    - Archives student grades to Historical Marks
    - Archives student attendance to Historical Attendance
    - Updates CMS widgets with the setting "Use Next Academic Year" from Yes to No
    - Purges processed notifications, except emails associated with:
        - Inquiry records with an academic year greater or equal to the current admissions year.  Example:  You are closing the school year for 2017/2018.  An inquiry is applying for 2017/2018 and has 3 notifications, 2 of which have already been processed and 1 of which is unprocessed.  The 2 processed notifications will be deleted.  Example:  You are closing the school year for 2017/2018.  An inquiry is applying for 2018/2019 and has 3 notifications, 2 of which have already been processed and 1 of which is unprocessed.  None of these notifications will be deleted.
        - Inquiry Actions Note: Notifications that were associated with an inquiry action where the inquiry action has been deleted will be treated like an Inquiry notification.
        - Finance
        - Financial Aid Awards
        - Student Health Visits
        - Development
        Note: Purging notifications deletes processed Notification Jobs from the date you close the school year which includes removal of the individual notification information as well as any attached files stored in the database.


Note: Once you finish Closing the School Year, the following records will be permanently removed from the database:
    - Gradebook grades
    - Marks for any report
    - Comments for any report

Note: Once you finish Closing the School Year, the following records will be purged and you may not have access to individual details:
    - Attendance records  Note:  Discipline records are retained, but Daily and Period Attendance are purged.
    - Student Pictures for students that do not contain a status of Enrolled for any division in the current or next year.  Example:  The student status is Pre-Enrolled for next year.  The student photo is retained.  Example: The student status is Enrolled in the current year and Graduated for next year.  The student photo is retained this year, but would be removed with next year’s close if the student’s status remains Graduated.  Example: The student Withdrew this year.  Their current and next year status is listed as Withdrew.  The student photo is purged.
    - Inquiry Pictures for inquiries/applicants with an academic year prior to the pre-close admissions year.  Example: The school year being closed is the academic year 2020/2021.  The current year of the inquiry is 2020/2021 even though admissions has moved forward to 2021/2022.  The photo is retained.
    - Student Check In / Check Out records.  If you are billing for Check In / Check Out records, records that have already been billed for will be removed.  If you are not billing for Check In / Check Out records, all records with a check out date will be removed.   Note: Invoices are still retained, but the association to the original Check In / Check Out record will be removed.
   

You may want to consider exporting your data using a DAT Query if you may need these details in the future.
 
Closing the School Year Checklist
There are tasks that must be completed by each and every Academic Division prior to closing the school year.  Note: The following tasks MUST be completed BEFORE you close the school year.

- Closing the School Year Archive Individual Student Reports
- Closing the School Year Copy Scheduling Data
- Closing the School Year Set Next Year Student Fields
- Closing the School Year Update Status/Substatus for Next Year
- Closing the School Year Enroll Incoming Students
- Closing the School Year Adjust the Parent Portal and Student Portal
- Closing the School Year Confirm Teacher Categories
- Closing the School Year Set BC Trax Month Field (BC Schools Only)
- Exporting Data (If Applicable)
 
Closing the School Year Archive Individual Student Reports
Registrars should archive, print, and/or save PDFs of Progress Reports, Report Cards, and Transcripts prior to closing the school year.  Archiving Official Reports can be performed through a multi-action with the files optionally made available to the Parent Portal.  Note: Transcripts do not need to be archived as they can be recreated from the historical marks.

Attendance reports, discipline reports, gradebooks and other reports involving data which is reset year to year may be generated and retained by the school.
 
Closing the School Year Copy Scheduling Data
Closing the school year will replace the current year’s schedule with the next year's schedule.  If you do not have a schedule in the next year, then when the school year is closed you will have no schedule in the current year.

Note: The automatic scheduling functions that allow for using the Master Schedule Builder and the automated “Load Students” DO NOT EXIST in the Current Year. If anyone in the school still needs to use those features, you should not close the school year.

1. Copy the current year Block Codes and Period Codes into the Next Year.  This should be performed in each division that has a schedule.

2. Copy the current year Course Sections to Next Year. Each division may decide to copy the current course sections for next year (and modify them as necessary) OR the division may decide to build all the course sections from scratch. Copying the sections must be done prior to Closing the School Year or there will be no sections when the school year is closed.

For more information about Copying/Moving Schedules, please see the section on Closing the School Year Schedule Next Year.
 
Closing the School Year Set Next Year Student Fields
Ensure that the next  year grade levels for your students are correct.  

Note:  The Next Year grade level fields can be seen on the Admin > Students list or the Scheduling > Students list, and the column is titled Gr NY.  If you do not see the field, click the gear above the details column and enable it.

Note: There are other next year fields which may need to be set including Day or Boarding Next Year, International Next Year, and more.  Advancing student grades can set the next year grade level for students as well as these other fields.

Note: Once the grades are properly advanced, you can begin the scheduling process. Note that in Scheduling, you will be working predominantly with a student’s “grade next year.” The “not returning” students and students without a “grade next year” will not appear in your scheduling lists.
Closing the School Year Update Status/Substatus for Next Year
In Admin > Students, users can view the current and next year status/substatus for their student.  Note:  The next year status and substatus may be different depending on which school division you are currently accessing.  Another way to evaluate students and their status’ is to create a DAT report using Students and linking in the Statuses By Division table.

The administrator can update student status/substatus for next academic year to indicate students who are graduating, returning, or withdrawing.  These changes are configured by Recording Student Actions which determine the Status/Substatus Calculation - Student.

One method is to find all students who are currently newly enrolled and mark them as Active or Returning for the next year. Similarly, all non-returning students can be marked as Withdrew for next year and all Pre-Enrolled students can be marked as Enrolled/Newly Enrolled for next year. Each school may have its own preference for handling this workflow.

Note: The next year student status and substatus will become the current year status and substatus after Closing the School Year.

Note: For students to access the CMS Portals, the student user must have a role of Student.  For parents to access the CMS Parent Portal, the parent user must have a role of Parent or ParentNY.  These roles are calculated according to the Roles Dictionary.  Any student whose status next year is “Graduated” will lose their access to the CMS portals when the school year is closed. To temporarily give students and parents access after Closing the School Year, you can create an action named something like “Portal Access” with an “Enrolled” status modifier, and give it to the student for the next academic year. That way, their status will remain “Enrolled” until you decide to revoke their access by removing the “Portal Access” action at a later date.

Note: The Graduated date on the transcript is usually based on an action of the same name.  It is possible to have a Graduated action configured to not change the status, and instead use a different action to change student status’ to Graduated at a later date.  This way the correct graduated date is shown on the transcript while the student status temporarily remains Enrolled until another action changes the status to Graduated.
Closing the School Year Enroll Incoming Students
This component can be completed before or after closing the school year. The Admissions staff can enroll incoming students by Applying Enrollment Profiles. Enrollment Profiles may also be applied automatically for students submitting (Re) Enrollment Contracts.
Closing the School Year Adjust the Parent Portal and Student Portal
If your school is using the CMS Parent/Student Portals, you need to consider the information you are displaying to the parents and students currently and the information you want them to have access to once the school year rolls over. Once the school year is closed, the next school year’s information is going to be displayed (schedules, homerooms, etc.). Make sure you adjust the portals according to what you want the parents to have access to over the summer.  Note: You can temporarily “disable” pages on these portals by requiring a role like “Security Full” to access the page.  Remove the role requirement to allow access again.  
 
Closing the School Year Confirm Teacher Categories
The CMS Teacher Portal has a widget which allows teachers to map their Gradebook Categories associated with a current year course section to a corresponding section for next year.  This widget is usually placed at the bottom of the Class > Gradebook Settings page.  If the widget isn’t present, it can be added to the page via the Course > Gradebook Next Year option.  Note: If a teacher is teaching the same Course and Section next year, those course sections will automatically be considered mapped and associated gradebook items will be retained.

Example:  A teacher may be teaching Math section 01 this year, but next year they will be teaching Math section 03.  They can match their Math section 01 to next year’s Math section 03.

Teachers that do not have their course sections mapped to a corresponding next year course section will have the following gradebook items cleared:
    - Gradebook Preferences for unmapped course sections
    - Gradebook Assessments for unmapped course sections
    - Gradebook Assessments no longer associated with any course section
    - Gradebook Categories no longer associated with any assessments
 
Closing the School Year Set BC Trax Month Field (BC Schools Only)
When determining the Trax month for a student and a course, PCR Educator will first look at the student course override for the student, then the mark type exam percent’s month / mark type school percent’s month, then the course month (specified on the course).  Setting the BC Trax Month for a  Mark Type Marking Period involves Configuring Mark Types associated with the courses. Note: If multiple months are present for the mark types, the largest integer month for the course section is used.  Example:  There is no student course override.  The mark types for the course have months specified of 1 for quarter one, 3 for quarter two, 6 for quarter three and 8 for quarter four. If the course section only meets semester one then the month used will be 3.  If the course section only meets for quarter one, then the month will be 1.  If the course section is a full year course, then the month will be 8.
 
Closing the School Year Schedule Next Year
Please confirm with the individuals responsible for scheduling each division that they have completed scheduling, or have at least copied the minimum required to next year.  Note:  The master schedule builder and master load student functions are only available as Next Year functions.  If any school division still requires use of these functions, do not close the school year.

Every academic division which contains scheduling information should complete these tasks prior to Closing the School Year:
1.  Copy the existing Blocks to next year.
2.  Copy the existing Period Codes / period code groups to next year.
3.  Copy the Course Sections to next year.
Note:  If these are not copied, then the school division will be creating entirely new ones after the close.

If there are items that have not been taken care of or that need to be adjusted, you can exit the wizard and attend to those items. You may also click one of the links on this step to take you directly to the records in the current school division.

The chart at the bottom of this step indicates the existing blocks, period codes, and sections for each division. Please make sure that you have either copied that data or built new data for all divisions for the upcoming school year for any divisions which have schedules.
 
Closing the School Year Fix Different Courses with the Same Name
This step is to help you clean the data that will be placed into historical marks for the students. If there are no students and courses listed, you may proceed to the next step. 

If a student has two or more courses with the same name but different ids, these will be recorded as multiple different records in historical marks, and these records will show as 2 or more separate lines on the transcript.  Example: A student has grades for courses Algebra I - ID 123 and Algebra I - ID 456. The student will have 2 rows appearing on the transcript, both showing “Algebra I.”

- You have the option to export the list and correct the records after the close.

- You have the option to leave the wizard and handle the courses prior to the close.  Options might include:
    1. Moving all report card grades to one version of the course
    2. Manually recording a historical record for the student regarding this course, then removing their grades from the current year courses.
    3. Migrating Single Student Current Year Marks to History and correcting the historical record.
Closing the School Year Confirm Include on Transcript
The “Include on Transcript” step allows you to locate courses which might be incorrectly excluded from transcripts and history.

The grid shows courses that have mark types that would ordinarily be found in historical marks (Term or Final grades) but the checkbox Include on Transcript is unchecked (which means that the grades would not be moved to history if the setting is not fixed).

The checkbox can be checked directly in the grid.
 
Closing the School Year Review Orphaned Grades
A student may have switched from one section of a course to another without using the “Transfer” button on the Conflicts screen.  In the case of a course set up as a single semester course, both the Orphaned grade and the student current grade (if any) will both be moved to history.  In the case of a full year course, one of the marks will be chosen arbitrarily.  Review any marks appearing in this list and note the “Orphaned?” column.  Note: If the “Orphaned?” column says “yes” then the student is no longer enrolled in that section of the course for that marking period.

If the student has both an Orphaned and non-Orphaned mark for the same course name, the orphaned mark should usually be deleted.

Note: This step shows any students who have more than one grade for the same course and marking period, but a different section.  A student may be legitimately taking multiple different sections of the same single semester course.
 
Closing the School Year Review Grades to History
Historical Marks are those grades that will be saved and used for future transcripts for your students.  The “Reviewing Grades to History” step lists all the grades that will be archived to history.

The listing in the wizard is performed by Division and then by the Mark Types associated with each grade. Check to make sure that the grades will be placed into history correctly.  Note: It is difficult to fix them once they have been archived by Closing the School Year, though there are methods for Updating Historical Marks individually and in bulk.

For Coordinators who are Closing the School Year, make sure that the staff in each division works with you and has “signed off” on this data to ensure that the grades are properly stored. 

Review the total number of marks to be moved, particularly for any counts that seem unusually low or different.  This could indicate that a new courses’ mark types were not set up properly.  Otherwise, confirm that the totals for the various grade types are consistent with the number of students taking graded courses.

Note:  Term grades for course sections meeting only one term will be copied to the final grade for the course section unless a separate final grade mark type is present.

Note:  If you make changes when Configuring Mark Types, double check the Closing the School Year Confirm Include on Transcript step doesn’t include new courses.

Note:  Marking periods named "Not Used" are migrated to history.
Closing the School Year Review Attendance to History
This step highlights the Attendance Types that will be summarized into history for transcripts.

Attendance Summarization

The four types of daily attendance that are summarized are:
  1. Absent Excused
  2. Absent Unexcused
  3. Late Excused
  4. Late Unexcused
These are based on their Historical Meaning. Attendance types without a Historical Meaning or indicated as Virtually Present are not summarized. If you have daily attendance types that do not have historical meaning showing on this step and need to be stored, please modify those records here.

Attendance Calculation

The Review Attendance page shows the total number of days the student participated in school. This calculation is based on the classes they are taking and how many unique days the class met during the year, known as the Daily Rotation. The Daily Rotation can be adjusted by adding or removing meeting days using a suitable day of the cycle to further tweak these numbers.

Additional Notes

  • Period Attendance: Period attendance is not summarized to history. However, Period Attendance can be converted to Daily Attendance. To do this, navigate to Admin > Attendance > Period Attendance, select the desired period attendance records, and use the “Generate Daily” multi-action.

Action Items

  • Ensure the updated total number of days the student participated in school (as shown on the Review Attendance page) is accurate before requesting the closing.
 
Closing the School Year Fix Overlapping Marking Periods
Overlapping marking periods are not permitted.  A daily attendance record that appears during an overlap would be counted multiple times - once for each overlapping marking period.  The marking periods are shown by division with the overlapping periods shown side by side.

To correct bad data in the marking period information, leave the wizard and fix the overlaps in the Marking Period Info. 
Closing the School Year Review Users
Users that are incorrectly set up need to be corrected.  

“Staff associated with multiple users” - Staff records should only be associated with a single user.  The resolution depends on why there are multiple users.  If one of the users is a “parent” user, then this user should be removed and the remaining user used as both a staff and parent user.  If there is a duplicate staff user, disassociate the teacher from the user in the user profile.  Note: Be careful when deciding to remove a Staff user as it may be associated with DAT queries or filters.

“Students associated with multiple users” - Students should only be associated with a single user.  Choose which student user to retain and remove the other users for the student.

Parents associated with multiple users - Parents should only have a single user each.  First, make sure the Household Indicator is correctly specified for the users.  If there are still duplicates for a particular household and indicator, remove the duplicate users.  Note:  If the Parent is also a Staff, retain the staff user.

“Parent users with no indicator” - Make sure to specify the Household Indicator for users associated with households.

“User associated with Students and Household/Staff users” - Student users should not be associated with their parent households.  Household users should not be associated with student records unless the student has a relationship of “Self” with the household.  Self households occur for schools where the student applies and submits contracts instead of their parent performing those steps.  Note: Students who are alumni should receive a new user associated with their new household record.  Students typically have users with emails provided by the school.  After the student graduates, they need a household user based around their personal email address information.
Closing the School Year Request Closing
Prerequisites

All previous steps in the wizard must be completed prior to completing this step, and all divisions should be finished with any data corrections before completing this step.

Attendance Information

The Review Attendance page shows the total number of days that the student participated in school. This calculation is based on the classes they are taking and how many unique days the class met during the year, known as the Daily Rotation. The Daily Rotation can be adjusted by adding or removing meeting days for a suitable day of the cycle to further tweak these numbers.
 
Admissions Year

Admissions Year is the current (pre-close) year that your Admissions is currently operating with. This year is used to determine which notifications are retained in Admissions.

Request Closing

This step directs you to contact PCR Educator to request that our representatives perform additional closing steps.

Important Notes:

  • You do not need to remain on this page while waiting for PCR Educator to contact you.

  • It may take up to 2 business days for PCR Educator to respond.
  • The closing process is not reversible.
  • You should not make any changes after this step and before the year is closed.

Action Items

Wait to hear back from PCR Educator representatives before making any further changes.

Note: PCR Educator may opt to close your school year for you at our discretion. If you strongly wish to close your school year or have specific considerations for the closing timing, please inform us.

 
Closing the School Year Review Post-Close Checklist
After Closing the School Year Close the Database Year Step is finished, please complete the following steps to ready the database for the next Academic Year.
1. Confirm the student status’ for the current year.  Corrections can be made by Recording Student Actions
2. Confirm Homerooms and Advisors for students
3. Update year specific attributes if applicable.  Example: You may be tracking Student groups through attributes.
4. Update the Marking Period Info for the new year
5. Update the Daily Rotation
6. If you are using development, check development campaigns.  Make sure you have the next year Annual Fund created if applicable.  Note: Development fiscal years are independent of the school year and do not get updated through this Close of the Year Process.  This is only a reminder.  Annual Fund campaigns may be created at any time.
7. If you are using Development, run the Alumni Wizard for graduating students.
8. Update online donations to use new year campaigns/products.
9. Check the admissions academic year in School Info
    - Check the Apply Online Academic Years for your Inquiry/Apply Online
    - Follow Advancing Admissions Records for the next admissions year if applicable.
10. Delete/deactivate old Users.  Note: The User article has important information on handling staff users.
11. Remove Purchase Options for former students/faculty

Note: After Closing the School Year, every student’s grade next year will be the same as their current grade.  This is desirable because of how the (Re) Enrollment Contract works. The (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles should be looking at the grade next year field to determine which version of the (Re) Enrollment Contract is shown to the parents. If your (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles operate like this, then you should wait before Advancing Student Grades in the new year until you stop accepting contracts for the new academic year.

Note: The StudentOrInquirySelection widget's "Use Next Academic Year" setting is automatically switched from Yes to No. Ensure you verify and adjust this setting as needed.

Note: After Closing the School Year, the School Year is Closed checkbox will automatically be checked in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup.

Note: Review the End of School Year Checklist
 
Closing the School Year Close the Database Year Step
When you are ready, press the Finish button to proceed.  You will be presented with a page showing the current status of the closing process.  Each step is shown with a timer counting how long the process has been running.  So long as the timer is still counting, the Close of Year process is still running.  Note: This page can be refreshed/reloaded if you experience an internet interruption.  Note: If the page stays on “Please wait…” for more than 1 minute or if you reload the page and it indicates that the school year is not being closed, please contact PCR Support at 301-947-7380 ext 2.  Note:  Some steps may repeatedly start counting over again.  This is expected behavior when there is a lot of data to process.  Note:  Do not press the back button on your browser or close your browser.  Please wait patiently until you are directed to the last step to confirm that the close was successful.
 
Mark Type Marking Period
Mark Type Marking Period details provide means to record a configuration specific to each marking period. 

MP is the marking period.  Check off which marking period the mark type is applicable to.  For Semester based schools, Exam, Term, and Final Exam grades are only valid in marking periods 2 and 4, and  Final grades are only valid in marking period 4.

Weight is the weight for the mark type in that marking period.  

Calculation Type determines how the grade is calculated.  The options available are different for different Grade Type.  Every grade that is used as the basis for calculating another grade has a Reported Mark and an Average.  The Reported Mark may be a letter or a number, while the Average is always a number.  Depending on the Calculation Type involved, grades may be calculated on this Average or based on the average as it currently exists in the grade book.

    - Teacher Entered/Not Calculated means that nothing is calculated and the teacher must enter the grade.  

    - Current Gradebook means that the average is calculated for the current grade book grade.  

    - Average of Course Work and Exams calculates the grade based on the Average specified for the corresponding reported mark.  

    - Current Gradebook and Exams calculates the grade based on the current gradebook average and the exam average.  

    - Average of Terms and Final Exams calculates based on the reported averages.  

    - Current Gradebook and Final Exams calculates the grade based on the current gradebook average and exam average.  

    - Category MYP calculates an MYP grade for a category of the same name.  Courses with such a mark type are forced to have a category of the same name, with weight and assessment possible points matching the weight for the Mark Type.  

    - Reported Category MYP calculates the grade for the course according to the MYP Conversion Chart from the MYP categories.  

BC Trax Type determines if and how the grade is reported for to the British Columbia Ministry of Education.

BC Trax Month specifies what month is reported to the BC Ministry for the BC Trax Type.

Note: For CRS and XAM exports, the BC Trax Month is reported  as follows:
    - If there is an override on the student course, that month is reported.
    - If there is a month specified for a mark type associated with the course section and that course section meets for the mark type’s marking period, then the month associated with the mark type is reported.  Note: In the case of multiple associated mark types with months, the largest integer month will be reported.
    - If there is a month on the course, that month is reported.
    - If no month is specified, then 6 is reported for the month.
 
End of School Year Checklist
At the end of the school year, remember to check the following.  Note: Use the Closing the School Year to close the academic year for the school.  Note: The Closing the School Year Review Post-Close Checklist has additional items for the new school year.

For Admin:

    - Associating Mark Type Headings to Courses for any new courses.

For Admissions:

    - Check the admissions academic year in School Info
    - Check the Apply Online Academic Years for your Inquiry/Apply Online
    - Follow Advancing Admissions Records for the next admissions year if applicable.

For Development:

   - Check the campaigns.  Make sure you have the next year Annual Fund created if applicable.  Note: Development fiscal years are independent of the school year and do not get updated through this Close of the Year Process.  This is only a reminder.  Annual Fund campaigns may be created at any time.
    - Run the Alumni Wizard for graduating students.
    - Update the campaigns/products available for online donations.

For CMS Forms:

    - On the student selection page, check the setting for the “Use Next Academic Year” property to ensure it is correct.

For Summer Camps:

    - Add "Graduated - Summer" or "Withdrew - Summer" actions to all students.  This clears the summer student list in preparation for the next year. Note: Set up these actions to change the status in the summer division only.
    - Disable the Select Student and New Student pages by limiting them to users with the Website Full role.  This prevents new signups for the summer division until the next summer year is prepared.
Purchase Order Status
The Purchase Order status advances according to the following requirements.  When editing a purchase order’s line items, only the portion not already associated with AP Invoices can be edited.  When editing a PO line item that is partially allocated to AP invoices already, a new line item for the remainder is created.  The statuses are listed in their approximate chronological order.

Status PO Editing Requirements for Status
Pending Yes Initial status for all purchase orders.
Submitted For Approval Yes Some line items are awaiting approval by Budget Managers after the staff submits it for approval.
Approved Yes At least one line item is approved by the Budget Managers, and no other line items are waiting for approval.
Declined No All line items are disapproved by the Budget Managers.
Accepted Yes Finance officer accepts an Approved PO. Note: Only approved POs can be accepted.
Received Yes All line items are received.
Completed No further editing allowed. Voiding an invoice association resets the PO status allowing further editing of the line item. Status becomes Completed once all purchase order line items are associated with invoices, or it has been forced completed.

If an item is voided, the status is reset to Accepted or Received.
Canceled No further editing allowed Finance officer cancels the PO.
(Re) Enrollment Contract Invoice / Payment Setup
The various Invoice and Payment options for the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings are specified on the Contract > Settings page in the “Invoice / Payment Setup” section.

Submission Type determines whether the (Re) Enrollment Contract creates one or two invoices.  The reason you will typically choose one option over the other usually depends on how you want the payment term to work.  Will the payment term include the initial deposit, or not?  If not, then you would use the split invoice option.
    - Split Invoice creates an invoice for the deposit amount and a second invoice for the rest of the tuition and fees to be paid.  If you are using the Auto Post Invoice option, only the first (deposit) invoice is posted.  Note:  If you are specifying an Invoice For Date, both the deposit invoice and the contract invoice are issued on that date.  Note: With a split invoice, it is easier to handle a non-refundable deposit.  If the student decides not to attend, you can simply void the second invoice, and the deposit still pays the first invoice.
    - Single Invoice with Payment creates a single invoice for the entire tuition amount, including the deposit amount.  The deposit is just a payment against this invoice, so when the deposit is made, it partially pays the invoice.  Note: The payment term for the invoice should have the first payment be for the deposit amount due immediately.  Note: The invoice fiscal year is determined by the Invoice For Date setting which is typically set for the first day of your next fiscal year so that all revenue is reported for the next year.

Receivable Account is the Accounts Receivable account which is used by invoices and deposits.
 
Auto Post Invoices automatically posts the invoice after is has been created.  If you are using the “Split Invoice” option for Submission Type, only the deposit invoice is posted.  Note: If you are using Auto Post Invoices, particularly with a future Invoice For Date, make sure the fiscal year for that date is set up and open in Finance!

Charge Any Due Scheduled Payments includes any payments that are due today or overdue as part of the contract submission payment based on the invoice payment term.  This payment is in addition to any required deposit.

Hide Payment Schedule hides the payment schedule on the summary page and the pdf.  The payment schedule is based on the invoice’s payment term.

Pay by Check does not require a payment at the time of (Re) Enrollment Contract submission.  Instead, the parent agrees to mail a check or otherwise pay at a later time.
Echeck Payment Configuration allows parents to pay by Echeck using Automated Payment Processing.
CC Payment Configuration allows parents to pay by Credit Card using Automated Payment Processing.
Note: Automated Payment Processing includes information regarding the General Ledger accounts, Deposit, Unearned/Deferred, Convenience Fee, and other information.  To record Stored Payment Info for customer payments, specify the desired type for the Stored Payment Type in the Automated Payment Processing (Finance).
Note:  Different payment processors may accept only certain credit cards, or may/may not support ECheck payments.  The payment processor may also let you choose which credit cards or payment methods you accept.  Please contact your payment processor for support.

Test Mode is used to run the selected Payment Configuration in test mode.  This allows you to test the (Re) Enrollment Contract without actually accumulating charges.  Note:  Make sure to turn this off before you go live with the (Re) Enrollment Contract!  Note: Invoices and deposits will still be recorded in Finance.

Invoice For Date allows you to specify a specific date that the invoice is issued.  If this date is not specified, the current date is used for the issued date.  Typically you specify this date for the start of the next fiscal year.  The reason to do this is so that all revenue on the invoice is reported in the next fiscal year.  Note:  This setting is used in conjunction with the Unearned/Deferred Account to ensure that Accounts Receivable is not underreported between the initial deposit date and this Invoice For Date.  Note:  Make sure the fiscal year for the Invoice For Date is set up in Finance, or invoices cannot be created.

Deposit Invoice Internal Memo is the internal memo as it appears on the Deposit invoice.  This is applicable only for split invoices only.  If unspecified, the default value is "Deposit Invoice".

Contract Invoice Customer Memo is the customer memo as it appears on the invoices.  This memo shows on the customer statements and is used to clarify what the invoice is for.  Example: "Contract 2010/2011"

Contract Invoice Internal Memo is the internal memo as it appears on the Contract invoice.  If unspecified, the default value is "Contract Invoice".

Invoice Attribute is an attribute to associate with the (Re) Enrollment Contract invoices.  Note: (Re) Enrollment Contract invoices are identified in Finance > Contracts > Student Contracts by matching the Invoice Attribute for the (Re) Enrollment Contract to invoices with that same attribute.  Note:  You should have a new attribute each year for (Re) Enrollment Contract invoices.  If you reuse the attributes year to year, the software will not be able to properly distinguish which invoices are for which (Re) Enrollment Contract, and the totals in Finance > Contracts > Student Contracts will include invoices from multiple (Re) Enrollment Contract years.  Note: Additional Invoice Attributes are added by navigating to Finance > Maintenance > Customer Invoice Attributes.
(Re) Enrollment Contract Tuition, Fees, and Deposits
The tuition and fees for (Re) Enrollment Contract are entered as Finance > Products > Products.

Tuition is a product usually associated with a (Re) Enrollment Contract Text Control which does not give the user a choice to select an amount.  The total amount of the tuition is specified in the product amount.  The deposit amount is specified in the Deposit menu portion of the same product.  Note:  You can use a product type of Default or Deposit.  For the purpose of the (Re) Enrollment Contract, both product types work the same.

Fees are products associated with (Re) Enrollment Contract Check Box Controls, (Re) Enrollment Contract Radio Button Controls, (Re) Enrollment Contract Transportation Controls, and (Re) Enrollment Contract Transportation Multi Controls.  The user choices are the additional fees included in the total amount on the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  The deposit amount for the (Re) Enrollment Contract is adjusted if the product specifies a deposit amount.  Note: If you want the user to pay the entire amount with the deposit, you have the option to set up the product in the Finance Portal such that the amount of the product is 0, but the deposit amount is the amount you want the user to pay when submitting the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Typically, you would specify the full amount in the product amount and the deposit amount.

Note: If you have a fee and you want the user to pay a percentage of the fee with the deposit, set up the product in the Finance Portal such that the amount of the product is the total amount and the deposit amount is either the fixed amount you want the user to pay, or the percentage of the total amount that the user is to pay (the deposit amount would be less than or equal to 1 to specify a percentage payment).

The summary page at the end of the (Re) Enrollment Contract lists out the deposit amount for all products that are selected for the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Financial aid is included as a negative amount in the summary.  If the financial aid product specifies a portion to be applied to deposits, then that portion will be calculated and applied in the Deposit Summary.

The Charges Summary shows the total tuition amount and all of the fees that have been selected. The financial aid award is displayed as a negative amount. The deposit amount is included in the Charges Summary amount if Include Deposit in Charges Summary is selected in (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup.
(Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup
Most of the general (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings are specified on the Contract > Settings page in the “Application Setup” section.

Application Name is for internal purposes only and is used to identify one (Re) Enrollment Contract type and year from another.

Enrollment Year is the year for this (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Actions in the Enrollment Profile Options section are based on this year.  Important: If the Enrollment Year is not correct, do not continue modifying the (Re) Enrollment Contract.

Submit Contract Action is the action which is added to the student once the (Re) Enrollment Contract is submitted.  Note: The Enrollment Profiles also determines actions which are added upon (Re) Enrollment Contract submission.  The Submit Contract Action should only record that the (Re) Enrollment Contract has been submitted.  Changes to status and substatus should be handled by actions associated with the Enrollment Profiles.

Sign Contract Action is the action applied to the student record when creating the electronically signed version of the contract PDF.  This action will have the electronically signed PDF version of the (Re) Enrollment Contract as a file attachment.  Note:  This is only applicable if Use Electronic Signature is checked.

Not Enrolling Action is the action applied to the student record when the parent presses the “I/We do NOT wish to enroll” button.  Note: The Enrollment Profile specified in the Not Enrolling Profile also has actions which are added when a parent chooses not to re-enroll a student.

Not Enrolling Profile is the Enrollment Profile which determines the set of actions applied to student records when they choose not to re-enroll.

Skip Payment Action is an action that you can specify to allow payments to be skipped on a per-student basis.  You apply the action to the student prior to the (Re) Enrollment Contract being submitted.  Note: You can apply the action prior to the (Re) Enrollment Contract being started by the parent.  As long as the action is present for the (Re) Enrollment Contract’s Enrollment Year, then the payment is skipped.  Note: If stored payment type is specified on the automated payment processing for the Echeck Payment Configuration or the CC Payment Configuration, the parent is still asked for stored payment info even though no payment is required at the time of submission.  To allow the parent to skip recording  stored payment info setup as well, see Skip Stored Payment Action.

Skip Stored Payment Action is an action that you can specify to allow parents to skip providing stored payment information.  Note:  This is only applicable if a Stored PaymentType is specified in the automated payment processing for the Echeck Payment Configuration or the CC Payment Configuration.

Allow Resubmit allows a parent to resubmit a (Re) Enrollment Contract multiple times.  This is especially useful during testing.  Note: You still need to clean the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Options for your test student if you have made changes.  See (Re) Enrollment Contract Cleaning Options for Students.  Note: If the (Re) Enrollment Contract is set up to create invoices, new invoices are created every time you submit a (Re) Enrollment Contract.

Use Electronic Signature is used to allow your school to sign (Re) Enrollment Contracts electronically.  When checked, after the (Re) Enrollment Contract is submitted by the parent, a copy of the (Re) Enrollment Contract including an additional page with the electronic signature is created when you use the multi-action “Sign” in Finance > Contracts > Student Contracts.  Note:  Parents still need to electronically sign the (Re) Enrollment Contract whether Use Electronic Signature is checked or not.

Electronic Signature is the name of the school representative as it appears on the signed (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Note: This is only applicable if Use Electronic Signature is checked.

Signature Disclosure is the title of the school representative as it appears on the signed (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Note: This is only applicable if Use Electronic Signature is checked.

Households Status and Bill To Households determine which households are eligible to fill out a (Re) Enrollment Contract for a student. We recommend using the Bill To Households option.  Note:  If you choose the “Any” option for Households Status, you should limit the households by the Bill To Households.  If you choose the “Any” option for Bill To Households, you should limit the households by the Households Status.  

Culture determines how dates and numbers appear on the (Re) Enrollment Contract.

Currency Symbol determines the currency symbol appearing in front of the (Re) Enrollment Contract numbers.  Note: The payment processor determines which currency is actually used.  This is the currency symbol you should present on the (Re) Enrollment Contract.

Email on Error is an email address that we use to send error messages to in the event that an error occurs on the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Example:  Someone submits a (Re) Enrollment Contract and we cannot post the generated invoice because the fiscal year is not open.  The designated email address receives a message about this issue.

Show Deposit as one line shows only one “Deposit Total” when this is checked.  Otherwise, each product with a deposit shows as an individual line item.  Note: Part of the deposit might be paid by financial aid.  If you check this option, only the final “Deposit Total” is shown.
Example:  This is a sample comparing Show Deposit as one line being off or on.


Deposit Summary
K-4 Tuition $2200.00
Financial Aid -$200.00
Deposit Total $2000.00

Deposit Summary
Deposit Total $2000.00
Deposit Total $2000.00


Include Deposit in Charges Summary shows the deposit in the Charges Summary section of the contract as a negative amount.  This shows the parents what they owe after the deposit.  Note: If this is not checked, the deposit is only listed in the Deposit Summary.
Example:  This is a sample comparing Include Deposit in Charges Summary being off or on.  Note that the total shows what the remaining total will be after the deposit is paid.


Charges Summary
Tuition $20000.00
Total $20000.00

Charges Summary
Tuition $20000.00
Deposit -$2000.00
Total $18000.00

Note: If the deposit total and payment total are the same and the Include Deposit in Charges Summary setting is disabled, then the Charges Summary section will be hidden.

Allow Pay in Full provides an option for users to choose to pay the full contract amount upon submit.

Pass-Through to Forms presents a button to parents on the Thank You page allowing them to immediately proceed to the re-enrollment form.

Last Application Date determines the last day that a (Re) Enrollment Contract may be submitted.  This (Re) Enrollment Contract Setting should always be specified as it prevents parents from inadvertently submitting a (Re) Enrollment Contract for a previous academic year.

School Year is Closed determines if the school year has been closed for the database.  In particular, this setting determines whether the Next Year grade level or the Current Year grade level is used when assigning actions.  If the school year is not closed, then the next year grade level is used; otherwise, the current year grade level is used.  Example:  It is currently April of 2015 so the school year is not closed.  John is currently in grade 8 and will be grade 9 next year.  When John’s contract is submitted, the contract submitted action will have grade level 9 chosen since the school year is not closed.  Move ahead to August.  The school year was closed mid-July.  Now, when John submits his application, his current grade level will be used for the contract submitted action.  Note: This setting is automatically set when the Close School Year process is completed.  Next Year grade levels are copied to Current Year grade levels for students as part of closing the school year, which is why this setting is present in the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  Note: This setting also determines which Homeroom is shown in the student information.  If the setting is checked, the current year Homeroom is shown.  If the setting is unchecked, the next year Homeroom is shown.

PDF Font determines the font used in the (Re) Enrollment Contract PDF.  Note: The PDF generated by the contract only supports plain text.  Any additional markup in the text is cleaned on the PDF.  This includes (but is not limited to) cleaning bold, italic, underline, font sizes, html lists, html tables, and images.  Hyperlinks appear as plain text.

Time Zone must be specified to ensure timely scheduling of the (Re) Enrollment Contract emails.  This should be set to your school’s local time.

Student Header Attribute shows the comment associated with the specified attribute in the header of the contract along with the rest of the student’s information.  This allows a custom note per student to appear on the contract.
 
New Vendor Roles Announcement
Two new roles for working with Vendors are available.  Now, if a record is an activated vendor then editing of the record’s address and contact information is restricted to the FinanceAPVendor Full role across all modules.  In order to access the Finance - AP - Vendors menu, you must have one of the new roles.  With the initial release, all users having the FinanceAP Full or FinanceAP Read roles also received the corresponding FinanceAPVendor role to maintain compatibility with previous behavior.  The Roles Dictionary is updated accordingly.
 
Roles Dictionary
Roles are identifiers that give a user privileges to access different parts of the software. One person may have many roles associated with their user.  A “Full” role gives the user access to both view and modify information in the selected features, while a “Read” role only gives the user access to view the information in the selected features. 

Note:  If your school has not purchased specific features, then the roles to access those features may not be present either.

Listed below are the descriptions of all of the standard roles offered and what they allow the user to view or modify.  Note: You are able to create custom roles in the CMS website which you may apply to your users and use to limit access to custom pages within your CMS website.
Role Access
Actions Full, Actions Read These roles give access to Inquiry Actions, Student Actions, Student Attributes, Admissions Checklist, and Inquiry Evaluations. Note: You need roles granting access to a corresponding portal. Example: To access the Donor Track Actions in Development, you will need additional roles granting access to the Development portal. To access Student Health Actions, you will need additional roles granting access to the Health portal.
Admin Full, Admin Read These roles give access to the Admin portal. This includes access to students, attributes, households, teachers, homerooms, groups, assignments, and email history.
Admissions Evaluator This role gives access to the Admissions portal, and only provides limited access to portions of the Admissions > Evaluations menu. Note: This role is auto-calculated for a user when they are assigned as an Evaluator to an Inquiry under Admissions > Inquiry > Details > Evaluator.
Admissions Full, Admissions Read These roles Give access to the Admissions portal but do not include access covered by the Actions role (Inquiry Actions, Inquiry Forms, Inquiry Correspondence, and Test). Admissions Full role will also make the user available as an interviewer and have access to relevant email features and inquiry attributes.
Applicant This role is given to parent users who are in the process of applying through the apply online application. Note: This role is automatically applied to any user associated with a parent household having an inquiry record with a status other than "Copied".
ArchivalReports Read This role gives access to view the archived reports of students in the Admin portal.
Archiving Full This role gives access to the Archiving PDFs multi-action, Calculate Official Marks multi-action, the ability to edit or delete Archived PDFs from the database, Marking Period Info, GPA Settings, and Grade Conversion Chart.
Attendance Full, Attendance Read These roles add access to attendance and Attendance Full role gives access to relevant email features in the Admin portal.
CashRegister Full This role gives access as a Cash Register operator in the CMS website.
Comments Full, Comments Read These roles give access to the Report Card, Progress Report, and Interim comments in the Admin portal.
Contract Full, Contract Read These roles give administrative access to the (Re) Enrollment Contract. They give limited access to the Finance portal to allow for setting up contracts. Access includes Chart of Accounts, Customer Invoice Attributes, Products, Payment Terms, and Contracts.
DAT Full This role gives access to the DAT (Data Analytics Tool)
DBA Full, DBA Read Combined with other roles, these roles grant access to see, add, or modify options in drop-down boxes for those features you have full access to. Example: If a user has Admissions Full and DBA Full, they could add or modify dropdown items to admissions features only.
Delete Record This role gives access to delete health records in the Health portal and Households via multi-action.
Development Full, Development Read These roles give access to the Development portal.
Discipline Full, Discipline Read These roles add access to Discipline and Discipline Full role gives access to relevant email features in the Admin portal.
Faculty Full, Faculty Read These roles give access to the Teacher Portal.
Finance Full, Finance Read These roles give access to the Finance portal and viewing (Re) Enrollment Contracts in the Finance portal. Note: Additional roles are required to access specific portions of the finance portal such as the General Ledger. This role also gives access to add product attributes.
FinanceAccountMgr (Full, Read) Finance account managers will need this role in order to be assigned to accounts and to be able to view their accounts in Finance. The account managers DO NOT need the Finance Full or Finance Read role. The Finance Account Mgr Full role will allow the account managers to request a budget for their accounts.
FinanceAP Full, FinanceAP Read These roles give access to Accounts Payable portion of the Finance portal. You will need this along with Finance Full or Finance Read.
FinanceAPVendor Full, FinanceAPVendor Read These roles give access to vendors. Vendor biographical, address, and finance related information cannot be changed without the FinanceAPVendor Full role. You will need this along with a Finance Full or Finance Read role.
FinanceAR Full, FinanceAR Read These roles give access to Accounts Receivable portion of the Finance portal and FinanceAR Full role gives access to any relevant email features and customer attributes. You will need this along with Finance Full or Read.
FinanceBudget Full, FinanceBudget Read These roles give access to the Budget portion of the Finance portal. You will need this along with Finance Full or Read.
FinanceGL Full, Finance GL Read These roles give access to General Ledger portion of the Finance portal and allow you to post and void invoices and payments. You will need this along with Finance Full or Read.
FinancialAid Full, FinancialAid Read These roles give access to all functions within the Financial Aid portal and FinancialAid Full role gives access to any relevant email features.
Health Full, Health Read These roles give access to all functions within the Health portal and Health Full role gives access to any relevant email features.
Import This role gives access to use the import feature within each portal the user has access to. Example: If a user has Admin Full and Import, they would be able to perform any imports that are available in the Admin portal.
Marks Full, Marks Read These roles give access to Report Card, Progress, and Interim marks. They also give access to Historical Marks, Class Rank, and Honor Roll.
Parent This role gives access to the CMS Parent Portal. Note: This role is automatically applied to any user associated with a Parent household having a student with a status Enrolled for current year in any division. Note: Roles required to access a CMS page can be modified. The standard Parent Portal pages already require this role.
Parent NY This role can be used to give new families (with students enrolling in next year) limited access to the CMS Parent Portal. Note: This role is automatically applied to any user associated with a Parent household having a student with a status Enrolled for next year in any division. Note: Roles required to access a CMS page can be modified.
Phone Full This role gives access to the Home > Notification System menu option and to the "Text and Voice" option in the multi-action menu.
ReenrollmentForms Full This role gives administrative access to the (Re) Enrollment Forms.
Registrar Full, Registrar Read These roles give access to basic functions in the Registrar portal and Registrar Full role gives access to any relevant email features.
Scheduling Full, Scheduling Read These roles give access to all functions in the Scheduling portal.
Security Full, Security Read These roles give access to all functions with the Security portal including Roles, Access Codes, User Names, and Passwords for all PCR Educator portals. Security Full role also gives access to the phone/text configuration screen and user email features. Note: Security Full is necessary to access the Admin link on the CMS website.
Stored Payment Any portions of the Development and Finance Portals that are related to updating or using (ie processing payment) Stored Payments require users have this role.
Student This role gives access to the CMS Student Portal. Note: This role is automatically applied to any user directly associated with a student with a status Enrolled for current year in any division. Note: Roles required to access a CMS page can be modified. The standard Student Portal pages already require this role.
Student NY This role can be used to give new students (enrolling next year) limited access to the CMS Student Portal. Note: This role is automatically applied to any user directly associated with a student with a status Enrolled for next year in any division. Note: Roles required to access a CMS page can be modified.
Transport Read, Transport Full These roles give access to transportation information.
User This role is automatically applied to all users.
Website Full This role gives access to edit the Content on the CMS Website. Note: To have access to the Admin link your user must have the Security Full role.

Note: The roles that are automatically applied cannot be manually assigned or removed by users. They are automatically calculated and assigned to users to streamline access and permissions within the system.
Campus Basic Webinar 2022 - Part 1
This article is an index with timestamps for the topics covered in the following webinar:
Campus - Basic Webinar 2022 - Part 1

1. Intro - If you have questions, suggestions, or comments please email them to support@pcreducator.com
2. Home Page
    a. Recent Updates
    b. Update Account Information
    c. History of Updates
    d. Help Documents
    e. Bookmark Links
    f. Support Link to the Ticket System
        i. Live Chat
        ii. Email/Call Support
    g. Knowledge Base and Recent Articles
    h. Switching Finance Ledgers, School Divisions, and Scheduling School Year
3. Admin > Students
    a. Searching for Records
    b. Sorting
    c. Customizing
    d. "All Divisions"
    e. "Include All"
    f. Exporting Data
    g. Selecting Multiple Records
    h. Multi-actions
    i. Links and Popout Links
    j. Dashboards
        i. Adding Dashboards
        ii. Customizing Dashboards
        iii. Exporting Widgets
        iv. Renaming Widgets
    k. Switching Between Records
    l. "Selected Only" Checkbox
    m. Selecting / Unselecting All Records
    n. Record Details
    o. Navigating from Dashboard to Details
    q. Navigating from Details to Dashboard
4. Email
    a. "One Email per Student Household Combination"
    b. "One Email per Student"
    c. Email Fields and Types
    d. Editing Email Type Dropdown Options
    e. Other Email Fields
    f. Email Job Type
    g. Email Action Type
    h. Email Templates
    i. Add Email Fields
    j. Email Example
    k. Preview Email
    l. Test Email
    m. Schedule Email
    n. Merge Fields into Sender Email
    o. Save and Load Email Templates
    p. Send Email
    q. Review Sent Emails
Status/Substatus Calculation - Inquiry
Since inquiries may have different statuses and substatuses per school division and academic year, the inquiries’ current statuses and substatuses are automatically calculated based on the current set of actions, division, and action academic years.

The status/substatus is calculated from the most recent action occurring on or before today for the action academic year.  An action scheduled for a future date does not affect the status/substatus of the inquiry until the date occurs.  The status/substatus further depends on which school divisions the action is associated with.

If an action that modifies the status/substatus of an inquiry record is deleted, the status/substatus is updated based on the most current status/substatus
modifying actions for that academic year.

Note: Unlike for Status/Substatus Calculation - Student, status/substatus is not inherited to the next academic year.  Each academic year is self-contained.  Further, the Anticipated Close Date has no bearing on the admissions status/substatus.

Note: If an Action’s status or substatus is modified or if an Action is associated or disassociated with a School Division, it may take up to 24 hours for all statuses to recalculate.
Admissions Status by Division Announcement 4
The Admissions Status by Division is planned for release this weekend.
Admissions Status by Division Announcement 3
In preparation for the upcoming release in the Admissions Status by Division Announcement, we are adding actions which will cause the status to remain consistent after the update based on the current admissions status.  These actions should be ignored, and are only intended to assist with the transition to the new update.  Review Admissions Status by Division Announcement 2 to review any differences that might still remain between the current status of your inquiries and applicants and what the statuses will become.

Note:  These actions are added to a new action type category “PCR Admissions Update” with an action name beginning with “PCR Fix”.  The modified name on the action is “PCR Admissions Update”

Note: Actions will only be added in divisions that use admissions-specific actions (Inquiry Actions) that are status/substatus modifiers.
New Feature: Advanced Security Enhancements
To ensure PCR Educator stays ahead of the latest security threats, we are updating our security platform with a variety of enhancements for managing customers’ passwords. As a result of these changes, upon release, all users will be required to change their passwords. No actions need to be taken by our customers, as the system will automatically prompt users to change their passwords.
FAQ: How to Withdraw a Student?
1. Archive any reports such as report cards and progress reports.  Note: Review Archiving Official Report for more information.
2. Set up an Enrollment Profile that assigns a Withdrew action to the student.  Note: This step only needs to be done once.  Note: Review Status/Substatus Calculation - Student for examples of Enrollment Profiles.
3. Apply the Enrollment Profile that you created in step 2. Note: Review Applying Enrollment Profile to Students in Bulk for more information.
4. Migrate the student to history.  Note: Review Migrating Single Student Current Year Marks to History for more information.
 
Admissions Status by Division Announcement 2
Prior to the change to the Admissions Status/Substatus calculation, please review how the status and substatus will change after the update.  To review the change:
1. Navigate to the DAT
2. Under the PCR “(Imported)” category, open the DAT report named “[Admissions] Admissions Status Transition”  Note: If you have a dedicated Admissions division, consider adding a condition to limit the results only to the Admissions division.
3. Review the results.  To resolve differences in the status and substatus for a record, ensure that the actions for the record have an appropriate academic year and action date.  The calculation is similar to Status/Substatus Calculation - Student except the statuses are per academic year and are not inherited forward to new academic years.  Note: The status and substatus for this calculation are based on differences between the inquiry record’s academic year, and the resulting status/substatus after the eventual update.


Here are some reasons that the status or substatus may not match:
- The academic year of the inquiry record is different from the academic year of the most recent actions on the record.
- There is a more recent action preempting the desired status.
- Someone forced the status/substatus to change by adding and then deleting an action.
 
Admissions Status by Division Announcement
Soon, we will change the Status/Substatus Calculation - Inquiry to calculate in a similar manner to Status/Substatus Calculation - Student.  Just as with students, the status and substatus will be per division depending on the action associations to divisions.  There will be two major differences:
- Instead of a current and next year status, admissions will have a status per admissions year.  
- The status and substatus will not automatically inherit from one admissions year to the next.
 
DAT - Marks Data Structure
The diagram describes the relationships between the Marks tables.
DAT - Assessments Data Structure
The diagram describes the relationships between the Assessments tables.
DAT - Comments Data Structure
The diagram describes the relationships between the Comments tables.
DAT - Comment Bank Data Structure
The diagram describes the relationships between the Comment Bank tables.
FAQ: What information does the Permanent Student Record’s ‘Student Record Inclusions’ section include?
When printing the ‘Permanent Student Record’ PDF Report, the ‘Student Record Inclusions’ section includes two types of information:

-Any Action with a Category of ‘PSR Student Record Inclusions’

-Health Issues with a Health type of ‘Alert’

You may need to create the ‘PSR Student Record Inclusions’ Action Category from the Admin > Maintenance > Action Categories page. You can enter Health Issues and their types from the Health > Maintenance > Health Issues page.
Log4j vulnerability
PCR Educator is unaffected by the Log4j vulnerability.
Recording Vendor Payments in Bulk
You can record vendor payments in bulk as a multi-action either by Recording Vendor Payments from Vendors or by Recording Vendor Payments from Invoices.

1. Select an option in Group Invoices By dropdown.
    - If “Address” is chosen, the system will generate one payment for each “Pay to Address” specified on each vendor’s invoices. In other words, if one vendor has 10 invoices, where 2 invoices are associated with “A” address and 8 invoices are associated with “B” address, the system will generate two payments. Moreover, this option will generate one check for a maximum number of 10 invoices. For instance, if a vendor has 15 invoices all associated with the same address, the system will generate two payments.
    - If “Invoice” is chosen, the system will generate one payment per invoice. It will generate ten payments for the first example and fifteen payments for the second example.
2. Max Invoices Per Check controls how many invoices may be associated with each check.  By default, a maximum of 10 invoices is associated with each check.  If your checks do not have a preprinted check number, you may choose Maximum instead, and up to 999 invoices may be associated with each check.  When printing checks, additional pages are printed for each 10 invoices.  The additional pages show all the same information for the check except the spelled out amount (PaymentAmountPhrase merge field) is replaced with *****VOID*****.  Note:  If your checks have preprinted check numbers, you must use a maximum of  10.
3. Verify Batch Total Amount that refers to the total amount for all payments combined. It will automatically populate based on the balance remaining on open invoices.
4. Verify Starting Check # that refers to the check number that you are starting with. It will automatically populate to the next available number but you have the option to override it to a number that is not yet used.
5. Verify Batch Number that is used to group all payments that were created together. It will automatically populate to the next available number.
6. Enter other payment details and click Apply Defaults.
7. In the Batch Entry screen, you have the option to override default values. For example, if you are paying ten invoices and they are all paid from the same account except for one invoice, in this screen you can update that one invoice to be paid from a different account.
8. Click Submit.
AP Check Register Print Update
The Check Register Print multi-action is updated to print checks in the following manner:
- If the check has more than 10 invoices/credits associated, additional pages are created with the same check number to generate stubs for the additional invoices/credits.  Up to 999 additional invoices/credits per check are supported.  Note:  If your check has pre-printed check numbers, continue to limit the number of invoices/credits to 10, or you may ruin a check run.  See Recording Vendor Payments in Bulk for more details.
- The order of the invoices of the check stub has been changed to Post Date, Invoice Number, Invoice Id (a substitute for order of entry).  Previously it was ordered by Post Date only.
 
Edit Filter Announcement
Due to popular demand, we’ve added a beta version for editing filters.  It may not work for all filters, but we will be expanding support for more types of filters over time.
Importing New Records - Evaluations

Follow the steps for Importing New Records

Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Person_Id Yes, if Person_First_Name, Person_Last_Name, and Person_Birthdate are not specified. Identifier “123” Id matches either and Inquiry Id or Student Id
Person_Type Yes Lookup “Student” or “Inquiry”  
Academic_Year Yes Data “20212022”  
Evaluation_Type Yes Lookup “Applicant Interview” See Configuring Evaluation for more info.
Evaluation_Site No Datasource Data “Library” Admissions > Evaluations > Evaluation Types > Edit > Evaluation Sites
Recd_Date Yes Data “1/1/2000” Date of when the scores are received.
Taken_Date Yes Data “1/1/2000” Date of when the evaluation is taken.
Comment No Data “abc”  
Grade_Level_Id Yes, if Grade_Level_Code is not specified Identifier “1” Security > Maintenance > Grade Levels.
 Grade_Level_Code  No Lookup "01"  Security > Maintenance > Grade Levels.
Person_First_Name Yes, if Person_Id is not specified. Lookup “John”  
Person_Last_Name Yes, if Person_Id is not specified. Lookup “Doe”  
Person_Birthdate Yes, if Person_Id is not specified. Lookup “1/1/2000”  
Section1_Name No Lookup “Academic Assessment” See Configuring Action (Evaluation Sections) for more info.
Section1_Score_Topic Yes, if Section1_Name is specified. Lookup “Applicant Score” See Score Type for more info.
Section1_Score1 Yes, if Section1_Name is specified. Data “5”  
File_Name No  File Name "Test1.pdf"  The name of the file which corresponds to the row.

Note: Section Name, Section Score Topic, and Section Score fields are repeated to allow additional evaluation score entry.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Our office will be closed on Thursday, November 25th in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will resume our normal business hours starting Friday, November 26th.
Importing New Records - Staff
Follow the steps for Importing New Records
Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Teacher_Id No Key ID Field “1234”  
Teacher_Last_Name Required Data “Smith”  
Teacher_First_Name Required Data “Jim”  
Teacher_Office No Data “US01”  
Alternate_Teacher_Id No Data “A1b3”  
Teacher_Sex No Datasource Data “Male” Admin > Staff > Details - Gender
Teacher_Active Yes Boolean  "1"  
Employment_Status No Datasource Data “Full Time” Admin > Staff > Details - Employment Status
Lunch_Table No Datasource Data “Table A” Admin > Staff > Details - Lunch Table
Teacher_Ethnic_Group No Datasource Data “African American” Admin > Staff > Details - Ethnic Group
Hired_Date No Data “12/31/2021”  
Phone_Number No Data “(123)-456-7890  
Household_ID Required if Household_Name is not unique Identifier “1234”  
Household_Name Required if Household_ID is not specified Lookup “Smith Family”  
Importing New Records - Student Courses

Follow the steps for Importing New Records

Field Required Type Sample Value Notes
School_Year Yes Datasource Data “0” Values are either Current Year (0) or Next Year (1). 
Student_Id Required if Student_Last_Name, Student_First_Name, and Birthdate aren’t specified Identifier “1234”  
Student_Last_Name Required if Student_Id is not specified Lookup “Smith”  
Student_First_Name Required if Student_Id is not specified Lookup “Bob”  
Birthdate Required if Student_Id is not specified Lookup “12/31/2000”  
Course_Id Required if Course cannot be determined from Course_Name/Short_Course_Name combination Identifier “1234”  
Course_Name Required if Course_Id is not specified Lookup “Algebra1”  
Short_Course_Name Required if Course_Id is not specified  Lookup “Alg1”  
Section Yes Datasource Data “01” Values can be found found in Scheduling > Courses > Details > Sections
Semester Yes Datasource Data Enter “1” for Semester 1/Trimester 1, “2” for Semester 2/Trimester 2, and “3” for Trimester 3.  
AP Aging Report Update

The "Accounts Payable Aging Report" has been retired in favor of the new "A/P Aging" and "A/P Aging Summary" reports.
 
Standard Filter: [PCR Imported] - Development Mail Recipients
One of the following roles is required to use this DAT Filter: Development Full, Development Read

This DAT Filter finds all Contacts eligible for mailings.  There must be at least one living contact with an address.  They must allow solicitation and mailings.
Donor Action
A Donor Action is an Action that captures activity for a Contact. A user must have Development Full and Actions Full roles to create a Donor Action.

Note: To create an Action, follow the steps of Configuring Action.
Note: When a donor action called “Alert” is added to a Contact record, it shows on all pages in the Contact > Details section. This is a great way to track important notes that should be easily accessible.
 
Admin Action Update
PCR Educator is happy to announce another feature update!
 
All Alert donor actions added to Development contacts will now show on all pages in the Contact > Details section.
 
With this increase in visibility across pages, the Alert action is now an even greater way to keep track of important notes! 
DAT Filter
A DAT Filter is a Data Analytics Tool (DAT) feature that allows you to create comprehensive search conditions to restrict the data you are working with. These filters can be used in:

- a DAT Query

- a list of entities (such as the list of students, courses, or households)

- CMS portal as a mechanism to restrict the visibility of certain elements

- Automated Notifications as a mechanism to determine  the list of recipients

- (Re)Enrollment Contracts and Forms to determine the list of eligible households and students
 
A DAT Filter is similar to a DAT Query since it is constructed in a similar fashion where the initial table is predetermined and then you add conditions and table joins. The main difference is that in case of a DAT Query the output is data in a list or chart format, whilea DAT filter, is a comprehensive mechanism for limiting data.

Note: DAT Filter is a recursive concept as each new DAT Filter may consist of several DAT Filters. 

Note: You have the option for Saving DAT Filters for reuse.

Note: DAT Filters prefixed with “[PCR Imported]” are created by PCR Educator. Feel free to use them as a reference or save them as a new DAT Filter with a new name. We will often update existing and create new queries with the “[PCR Imported]” naming convention - all these filters are removed and replaced during an update. To request a standard DAT filter that you feel may benefit other schools as well, please email support@pcreducator.com.  Note: These filters are for reference only.  Do not use these filters as a setting.  Instead, save a copy of the filter and use the copy instead. 

Follow the steps for Initializing DAT Filter to use DAT Filters.

Here is a comprehensive index of the articles for DAT:

DAT Filter
-Initializing DAT Filter
--Initializing DAT Filter from DAT Query
--Initializing DAT Filter from List
--Adding DAT Filter Condition
--Creating New DAT Filter
---DAT Query - Step 1 - Adding Conditions
---DAT Query - Step 1 - Connecting Tables
---Managing DAT Filter Conditions 
-Saving DAT Filter
-Managing DAT Filter
--Deleting DAT Filter
-Reviewing Existing DAT Filter
-DAT Query and DAT Filter Common Mistakes
Contract Payment Update
PCR Educator’s latest feature request has been added!

Users now have the option to pay in full on all Contracts. Previously, this feature was limited only to Deposit payments. To enable the new feature, simply go to Contract Settings and check the “Allow Pay in Full” box.

We hope you find this addition beneficial! Please keep the feature requests coming; we are always looking for ways to improve our service.
All Re-Enrollment Links Have been Sent
All applicable schools should now have received their Re-Enrollment Contract link.

For a thorough breakdown of the entire process, see Part 1 and Part 2 of our Enrollment Contract webinar.

Additionally, here’s a handy checklist to look over before making your contracts live.

If your school has not yet received their new Re-Enrollment Contract link, or if you have a question that wasn’t answered in the content above, please reach out to us today! 
When to expect your school's re-enrollment contract link
We have begun sending out Re-Enrollment Contract links today! Expect to receive your school's link within two business days.

Before you make your school's contract live, we recommend checking out our Re-Enrollment Contract Application Guide in the Knowledge Base.

Still have questions or concerns? Get in touch with us today!
Creating DAT Filters
We have released a new video demonstrating PCR Educator’s powerful DAT tool!

This video covers the basics of creating several custom DAT filters. See it on our YouTube channel HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe!

If you have any additional questions that weren’t covered in this video, please reach out today!
Your school's re-enrollment contract links are on the way!
In the coming weeks, we will begin sending out your school’s Re-Enrollment Contract links, along with documentation and videos to help you through the implementation process. 

We encourage you to read over our article on Enrollment Contract Pre-Setup, which will have your school ready to take on the coming process with ease. 

If your school doesn’t currently use PCR Educator’s Enrollment module, here’s a quick look at the powerful system your school could be taking advantage of!
 
Notification Trigger
A notification trigger is a mechanism for sending automated emails when certain conditions are met.Notification triggers are used for various purposes, such as billing reminders, birthday notifications, and announcements.  A full list of notification trigger types is found below.

Note: Notification trigger emails go out between midnight at 7 am local time.  The exceptions are the Purchase Order Update and User Website Forums triggers, which go out right away.
Notification Trigger Types:

      - Notification Trigger - Action Reminder (Admissions)
      - Notification Trigger - Birthday (Household/Contact/Customer)
      - Notification Trigger - Customer Balance Low
      - Notification Trigger - Customer Billing Reminder
      - Notification Trigger - Inquiry Missing Actions
      - Notification Trigger - Donor Pledge Payment Reminder
      - Notification Trigger - Purchase Order Update
      - Notification Trigger - Student Drop Box Teacher Feedback
      - Notification Trigger - Student Gradebook Average
      - Notification Trigger - Student Gradebook Score
      - Notification Trigger - Student Missing Assessment
      - Notification Trigger - Student
      - Notification Trigger - User Website Announcements
      - Notification Trigger - User Website Forums

 Notification Trigger Settings:

Category: notification trigger type

Require Opt In: when unchecked, indicates that all eligible recipients receive emails by default without subscribing. If the setting is checked, users have to subscribe to receive the triggered email.

Is Active: Determines if the notification trigger is in use.

Name: Name of the notification trigger.
      - This name needs to be a unique notification name.
      - The name is shown to users for subscription purposes.

Eligible Recipients Filter (User): The DAT Filter that determines eligible users. This filter needs to be created in the Security module on the Manage Users page. 

      - Recipient / Data Relationship: This setting determines who receives the notification.
      - Action/Assigned To: The recommender receives a notification.
      - Advisor/Advisee: The advisor receives a notification about the student.
      - Contact/Self: The contact receives a notification.
      - Customer/Invoice: The customer receives a notification about their invoice.
      - Parent/Child: The parent receives a notification about their child.
      - Parent/Self: The parent receives a notification.
      - Purchase/Order: All users involved with the purchase order receive a  notification.
      - Student/ Self: The student receives a notification.
      - User/Self: The user receives a notification.

Merge Filter: Determines eligible records. Example: for Customer Balance Low, your merge filter may use criteria that the low balance must be within a specified range. Then, only users who have qualifying balances are included in the automated email. 

      - Action: This DAT Filter is configured in the Admissions > Actions > Email screen.
      - Customer Invoice: This DAT Filter is configured in the Finance > AR > Customer Invoices > Email screen.
      - Household: This DAT Filter is configured in the Admin > Households > Email screen.
      - Person: This DAT Filter is configured in the Admin/Development > Persons > Email screen.
      - Student: This DAT Filter is configured in the Admin > Students > Email screen.
      - User: This DAT Filter is configured in the Security > Users > Email screen.

Email Template: The email that is sent.

      - Email Template (Action): This email template is configured in the Admissions > Actions > Email screen.
      - Email Template (Customer Invoice): This email template is configured in the Finance > AR > Customer Invoices > Email screen.
      - Email Template (Household): This email template is configured in the Admin > Households > Email screen.
      - Email Template (Person): This email template is configured in the Admin/Development > Persons > Email screen.
      - Email Template (Purchase Order): This email template is configured in the Finance > AP > Purchase Order > Email screen.
      - Email Template (Student): This email template is configured in the Admin > Students > Email screen.

Email From: From email on the email.

From Name: From name on the email

From Prefix: This is the part of the e-mail address that appears before the @ symbol (ex. For the email address support@pcreducator.com, the prefix is “support.”

Reply to Name: Reply To Name on the email.

Send Rate determines how often the email is sent.

Days to Prevent Followup determines the number of days after a follow-up email is sent.
Creating Notification Trigger
Security Full role is required to create a notification trigger.

      1. Navigate to Security > Notifications > Notification Triggers.
      2. Click New.
      3. Populate Notification Settings.  For more information about Notification Settings, see Notification Trigger.
      4. In the Visible for Roles setting, specify security roles that users must have to view the email that is sent.  Note: This setting allows users to access emails from the administrative end.
      5. Click Save.
 
Notification Trigger - Action Reminder (Admissions)
Action Reminder trigger generates emails for recommenders reminding them to submit inquiry recommendations.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.
Notification Trigger - Birthday (Household/Contact/Customer)
Birthday (Household/Contact/Customer) trigger generates emails for  a household, contact, or customer on their birthday.  This trigger is particularly useful to send birthday emails to alums.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.
Notification Trigger - Customer Balance Low
The purpose of the Customer Balance Low trigger generates automatic emails to customers when their balance is low.  This trigger is particularly useful to remind customers when they have a low lunch balance to upload funds to their accounts.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

Select the appropriate Ledger

Posted Type refers to transactions that are counted in the customer balance. If Posted is selected, then only posted transactions are counted in the customer balance to determine whether it is low.  If Unposted is selected, then both posted and unposted transactions are taken into account in the customer balance to determine whether it is low.

Balance Due At Least determines how low a customer’s balance needs to be for the email to go out.  Note: An overall customer balance of a negative amount means that the customer has a credit.  Example: If you set the Balance Due At Least setting to -10, it means that an email will go out if the customer has a credit of $10 or less.
Notification Trigger - Customer Billing Reminder
Customer Billing Reminder trigger generates automatic reminders to customers when their AR invoice is due.  

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

Between _ and _ days before payment due determines the number of days 

If the Posted Only setting is checked, then emails go out only for posted AR invoices that are due.  If the setting is unchecked, emails go out for both posted and unposted AR invoices that are due.
 
Notification Trigger - Inquiry Missing Actions
Inquiry Missing Actions trigger generates emails when items on the Admissions Checklist are not complete. This is a very popular trigger because it helps to ensure that all applicants are reminded about any missing items. 

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger. 

Note: Only the Admissions Checklist Actions that are part of an active Admissions Checklist and are not marked as “Hide From Checklists” show up in the email template.

Custom Settings

Select Admissions Division.  See School Division for more information.
 
Notification Trigger - Donor Pledge Payment Reminder
Donor Pledge Payment Reminder trigger sends automatic email reminders when a pledge payment is due.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

In the Days Before Pledge Due setting, specify the number of days before the donation due date the email reminder goes out.
Notification Trigger - Purchase Order Update
Purchase Order Update trigger sends an automatic email reminder when a purchase order is updated.  The email goes to all parties involved with the purchase order, such as the account manager and the user who submits the order.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.
 
Notification Trigger - Student Drop Box Teacher Feedback
Student Drop Box Teacher Feedback trigger sends an automatic email reminder to the parent and/or the student when a teacher provides feedback on an assignment through the dropbox feature.  

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.
Notification Trigger - Student Gradebook Average
Student Gradebook Average trigger sends an automatic notification when a student’s gradebook average meets the criteria defined in Custom Settings.  This trigger is particularly useful to notify a parent when their child’s gradebook average drops below a certain percentage.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

In Compare dropdown, select an option on how you want to compare the student’s average to the specified To Average.
Notification Trigger - Student Gradebook Score
Student Gradebook Score trigger sends an automatic notification when a student’s gradebook assessment score meets the criteria defined in Custom Settings.  This trigger is particularly useful to notify a parent when their child’s gradebook assessment score drops below a certain percentage.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

In Compare dropdown, select an option on how you want to compare the student’s average to the specified To Percent.
 
Notification Trigger - Student Missing Assessment
The Student Missing Assessment trigger sends an automatic email reminder to the parent and/or the student when a student has not turned in an assessment past the due date.  

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.
 
Notification Trigger - Student
The Student trigger is the most versatile trigger and can be used for thousands of different scenarios!  You can simply use the combination of Eligible Recipients Filter (User) and Merge Filter (Student) to determine who qualifies to receive an email and then use the Email Template (Student) to send out the desired email.  Example: To send an email reminder to families who have not submitted forms, you can specify a DAT Filter in the Merge Filter (Student) that checks for students who do not have the Forms Submitted action.  And if they fit your DAT Filter, you can send them a custom email that you can select on the Email Template (Student) field.

Here are some scenarios where you can use the Student trigger to send automatic notifications:

     - Missing Forms
      - Missing Contracts
      - Birthday Notification
      - Discipline Notification
      - Parent Teacher Conference Reminder
      - Missing Immunizations 
      - Class Selection Reminder 

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.
 
Notification Trigger - User Website Announcements
The User Website Announcement trigger sends an automatic notification when a news item and/or calendar event is posted in the CMS Portal.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

Announcement Type determines if the email is sent for news items, events, or both.

Eligible Content Types determine for which content types the notification is sent.

In the text editor, enter the announcement.  Note: You can use the Add Fields dropdown to add custom fields.
Notification Trigger - User Website Forums
The User Website Forums trigger sends an automatic notification when a message on a forum/discussion board is posted.

To create a Notification Trigger, follow the steps of Creating Notification Trigger.

Custom Settings

Eligible Content Types determine for which content types the notification is sent.

In the text editor, enter the announcement.  Note: You can use the Add Fields dropdown to add custom fields.
 
Sending Notification to Staff
Phone Full role is required to send text/voice notifications.  Actions Full role is required to send email notifications.

Basic information for staff such as staff name, employment status, and hired date resides on the staff record.  More in-depth information such as the home address, mobile number, personal email address, etc. lives in the staff’s household record.

To send email notifications to staff’s user email, you can navigate to Admin > Staff and use the Email option in the multi-action menu.  For more information, follow the steps of Sending Notification - Email.

To send text/voice notification to the staff’s office phone (which resides on the staff record), you can follow the steps of Sending Notification - Combined and select a filter from the Teacher Filter dropdown.

In most cases, however, you may want to send voice/text/email notifications to Staff’s personal info such as to their mobile number.  In that case, you will need to create a household person filter that pulls the staff information from their household record.  To create such a filter, follow these steps:

      1. Navigate to Admin > Persons and click the filter icon.
      2. Connect the Individual Contacts table to Users to the Teachers table.  In the Teachers table, you can add conditions based on employment status or any other field to filter for desired teachers.  Save the DAT Filter. Note: This filter only works for staff who have user accounts in the system.
      3. When you apply the filter, you will see appropriate records that fit the filter.  You can then select them and go to the multi-action > Text and Voice option to send the notification.  For more information about the Text and Voice option, review Sending Notification - Text and Voice.
 
Sending Notification - Combined
Phone Full role is required to send notifications from the Home screen. This method of sending notifications allows initiating email and text/voice notifications at the same time. It may be a preferred approach for immediate or urgent situations when it’s desirable to quickly reach a large group of people. 

Follow the steps below: 

      1. Navigate to the Home screen
      2. From the Send to Filters dropdowns, select filters for records to whom you want to send notifications.
            a. Household DAT Filter is created in the Admin > Households screen.
            b. Student DAT Filter is created in the Admin > Students screen.
            c. Teacher DAT Filter is created in the Admin > Staff screen.  Note: The Teacher option sends emails to the email address associated with the Teacher’s user account and sends voice/text messages to the office phone found in Admin > Staff > Details screen.  To send notifications to the staff’s household record please follow Sending Notification to Staff..
      3. Select Send Options.  Note: If you select the “Voice - Pre-recorded Message” option, make sure to upload an .mp4 recording in the Message section.
      4. Select Email/Phone Types and/or Fields.  Note: Email/Phone Types and Fields are applicable to emergency contacts as well.  Example: If a household has emergency contacts with the “Mobile” phone specified and you select the “Mobile” type, then emergency contacts will also receive the message on that number.  If you may not wish to send notifications to emergency contacts, you may want to consider using Email/Phone Fields and select Parent-specific emails/phones only.
      5. Compose your message.  You may want to consider saving a template so that you can use it in the future.
      6. Select roles that are allowed to view notification analytics for the notification you are sending.
 
Ask Action
An Ask Action refers to an Action that captures activity for an Ask. A user must have Development Full and Actions Full roles to create an Ask Action.

Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
Note: To create an Action, follow the steps of Configuring Action.
 
Ask Attribute
An Ask Attribute is a custom field to track information for an Ask.  Development Full role is required to create an Ask Attribute.

Note: To create an Attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.
Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
 
Ask Track
An Ask Track is a Moves Management Track assigned to an Ask.

Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
Note: To create a Moves Management Track for the Ask, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
 
Ask Track Action
An Ask Track Action refers to an Ask Action that captures activity for an Ask Track. A user must have Development Full and Actions Full roles to create an Ask Action.

Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
Note: To create an Action, follow the steps of Configuring Action.
Ask Team
An Ask Team refers to a group of people that are designated to work on a selected Ask. Typically these team members are volunteers who don’t work in the development office, but assist in connecting with a donor.

Note: To create an Ask Team, follow the steps of Creating Ask Team.
Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
 
Creating Ask Team
Development Full role is required to create an Ask Team.

      1. Navigate to Development > Asks > Details > Team.
      2. Select a Team Member from the Member dropdown.  Note: All Contact records will show in this dropdown.
      3. Select a Member Type and click Add New Member.

Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
 
Ask
An Ask is a system that can help by streamlining the fundraising process in order to engage new and renewing donors in a meaningful way and generate increased revenueAsks allow you to identify potential donors and then lead them through Identification, Qualification,Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship.. 

Contact refers to the Donor/Organization associated with the Ask. Note: Each ask is directly related to one contact, which means that every ask only has one contact.  However, a single contact may have many asks for different campaigns and funds.

Donor Ask Rating categorizes asks to distinguish different properties  Example: Rating 1 may mean that you expect the selected ask to result in a high dollar amount, so identifying it as rating 1 may help you to allocate more resources to it. Ratings are customizable.  Click the Donor Ask Rating hyperlink to add a new rating in the dropdown.  DBA Full role is needed to add a new rating.

Probability refers to the likelihood (out of 100 percent) that the selected ask results in a donation.

Assigned To determines the user in the system who manages the Ask.  This user is automatically assigned to tasks related to this ask and manages to-do items.  A user must have the Development Full or Development Read role to be assigned an Ask.

Note: To create a new Ask, follow the steps of Creating Ask.
Note: To create a Moves Management Track for the Ask, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.

An Ask typically includes:

      - Ask Action
      - Ask Team
      - Ask Attribute
      - Ask Track
      - Ask Track Action

Once an ask is completed, Ask Result is recorded.  Note: To record ask results, follow the steps of Recording Ask Result.
Creating Ask
Development Full role is needed to create an Ask.

There are two ways to create an Ask.

      1. Creating Ask - Individual
      2. Creating Ask - Bulk

Note: To record an Ask Result, follow the steps of Recording Ask Result.
Note: To create a Moves Management Track for the Ask, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
 
Creating Ask - Individual
      1. Navigate to Development > Asks and click New. Note: You can also create an individual Ask by going to the Development > Contacts screen and clicking the “New” link under the Ask column.  
      2. Enter Ask Information.
      3. Click Save.
      4. Assign Ask Actions to the Ask if you want to track information related to the ask such as phone calls, emails, or notes.

Note: To record an Ask Result, follow the steps of Recording Ask Result.
Note: To create an Ask for multiple records, follow the steps of Creating Ask - Bulk.
Note: To create a Moves Management Track for the Ask, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
 
Creating Ask - Bulk
      1. Navigate to Development - Contacts.
      2. Select records for which you want to create an Ask.
      3. Navigate to multi-action > Asks. 
      4. Enter Ask information. Note: At this stage, you are entering default values.
      5. Click Next and review/modify Ask information for each contact.
      6. Click Finish.

Note: To record an Ask Result, follow the steps of Recording Ask Result.
Note: To create an Ask for an individual record, follow the steps of Creating Ask - Individual.
Note: To create a Moves Management Track for the Ask, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
 
Moves Management Track
Moves management is a cultivation process in which fundraisers manage a series of steps, known as moves, for each prospect. Although these steps vary depending on the individual prospect, each step "moves" the prospect from attention, to interest, to desire to give. Fundraisers continually move prospects toward their next gift.

Each "move" (Action) represents a separate contact that your organization had with the prospect.  These moves include emails, phone calls, letters, faxes, face-to-face conversations, and planned events. Most moves don't involve asking the prospect to make a gift. Instead, they cultivate an affinity for your organization. Example: you might discuss community issues, with a prospect at a dinner party, and of the issues is the focus of your organization. During a dinner party, you don't ask the prospect for a gift, but you do build a relationship. You want to make an impression on the prospect regarding your organization or a giving opportunity.

Moves management track defines a series of actions or moves that should result in a donation. Moves management tracks provide structure and organization by automatically suggesting and scheduling next actions (moves) based on previous steps. Using Moves Management Tracks can be compared to finite state machines where each step directs the next action. Some states can represent loops. For instance, once you qualified a donor for major donation (i.e. ‘Qualification - Positive’), you may have the next action of ‘Contact Email/Phone’. This is an example of a loop action that will continue rescheduling itself at predefined intervals such as every 3 weeks, so that you can continue reaching out to the potential donor until you hear anything back or decide to finish the track due to no response. 

Moves management tracks can be associated with donors or with asks. When associated with asks, moves management tracks assist you in cultivating the ask as they drive the direction of interactions with your prospective donors. 

Note: To create a new track, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
Note: To assign a record to a new track, follow the steps of Assigning Moves Management Track.
Note: To manage a track, follow the steps of Managing Moves Management Track.
 
Creating Moves Management Track
Development Full role is required to create a Moves Management Track.

      1. Navigate to Development > Maintenance > Track Setup.
      2. Populate Track information.
            a. Enter Action Track Name.
            b. Select Entity Type.
                  i. Donor refers to a track that is assigned directly to the Contact.  The purpose of such a track is to gauge interest for a commitment that does not result in a donation such as for a contact’s interest in volunteering.
                  ii. DonorAsk refers to a track that is assigned to an Ask.  The purpose of such a track is to solicit a donation.
            c. Initial Action is the action that starts the track.  Example: “Major Donor Track Started .”
      3. Click Add New.
      4. Next to the new Track, click Update.
      5. Specify the rest of the actions to finish the track.
            a. Previous Action refers to the action prior to the one you are adding.
            b. Action Due In refers to how many days after the Previous Action is the new one assigned.
            c. Repeat checkbox refers to an action that is repeated multiple times i.e. loop action.  Example: A phone call action may be repeated if the Contact does not answer the first time.

Review a Sample Ask Moves Management Track to get an idea about possible tasks and processes.

Note: To assign a record to a new track, follow the steps of Assigning Moves Management. Track.
Note: To manage a track, follow the steps of Managing Moves Management Track.
 
Assigning Moves Management Track
Development Full role is required to assign a Moves Management Track.

      1. Navigate to Development > Asks > Details > Tracks (or Development > Contacts > Details > Tracks for a Donor level Track).
      2. Populate Track Information.
            a. Select Track.
            b. Specify Assigned To user.
            c. Select Person (optional).
            d. Enter Note (optional).
      3. Click Add.

Note: To create a new track, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
Note: To manage a track, follow the steps of Managing Moves Management Track.
 
Recording Action using Moves Management Track
As you mark each scheduled action completed, the system suggests the next follow up action based on the selected Moves Management Track. 

There are two ways to record an action for a moves management track:

      1. Development Dashboard > Calendar Widget, hover over the Action and click the hyperlink. You can now complete the existing action and schedule a follow-up action associated with your track.

      2. Ask > Details > Track Actions (or Contact > Details > Track Actions), click on the Action, populate the information, specify the Follow Up Action and click Save.

Note: Once the Track runs its course, go to the Tracks tab to close the track.  
Note: If the Track results in a donation, you may record the donation on the Ask.  Follow the steps of Recording Ask Result.  

Note: To create a new track, follow the steps of Creating Moves Management Track.
Note: To assign a record to a new track, follow the steps of Assigning Moves Management Track.
 
Recording Ask Result
Development Full role is required to record an Ask result.

      1. Navigate to Development > Asks > Details > Result.
      2. If applicable, select a Donation that resulted from the Ask.
      3. Select an option from the Results dropdown.  Note: If the dropdown is blank, you can create new options by clicking the Results hyperlink.  You will need the DBA Full role to add more options.  Example: Results may include options such as “Exceed,” “Meet,” “No Donation.”
      4. Check the Closed box to close the Ask and click Save.
 
Import Menu Location Change
A significant change is coming to PCR Educator’s Import menu.

As it currently stands, each Portal (Admin, Admissions, etc.) has its own Import menu. 

Moving forward, the Import menu will be located under the Home tab, as its actions apply to all Portals.

Have any questions? Please reach out! 
Curious about Contactless Attendance for your school? See it in action here!
During these ever-changing times, accurate attendance records are essential. PCR Educator's attendance system helps schools record who was on campus, when they were on campus and where they were on campus. This can be done from the student’s schedule or class period attendance taken prior to the start of each school day, or every period throughout the day. Our all-encompassing attendance solution limits cross-contamination, lessens staff workload and improves data accuracy.
 
Lately, contactless attendance has been a primary focus of PCR Educator’s mission. Our ID Badging solution allows you to create custom badges from your PCR Educator SIS database. ID barcodes can be printed onto badges for both students and staff. Our ID Badging system also assists in keeping your school’s campus secure. For example, if a mask obscures a visitor’s face, having an ID Badge on hand, or on a lanyard, helps easily verify that visitor belongs on campus.
 
Using their IDs, students can then check in to confirm their presence at school at a Tardy Kiosk, or Positive Attendance Kiosk, using a barcode scanner. When scanners are set to auto-scan, an ID badge is held under the scanner, the scanner reads its barcode, and the student’s information is immediately displayed on the kiosk. Our scanners also read barcodes directly from cell phone screens. Any forgetful students that misplace their IDs can load their digital ID directly onto their phones. Additionally, if neither the phone ID nor digital ID is available, PCR Educator has a combo keypad entry option allowing students to type in their ID manually.  
 
As schools continue reopening and limiting room capacities, or alternate student schedules, Attendance Kiosks can expedite students in moving through your school’s daily processes. For students who arrive late during the day an Attendance Kiosk located in the front office, or near your school’s reception area, will automatically enter tardies into PCR Educator’s database along with a time-stamp. This information is immediately available to teachers, allowing them to admit late students to class while saving front office staff time.
 
Now more than ever, accurate attendance for all students in your school is needed. Attendance scanners can be deployed anywhere attendance needs to be taken. When a student checks in using a Positive Attendance device, the student is entered as present in that room with a time-stamp. Teachers then see these timestamps on their daily rosters.
 
Interested? Here’s a quick video showcasing how our system works.
 
If your school wants to check out PCR Educator’s contactless attendance system more thoroughly or would like to learn how to better utilize it, please reach out to us today! 
 
FAQ: What is the File size limit for Email Attachments?
When creating an Email, the size limit per File is 5MB. While there is no set limit for the entire Email, it is recommended to stay within this 5MB limit as many Email Providers, such as Apple, will automatically decline Emails that are too large.
UI Redesign Early Access
Sign up for the pre-release of PCR Educator’s new user interface starts TODAY!

Our new UI has officially gone online. We think it’s pretty great, but we recognize the need for some outside critique. That’s where you come in.

Your feedback will provide us invaluable insight into anything we may have overlooked or need to improve on. You have the perfect opportunity to make PCR Educator a better service for not only your school but the hundreds of other schools we serve around the world. 

At this stage, we are accepting the first 30 users that sign up for full access to the new UI, so act quick!

If you are interested in participating in the trial, respond to this email or reach out to us at support@pcreducator.com
Sample Ask Moves Management Track
This diagram represents a sample Major Donor Track.
 
Contact Records Generation
Contact records are automatically generated from existing household records in Admin > Households.  Households and Contacts are parallel records that share the same id – meaning that when a household record is created, a contact record of the same id is also created in Development. 

Note: follow the steps of  Excluding Records from Contact List when you want to prevent certain types of households to auto-generate in Development as Contacts.
 
Excluding Records from Contact List
To hide contacts in Development, you can create a calculated attribute called “Exclude from Development.” As long as household records meet the criteria of this attribute and do not have any other attributes, corresponding contact records are not generated in Development. This feature is specifically helpful if you are interested in hiding vendors or non-development affiliated records from your list of contacts.

To create an attribute or Calculated Attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.
 
Improvements to Attendance-taking
PCR Educator's latest update seeks to improve our system by providing users greater flexibility to record additional information during the attendance-taking process. 

The most immediate change is the renaming of Lunch Choices to Attendance Choices. 

The only aspect altered here is the title; functionality remains the same as before.

This proactive adjustment comes after observing many schools using Lunch Choices for non-lunch records. We hope the new name makes for a more useful and versatile label.
Refunding Customer Receipt
Refunding Customer Receipts creates both the AR Refund Invoice and the AP Invoice in a single step. Once finished, follow the steps of  Writing Checks to create a check.  


1. To refund customer receipts, navigate to Finance - AR - Receipts and select the Refund multi-action.  You need the Finance AR Full role to access this multi-action.  Note: The multi-action is only applicable for the unallocated portion of customer receipts.  Fully allocated receipts, miscellaneous receipts, customer credits, and voided receipts are not eligible for a refund in this manner.

2. On the Setup step, specify the information that appears on the AR Refund Invoice and AP Invoice.
     Payment Terms is a shortlist of payment terms with exactly 1 due date in the schedule.  The chosen selection determines the payment term used for the AR Refund Invoice and the payment due date for the AP Invoice.

      Refund Product determines the product which appears on both the AR invoice and the AP invoice.  For products to appear as an option, the product must have the same account specified for both the Sale account and Purchase account.  Note: This account is the same as the Refund Payable account from the Refunding Customers article and nets to 0.

      Refund Date is used as the Issued Date for the AR Invoice and the Invoice Date / Post Date for the AP Invoice. 

      Customer / Vendor Memo appears for the AR Invoice customer memo, the AR Invoice line item note, the AP Invoice vendor memo, and the AP Invoice line item note.  Note: Specify the customer memo so that it indicates that the invoice is a Refund.

       Internal Memo appears for the AR Invoice internal memo and AP Invoice internal memo.  Note:  The AP Invoice internal memo is appended with a note indicating which customer receipt ids are included in the refund.

3. On the Details step, specify the Pay To name that is to appear on the check.  Note: The billing address for the customer is used as the pay to address for the AP invoice. Note: An AR invoice is created for each customer and student pairing from this step. Note:  An AP invoice is created for each customer and pay to name pairing from this step. Example: The Doe family has receipts for three students being refunded.  For the first two students, you specify the name John Doe.  For the third student, you specify Jane Doe.  Three AR refund invoices are created for each student.  Two AP invoices are created, one for John Doe and one for Jane Doe.  When checks are run, one check is created for John Doe and a separate check for Jane Doe.

4. The Summary step includes links to the AR Refund Invoices that are created and the AP Invoices that are created.  The invoices are pre-selected so that you may click on the corresponding link and perform multi-actions.  After this point, it is up to Finance AP to follow the process for Writing Checks.  Note:  If you do not have Finance AP roles, then the AP Invoice link is not available.
Announcing PCR Educator's UI Update
Drum roll, please (you can do that in your head or tap it on a desk, or maybe even a chair).

PCR Educator is beyond excited to announce our big surprise: a fully redesigned User Interface!

Your calls for a more modern user experience haven't fallen on deaf ears. We are right there with you and we feel it's time to take that next step into the future.

To anyone concerned about the release of an update like this mid-school year, have no fear! 

While the update is significant, it will not dramatically alter any of the processes that you and your school are accustomed to. Adding to that, the update will initially be provided only to a select few that opt-in. Expect to hear more about that process very soon...

From there, we will listen to the early adopters and fine-tune the full rollout based on user input. We will provide a multitude of content explaining the update and everything it entails, including step-by-step demonstrations.

Be sure to like and follow our Facebook page, and keep an eye out for our emails for more UI news.
Announcing PCR Educator's UI Update
Drum roll, please (you can do that in your head or tap it on a desk, or maybe even a chair).

PCR Educator is beyond excited to announce our big surprise: a fully redesigned User Interface!

Your calls for a more modern user experience haven't fallen on deaf ears. We are right there with you and we feel it's time to take that next step into the future.

To anyone concerned about the release of an update like this mid-school year, have no fear! 

While the update is significant, it will not dramatically alter any of the processes that you and your school are accustomed to. Adding to that, the update will initially be provided only to a select few that opt-in. Expect to hear more about that process very soon...

From there, we will listen to the early adopters and fine-tune the full rollout based on user input. We will provide a multitude of content explaining the update and everything it entails, including step-by-step demonstrations.

Be sure to like and follow our Facebook page, and keep an eye out for our emails for more UI news.
Attribute
Attributes are custom fields to track information for which no field already exists in the system. Attributes add flexibility to your record-keeping by giving you the ability to define and store special information about a wide variety of record types.  Note: Not all attribute types have the same fields available.

Attribute is the name of the attribute.

Data Type determines what data the attribute comment may have.
  Boolean is a checkbox
  Date
  Hyperlink is a link that must start with one of http:// https:// or ftp://.  The hyperlink shows as a clickable hyperlink on the records. Note: Hyperlinks have a specialized Hyperlink widget used to show hyperlink attributes on the CMS portal.
  Integer is a whole number.
  Text

Lookup Type allows defining selectable options for a Text type attribute.

Allow Custom Text appears if a Lookup Type is specified.  If checked, then choosing a lookup is optional and custom text may be typed instead.

Attribute Timing determines if the attribute is added once to the record as a global value or if the attribute can be added for specific academic years.

Calculate From specifies a filter.  If the record qualifies for the filter, then the record receives the attribute.  Note: Calculated attributes are recalculated daily or if you press the “Refresh Calculated Attributes” button.  An attribute is also recalculated when you initially create or edit an existing calculated attribute.

Flag shows a colored flag on lists or in dashboards if the record has an attribute with the flag.  Note: Multiple attributes can have the same flag color and if the record has any of those attributes, the flag shows.  Note: If you mouse over a flag, a tooltip appears with the name of the attribute creating the flag.
Attribute Category
Attribute category organizes attributes.  Categories are used for filtering, reporting, and search functions.

Category is the name of the category.  Note:  You can move an attribute to a different category when you edit the attribute.

Include in Type Calculations is an additional option for Contact Attributes.  Depending on the order of the Categories and Attributes, the contact’s type is calculated as the highest attribute that the contact has.  Note: Click the “Reorder Categories” button to change the order of the categories.  Note: Click the “Reorder Attributes” button to change the order of the attributes within the category.  
Creating Attribute Category
You need the “Full” role in the appropriate module to create an attribute category.  For more information, review Roles Dictionary.

      1. Navigate to Maintenance > [Record Type] Attributes.  Example: To create student attributes, go to Admin > Maintenance > Student Attributes.
      2. Enter the Category Name in the Category field
      3. Check the Include in Type Calculations checkbox if the new attribute category contains attributes for calculating Contact Types.  Note: This step is only applicable to Contact Attributes.
      4. Click Add Category. The new category is now available for use. 

To create an attribute or Calculated Attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.

To record an attribute on a record, follow the steps of Recording Attribute.
 
Creating Attribute
You need the “Full” role in the appropriate module to create an attribute.  For more information, review Roles Dictionary.

      1. Navigate to Maintenance > [Record Type] Attributes.  Example: To create student attributes, go to Admin > Maintenance > Student Attributes.
      2. Select an Attribute Category for your new attribute.
      3. Specify the  Attribute name.
      4. Click the Add Attribute button. 
      5. Select the desired data type. 
            a. If text Data Type is selected, you may optionally specify a Lookup Type. Check Allow Custom Text to allow users to add their own values not listed in the dropdown.
      6. If you are creating a Calculated Attribute, select a filter from the Calculate From dropdown. 
      7. Set Attribute Timing to Year-Specific if the data you are collecting is year-specific.  Otherwise, set the field to Global.  Note: In student forms, Year-Specific attributes automatically use the School Year specified in School Info.  In Inquiry Forms/Online Application, Year-Specific attributes automatically use the Admissions Year specified in School Info.
      8. Specify a Flag color if desired.
      9. Click Apply.

To create an attribute category, follow the steps of Creating Attribute Category.
To record an attribute on a record, follow the steps of Recording Attribute.
 
Recording Attribute
There are three ways to record attributes.

      1. Recording Attribute - Individual
      2. Recording Attribute - Bulk
      3. Importing New Records (see attribute specific articles)

Note: It’s not possible to record a calculated attribute manually. Calculated attributes appear on the record automatically, but you cannot edit or delete these attributes. Because these attributes are calculated and removed from a record when it does not fit the associated filter anymore, the calculated attributes are not associated with a year.

To create an attribute or Calculated Attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.
 
Recording Attribute - Individual
      1. Navigate to record’s details.  Example: To record student attributes, go to Admin > Students > Details > Attributes.
      2. Select Attribute Category 
      3. Select Attribute 
      4. If creating a [Development] Contact Attributes:
            a. Select Begin and End Fiscal Years if applicable to identify the active period for the assigned attribute. Note: You can leave either of these dropdowns blank. Example: If a contact is a board member during certain years, specify both beginning and end years. However, if a contact is interested in golf, leave both years blank. 
            b. Select Contact Address (default), Primary or Secondary. This selector allows you to associate an attribute with the whole Contact or with specific individuals. Example: the whole family (Contact Address) may be marked as Parent. At the same time, such attributes as Staff, Alumni, or Board Member are typically associated with Primary or Secondary records on the account. 
      5. Depending on the selected Attribute Type, you can: 
            - add a note (Free Text)
            - select a date (Date)
            - enter an integer (Integer)
            - check off a box (Boolean)
            - select a value from a dropdown (Lookup).  Note: If the attribute allows custom text, you can enter a value not available in the dropdown.
      6. Click Add

To create an attribute or Calculated Attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.
 
Recording Attribute - Bulk
      1. Select records.  Example: To record student attributes, select student records.
      2. Go to multi-action dropdown and select Attributes (Add)
      3. Follow steps 2-6 performed for Recording Attribute - Individual

To create an attribute or Calculated Attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.
 
Calculated Attribute
Calculated Attributes are an extension of Attributes. Calculated Attributes are used for the same purpose as Attributes. The only difference between regular Attributes and Calculated Attributes is that the latter are associated with a record automatically once a record fits the criteria associated with each Calculated Attribute.

Example 1: Staff attribute is typically configured as a Calculated Attribute because a school can set up criteria that any Contact associated with an active staff record should have Staff attribute. By taking advantage of the built-in automation, a school can streamline its data processes and increase data accuracy.

Example 2: If a school wants to establish different membership levels, it may consider creating Calculated Attributes. For instance, a school may have Silver Level attributed assigned automatically to any Contact who gives greater than $500 and less than $2500 during the current fiscal year for Annual Campaign.

To create an attribute, follow the steps of Creating Attribute.
To record an attribute on a record, follow the steps of Recording Attribute.
 
Chart Layout
A chart layout is a visual representation of all or selected accounts from the general ledger. 

To create a chart layout, follow the steps of Creating Chart Layout.
To copy/delete/edit a chart layout, follow the steps of Copying/Deleting/Editing Chart Layout.
To use a chart layout in a report, follow the steps in Using Chart Layout.
 
Creating Chart Layout
      1. Navigate to Finance > Maintenance > Chart Layouts
      2. Click the Add New button
            a. Enter Chart Layout Name
            b. If Show Debits Negative is checked, reports will display any debits as negative amounts.
            c. Check Public Available to share the layout with other members of your finance team.
      3. Click Save.  You will now see the new layout in the dropdown menu.  Select the new layout.
      4. Click the + icon
            a. Label: Enter the name of the layout item. This label is printed on the report.
            b. Show Debits: Select how you want to display debit amounts for this node. Inherited will pull from the setting specified in the node one level above.
            c. Header Bolded: Select this option to bold the header
            d. Header Underlined: Select this option to underline the header
            e. Suppress Header: Select this option to suppress the header
            f. Footer Bolded: Select this option to bold the footer
            g. Footer Underlined: Select this option to underline the footer
            h. Item Account Number: This section allows you to specify which accounts are included under this layout item. If the layout item is meant to group sub-levels, you may not have any accounts under that layout item, but you may have sub layout items with accounts. 
                  i. Like: Use this option to add accounts that have a specific value in the account number structure.
                  ii. Range: Use this option for accounts within a range. Note: You will need to specify the full account number when using this option. 
                  iii. In: Use this option to select the accounts from a drop down
            i. Click Add Condition
      5. Click Save
      6. Follow steps 4 and 5 to add more layout items.  Note: You can create up to 10 levels.

Note: When adding accounts to a layout item, please consider any accounts that may be added in the future and the account number structure that will be used.
Note: If not all accounts of a specific type are included, the totals in your reports may not match the totals in other parts of the system. Example: If some Expense accounts are not included in the layout, the totals in your custom chart layout report may not match the standard report that is run using the default layout.  In this case, use the Missing Accounts link to find which accounts are missing from your Chart Layout and add them as needed.
 
Copying/Deleting/Editing Chart Layout
      1. Navigate to Finance > Maintenance > Chart Layouts
      2. Select the Chart Layout that you want to copy from the dropdown
      3. Following Copying Chart Layout to copy the chart layout.  Follow Deleting Chart Layout to delete the chart layout.  Follow Editing Chart Layout to edit the chart layout.
Copying Chart Layout
Follow the steps in Copying/Deleting/Editing Chart Layout.

      1. Click Copy. The new Chart Layout will be named as: [Original Name] + COPY.
      2. Make any adjustments to the new Chart Layout as needed.  See Editing Chart Layout for more information.
Deleting Chart Layout
Follow the steps in Copying/Deleting/Editing Chart Layout.

      1. Click Edit
      2. Click Delete
 
Editing Chart Layout
Follow the steps in Copying/Deleting/Editing Chart Layout.

To edit the name of the layout or update Show Debits Negative/Public Available settings:
      1. Click Edit
      2. Update desired fields and click Save

To edit a layout item:
      1. Click on the heading and modify the settings.  See Creating Chart Layout for more information.
Using Chart Layout
When you run a report that supports a chart layout, you can select the layout from the Chart Layout dropdown.  The Max Chart Layout Depth field allows specifying the maximum depth for the layout. 

Example: The layout below contains three levels of layout items.

Normal Operations and International Programs
Normal Operations
Income
Expense
International Programs
Income
Expense
Transfers
Non-Discretionary Transfers
Capital Use Fees
Tech Fees
School Retreat
Discretionary Transfers
Fund Depreciation
Capital Debt Reduction

When Max Chart Layout Depth is set to 3 or higher the report shows all levels of this layout.  Selecting 1 as Max Chart Layout Depth results in displaying headings “Normal Operations and International Programs” and “Transfers” and their totals while other levels are not shown.
 
Standard Query: [Scheduling] Block List - Today
One of the following roles is required to access this query: Admin Full, Admin Read, Scheduling Full, Scheduling Read.

This query provides a list of all blocks, including their start and end times, along with their Block code for today.

The School ID is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
 
Importing New Records - Households
Please begin by following Importing New Records.

Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Household_ID No Identifier "1" If specified, this field needs to be specified for all households and must be a unique numeric value.
Household_Name Required Data "Jackson Family"  
Parent1_First_Name No Data "John"  
Parent1_Last_Name Required if Parent2_Last_name is not specified Data "Madden"  
Parent2_First_Name No Data "Bob"  
Parent2_Last_Name Required if Parent1_Last_Name is not specified Data "Dole"  
Send_Mail_Yes_No No Data "Y" or "N" Used for "Send Mail" in Admin->Households->Details->Household Details.  Note:  While this field is not technically required, if there is any doubt about how this field should be specified for a household record set it to Y.
Carpool_Yes_No No Data "Y" or "N"  
Safe_Party_Yes_No No Data "Y" or "N" Used for "Safe Party" in Admin->Households->Details->Household Details.
Household_Web_Publish_Yes_No No Data "Y" or "N" Used for "Publish on online directory" in Admin->Households->Details->Household Details.
Household_Alternate_ID No Data "23532asd23" Must be a set of alphanumeric characters.
Household_Salutation No Data "Mr. and Mrs Jones"  
Household_Alernate_Salutation No Data "John and Samantha"  
Household_Addressee1 No Data "Mr H. Jones and Mrs. Q Jones", "Mr. Squall Leonhart"  
Household_Addressee2 No Data "Mrs. Quistis Trepe"  
Household_Address1 No Data "23 Summer Parkway"  
Household_Address2 No Data "Apt 123" Used if you need more room for an address.
Household_Address3 No Data "Ontario" Additional room for an address.
Household_City No Data "Baltimore"  
Household_State No Datasource Data "TX"  
Household_Zip No Data "43562", "34532-3323"  
Household_Country No Datasource Data "USA"  
Household_County_District No Datasource Data "Dallas"  
Household_Phone No Data "(635) 1234-007"  
Household_Email No Data "bigemail38@hotmail.com"  
Parent1_Type No Datasource Data "Mother", "Stepfather", "Guardian" Household Details>Parent1 Type
Parent1_First_Name No Data "Zell"  
Parent1_Middle_Name No Data "Balamb"  
Parent1_Preferred_Name No Data "Kristy"  
Parent1_Previous_Last_Name No Data "Dincht"  
Parent1_Suffix No Data "Jr." Household Details>Parent1 Suffix
Parent1_Sex No Datasource Data "Male" Household Details->Parent1 Gender
Parent1_Title No Datasource Data "Mr."  
Parent1_Birthdate No Data "1/02/64"  
Parent1_Deceased_Date No Data "1/06/15"  
Parent1_Citizenship No Datasource Data "USA"  
Parent1_Native_Language No Datasource Data "German"  
Parent1_Birthplace No Data "Germany"  
Parent1_alternate_ID No Data "23152a42"  
Parent1_Email No Data "Sammytomson@gmail.com"  
Parent1_Email1_Type No Datasource Data "Work"  
Parent1_Phone1 No Data "(234) 234-2235"  
Parent1_Phone1_Type No Datasource Data "Mobile"  
Parent1_Employer No Data "PCR Educator"  
Parent1_Position No Data "Chief Engineer"  
Parent1_Industry No Datasource Data "Software Technology"  
Parent1_Work_Address1 No Data "23 Summer Parkway"  
Parent1_Work_Address2 No Data "Apt 123" Used if you need more room for an address.
Parent1_Work_Address3 No Data "Ontario" Additional room for an address.
Parent1_Work_City No Data "Albany"  
Parent1_Work_State No Data "NY"  
Parent1_Work_Zip No Data "22345", "22234-2345"  
Parent1_Work_Country No Data "USA"  
Parent1_pincode No Data "32234" Used for check in/check out. Generally needed for afterschool activities.
Parent1_Year_Grad No Data 2003  
Parent1_Elementary_School No Data "North Olive Elementary"  
Parent1_Elementary_School_Degree No Data "Elementary School Diploma"  
Parent1_Elementary_School_Gradyr No Data "1973"  
Parent1_Middle_School No Data "Hamilton Middle"  
Parent1_Middle_School_Degree No Data "Middle School Diploma"  
Parent1_Middle_School_Gradyr No Data "1976"  
Parent1_High_School No Data "Moonglade Community High School"  
Parent1_High_School_Degree No Data "High School Diploma"  
Parent1_High_School_Gradyr No Data "1980"  
Parent1_Undergrad_School No Data "Florida State University"  
Parent1_Undergrad_School_Degree No Data "Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering"  
Parent1_Undergrad_School_Gradyr No Data "1984"  
Parent1_Grad_School1 No Data "Harvard University"  
Parent1_Grad_School_Degree1 No Data "Master of Applied Science"  
Parent1_Grad_School_Gradyr1 No Data "1986"  
Parent1_Grad_School2 No Data "Massachusetts Institute of Technology"  
Parent1_Grad_School_Degree2 No Data Doctor of Engineering  
Parent1_Grad_School_Gradyr2 No Data "1990"  
Physician_Name No Data "Dr.John Smith"  
Physician_Phone No Data "(342) 234-2342"  
Physician_Practice_Name No Data "John's Doctor House" Used in Admin->Households->Details->Household Details->Medial Info Practice Name
Insurance_Name No Data "HealthyUSA"  
Insurance_Num No Data "23424"  
Insurance_Group_Num No Data "12345678900"  
Insurance_Primary_Holder_Name No Data "Zell Dincht"  
Insurance_Primary_Holder_Employer No Data "PCR Educator" Used in Admin->Households->Details->Household Details->Medial Info Primary Holder Employer
Dentist_Name No Data "Vance McTeeth"  
Dentist_Phone No Data "(353) 757-3234"  
Bond_Id No Data "234323452" Exclusive for Canada. Used for Canada Learning Bond
Bond_Date_Issued No Data "3/02/10" Exclusive for Canada. Date Learning Bond was issued
Bond_Desc No Data "$1300" Exclusive for Canada. Value/Description of the Learning Bond.
Emergency1_Title No Datasource Data "Mrs."  
Emergency1_Type No Datasource Data "Grandmother"  
Emergency1_Relationship No Datasource Data "Grandfather"  
Emergency1_First_Name No Data "Edea"  
Emergency1_Last_Name No Data "Kramer"  
Emergency1_Ok_To_Pickup No Data "Y" or "N" Used for "Can Pickup" in Admin->Households->Details->Household Details->Emergency Contacts
Emergency1_Pincode No Data 36452 Pincode used for Check in/Check Out.
Emergency1_Phone1 No Data "(635) 235-2356"  
Emergency1_Phone1_Type No Datasource Data "Cell"  
Descriptors_Address1_Descriptor_type_ID No Data "32" Household Attribute Type Id
Descriptors_Address1_category No Lookup "Tuition Package" If the attribute ID is unknown, provide the house attribute category in this field. The system will use the category and attribute description to find the attribute ID.
Descriptors_Address1_attribute_desc No Lookup "Update payment info" If the attribute ID is unknown, provide the house attribute description in this field. The system will use the category and attribute description to find the attribute ID.
Descriptors_Address1_year No Data "20202021" "Must be in the format of 8 digits. (XXXXYYYY). If attribute timing is set to "global", leave this blank."
Descriptors_Address1_descriptor_comment No Data "Use payment info on file" A comment relating to the attribute.

Notes: Parent1_Email and Parent1_Email_Type are repeated 2 more times (for a total of 3 potential email addresses).
All fields for Parent1 are repeated for Parent2.
Parent1_Phone1 and Parent1_Phone1_Type are repeated 3 more times (for a total of 4 potential phone numbers)
Emergency_Phone1 and Emergency_Phone1_Type are repeated 2 more times per contact (for a total of 3 potential phone numbers). All Emergency information is repeated 5 additional times (for a total of 6 contacts).
The Descriptor_address fields are repeated 9 more times (for a total of 10 different addresses)
CMS Widget - Standard Properties
The widget is shared by includes links to pages that the control is associated with.

Widget Name is a user defined name for the control.  This name may appear in the Reusable controls list and can be searched via Admin - Widgets.

Is Reusable places the control under the Add Control - Reusable Controls.  Reusable controls may be placed on many different pages and share all the same widget properties.  Note: Changing the properties of a widget on one of the pages affects its properties on all pages.

Is Published checkbox determines whether the widget is hidden from view. If a widget is not used and you plan to use it later, it should be unpublished.

Filter determines if the CMS widget will be visible based on the filter conditions.   If the current user qualifies for the filter, then the CMS Widget will show. Note: by default when no filters are specified, all widgets are visible.

Users are redirected to the page specified in the Navigate URL property when they click on the widget title.  When enabled on CMS - Sitemap, Navigate URL serves as a dynamic source on CMS - Site Maps.  For more information, review Adding/Removing Page to Site Map through CMS Widget.

Some widgets can be configured to perform conditional logic.  For more information, review CMS - Conditional Logic.
 
CMS - Site Map
A Site Map is an organizational tool for creating structure and direction in a
website. A site map defines the dataset for menu widgets. Note: you may have multiple site maps to support multiple menu structures.

To create a new site map, follow the steps in Creating CMS - Site Map
To delete a site map, follow the steps in Deleting CMS - Site Map
For more information about configuring menu widgets, review CMS Widget - Menu.

Note: You must have the Website Full role to manage site maps.
 
Creating CMS - Site Map
To create a CMS - Site Map, follow the steps below.  
      1. Log in to the CMS Portal.
      2. Click the Admin link on the top left of the page.
      3. Navigate to the Site Maps tab and click New.
      4. Enter the Site Map name in the Title field and check Auto Sort if you want the site map nodes to sort alphabetically.  Otherwise, you can use the arrows on each node to sort manually. Note: the title field is for internal use only.
      5. After the sitemap is created, follow the steps for Adding/Removing Page to Site Map
 
Deleting CMS - Site Map
To delete a CMS - Site Map, follow the steps below.

      1. Log in to the CMS Portal.
      2. Click the Admin link on the top left of the page.
      3. Click the Details link on the Site Map that you would like to delete.
      4. Navigate to the Delete tab and click the delete link.

Note: You can only delete a site map if it is not associated with CMS Widget - Menu.
Adding/Removing Page to Site Map
There are various ways to add and remove pages from a CMS - Site Map.

      - Adding/Removing Page to Site Map through CMS Page
      - Adding/Removing Page to Site Map through CMS Widget
      - Adding/Removing Page to Sitemap Manually
 
Adding/Removing Page to Site Map through CMS Page
To add a CMS Page to the CMS - Site Map:

      1. Navigate to the desired page and click “Content” on the top left of the page.
      2. Under the Details tab, select the Site Map to which you would like to add the page.  Note: You must specify a Previous Page that is also on the site map; the current page will then show up as a subnode under the Previous Page.  Example: If you are adding a Calendar page to the Parent Portal and the parent will be directed to the calendar page from the Parent Portal Home page, then the Parent Portal Home page must be set as the previous page.  For more information, see CMS Page Details.

To remove a CMS Page from the site map:

      1. Navigate to the desired page and click “Content” on the top left of the page.
      2. Under the Details tab, un-select the Site Map from which you would like to remove the page and hit Save. 

Note: Adding/Removing Page to Site Map article provides additional options for Adding/Removing Page to Site Map.
 
Adding/Removing Page to Site Map through CMS Widget
When you create a node on a CMS Site Map, you have an option to enable the Dynamic Data Source property. Note: This property is only relevant for dashboard-type pages which contain multiple widgets. 
When Dynamic Data Source property is enabled, the current node generates child nodes corresponding to all the subpages within that node are automatically added to the site map based on the Navigate URL property on the CMS Widgets that are present on the Profile Container of the page that the node is associated with. Example: The Student Profile page normally has attendance, discipline, and schedule widgets. If the widgets are linked to the corresponding pages through the Navigate URL property, they will appear on the left menu.

Similarly, to remove a page from a Site Map through a CMS Widget, simply clear out the Navigate URL property on the widget.  For more information, see CMS Widget - Standard Properties.

Note: For other methods of adding/removing pages from CMS - Site Map, please review Adding/Removing Page to Site Map.
 
Adding/Removing Page to Site Map Manually
To manually add a page to CMS - Site Map:

      1. Log in to the CMS Portal.
      2. Click the Admin link on the top left of the page.
      3. Go to the Details link on the desired CMS Site Map.
      4. To add a node, click the + icon.
            a. Title: Enter the node title. When you link CMS Widget - Menu and site map together, the name/title will appear on the CMS menu.
            b. URL: Select the appropriate page that you would like to add to the site map.  Note: You can link an external web page by entering the URL of the web page.
            c. Dynamic Data Source: check this box if you would like to automatically add a CMS Page associated with a CMS Widget to the site map.  For more information, review Adding/Removing Page to Sitemap through CMS Widget.
      5. Click Save.

To remove a page from CMS - Site Map:

      1. Log in to the CMS Portal.
      2. Click the Admin link on the top left of the page.
      3. Go to the Details link on the desired CMS Site Map.
      4. Click on the page hyperlink and hit the Delete button.

Note: For other methods of adding/removing pages from CMS - Site Map, please review Adding/Removing Page to Site Map.
 
CMS Widget - Menu
The menu widget is used for navigation on CMS Portal.  The menu is read from the associated site map.

Auto Sort Menu automatically sorts site map items in alphabetical order.

Inquiry or Student setting determines whether to use inquiry or Student record for Track Completion setting.
-- Use  “Inquiry” for inquiry/applicant forms.  
-- Use “Student” for student forms.  
-- Otherwise, “None” must be selected.

Site Map Node Options control the visibility of the menu items
-- Hide Nodes if Current Page Not Found hides the menu if the current page or the previous page is not in the site map.
-- Hide Nodes if Current Page Not On Menu hides the menu if only the current page is not on the site map.
-- Show Nodes if Current Page Not Found shows the menu even if the current page is not on the site map.

Site Map Provider determines the site map that is used to populate the menu.  The Starting Level determines the highest level node to show on the menu and the Levels determines how many levels of nodes are shown. The Levels setting should be set to 1 unless you have a custom website that supports multiple levels.  Note: The highest node begins at level 0.

Track Completion setting allows tracking completed pages (usually represented by a checkmark next to the page name). This setting is only applicable for specialized menus used in various forms such as Annual Forms or Application Online. Enabling this property will add a checkmark on the page when a user saves the page. Note: you must select Inquiry r Student to determine which type of record is used.

When pages are saved through the Track Completion property, they are marked with a Track Tag.  Track Tag must be updated each year in the Forms menu to reset page tracking from the previous year.  Example: You may set Track Tag for 2021 forms to “Forms 2021” and then update it the following year to “Forms 2022”.

Use Smart Menu setting is used in combination with Track Completion to prevent users from accessing the next page until the current page is saved. 
 
Staff
A Staff record identifies an employee of the school.  Note: Each Staff record must have exactly one Staff Household. Note: A staff record may be associated with a Staff User.

The staff record contains basic information such as the name, hired date, employment status, office number, etc.  

Signature allows you to upload a file with the staff signature to use on selected reports.

To create a staff record, please follow the steps in Creating Staff.
 
Staff Household
A staff household record holds household information related to the staff. Typically the staff’s information is recorded as Contact 1 in the associated household. However, married staff records correspond to Contact 1 and Contact 2 in the associated household. Note: follow the steps of configuring Staff User to associate a staff record to Contact 1 or Contact 2  placeholder in the corresponding household.

Admin Full role is required to create a Staff Household.

To create a staff household:

      1. Navigate to Admin > Staff > Details > Staff Household
      2. Select the “Create New” radio button.  Note: If the staff record should be linked to an existing household, you may select the “Link Existing” radio button.
      3. Populate household information and click save.
 
Staff User
A staff user is a User record that is associated with a Staff record.  Security Full role is required to create a staff user record. Note: Staff users must be associated with the staff record and with the corresponding Staff Household.

To create a staff user:

Follow the steps in Configuring New User (Security). 
In the User Profile, associate the user to the staff record.  
In the User Profile, associate the user to the Staff Household. Note: In the household indicator, you must specify whether the staff user is associated with person 1 or person 2 of the staff household record.  
 
Creating Staff
You must have Admin Full, Scheduling Full, Security Full, and Import (for bulk record creation) roles to create staff records. Use one of these methods to create a staff record:

      - Creating Staff - Individual
      - Creating Staff - Bulk
 
Creating Staff - Individual
To create an individual staff record:

      1. Navigate to Admin > Staff and click New
      2. Populate Staff information and click Save
      3. Go to the Staff Household tab and add a household
      4. Follow the steps in Staff User to create a user account
 
Creating Staff - Bulk
To create staff records in bulk:

      1. Follow the steps in Importing New Records - Households to import staff household records.
      2. Follow the steps in Importing New Records - Staff to import staff records.
      3. Follow the steps in Importing New Records - User to import staff user records.
 
Deleting/Deactivating Staff
When a staff member leaves the school, you should deactivate their record. Deleting a Staff Record is an exceptional circumstance. When a staff member leaves the school, you should follow the steps of  Deactivating Staff.  Note: It is recommended that you deactivate the staff record instead of deleting it because you may lose some data such as DAT queries and filters that may be associated with the staff record once you delete it.  Moreover, if the staff person is a current parent or may plan to apply to the school in the future, it will be best to deactivate their record. Note: usually you only delete a staff record when it was created by mistake. 

To delete/deactivate a staff record:

      1. Navigate to Scheduling > Courses > Sections.  Make sure that you have “Current Year Schedule” selected on the top right dropdown.
      2. Search for the staff record based on the Teacher Last/First name fields.  You will see all course sections that are associated with the staff record.
      3. Go to details of each section and remove the staff record from the course section.
      4. Navigate to Scheduling > Courses  > Sections and select “Next Year Schedule” on the top right dropdown.  Complete steps #2 and #3 in the next year.
      5. To deactivate a staff record, follow the steps in Deactivating Staff.  To delete a staff record, follow the steps in Deleting Staff. 
 
Deactivating Staff
Start by following the steps in Deleting/Deactivating Staff.

To deactivate a staff record:

      1. Go to Scheduling > Staff  > Details and set the employment status to the appropriate status.
      2. Navigate to Security > Users > Details of the Staff User record.  Uncheck the “Approved” box and click Save.  Next, click on the Roles tab and remove any staff/admin specific roles.  For more information, please review the Roles Dictionary.  Note: If the staff person is also a parent, then you should not uncheck the “Approved” box.  Instead, update the user account to reflect the non-school email.  For more information, please review User.
 
Deleting Staff
Start by following the steps in Deleting/Deactivating Staff.

To delete the staff record:

      1. Navigate to Security > Users > Details (of the Staff User record) and click on the delete tab to delete the user record.
      2. Navigate to Scheduling > Staff > Details (of the Staff record) and click on the delete tab to delete the staff record.
      3. Go to Admin > Households > Details (of the Staff Household) and click on the delete tab to delete the Staff Household record.
 
Admissions Update
We are pleased to announce yet another streamlining update to PCR Educator! 

Moving forward, Admissions: Inquiry Notes are deprecated. They will now automatically migrate to a new Inquiry Action called Notes.

If you have any questions about the new Inquiry System, please reach out!
 
Online Directory Update
PCR Educator is happy to announce our latest update! After numerous user requests, we have updated the Online Directory system. 

Publish In School Directory will be retired. Moving forward, only Publish In Online Directory will be available. 

In addition, Online Directory will only use Publish In Online Directory Household Indicators.

We hope this simplifies the Online Directory process and removes any redundancies. 

As always, please reach out to us if you need any assistance with Directory configuration.
Alumni Wizard
The Alumni Wizard is a multi-action feature that creates alum households for students. To access the Alumni Wizard you need the Development Full role. The Alumni Wizard is used by accessing any student listing page, selecting students, and then selecting “Alumni Wizard” from the multi-action drop-down.


Alumni Wizard includes several sections:

    Alumni Wizard - Creating Student Household
    Alumni Wizard - Assigning Student Household Attributes
    Alumni Wizard - Assigning Parent Household Attributes

Note: The wizard automatically adds the Alumni role to the student user accounts and also associates these user accounts with the newly created households.
 
Alumni Wizard - Creating Student Household
The Alumni Wizard uses a combination of already existing data along with user input to determine what to populate the Alum Student Households with. 

Note: Following fields are copied from the original parent household: 
    -    Physical Address Fields: Address Line 1, Address Line 2, Address Line 3, State, City, County, and Country.
    -    Student Fields: Gender, First Name, Last Name, Preferred Name, Middle Name, Suffix, Birthdate, Phone1, and Email1.

To configure the rest of the fields:
  1.     Biographical fields: 
            a.    In the first column, select the merge field.
            b.    The system places the selected merge field in the corresponding biographical field in the second column

  2.     Education fields - specify the desired values. Note: select School Info to copy to allow the system to copy the selected school info into the graduation fields. Note: School Type determines whether to populate elementary, middle, or high education sections of the new household.

 
Alumni Wizard - Assigning Parent Household Attributes
The alumni wizard has the ability to add contact attributes to Parent Households. If a parent of the selected student currently has the selected Current Parent Attribute, the system automatically assigns the selected Past Parent Attribute. It will also update the Current Parent Attribute end year to correspond to the student’s graduation year.
Alumni Wizard - Assigning Student Household Attributes
There are two ways to assigning Student Household Attributes within the Alumni Wizard:
  1. Specify New Alum Attribute.Note: Indicator Determines the indicator that should be used for the “New Alum Attribute” selected. Note: Indicator is typically set to primary.

  2. Map Student Attributes to Contact Attributes section by selecting a Contact Attribute for each listed student attribute. Note: student attributes that have no corresponding contact attributes specified will not be migrated to the new household record. If the students selected have student attributes, you can select a corresponding contact attribute that will be added to the alum households.
 
Export 1701
This article is only relevant for Canadian schools for BC Ministry Reporting purposes.

The 1701 export provides the 1701 file necessary for reporting to the British Columbia Ministry of Education for BC schools.  Access this export by navigating to Admin > Students and using the Special multi-action.  You need Registrar Full or Registrar Read roles to access this page.

To create the export file, click Export STD.  This will generate a file ending with the std extension in the format required by the BC Ministry.

Prior to generating the file to the BC Ministry, check the Validate Only checkbox and export the file.  Review and correct any errors appearing in the file.  Repeat this process until no more errors are listed. Then proceed with generating the official 1701 file.

Note: There are numerous 1701 Student Fields available on each student record for Canadian schools to accommodate BC Ministry 1701 reporting requirements.

Note: The “Other” course count is the count of all the student’s courses with a 1701 Course Type of “Other”.  These courses are only counted when students have a grade level corresponding to a 1701 grade level code of 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, SU, or GA.

Note: The “Support” course count is the count of all the student’s courses with a 1701 Course Type of “Support”.  This count is only made for students with a grade level corresponding to a 1701 grade level code of 10, 11, 12, or GA.

Note: The Number of Courses is the count of all the student’s courses with a 1701 Course Type of “Academic”, “Other”, and “Support”. This count is only made for students with a grade level corresponding to a 1701 grade level code of 8, 09, 10, 11, 12, SU, or GA.
IB (International Baccalaureate) MYP Gradebook Setup

Setting up the gradebook for International Baccalaureate MYP involves setting up the Score Types for the course.  The score types automatically become gradebook categories based on the score type’s weight.

  1. Importing New Records - Score Entry Types or Configuring Score Entry Types.  Note: To make management of the entry types easier, create one entry type for each course and grading criteria.  Example: Name Math 8 Criterion A and Note Math 8.  Note: The MYP Comment is the verbal description of the score, the Description is the criteria name and is the same Description for all rows. Example: Description CriterionA, MYP Comment “The student demonstrates a discerning understanding of the text, topic and the author's choices, reliably using clarifying detail, development and support. In creative work, pieces reflect of keen imagination and sensitivity; the student employs literary and/or non-literary features successfully that serve the context and intention. The student exhibits a refined appreciation of applicable terminology, and uses it appropriately.”
  2. Importing New Records - Score Type Headings or Configuring Score Type Headings.  If Configuring Score Type Headings make sure to check the Is MYP checkbox.  If importing Score Type Headings, specify 1 for is_myp.  Note: To make management of the headings easier, create one heading for each Course and specify the course in the Notes.  Example: Topic Language 8 Achievement and Notes Language 8
  3. Importing New Records - Score Types or Configuring Score Types.  The Topic is the name as it appears on the report card and is also the name of the category.  The Grade Type is Other.  The marking period Weight must correspond to the possible points of the MYP criteria.  The Calculation Type must be “Category MYP” (or the formula must be “100” if importing).
  4. Associating Score Type Headings to their Courses or Importing New Records - Course Score Type Headings

 
Importing Data for New Records - Customer Invoice Items
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.

The customer invoice item import allows you to import each invoice line item in its own row.  Note: If the Issued Date, Customer Info, Person Info, Customer Memo, and Total are the same across multiple rows, then those invoice items will be imported as part of the same invoice.

To import all invoice items per invoice in one row, follow the steps for Importing Data for New Records - Customer Invoices.

Depending on the export file that you are using for the import, you may prefer to use one import over the other.
 

Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Customer_Id Yes, If Customer_Name is not specified Identifier "1234"  
Customer_Name Yes, if Customer_Id is not specified Lookup "Smith Family" If you choose to use this field instead of Customer_id, then Customer_Name must be unique in the system
Person_Id Yes, if the invoice is associated to a student and if Person_First_Name, Person_Last_Name, and Person_Birthdate are not specified Identifier "1234"  
Person_First_Name Yes, if the invoice is associated to a student and if Person_Id is not specified Lookup "John"  
Person_Last_Name Yes, if the invoice is associated to a student and if Person_Id is not specified Lookup "Doe"  
Person_Birthdate Yes, if the invoice is associated to a student and if Person_Id is not specified Lookup "1/1/2000"  
Person_Type Yes, if the invoice is associated to a student Lookup "Student" or "Inquiry"  
Total Yes Data "100" Refers to total invoice amount. The amount format should not include commas
Issued_Date Yes Data "1/1/2000"  
Entered_Date Yes Data "1/1/2000"  
Sent_Date No Data "1/1/2000"  
Payment_Term_Id Yes, if Payment_Term_Name is not specified Identifier "123"  
Payment_Term_Name Yes, if Payment_Term_Id is not specified Lookup "Monthly Payment"  
Accounts_Receivable_Account_Id Yes, if Accounts_Receivable_Account_Number is not specified Identifier "123" This account will be debited
Accounts_Receivable_Account_Number Yes, if Accounts_Receivable_Account_Id is not specified Lookup "123" This account will be debited
Customer_Memo No, but recommended Data "Tuition Invoice" Can be displayed to families
Internal_Memo No, but recommended Data "Tuition Invoice"  
Posted_Date No Data "1/1/2000" If you post invoices, you will not be able to edit them
Voided_Date No Data "1/1/2000"  
Void_Comment No Data "Wrong Date"  
Invoice_Alternate_Id No Data "123"  
Invoice_Classification_Id Yes, if you use classifications and if Invoice_Classification_Name is not specified Identifier "123"  
Invoice_Classification_Name Yes, if you use classifications and if Invoice_Classification_Id is not specified Lookup "High School"  
Invoice_Item_Product_Id Yes, If Invoice_Item_Product_Name is not specified Identifier "123" See Product for more information
Invoice_Item_Product_Name Yes, If Invoice_Item_Product_Id is not specified Lookup "Tuition" See Product for more information
Invoice_Item_Account_id Yes, if Invoice_Item_Account_Number is not specified Identifier "123" This refers to the revenue account that will be credited
Invoice_Item_Account_Number Yes, if Invoice_Item_Account_Id is not specified Lookup "123" This refers to the revenue account that will be credited
Invoice_Item_Overriden_Price Yes Data "100" Price for the individual item
Invoice_Item_Quantity Yes Data "1" Quantity for the individual item
Invoice_Item_Note No Data "Tuition"  
Invoice_Item_Classification_Id Yes, if you use classifications and if Invoice_Item_Classification_Name is not specified Identifier "123"  
Invoice_Item_Classification_Name Yes, if you use classifications and if Invoice_Item_Classification_Id is not specified Lookup "High School"
Creating CMS Page
There are two ways to create a CMS Page outlined below.  A user must have a Website Full role to access this feature.

1. Creating New CMS Page 
2. Copying CMS Page
 
Creating New CMS Page
1. Log in to the CMS Portal and click Admin on the top-left
2. Navigate to the Pages tab and click New
3. Populate the page details and properties.  See CMS Page Details for more information.

To access the new page, click Edit Content.  Add CMS Widgets as needed.
 
CMS Template
To enforce consistency across your site, PCR Educator uses page templates. Page templates define the basic characteristics of each different type of page. They define which CMS widgets appear on a page, where CMS widgets are displayed, and the look and feel of your page. They also have predetermined locations with CMS Containers. 

When using a CMS Page Template, your page inherits these different characteristics from its template:
- CMS Page Data
- CMS Page Roles
- CMS Page Filter
- Unauthenticated Url

Note: Adjusting a page template changes all pages built with that template immediately.
To meet the needs of different areas on your site, you can have templates for several different types of pages such as templates for Parent Portal, Parent Portal with student selector, Teacher Portal, or public page template. Each different type of page has a defined set of widget that can be used within it. 
 
CMS Container
CMS Containers are predetermined locations that can be used to house different CMS Widgets on your CMS Page. Containers are defined for each CMS Template. 
 
CMS Page Details
- Title - name of the page
- Description is used for entering keywords for the purposes of SEO
- An appropriate Template must be selected for your page.  See CMS Template for more info. Example: If you are creating a page that will reside in the Parent Portal and should have a dropdown to select a student record, then you must select the template PP w Student Selector.  
- Previous Page is used for navigation. It should be set to the page that users will be directed from to the current page.
- Unauthenticated Url determines the login page for your page.  Note: If your Template already has an Unauthenticated Url specified and you want to keep the same for your current page, then select the Template radio button.  Otherwise, select the appropriate page for Unauthenticated Url.  Example: The Unauthenticated Url page for the Parent Portal will be the Parent Portal Login page.
- Published checkbox determines if the page is accessible to non-admin users.  If a page is not used, it must be unpublished or deleted.
- Action to PDF is used for Forms.  If a Student Action is specified, then the system will generate a pdf of the page when Forms are submitted.  Note: If you would not like your Forms pages to generate a pdf, set the Action to PDF value to “Skip PDF Generation.”
 
CMS Page Data
The Data tab is used to specify what tables are available for editing on the current page.  This feature is specifically used for pages where you are collecting information from users such as on the online application.  Note: If your CMS Template already has Data tables specified and you want to keep the same tables for the current page, then select the Template radio button.  Otherwise, select appropriate tables if applicable.
 
CMS Page Roles
CMS Page Roles is used for restricting CMS Sitemap Page Visibility. Note: If no roles are specified on a page, then the page will be available to the public given that it is published, does not have a DAT Filter specified, and does not have an Unauthenticated Url specified.  Note: If your CMS Template already has roles specified and if you want to keep the same roles on the current page, then select the Template radio button.  Otherwise, select appropriate roles for your page.  For more information on restricting pages, please refer to CMS Sitemap Page Visibility.
CMS Page Filter
CMS Page Filter is used for restricting DAT Filter in the Filters tab. 
 
Advancing Admissions Records - Current Academic Year
Advancing Admissions Records to the current year allows you to process inquiry/applicant records who are still interested in enrolling in the current school year after the school year has been closed (see Closing the School Year). This process will ensure that when you enroll applicants for the current year once the school year is closed, their grade levels and actions are accurate and their contracts populate correctly. Example: an applicant applied for the 2022/2023 academic year in December 2021. They submitted all required documentation by March 2022. At the time the applicant was in [current] grade 8, applying for grade 9. The applicant was placed on a waitlist since there were no open spots for grade 9. In August 2021, after the school year was closed and switched to 2022/2023 the school found an open spot for the applicant and offered enrollment. Note, that the applicant’s current grade level 8 is now incorrect, as it should be  9 in 2022/2023, while still applying for grade level 9.

If you don’t anticipate having many applicants who join for the current year, it may be easier to update their current grade level once you offer them acceptance. Otherwise, follow the steps below to process such applicants in bulk:

1.Navigate to Admissions > Inquiries/Applicants 
2. Search or filterall inquiry records who may potentially enroll in the current year. Note: You may want to save your criteria as a DAT Filter for reuse.
3. Starting from the highest current grade level, repeat the following process one grade level at a time: 
      3a. Within the search results from step 2, limit the inquiries to one current grade level. Example: use search criterion Current Grade Level = 11
      3b. Select all records from 3a.
      3c.  Use the multi-action “Update Fields” and update their current grade level id field to the next grade level. Example: if you used search criterion Current Grade Level = 11 in step 3a, then you need to set current grade level to 12.
 
Advancing Admissions Records
Advancing Admissions Records allows you to re-activate inquiry records for the new Admissions cycle or properly update inquiry records who may potentially enroll for the current year after Closing the School Year.

      - To update inquiry records who plan to enroll in the current academic year, follow the steps for Advancing Admissions Records - Current Academic Year 
      - To re-activate inquiry records for the new Admissions cycle, follow the steps for Advancing Admissions Records - Next Academic Year
 
Importing New Records - Chart Layouts
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.

Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Chart_Layout_Title Yes Data "Balance Sheet" Chart_Layout_Title must have the same Is_Public, Owner_Username, and Owner_UserId for all rows. A different Chart_Layout_Title indicates a separate chart layout being imported.
Is_Public Yes Data "Yes", "No"
Owner_Username No, if Owner_UserId is specified Lookup "abc@school.org"
Owner_UserId No, if Owner_Username is specified Key ID Field "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" The User must have the FinanceGL Full role.
Item_Caption Yes Identifier "Assets"
Parent_Item_Caption Yes for child items that appear under an Item_Caption on a different row Lookup "Assets" If left blank, the current item is a top level item for the chart layout. Chart layouts can only be 10 item levels deep.
Item_Order No Data 1 Integers only. Determines the order the item appears within its parent. The numbers do not need to be sequential. If left blank, the order the item appears in the import file determines the item order.
Is_Header_Bolded No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Header_Italic No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Header_Underlined No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Page_Break_Before No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Page_Break_After No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Footer_Bolded No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Footer_Italic No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Is_Footer_Underlined No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Suppress_Header No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Suppress_Details No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Suppress_Footer No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Show_Debits_Negative No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
YES No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
YES No Datasource Data "Yes", "No" If left blank, the current item inherits the parent’s setting.
Account_Number_Like1 No, if a range or comma list is specified. Data "_1___" See the notes at the end.
Account_Number_Range_Start1 No, if like or a comma list is specified. Yes, if a range end is specified. Datasource Data "11000" See the notes at the end. This must match an existing account number.
Account_Number_Range_End1 Yes Datasource Data "11999" See the notes at the end. This must match an existing account number.
Account_Number_Comma_List1 No, if like or a range is specified. Data "11000, 11500, 35791" See the notes at the end. Accounts in the list must match an existing account number. Any spacing before or after the comma is ignored.

Note: Account_Number_Like1, Account_Number_Range_Start1, Account_Number_Range_End1, and Account_Number_Comma_List1 are repeated 4 more times (for a total of 5).  A minimum of 1 account criterion is required for each Item_Caption.  
Note: If more than one Account_Number criteria are specified, then accounts matching any of the criteria are included when generating a report.  Example: Account_Number_Like1 "1%" and Account_Number_Like2 "%2" would include all accounts starting with 1 or end with 2.  Example: Account_Number_Like1 "1%" and Account_Number_Comma_List1 "55555, 77777" would include all accounts starting with 1 and the accounts 55555 and 77777.
Note: For Account_Number_Like columns, use the same wildcards as found in the article: Can Wildcards Be Used When Searching? 
Advancing Admissions Records - Next Academic Year
Advancing Admissions Records to next year allows you to reactivate inquiry records from previous admissions seasons.

This is typically done to allow the admissions department to reach out to all these potential applicants, inviting them to apply for the new year. Another reason is to update active inquiry records of those who started the process in the previous admissions year, but continue to be interested in the school. In this case, instead of restarting the process, they typically need to continue the started process, so their actions and checklist need to be updated to the new admissions year.  

1. Navigate to Admissions > Inquiries/Applicants
2. Search or filter all inquiry records who need to be reactivated from previous admissions seasons. Note: You may want to save your criteria as a DAT Filter for reuse.
3. Starting from the highest applying for grade level, repeat the following process one grade level at a time:
      3a. Within the search results from step 2, limit the inquiries to one applying for grade level.
      3b. Select all records from 3a.
      3c. Use the multi-action “Update Fields” to update their Applying For Grade to the next grade level. If you wish to advance their current grade level as well, please update their current grade level to match the new academic year.  Example: if you used the search criterion Applying for Grade = 11 in step 3a, then you need to set Applying for Grade to 12.  
      3d. Repeat this process while working towards the lowest grade levels.  Note:  You might have only a few students in later grade levels and choose to update those students manually.  
4. Repeat the process described in step 3 for current grade level that also needs to be updated.

5a. If you are working with a group of students who will restart the admissions process:
      - For all the students from step 2, use Recording Inquiry Action - Bulk to add an Inquiry Action or any other action for the new academic year.  Note:  This process may reset all statuses, substatuses, or both depending on your action settings.  You may need to apply a second action to reset their substatuses.  Example: You could create a dedicated action named “Auto Prospect '' to distinguish all records which were advanced from the previous year and set the statuses and substatuses with a single action.  Note:  You may want to include a comment in the actions indicating that these actions were added due to manual advancement.
5b. If you are updating active inquiry records to the new admissions year to allow them to continue the process without restarting:
      - For all students from step 2, navigate to Admissions>Actions and select all  inquiry actions only for the previous year. Then use the multi-action Update Fields. Update academic year to the new admissions year. Then update applying grade level id to the new grade level. Example: if you had a student applying for 21/22 for 8th grade and then they continue the same application for the 22/23, the inquiry actions associated with this process need to be updated to 9th grade.
 
6. If you would like to preserve the association between inquiry records and their evaluators, navigate to Admissions>Inquiries/Applicants and select all inquiries from step 2. Then use multi-action Advance Evaluator Assignments. 

6a. If you are working with a group of students who will restart the admissions process, use the Copy Assigned Evaluators to New Academic Year button.

6b. If you are updating active inquiry records to the new admissions year to allow them to continue the process without restarting, use the Update Academic Year for Assigned Evaluators button.

7. Using the list from step 2, multi select all records and use update multi-action to update Academic Year field to the active admissions year

8. Send an email to contact the parents/students explaining how to re-apply if desired.


Note:  An important consideration for advancement is the impact on your statistics.  If you use a separate action as in the example from step 5, those records may or may not be included in your statistics or DAT Reports.  The decision on whether to use a new unique action or to apply the Inquiry action will depend on how you want to count these advancing records.
 
Standard Query: [Admin] Period Attendance Taken
One of the following roles is required to access this query: Admin Full, Admin Read, Attendance Full, Attendance Read.

This query provides a list of teachers, including the courses and periods for which they have taken period attendance on a given date.

The Occurrence Date is set as a DAT Parameterized Condition.
Top Marketing Strategies for Private Schools
Your school is under a new microscope. And if you were planning on things going back to “pre-pandemic normal” — it’s time to scrap those plans. Things aren’t going to go back to “normal.” The Covid-19 pandemic wasn’t like throwing a rock into a still lake, with ripples that move outward until they finally disappear and the stillness returns. Rather, the pandemic was like a storm that morphs and shifts a lake’s landscape, permanently.  The marketing and communications strategies that used to work for your school or district, might not work in 2021 and beyond because the landscape has completely changed. Your plans need to be adapted, reimagined, or even scrapped entirely to meet the new expectations of today’s families. 

Understanding Prospective Families’ New “Liquid” Expectations

What are liquid expectations? The simplest way to define “liquid expectations” is that expectations of customer experience seep from one industry to another.As schools, we often think about how our marketing compares to our direct competitors — the private, charter or public school down the road. But now, families are no longer comparing your school only to direct competitors. They’re comparing your school’s online experience to any and all online experience they’ve had — even those with brands like Amazon and Netflix.After a year of doing almost everything virtually, expectations are high across the board. If grandma can easily order grocery delivery, she better be able to easily pay her grandchild’s tuition online. If mom can order herself a new car in three clicks online, then she should be able to find your school’s calendar in less effort. And if dad can watch whatever sports game he wants on the web, whenever, he definitely wants to see his kids’ events live-streamed.Across the board, your families expect more from online experiences, your school included. They’re harder to impress and harder to please than ever before — and your school’s marketing strategies need to reflect that. 

As we look ahead to this year and the future, it’s important for schools and districts alike to invest time, budget, or resources into the following marketing strategies:

  1. Redesign Your School’s Website
  2. Improve Search Engine Strategy
  3. Create Email Workflows
  4. Start a Blog
  5. Create Content Offers
  6. Consolidate Social Media Accounts
  7. Invest in Consistent, Meaningful Social Media Ads
  8. Invest More Time and Resources into Video 

1. Redesign Your School’s Website

There is plenty of industry research that tells us that a poorly designed website can be the Achilles heel of most brands. 
A bad website experience — especially on mobile — can mar your reputation and lead to a decrease in engagement, site traffic, and more. 
Consider these stats:
     - 79% of people who don’t like what they find on one site will go back and search for another site
     - 52% of users say that a bad mobile experience made them less likely to engage with a company
     - 40% of website visitors will leave if the site takes more than three seconds to load
     - 47% of visitors expect your site to load in two seconds
     - 94% of first impressions are design-related
 
We know that launching a new website is a lot of work in order to do it right. But before you invest any time, budget or effort into any marketing strategies, you need a strong foundation. If your school or district’s current website checks any of the following boxes, this is your top marketing strategy for this year:
     - The website is 3 years old or more
     - The website is responsive, but not mobile-first
     - The website “looks old” in comparison to direct competitors and big brands
     - Your website is difficult to navigate

2. Improve Your Search Engine Strategy

Every school’s search engine strategy contains three main elements:
     - Search Engine Optimization
     - Paid Per Click Advertising (PPC)
     - Online Review Management
Depending on your school’s goals, you may have to invest in one, two, or all three of these elements.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is a long play that many school marketers don’t have the time or resources for. It requires keyword research and implementation across your site’s title tags, meta descriptions, on-page content, and in most cases, the creation of a good blog. And because the results often aren’t as instantaneous as a paid ad, many school marketers put SEO on the back-burner. (Often, the implementation of an SEO strategy can take many months to reap benefits from because of how long it takes Google to crawl and recrawl site pages.) 

However, an SEO strategy is essential to your school’s success in the digital sphere. 90% of all online experiences begin in search engines, and any results past page one have horrific click-through rates. If you want your school’s website to be found, you need to find the time or budget to bulk up your SEO. 

Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC): PPC ads are an incredibly powerful advertising tool you can use to direct more awareness and website traffic for your school. If your school’s site isn’t ranking well in Google and you don’t have the time or money to spend developing your SEO strategy, you can also go for a paid ad strategy. If you play your cards right and develop strong ad copy, this can land you at the top of page 1 almost immediately. 

Online Reviews: Online reviews are almost always your school’s first impression, and if you don’t have a four-star or five-star review, you may never even get a click-through to your site.

Here are a few statistics to consider when thinking about how much effort you’d like to put into earning better reviews:
     - 90% of consumers read a business’s online reviews before visiting.
     - 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. 
     - 65% of people see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies; a higher level of trust than just about any other online or offline source.
 

3. Build Email Workflows

The 2020-21 academic year was one of the busiest years ever for school professionals, and major burnout is still lingering. If you’re looking for ways to get time back in your day, while improving your email marketing strategy, email workflows are a great place to start. 
Email workflows are a staple of a school's inbound marketing strategy. An email workflow is a set of emails that are automatically sent based on the subscriber's contact information, behavior, or preferences. For example, an email workflow can be triggered by a contact submitting a form, but it can also be triggered by a parent's enrollment year or persona.

These automated emails are proven to save you time and increase email engagement. They can be used for nearly any purpose, including:
     - Welcoming newly enrolled families
     - Nurturing prospective families 
     - Onboarding new faculty and staff
     - Reminding community members of upcoming events or deadlines
     - Promoting school events

4. Start a School Blog

A blog is a great way to share helpful advice, build thought leadership, elevate your community’s voice, create a strong library of content, and improve your organic performance in search. While a school blog is by no means as important as some of the other marketing strategies on this list (i.e. your website!), for schools and districts looking to take greater control of their online storytelling, a blog is a great place to start.

Before starting a school blog, ask yourself:
     - Who is going to write our blog content?
     - Where will our blog content live?
     - What will our editing process look like?
     - Who is our target audience?
     - What are the types of topics we want to write about?
     - Do we have the resources to post consistently? (We recommend at least once per week.)

5. Create Your First Content Offer

For most private, international and charter schools, the first time that they get a prospect’s information is via an inquiry form. While inquiry forms are great for capturing the information of individuals ready to learn more about your school, consumer behavior tells us this: If they’re inquiring, they’ve already done their research and you’ve made their shortlist. This means that without a content offer, you’re missing out on a huge audience of individuals who are still weighing their options for their “long list”.
A content offer provides prospective families with something of value to aid in their decision-making process, such as a whitepaper titled “5 Reasons to Attend an All-Boys School” or “How to Choose the Right Preschool.” It can also be a copy of your school’s viewbook.
Content downloads often get higher conversion rates than lead generation forms (such as an inquiry form), which will help you get more families in your pipeline sooner.

6. Invest in Consistent and Meaningful Social Media Ads

If your school hasn’t invested in social media ads yet, your time is now. Prospective families spend a ton of time on social media, and this is a smart (and fairly inexpensive) way to build recognition and gradually increase enrollment. 

Social media is a great advertising tool because:
     - Cost-per-click is significantly lower on average than search ads
     - You can diversify your reach with a variety of lists and campaigns
     - There are plenty of ad formats to experiment with

But, it has to be done correctly. 

If you’ve run social media ads in the past without success, it could have been an issue with your ad content, creative, audience or even goal. For example, promoting your school’s open house to a list that has never heard of your school is going to fall flat.

If you want to invest in social media ads this year, here are three smart campaigns to get you started:

A Top-of-the-Funnel Campaign to Build Awareness: Want to reach new audiences? Upload a list of demographic information about your current families to create a lookalike audience. For this campaign, keep the ad content and creative light with no heavy-hitting “pitch.” The goal here is to get your school’s name in front of new audiences. 
 
A Middle-of-the-Funnel Campaign to Increase Conversions: Engage individuals who have already visited your website using a Facebook Pixel retargeting campaign. For this group, prompt them to inquire or apply.
 
A Bottom-of-the-Funnel Campaign to Encourage Re-Enrollment: We all know that your job isn’t done once a family enrolls. Run social media ads to current families during re-enrollment season with value add content such as student success stories.

7. Consolidate Your Social Media Accounts

While paid ads can help your admissions funnel gain momentum, a consolidated organic social media strategy can help with all-around marketing and communications. If your school or district is struggling to manage a variety of rogue Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts that are either out-of-date or off-brand, this could be an easy win for you!
Schools should only have one Facebook page, one Twitter account, and one Instagram profile. While Twitter is often seen as the “exception to the rule” as schools and districts alike use this platform for sports teams and clubs to provide timely updates, it is essential that your school or district maintain a single profile on Facebook and Instagram — as well as other channels like LinkedIn. 

Consolidating social media accounts has numerous advantages, including:
     - Increased traffic and engagement to your school’s primary pages
     - Consistent tone, voice, brand and content
     - Streamlined access to passwords and privacy settings
     - Fewer comments to manage
     - Streamlined online reviews

8. Invest More Time and Resources into Video

Video gets more engagement than any other form of content — so begin taking tiny steps to integrate it into your marketing strategies for your website, social media, and even email.
If you’re already strapped for time and resources, there is good news for you! Creating video content has never been easier, and after a year of connecting via low-res video, no one is expecting Hollywood-level quality.

If you’d like to incorporate more video into your marketing this year, consider the following:
     - Start small! Aim to post one new video on social media each week. It can be something silly – like following recent Instagram Reel trends — or a promotion for an event.
     - Come up with a list of video ideas. Testimonials, tips from teachers, and interviews make fun and engaging videos.
     - Invest time into a YouTube strategy. If your school is consistently creating longer-length videos, investing in YouTube can help increase your school’s organic search performance.
     - Go live. Livestreaming used to be a “nice-to-have”, but now it’s a “need-to-have” — even if you’re returning to in-person events. 
     - Enlist the help of your community. Students in particular are great resources for creating video content.

In Conclusion

Parent expectations are higher than ever, and it’s essential that your school’s marketing and communications strategy adapt along with them. This is our “new normal”. As your school or district begins to plan its marketing and communication plans for the new school year, use the ideas in this blog to create a list of “must-haves” for ensuring your marketing and communications strategy is future-proofed.
Deleting Google Classroom Course
There are two methods to delete google classroom courses:

1. To delete all provisioned and declined courses, use ‘Delete PROVISIONED and  DECLINED courses in Google’ button located in Admin > Maintenance > Google Classroom. 
2. To delete specific courses sections, navigate to Admin > Courses > Sections and select course sections you want to delete in Google Classroom, then use “Google” multi-action. Click ‘Delete PROVISIONED and  DECLINED courses in Google’.
 
Standard Query: [Finance] Monthly Account Activity
One of the following roles is required to access this query: FinanceGL Full, FinanceGL Read.

This query returns the sum of credit and debit transactions per account within a desired timeframe.

Transaction Date Time is a Parameterized condition.

Note: This report does not limit the results to a specific ledger.  Make sure to adjust the Query to restrict the results to your desired ledger.
 
Importing New Records - User
Follow the steps for Importing New Records.

Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
*Login Yes Data "abc@school.org" If using Google SSO, use full google username such as abc@school.org.
*Password Yes Data "abc123$!" Password should not be shared via email; instead send a link to a reset password page so users can create their own passwords
*Email Yes Data "abc@school.org"  
UserDisplayName No Data "John Doe"  
AlternateId No Data "1234"  
StudentId Yes for student logins unless you use lookup fields to identify the student record Identifier "1234"  
(StudentLastName) No Lookup "Smith"  
(StudentFirstName) No Lookup "John"  
(StudentMiddleName) No Lookup "Adam"  
(StudentPreferredName) No Lookup "Joe"  
(StudentSex) No Lookup "Male"  
(StudentAlternateId) No Lookup "1234"  
TeacherId Yes for staff logins unless you use lookup fields to identify the staff record Identifier "1234"  
(TeacherLastName) No Lookup "Smith"  
(TeacherFirstName) No Lookup "Tina"  
(TeacherOffice) No Lookup "123-456-7890"  
(TeacherSex) No Lookup "Female"  
(TeacherAlternateId) No Lookup "1234"  
HouseholdId Yes for parent, staff, and adult student logins unless you use lookup fields to identify the household record Identifier "1234" Adult students are those students who enroll to the school on their own instead of by their parents
HouseholdIndicator Yes for household logins Datasource Data "P" Valid values are P for contact 1 (Primary) and S for contact 2 (Secondary).
(HouseholdName) No Lookup "Smith Family"  
(HouseholdAddress) No Lookup "5 Choke Cherry"  
(HouseholdCity) No Lookup "Austin"  
(HouseholdState) No Lookup "TX"  
(HouseholdZip) No Lookup "12345"  
(HouseholdCountry) No Lookup "United States"  
(HouseholdPhone) No Lookup "123-456-7890"  
(HouseholdEmail) No Lookup "abc@gmail.com"  
(ParentFirstName) No Lookup "John"  
(ParentMiddleName) No Lookup "Adam"  
(ParentLastName) No Lookup "Doe"  
(ParentSex) No Lookup "Male"  
(ParentAlternateId) No Lookup "12345"  
RoleName1 No Datasource Data "Faculty Full" See Roles Dictionary for more information
SchoolId1 No Datasource Data "1" See School Division for more information
(SchoolName1) No Datasource Data "Bistmar Lower School"

Note: If you connect a user to multiple record types such as Student and Household records or Staff and Household records, make sure that the records are connected in the Admin module. In other words, the student should be connected to the same household record in the Admin module that you connect to the user.

Note: School Name, School id, and Role columns are repeated so that a user can be assigned to multiple School Divisions and roles.

Note: If no HouseholdIndicator is specified, then the name of the parent is used to try and identify the HouseholdIndicator to use.
Importing Data for Existing Records - Students
Follow the steps for Importing Data for Existing Records
Field Required Type Sample Values Notes
Lookup_Student_Id Yes if other Lookup_*** fields are not populated Lookup "12345"  
Lookup_Student_Last_Name Yes if Lookup_Student_ID is not populated Lookup "Smith"  
Lookup_Student_First_Name Yes if Lookup_Student_ID is not populated Lookup "John"  
Lookup_Birthdate Yes if Lookup_Student_ID is not populated Lookup "1/1/2000"  
Student_First_Name Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "John"  
Student_Middle_Name Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Pittock"  
Student_Last_Name Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Smith"  
Student_NickName Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Johnny"  
Birthdate Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "1/1/2000"  
Sex Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource data "Male" "Female" This field is named "Sex" in the import but displays as "Gender" in the database. The values used must match the values found in the system. Custom values can be added.
Phone Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "(123)-456-7890"  
Email Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "jsmith@gmail.com"  
Current_Parish Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "St. Mary's Catholic Church" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Parish" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Day_Or_Boarding Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Day"
"Boarding"
"Virtual"		  
ESL_Yes_Or_No Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Y" or "N"  
International_Yes_Or_No Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Y" or "N"  
Previous_School Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Grant High School" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Previous Schools" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Financial_Aid_Yes_Or_No Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Y" or "N"  
Birthplace Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Washington"  
Citizen_Of Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "USA" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Citizenship" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Native_Lang Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Dutch" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Native Language" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Ethnic_Group Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "African American" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Ethnic Group" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Locker_Number Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "1B"  
Locker_Combination Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "06-01-45"  
Religion Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Christian" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Religion" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Inquiry_ID Yes, if this field needs to be updated Identifier "12345" Links the student record to an already existing inquiry record. 
Legacy_Code Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Mother" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Religion" in an Admin > Students > Details > Priorities page.
Alternate_ID Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "a1B45"  
Auditorium_Seat Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "123b"  
Car_License_Plate Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "B351A"  
Car_Parking_Registration Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "5GBA"  
Car_Year Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data 2007  
Car_Make Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Toyota"  
Car_Model Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Corolla"  
Car_Color Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Red"  
Student_Suffix Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Jr"  
Care_Card_Number Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "9281 051 185" For British Columbia only
BC_Pen Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "129451214" For British Columbia only
BC_School_Funding_Code Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "First Nations - 20" For British Columbia only
BC_Band_of_Residence_Code Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Adams Lake - 684" For British Columbia only
BC_Aboriginal_Ancestry_Yes_No Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Y" or "N" For British Columbia only
BC_French_Lang_Program_Code Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data   For British Columbia only
Campus Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Main" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Campus" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Dorm_Room_ID Yes, if this field needs to be updated Identifier "5"  
Student_Dorm_Room_Number Yes, if this field needs to be updated Lookup "5A"  
Student_Dorm_Building Yes, if this field needs to be updated Lookup "Building A"  
Student_Dorm_Lunch_Table Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "Table A" The possible values are populated by the school by clicking on "Lunch Table" in an Admin > Students > Details page.
Dorm_Room_NY_ID Yes, if this field needs to be updated Identifier "5"  
Student_Dorm_Room_NY_Number Yes, if this field needs to be updated Lookup "5A"  
Student_Dorm_NY_Building Yes, if this field needs to be updated Lookup "Building C"  
Driving_License Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "123DAV"  
Car2_Color Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Green"  
Car2_License_Plate Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "1B34A"  
Car2_Make Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Toyota"  
Car2_Model Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Corolla"  
Car2_Parking_Registration Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "1b3d"  
Car2_Year Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data 2017  
Student_Selection_End_Date Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "1/1/2023"  
Day_Or_Boarding_NY Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Day"
"Boarding"
"Virtual"		  
International_Yes_Or_No_NY Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "Y" or "N"  
BC_School_Funding_Code_NY Yes, if this field needs to be updated Datasource Data "First Nations - 20" For British Columbia only
Grade_Level_ID Yes, if this field needs to be updated Identifier "1"  
Grade_Level_Code Yes, if this field needs to be updated Lookup "PK"  
Next_Grade_Level_ID Yes, if this field needs to be updated Identifier "1"  
Next_Grade_Level_Code Yes, if this field needs to be updated Lookup "PK"  
Pincode Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "1234" Must pass the requirements set in Security>Maintenance>Application Setup 
Year_Grad Yes, if this field needs to be updated Data "2024" Planned graduation year.
Don't Miss Out on the New Waitlist Feature!
PCR Educator is happy to announce our new Waitlist feature!

When users are signing up for classes, camps and activities that are full, they now have an option to join a Waitlist. 
Deadline Extended for Custom Teacher Portal Training Videos!
I know we initially stated that the deadline to qualify for your school's Custom Teacher Training video was earlier this month, but we've decided to shake things up a bit.
 
We received an enormous amount of positive reactions to our Teacher Portal webinar, which in turn led to a ton of requests for custom Teacher Portal Training videos. 

To show how much we appreciate your interest in the recent webinar and promotion, and to give everyone a little bit more time to qualify for their own videos, we are extending the deadline to Thursday, September 2. 

For those that would like a reminder, this video will walk your teachers through the crucial steps of navigating PCR Educator's Teacher Portal, bringing them up to speed in no time at all.

To qualify for a personalized Teacher Portal Training Video, follow these steps:
  1. Like our Facebook page.
  2. Leave a brief, honest review on our Google Business page.
  3. Once we verify that you've left us a review, we will reach out to you and confirm the details you'd like covered in your video.
That's it! And to reiterate, this is still a limited time offer. The new deadline is Thursday, September 2 so don’t delay!
CMS - Conditional Logic
Conditional Logic functionality allows you to tailor your CMS pages to show or hide CMS Widgets or CMS Pages based on the user’s answers to previous questions. In situations when not every question applies to every user, define your user groups early in the form. Then use conditional logic to hide questions that do not apply. 

Example: your form collects information about off-campus activities. But what if this student is not allowed to participate in off-campus activities? A simple dropdown at the start of the form can help. Ask if the student is allowed to participate in off-campus activities. Then set conditional logic on the questions related to off-campus activities so they only display when the off-campus activities question is answered as yes.

Example: your form collects information about the program the applicant applies to. Two programs are offered to 9th graders. But what if this student is a 10th grader? A simple dropdown asking for the grade level at the start of the form can help. Then set conditional logic for the programs’ question so it only displays when the student’s grade level is 10.

Example: Show different content on the thank you page depending on the choices made on the application. If an applicant is interested in skiing, show an exciting article about your school’s winter sports’ programs.

Sometimes you need to hide more than just one or two questions. This is where multi-page forms and skipping entire pages is useful. Group all the questions on specific pages, and use conditional branching to skip pages. As a result, your form will seem shorter and cleaner. 

  1. Follow the steps outlined in CMS - Skipping Pages with Conditional Logic to hide or show entire pages.
  2. Follow the steps outlined in CMS - Skipping Widgets with Conditional Logic to hide or show specific widgets.
 
CMS - Skipping Pages with Conditional Logic
To implement CMS Widget - Conditional Logic skipping pages, follow these steps:

  1. Create a DAT Filter to show pages only to users who fit the filter.  Example: To limit a page so that it is only visible to international families, create a DAT filter that checks for the student’s International Yes/No designation to be set to Yes.
  2. Click Content on the top-left of the page, select the Filter tab on the right and apply the DAT Filter to the page.
 
CMS - Skipping Widgets with Conditional Logic
To implement CMS Widget - Conditional Logic skipping widgets, you need two types of widgets:

  - CMS Widget - Condition Source: this is the widget that controls the visibility of its dependents. If the user’s answer matches the predefined conditions, then dependents show.
  - CMS Widget - Condition Dependent: this widget will show or hide based on the user’s answers provided in the source widget.
 
CMS Widget - Condition Source
CMS Widget - Condition Source widget is used for CMS - Skipping Widgets with Conditional Logic. This widget controls the visibility of other CMS Widgets when Affects Other Widgets Visibility property is checked.  Note: This property is applicable to dropdown and checkbox type widgets.  Note: If you decide to use this feature, make sure to enable the settings on the dependent widgets.  See CMS Widget - Condition Dependent for more information.

Example: Let’s say that you ask users if they are interested in volunteer activities, and if a user selects “Yes”, you want to show the list of activities, then you can enable the Affects Other Widgets Visibility property on the question.
CMS Widget - Condition Dependent
CMS Widget - Condition Source widget is used for CMS - Skipping Widgets with Conditional Logic. This widget is automatically hidden unless its Visibility Value matches the selected value of the widget specified as Visibility Source. 

Note: when using CMS Widget - Checkbox, the checked state is “Yes”, unchecked is “No.”
 
CMS Widget - Text
The Text CMS Widget is a rich-text editor which allows users to add instructions, documents, and other content.  The widget can be found within the Content group.  Please review Adding CMS Widget for more information.  

Note: To limit this widget’s visibility based on conditional logic, please review CMS - Conditional Logic.

Click the plus sign next to the Text property to open the text editor.

The Text CMS Widget provides consistent and unified experience by using the predefined font, font size, and heading colors tailored to your school. 
 
CMS Widget - Inquiry/Student Action
The Inquiry/Student Action CMS Widget records Inquiry Action or Student Action. You may enable file upload to allow users to upload files and record them as actions.  The widget can be found within the Updatable group.  Please review Adding CMS Widget for more information.  To limit this widget’s visibility, review CMS - Conditional Logic.

Action Type determines which action the file should be associated with.  Select a Student Action if the file needs to be uploaded for a Student or select an Inquiry Action if the file needs to be uploaded for an Inquiry/Applicant.

Confirmation Email property is used to send out an email when a file is uploaded.  The emails are configured in Admin/Admissions > Students/Inquiries/Applicants > Email screen.  If the upload is configured for a student record, please set up a student specific email in in the Admin module.. Otherwise, set up an applicant specific email in the Admissions module.

Allowed File Extensions restricts allowed file extensions to the specified list.

Is File Embedded if Possible embeds the file directly on the page so that a user can view the contents of the file after uploading it.

Is File Removable setting allows users to remove any files that they may have uploaded.  If this setting is disabled, the user will need to contact the school if they would like to remove the file that they uploaded.
 
Communicating User Login - No Password
After you finish the process of Configuring Users, email users their usernames and the link to establish their passwords.  Note: This method only applies to non-Admin portals such as Parent Portal, Staff Portal, Apply Online, etc. Note: if you use Google SSO, then you only need to email users their usernames.

    1.  Navigate to Security > Users.  You need the Security Full role.

    2.  Create a DAT Filter to locate the desired users.  Note: The Createdate field is available in the users table and is useful for locating users created by an import.

    3.  Select the users and use Email multi-action.

    4.  Create the email.  Include the “UserName” and a link to a CMS login page with Forgot Password widget. In your email, instruct recipients to use Forgot Password widget.  Note:  This email may be the parent or student’s first introduction to the parent / student portal. Include links to the appropriate portal.  Note:  The email may be saved as a template for reuse. Note: if you use Google SSO, skip instructions about forgot passwords and only share the username and the link to the portal.
 
Communicating User Login / Password
There are two primary ways to share login credentials with users.

  1. Communicating User Login - No Password Note: this is the recommended method.
  2. Communicating User Login and Known Password

Note: if you use Google SSO, then you only need to email users their usernames.
 
Communicating User Login and Known Password
After you finish the process of Configuring Users, email users their usernames and passwords.  Note: This method only applies to non-Admin portals such as Parent Portal, Staff Portal, Apply Online, etc.  Note: this method only works when you import the users and passwords using a format that can be reconstructed using merge fields such as a combination of student id and student last name. Another method is using DAT Query to pull default passwords and updating passwords to default passwords in bulk.  Example:   After creating a DAT Query with the student id, email, and default password field, you can import the new student username and password and email all the students their username and default password.  Note: In the DAT, Default Passwords for students are found in Student Info.  Default Passwords for parents are found in Households.

    1.  Navigate to Security > Users.  You need the Security Full role.

    2.  Create a DAT Filter to locate the desired users.  Note: The Createdate field is available in the users table and is useful for locating users created by an import.

    3.  Select the users and use email multi-action.

    4.  Create the email.  Include the “UserName” and “DefaultPassword” fields.  Note:  This email may be the parent or student’s first introduction to the parent / student portal. Include links to the appropriate portal.  Note:  The email may be saved as a template for reuse.
 
Attendance Update
PCR Educator is excited to announce our newest addition to the Teacher Portal!

A new column has been added to the Attendance screen. This column indicates whether a student is a:
  • Day Student
  • Boarding Student
  • Virtual Student

We hope this update makes things a little easier for both teachers and administrators alike! 
Are You Taking Advantage of Google SSO Support?
Google Single Sign-on (SSO) is a feature that allows an outside vendor to authenticate users against PCR Educator's database. This feature allows users to access PCR Educator's software directly from other software without the need to log in. 
 
You can also use Google SSO to send a user from one PCR Educator application to another without requiring a separate login attempt.
 
Additionally, Google SSO provides another layer of security by taking advantage of Google's 2-Step Verification.

Need help with implementation? Schedule a call today.
Online Donation
Online Donation is a customized online form for your website visitors and existing constituency for donating to the school. You may include the following features:

  - Multiple landing pages for specific campaign or purpose
  - Click-through emails for quick RSVPs to events
  - A flexible fee structure for event tickets
  - Recurring options for donations
  - Single sign on for existing constituency
  - Friendly and customizable email confirmations
  - On-the screen campaign charts reflecting your goals and impacts of individual donors while donating
  - Pre-Filled information for existing constituency
  - Convenient methods for allocating gifts to multiple campaigns and funds

To set up the Online Donation Process, follow these steps:

  1. Configuring Online Donation covers everything that needs to be configured in the administrative portal prior to setting up the Online Donation.
  2. Online Donation Form Configuration covers building the form for online donation or for purchasing tickets for fundraising events. 
  3. Online Donation Email Invitation Configuration covers building the invitation and solicitation emails for click-through sign ups and donations.
  4.Online Donation Management Configuration covers options for donors to access their donation history, updating payment information, or communicating with the school. 
  5. Online Donation Administrative Management covers activities related to managing online donations.
  6. Online Donation Yearly Updates covers considerations related to updating your forms on a yearly basis to reflect new campaigns, funds and events.  
 
Budget Manager Purchase Order Item Approval
Budget managers approve purchase order items associated with GL Accounts that they are responsible for. To approve purchase order items, navigate to Finance - Manager PO Items, select the line items and use the multi-action “Approve PO Items”. You must have the FinanceAccountMgr Full role to access these pages.

The PO items you are approving appear at the top of the page.  For each PO line item, you may determine the Approval or change the Account specified on the purchase order.

Approval - Purchase order line items are initially “Pending” meaning no decision has been made.  Change Approval to Approved or Declined.

Account - The account may be incorrect or unspecified.  You may change the account to one of the accounts that you are the manager for, or you may blank out the account if a different manager needs to approve the line item.

Note:  Remember to click Save to save your changes!

At the bottom of the page is a summary of your accounts to assist you with budgeting.  In the upper right corner of the summary is a drop down for the selected fiscal year.  Note: As PO items are switched between Pending/Approved/Declined, the numbers will update in the summary.
 

Definition PO Status PO Line Item
Committed Purchase Order items awaiting approval. Submitted for Approval or Approved Pending
Obligated Line items on the purchase order are approved but the purchase order is not accepted. Submitted for Approval or Approved Approved
Encumbered The purchase order has been accepted. Accepted Approved
Actual Actual transaction total for the fiscal year. Note: Posted transactions only.
Budgeted Budget total for the fiscal year.

Note: Purchase Orders with a status of Received or Complete would have been invoiced and included in the Actual total.

Example: The following demonstrates where the amount appears for a purchase order as it moves through the purchase order process.
Commitment Obligation Encumbrance Actual
A new purchase order is created and not yet submitted for approval
The purchase order is Submitted for Approval with all items Pending
A budget manager Approves some or all of the purchase order line items
A finance officer Accepts the purchase order
The purchase order is fulfilled by an invoice. The status is either Received or Competed
If, at any point, the purchase order is Canceled

Receipt Menu Merge
PCR Educator’s Finance Module has received an update.

Previously, the Receipts menu and Misc Receipts menu were listed in separate locations. With the next update, these menus will merge.

Receipts and Misc Receipts will be listed together in one menu titled Receipts. Additionally, this update gives you access to many new features including multi-updates, as well as printing and emailing of individual receipts. 
Standard Query: [Admin] Historical Attendance
One of the following roles is required to access this query: Attendance Full, Attendance Read.

This query returns historical attendance information for each student.  Historical attendance information for an individual student can be found in Admin > Student Details > Historical Attendance screen.
 
Demographic Query Update
PCR Educator has added the three new NAIS-required demographic queries to our system. See a complete breakdown of the updated queries below:

Standard Query - [Admin] Demographics for Student Race:
One of the following roles is required to access the query: Admin Full, Admin Read.

This query returns the number of male and female students by ethnicity.

Standard Query - [Admin] Demographics for Nonbinary Students:
One of the following roles is required to access the query: Admin Full, Admin Read.

This query returns the number of students who classify as “Non-Binary”.

Standard Query - [Admin] Demographics for Student Ethnicity:
One of the following roles is required to access the query: Admin Full, Admin Read.

This query returns the number of male and female students in 3 groups:
- Those who are of Latin or Hispanic Origin
- Those who are not of Latin or Hispanic Origin
- Those who are unsure or their ethnicity is unreported.

This query also returns the total number of students.
Teacher Portal Webinar Review
Thank you to everyone that attended last Thursday's Teacher Portal webinar! We hope it answered any lingering questions you may have had about the process. 
 
For anyone that missed it, you can watch the webinar in its entirety on YouTube here. 
 
For those that attended the webinar, we ask that you fill out a brief survey about your experience here.
Standard Query: [Finance] Daily Deposit Total by Account
One of the following roles is required to access the query: Finance Full, Finance Read.

This query returns the sum of all deposits per account per day.  It only includes deposits that have been marked as “deposited.”
 
Google Classroom is Better with PCR Educator!
Google Classroom is better with PCR Educator. 

Fully-integrated Google Classroom support lets 
administrators seamlessly transfer data between the two services, allowing for a greater level of control than ever before.

When you use this API, you have access to the following features:
  • Upload Missing Course Sections to Google Classroom
  • Delete Courses in Google Classroom
  • Sync Students with Google Classroom
  • Sync Categories with Google Classroom
  • Sync Assessments with Google Classroom
  • Sync Grades with Google Classroom
  • Provide an additional layer of security with Google 2-Step Verification
Need help with implementation? Schedule a call today.
CMS Widget - Parent/Student Attendance Entry
The Parent/Student Attendance Entry CMS Widget enables parents and students to proactively report daily and/or period attendance. It is also used to record tardies for students who come in late.

This feature is especially beneficial for instances where a student anticipates absence due to illness, vacation, or other reasons, as well as for notifying the school of planned tardiness or early departures. It ensures the school is informed in advance about a student's attendance status for any given day, facilitating better communication and planning.

Note: The Daily Rotation must be specified as “in school” in order for attendance to be recorded successfully. If the parent chooses a date that isn't considered in school, then no attendance is recorded for that division.

The following table provides various uses and settings of this CMS widget. Note: ‘X’ refers to the scenario where the setting is applicable.

  Daily Attendance Period Attendance Daily & Period Attendance Late Check In
Description of the use   Report daily attendance Report period attendance Report period and daily attendance Record late arrivals
Example A student has classes from 8 to 9 am (Math) and 9.30 am to 10 am (English), then one class from 11 am to 12 pm (Arts), and then another class from 1 pm to 3 pm. The student's parent reports that the student is away from 9 am until 11.30 am because of a doctor's appointment In this scenario, the student is marked with a daily attendance record specified in the Leaving Early Type field In this scenario, the student is marked with the period attendance specified in the Absent Type field for English and with the period attendance specified in the Late Type field for Arts Combination of the daily and period attendance scenarios In this scenario, the student is marked with a daily and/or period attendance record specified in the Late Type field
Required CMS Widgets   N/A N/A N/A CMS Widget - Check In/Check Out
Optional CMS Widgets   CMS Widget - Daily Attendance is optional to allow the parents/students to delete attendance they entered CMS Widget - Period Attendance is optional to allow the parents/students to delete attendance they entered N/A N/A
Absent Type The attendance type to record for a student who will be absent X X X N/A
Add Email Daily Attendance Email to send when daily attendance is reported. This email template is configured in Administrator > Attendance > Daily Attendance > Email screen. The template can have custom fields related to the daily attendance record X N/A X N/A
Add Email to Attendance Email to send to the attendance office when attendance is reported. This email template is configured in Administrator > Students > Email screen X X X X
Add Email to Parent Email to send to the currently logged in user's email address and to the email types and fields that are selected on the template. Note: If you do not select any email types or fields on the email template, then the email will only go out to the logged in user.This email template is configured in Administrator > Students > Email screen X X X X
Error Attendance Already Taken Custom message to display to the user when attendance is already recorded for the day or if a teacher has marked attendance as taken for a course section (for the period attendance settings) X X X N/A
Error No Attendance Saved Custom message to display to the user when attendance is not saved N/A N/A N/A X
Error No Meetings Custom message to display to the user when no class meets for the specified date over the specified time range X X X N/A
Explanation Required Requires explanation in order to save attendance X X X N/A
From Time Text The label to note the time the student plans to arrive at the school X X X N/A
Late Type The specific attendance type to record on a student's record who plans to come late X X X X
Leaving Early Type The specific attendance type to record on a student's record who plans to leave early X X X N/A
Note Text Custom label for the Explanation field X X X N/A
Period Attendance1 Block Only Forces recording attendance for only the first block of a course section for each course section that takes multiple blocks across multiple blocks. Example: A course section is made up of 5 minute blocks totaling 45 minutes. If the student is absent for the course and this setting is unchecked, 9 absent records will be recorded - one for each 5 minute block. N/A X X X
Save As Attendance Type Determines which types of attendance are recorded X X X X
To Time Text The label to note the time the student plans to leave the school X X X N/A
Mail Merge is Now Print
A quick heads up to all our Administrative users:

Mail Merge will now be titled Print. Email Merge will now be titled Email.

Both of these functions will work the same as usual, they just have sprucier names now.
Join Us For Today's Teacher Portal Webinar!
Today's the day! Join us at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET for a thorough walkthrough of PCR Educator's Teacher Portal!

We will guide you through the process of preparing your school's Teacher Portal for a great new academic year!

Today's webinar will feature:
- Configuring Attendance and Gradebook
- Reviewing Student Work and Recording Grades
- Managing Google Classroom Activity
- Configuring Class Pages
- Submitting Purchase Orders
- Communicating with Parents and Students
- Sending Students to the Nurse’s Office
- Running Reports

Click here to view the webinar.
 
Don't Forget to RSVP to Tomorrow's Teacher Portal Webinar!
It's almost here, everyone! Tomorrow, July 29th at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET, join us for our complimentary Teacher Portal Webinar!

Learn how to prepare your school's Teacher Portal for an exciting and engaging new academic year!

Tomorrow's webinar will cover:
- Configuring Attendance and Gradebook
- Reviewing Student Work and Recording Grades
- Managing Google Classroom Activity
- Configuring Class Pages
- Submitting Purchase Orders
- Communicating with Parents and Students
- Sending Students to the Nurse’s Office
- Running Reports

RSVP to the Teacher Portal Webinar through the Customer Portal or on Facebook.

While you're at it, check out our latest webinar here.
Migrating Deposits (including receipts)
1. Select the ledger to migrate transactions from. 
2. Specify the From Date and To Date range.  Note:  If no From Date is specified then all deposits through the To Date are migrated.
3. Select the record type of Deposits and click Next.
4. Review the transactions that will be migrated to the general ledger and click Next.
5. Run the “Post Details Report” as a reference for the data that you are migrating and click Next.
6. Review the summary for what will be migrated.  Click “Migrate Deposits” to create the records.  Note: This summary includes a list of all Journal Entries that will be created. Journal entries are created with a name “Migrated Unearned/Deferred [ledger migrated from]”  Note: Receipts that are voided will result in journal entries for the unearned void as well.  
7. If there are no journal entries  created, you are taken to the deposits list with all the new deposits preselected.  If there are both deposits and journal entries, there will be two links:  One link takes you to the deposits list with all the new deposits preselected.  The other link takes you to the journal entries list with all the new journal entries preselected. Note: Both links open in a new tab.
Migrating Other (Invoices, Credits, Journal Entries)
1. Select the ledger to migrate transactions from.
2. Specify the From Date and To Date range.  Note:  If no From Date is specified then all transactions through the To Date are migrated.
3. Select the record type of Other and click Next.
4. Review the transactions that will be migrated to the general ledger and click Next.
5. Run the “Post Details Report” as a reference for the data that you are migrating and click Next.
6. Enter journal entry information and click “Migrate Journal Entry.”  This will complete the migration.
 
Migrating Payments
1. Select the ledger to migrate transactions from.
2. Specify the From Date and To Date range.  Note:  If no From Date is specified then all payments through the To Date are migrated.
3. Select the record type of Payments and click Next.
4. Review the details of the payments to be migrated and click Next.
5. Review the summary of payments to be migrated and click “Migrate Misc Payments.”  This will complete the migration.
 
Printing - [Finance] Customer Receipt
The [Finance] Customer Receipt template allows you to print AR Receipts.  Follow these steps to configure this template:

1. Go to Sample Templates and download the Finance - Customer Receipt template.
2. Navigate to the Finance Portal > Maintenance > Actions and set up an action within the Customer Receipt Correspondence category. Select the “Mail” method and attach the file that you downloaded in Step 1. For more information about setting up actions, review Configuring Action.
3. To print the AR Receipt, Navigate to Finance > AR > Receipts, select receipt(s) and go to Print option in the multi-action menu.  Click “Print” to generate the document.

Note: Download Sample Templates to use as is or to customize further to achieve the desired appearance.
 
Printing - [Finance] Customer Invoice
The [Finance] Customer Invoice template allows you to print AR Invoices.  Follow these steps to configure this template:

1. Go to Sample Templates and download the Finance - Customer Invoice template.
2. Navigate to the Finance Portal > Maintenance > Actions and set up an action within the Customer Invoice Correspondence category. Select the “Mail” method and attach the file that you downloaded in Step 1. For more information about setting up actions, review Configuring Action.
3. To print the AR Invoice, Navigate to Finance > AR > Invoices, select invoice(s) and go to Print option in the multi-action menu.  Click “Print” to generate the document.

Note: Download Sample Templates to use as is or to customize further to achieve the desired appearance.
 
Admissions Duplicate Check
When the inquiry form is submitted, the system uses an algorithm to identify if the new record is a duplicate.  There are two main scenarios that are taken into account to regulate duplicate records:

1. Admissions Duplicate Check - User Logged In

2. Admissions Duplicate Check - User Not Logged In
 
Admissions Duplicate Check - User Logged In
When the user is already logged into the inquiry form, the algorithm runs an Inquiry Duplication Check to identify if the inquiry record is a duplicate.

If the logged in user is not associated with an existing household and the household email address entered by the user does not exist in the system, then a new household is created upon inquiry form submission.

If the logged in user is not associated with an existing household but the email address already exists in the system, then the user receives an error message to contact the school.  The school can then connect the user to the appropriate household record.

To troubleshoot potential issues, see Application Online Record Check.
Admissions Duplicate Check - User Not Logged In
When a person accesses the inquiry form without logging in, the algorithm checks to see if the household email address is found in an existing household record, matches an existing username, or matches an existing user email.  If there is a match, the applicant receives a message to either log in with their existing account or contact the school.  If there is no match, a new user record is created.

Moreover, the algorithm runs an Inquiry Duplication Check to identify if the inquiry record is a duplicate.

To troubleshoot potential issues, see Application Online Record Check.

Note: This article is only applicable if the Skip Demographic Duplicate Check and Skip User Creating and Duplicate Check properties are not enabled in the CMS Widget - Inquiry Submit widget.
 
Inquiry Duplication Check
Upon inquiry form submission, an algorithm checks to see if the combination of Inquiry First Name, Inquiry Last Name, and Inquiry Birthdate (if populated) match an existing inquiry or student record.  

If the user is logged in and there is a match with an existing student record and that student record is associated with the same household, then the new inquiry record is automatically associated with the student record.  Otherwise, the user receives an error that the inquiry record is a duplicate.  Note: If birthdate is not populated, then the algorithm only checks for Inquiry First Name and Inquiry Last Name fields.

To troubleshoot potential issues, see Application Online Record Check.

Note: This article is only applicable if the Skip Demographic Duplicate Check property is not enabled in the CMS Widget - Inquiry Submit widget.
Application Online Record Check
An administrator with Admissions Full or Admissions Read role can navigate to Admissions > Maintenance > Application Online Record Check to review if a particular record passes the duplication check.

Simply enter the required information in the fields provided and click “Check.” 

Note: This article is only applicable if the Skip Demographic Duplicate Check and Skip User Creating and Duplicate Check properties are not enabled in the CMS Widget - Inquiry Submit widget.
 
RSVP To Next Week's Teacher Portal Webinar Today!
Don't forget to mark your calendars! Next Thursday, July 29th at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET, join us for our complimentary Teacher Portal Webinar!

Learn how to prepare your school's Teacher Portal for an exciting and engaging new academic year!

This webinar will cover:
- Configuring Attendance and Gradebook
- Reviewing Student Work and Recording Grades
- Managing Google Classroom Activity
- Configuring Class Pages
- Submitting Purchase Orders
- Communicating with Parents and Students
- Sending Students to the Nurse’s Office
- Running Reports

RSVP to the Teacher Portal Webinar through the Customer Portal or on Facebook.
(Re) Enrollment Contract Enrollment Options Setup
The (Re) Enrollment Contract Setting Enrollment Options are (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings for new and existing students to determine how actions are applied when starting and completing the (Re) Enrollment Contract.  The enrollment options are specified on the Contract > Settings page.

Enrollment Profile Options section allows you to specify which Enrollment Profile the system automatically applies when the student who matches the selected Status and Substatus submits the (Re) Enrollment Contract. Note: If the School Year is Closed setting is unchecked, then the system will do a match on the student’s next year Status and Substatus.  Otherwise, it will match on the student’s current year Status and Substatus.

You may have several groups of (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings Enrollment Profile Options addressing newly enrolled students, students who are transitioning from their first year in your school to the second, and other re-enrolling students.  The Enrollment Profile which is applied is based on the first matching status and substatus, so the order that the Enrollment Profiles are listed is important.  Note: If nothing is specified for the status field, it matches any status.  If nothing is specified for the substatus field, it matches any substatus.  You should have at least two Enrollment Profiles specified, one for new students and one for returning students.  Example:  In the example below, all students who have a “Pre-Enrolled” status match with the “Enroll New Student” Enrollment Profile and receive the actions associated with that profile.  All students who have an “Enrolled” status match with the “Enroll Existing Student” and receive actions associated with that profile.  In both of these cases, the substatus does not matter and is not checked.

Title Match Status Match Substatus
Enroll New Student Pre-Enrolled
Enroll Existing Student Enrolled

Note:  Withdrawn students are typically excluded by the Student Criteria, and would re-enroll through the admissions process as a Pre-Enrolled student.

Note:  For admissions records, the expected process is the student record is automatically created from the inquiry record with the Pre-Enrolled for Contract enrollment profile actions applied by the (Re) Enrollment Contract when the parent logs in.  Once parents complete the (Re) Enrollment Contract, the student receives actions based on the Enrollment Profile they qualify for in the Enrollment Profile Options.  Note: PCR Educator advises that the Pre-Enrolled enrollment profile contains an action setting the student status to Pre-Enrolled.  A Newly Enrolled enrollment profile should apply actions which set the student’s status to Enrolled and substatus to Newly Enrolled upon (Re) Enrollment Contract submission.  For returning students, the enrollment profile they qualify for should only apply an action which changes their the substatus to Active upon (Re) Enrollment Contract submission.  The Enrolled action should already exist for returning students and have their original enrolled date.  If the student has multiple Enrolled actions the enrolled date on transcripts may report incorrectly.

Note: The (Re) Enrollment Contract is for a specific year, which is also the year that is used as the action academic years when applying the enrollment profile actions.
Custom Teacher Portal Training for Your School!
For a limited time, we are offering a custom Teacher Portal promo and training video for your school. This video will bring your educators up to speed in no time, walking them through the crucial steps of navigating PCR Educator's Teacher Portal.

To qualify for a personalized Teacher Portal Training Video, follow these steps:
  1. Like our Facebook page.
  2. Leave an honest review on our Capterra, Google or Facebook pages.
  3. Once we verify that you've left us a review, we will reach out to you and confirm the details you'd like covered in your video.
And that's it! But don't forget, this is a limited-time offer. The deadline is Monday, August 2nd so don’t delay!
Recording Donations One-at-a-time
Go do Development > Contacts and search for the contact for whom you would like to record a donation.

Under the “Donation” column, click “New.”

- If you are recording a Pledge Payment against an existing pledge/matching donation, select an open pledge/matching donation from the first dropdown. It should automatically populate the next due amount.
- If you are recording a payment for another Contact’s existing Pledge Donation, use the dropdown above Payment for Relation Donation From field and select the donation.  Then select the Contact indicator from the Payment for Relation Donation From dropdown. Note: a Contact can only pay another Contact’s donation if both Contacts are associated through Contact Relationship.  Note: This feature is particularly useful when a Trust or a Foundation is making a payment against another Contact’s pledge/matching Donation. - To create a gift, select the New Gift option from the dropdown and enter the gift amount.
- To create a pledge, select the Total Pledge Amount radio button and enter the total amount that the donor has pledged.
- To create a recurring pledge, select the Recurring Pledge Amount radio button and enter the recurring pledge amount that the donor will be charged each time as designated by the payment frequency in the next step.
- Enter donation details.
- Select an Event if this donation came as a result of an event such as a fundraiser.
- Select an Ask if this donation came as a result of an existing ask in the system.
- Select any Donation Attribute(s) that this donation should be linked to such as an appeal or an event ticket. Click Next.
- For a non-recurring pledge, in the Schedule Configuration screen, use the Daily, Weekly, or Monthly tabs to establish the frequency of the scheduled payments. Click Next. In the Schedule screen, make any manual adjustments to the due date and due amounts for one-time pledges. Click Next.
- For a recurring pledge, enter the starting date and frequency to determine when and how often the donor will be charged the recurring pledge amount.
- Allocate the donation amount to a campaign and fund. The total sum of allocation amounts should match the donation amount. Click Next.
- Select a payment method. The selected payment method serves as a default payment method for future pledge payments if you are recording a new Pledge or Matching donation. There are several payment options:
    a.) if your school enabled Customer Payment Profile and the selected donor already has any saved Customer Payment Profiles on file, you can choose one of them to process the payment via credit card or echeck. A saved payment profile will be indicated by “Credit Card ending in…” or “Echeck ending in…” description;
    b.) if your school enabled Customer Payment Profile, you can process the payment via credit card or echeck by selecting “New Echeck … “ or “New Credit Card …” options.
    c.) if you do not wish to process the payment and want to record that it was already received, you can select one of custom-defined payment method types (such as Check or Cash)
- Click Finish

You will now be directed to the Donation Dashboard which will provide a snapshot of the new donation.
Join Us For Today's Close of the School Year Webinar!
Today's the day! Please join us for a webinar taking you through step-by-step instructions on how to close the school year!

In this webinar, you will learn to:
- Complete Pre-Close Checklist tasks
- Run the Close of the School Year Wizard
- Complete Post-Close Checklist tasks

The webinar begins at 11:00 am PT/2:00 PM ET HERE.

Before joining the webinar, be sure to review our Closing the School Year article. 
Standard Query: [Admin] Courses Without Report Card Mark Types
One of the following roles are required to access the query: Admin Full, Admin Read, Marks Full, Marks Read, Registrar Full, Registrar Read. 

This query returns Courses that do not have Report Card Mark Types associated with them.
 
Teachers Not Able to Take Attendance
If teachers are not able to take attendance, please review the following items that may be causing this problem:

- Verify that your school’s marking period Attendance Dates are in session. This can be updated by navigating to Admin > Maintenance > Marking Period Info.
- Verify that the course section has a period code and it is in session on the date the teacher is trying to take attendance. Example: If the course section is linked to Period 1, go to Scheduling > Period Codes and check to see what daily rotation days Period 1 is in session. Then go to Scheduling > Blocks > Daily Rotation to check if these rotation days are populated and marked as “In School” on the calendar.
- Verify that the course section has students enrolled in it.
- Verify that teachers’ users are associated with the same School Divisions as their course sections.
- Verify that CMS Widget - Class Attendance has all necessary divisions enabled. 
Importing New Records - Addresses
Please begin by following Importing New Records.

Field Required Type SampleValues Notes
Lookup_Household_Id
 
 Required, unless lookup fields are used to identify the contact record Identifier  "1234"   
Lookup_Household_Name Required if Household_ID is not entered Lookup "Smith Family" Must match the name of the household and must be unique if used instead of household_id
Household_Address_Type Required Datasource Data "Primary" Any of the following values or custom values that have been entered as possible values:
Primary
1099
Billing
Address_Line1 Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Data "123 1st Ave"  
Address_Line2 Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Data "Building C" .
Address_Line3 Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Data "Apt 25"  
Address_City Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Data "Anywhereville"  
Address_State Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Datasource Data "CA" Possible values can be found in the State field on the Admin > Households > Details page.
Address_Zip Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Data "12345"  
Address_County Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Data "Polk"  
Address_Country Required if none of the other "Address_***" fields are entered. Datasource Data "Canada" Possible values can be found in the Country field on the Admin > Households > Details page.
FAQ: How to Graduate Students
- Navigate to Admin and select students that you want to graduate. You can search based on grade level or any other criteria.
- Go to Multi-Action > Actions (Add) and record the Graduated action for next year. Follow the steps for Recording Student Action - Bulk.

Note: This process should be completed before Closing the School Year.
Note: The grade levels should not be advanced for students who are graduating.
Note: The Graduated action must be configured to change the Status to Graduated. Review the Status/Substatus Calculation - Student article for more information. 
Close of the School Year 2021 Announcement
The Close of the School Year Wizard will be available starting July 1st! Keep in mind that you can send notifications to next year’s families, and give them access to the Parent Portal (including next year's schedules), prior to closing this school year. As always, please plan ahead and reserve multiple business days with us in case you need support in closing the school year.

Note: The close of the school year wizard will not be available if your school exceeds the purchased database storage amount. Please contact support@pcreducator.com for help addressing this.
Closing the School Year (2021)
Closing the school year is the process designed to finalize current school year academic activities and prepare the database for the new year. The “Closing the School Year” Wizard will walk you through the process.  Please plan ahead and reserve several business days just in case you may need support from PCR Educator in closing the school year.

Note: The close of the school year needs to occur before the start of the next academic year. The school year may be closed at any point between when PCR Educator makes it available prior to the start of the next academic year. 

Note: In general, closing the school year is required for any school that is using the Student Management System (any features related to managing students).

Note: If you are operating a Summer Camp in PCR Educator, then you will wait to close the school year until after Summer Camp has finished.

Note:  If you wish to share next year schedules in the CMS Parent/Student Portals prior to closing the school year, the widget properties can be switched to show the next year schedules.

Note: The close of the school year wizard may be restricted if your school exceeds the purchased database storage amount.  Please contact support@pcreducator.com to help you address this.

Note:  Closing the School Year is a one-time process that affects every division in the school. There should be one person at the school who coordinates and performs the Closing of the School Year for the entire school. While the Academic Divisions are most affected, the school-based coordinator should understand the process and should ensure that ALL divisions are ready before proceeding.

Note:  Each summer, PCR Educator will open the “Close School Year” for advancing to the new academic year.

Note:  Closing Finance Fiscal Years operate independently of Closing the School Year.  Finance can close their Fiscal Years at their discretion.  

Contents

“Closing the School Year” Wizard
Pre-Close Checklist
    - Archiving Individual Student Reports
    - Copying Scheduling Data
    - Setting Next Year Student Fields
    - Updating Status/Substatus for Next Year
    - Enrolling Incoming Students
    - Adjusting the Parent Portal and Student Portal
    - Confirming Teacher Categories
    - Setting BC Trax Month Field (BC Schools Only)
Scheduling Next Year
Fixing Different Courses with the Same Name
Confirming Include on Transcript 
Reviewing Orphaned Grades
Reviewing Grades to History 
Reviewing Attendance to History 
Fixing Overlapping Marking Periods
Review Users
Request Closing 
Closing the Database Year Step
Reviewing Post-Close Checklist 

“Closing the School Year” Wizard

 To begin Closing the School Year process navigate to Security > Maintenance > Close School Year.  You need the Security Full role to access this page.  Note: If the Close School Year cannot be started, an explanation is provided on the first step.  Note: The second to last step of the Close School Year will have you contact PCR Educator to make an archive.  This may take 1 business day so please plan accordingly.
Closing the School Year does the following:
     - Copies Next Year Student Fields to the current year
    - Moves students to their next grade level
    - Archives student grades to Historical Marks
    - Archives student attendance to Historical Attendance
    - Purges processed notifications, except emails associated with:
        - Inquiry records with an academic year greater or equal to the current admissions year.  Example:  You are closing the school year for 2017/2018.  An inquiry is applying for 2017/2018 and has 3 notifications, 2 of which have already been processed and 1 of which is unprocessed.  The 2 processed notifications will be deleted.  Example:  You are closing the school year for 2017/2018.  An inquiry is applying for 2018/2019 and has 3 notifications, 2 of which have already been processed and 1 of which is unprocessed.  None of these notifications will be deleted.
        - Inquiry Actions Note: Notifications that were associated with an inquiry action where the inquiry action has been deleted will be treated like an Inquiry notification.
        - Finance
        - Financial Aid Awards
        - Student Health Visits
        - Development
        Note: Purging notifications deletes processed Notification Jobs from the date you close the school year which includes removal of the individual notification information as well as any attached files stored in the database.


Note: Once you finish Closing the School Year, the following records will be permanently removed from the database:
    - Gradebook grades
    - Marks for any report
    - Comments for any report

Note: Once you finish Closing the School Year, the following records will be purged and you may not have access to individual details:
    - Attendance records  Note:  Discipline records are retained, but Daily and Period Attendance are purged.
    - Student Pictures for students that do not contain a status of Enrolled for any division in the current or next year.  Example:  The student status is Pre-Enrolled for next year.  The student photo is retained.  Example: The student status is Enrolled in the current year and Graduated for next year.  The student photo is retained this year, but would be removed with next year’s close if the student’s status remains Graduated.  Example: The student Withdrew this year.  Their current and next year status is listed as Withdrew.  The student photo is purged.
    - Inquiry Pictures for inquiries/applicants with an academic year prior to the pre-close admissions year.  Example: The school year being closed is the academic year 2020/2021.  The current year of the inquiry is 2020/2021 even though admissions has moved forward to 2021/2022.  The photo is retained.
    - Daily rotations with dates prior to the close date.  Future daily rotation dates will be kept intact.
    - Student Check In / Check Out records.  If you are billing for Check In / Check Out records, records that have already been billed for will be removed.  If you are not billing for Check In / Check Out records, all records with a check out date will be removed.   Note: Invoices are still retained, but the association to the original Check In / Check Out record will be removed.

You may want to consider exporting your data using a DAT Query if you may need these details in the future.

Pre-Close Checklist

There are tasks that must be completed by each and every Academic Division prior to closing the school year.  Note: The following tasks MUST be completed BEFORE you close the school year.

- Archiving Individual Student Reports
- Copying Scheduling Data
- Setting Next Year Student Fields
- Updating Status/Substatus for Next Year
- Enrolling Incoming Students
- Adjusting the Parent Portal and Student Portal
- Confirming Teacher Categories
- Setting BC Trax Month Field (BC Schools Only)
- Exporting Data (If Applicable)

Archiving Individual Student Reports

Registrars should archive, print, and/or save PDFs of Progress Reports, Report Cards, and Transcripts prior to closing the school year.  Archiving Official Reports can be performed through a multi-action with the files optionally made available to the Parent Portal.  Note: Transcripts do not need to be archived as they can be recreated from the historical marks.

Attendance reports, discipline reports, gradebooks and other reports involving data which is reset year to year may be generated and retained by the school.

Copying Scheduling Data

Closing the school year will replace the current year’s schedule with the next year's schedule.  If you do not have a schedule in the next year, then when the school year is closed you will have no schedule in the current year.

Note: The automatic scheduling functions that allow for using the Master Schedule Builder and the automated “Load Students” DO NOT EXIST in the Current Year. If anyone in the school still needs to use those features, you should not close the school year.

1. Copy the current year Block Codes and Period Codes into the Next Year.  This should be performed in each division that has a schedule.

2. Copy the current year Course Sections to Next Year. Each division may decide to copy the current course sections for next year (and modify them as necessary) OR the division may decide to build all the course sections from scratch. Copying the sections must be done prior to Closing the School Year or there will be no sections when the school year is closed.

For more information about Copying/Moving Schedules, please see the section on Scheduling Next Year below.

Setting Next Year Student Fields

Ensure that the next  year grade levels for your students are correct.  

Note:  The Next Year grade level fields can be seen on the Admin > Students list or the Scheduling > Students list, and the column is titled Gr NY.  If you do not see the field, click the gear above the details column and enable it.

Note: There are other next year fields which may need to be set including Day or Boarding Next Year, International Next Year, and more.  Advancing student grades can set the next year grade level for students as well as these other fields.

Note: Once the grades are properly advanced, you can begin the scheduling process. Note that in Scheduling, you will be working predominantly with a student’s “grade next year.” The “not returning” students and students without a “grade next year” will not appear in your scheduling lists.

Updating Status/Substatus for Next Year

In Admin > Students, users can view the current and next year status/substatus for their student.  Note:  The next year status and substatus may be different depending on which school division you are currently accessing.  Another way to evaluate students and their status’ is to create a DAT report using Students and linking in the Statuses By Division table.

The administrator can update student status/substatus for next academic year to indicate students who are graduating, returning, or withdrawing.  These changes are configured by Recording Student Actions which determine the Status/Substatus Calculation - Student.

One method is to find all students who are currently newly enrolled and mark them as Active or Returning for the next year. Similarly, all non-returning students can be marked as Withdrew for next year and all Pre-Enrolled students can be marked as Enrolled/Newly Enrolled for next year. Each school may have its own preference for handling this workflow.

Note: The next year student status and substatus will become the current year status and substatus after Closing the School Year.

Note: For students to access the CMS Portals, the student user must have a role of Student.  For parents to access the CMS Parent Portal, the parent user must have a role of Parent or ParentNY.  These roles are calculated according to the Roles Dictionary.  Any student whose status next year is “Graduated” will lose their access to the CMS portals when the school year is closed. To temporarily give students and parents access after Closing the School Year, you can create an action named something like “Portal Access” with an “Enrolled” status modifier, and give it to the student for the next academic year. That way, their status will remain “Enrolled” until you decide to revoke their access by removing the “Portal Access” action at a later date.

Note: The Graduated date on the transcript is usually based on an action of the same name.  It is possible to have a Graduated action configured to not change the status, and instead use a different action to change student status’ to Graduated at a later date.  This way the correct graduated date is shown on the transcript while the student status temporarily remains Enrolled until another action changes the status to Graduated.

Enrolling Incoming Students

This component can be completed before or after closing the school year. The Admissions staff can enroll incoming students by Applying Enrollment Profiles. Enrollment Profiles may also be applied automatically for students submitting (Re) Enrollment Contracts.

Adjusting the Parent Portal and Student Portal

If your school is using the CMS Parent/Student Portals, you need to consider the information you are displaying to the parents and students currently and the information you want them to have access to once the school year rolls over. Once the school year is closed, the next school year’s information is going to be displayed (schedules, homerooms, etc.). Make sure you adjust the portals according to what you want the parents to have access to over the summer.  Note: You can temporarily “disable” pages on these portals by requiring a role like “Security Full” to access the page.  Remove the role requirement to allow access again.  

Confirming Teacher Categories

The CMS Teacher Portal has a widget which allows teachers to map their Gradebook Categories associated with a current year course section to a corresponding section for next year.  This widget is usually placed at the bottom of the Class > Gradebook Settings page.  If the widget isn’t present, it can be added to the page via the Course > Gradebook Next Year option.  Note: If a teacher is teaching the same Course and Section next year, those course sections will automatically be considered mapped and associated gradebook items will be retained.

Example:  A teacher may be teaching Math section 01 this year, but next year they will be teaching Math section 03.  They can match their Math section 01 to next year’s Math section 03.

Teachers that do not have their course sections mapped to a corresponding next year course section will have the following gradebook items cleared:
    - Gradebook Preferences for unmapped course sections
    - Gradebook Assessments for unmapped course sections
    - Gradebook Assessments no longer associated with any course section
    - Gradebook Categories no longer associated with any assessments

Setting BC Trax Month Field (BC Schools Only)

When determining the Trax month for a student and a course, PCR Educator will first look at the student course override for the student, then the mark type exam percent’s month / mark type school percent’s month, then the course month (specified on the course).  Setting the BC Trax Month for a  Mark Type Marking Period involves Configuring Mark Types associated with the courses. Note: If multiple months are present for the mark types, the largest integer month for the course section is used.  Example:  There is no student course override.  The mark types for the course have months specified of 1 for quarter one, 3 for quarter two, 6 for quarter three and 8 for quarter four. If the course section only meets semester one then the month used will be 3.  If the course section only meets for quarter one, then the month will be 1.  If the course section is a full year course, then the month will be 8.

Scheduling Next Year 

Please confirm with the individuals responsible for scheduling each division that they have completed scheduling, or have at least copied the minimum required to next year.  Note:  The master schedule builder and master load student functions are only available as Next Year functions.  If any school division still requires use of these functions, do not close the school year.

Every academic division which contains scheduling information should complete these tasks prior to Closing the School Year:
1.  Copy the existing Blocks to next year.
2.  Copy the existing Period Codes / period code groups to next year.
3.  Copy the Course Sections to next year.
Note:  If these are not copied, then the school division will be creating entirely new ones after the close.

Note: You can set up daily rotations for next year in the current year configuration.  You can do this by going to Scheduling > Blocks > Daily Rotation.  When you close the school year, all rotation days assigned to dates prior to the close of the year will be removed and all future rotation dates will be kept intact.

If there are items that have not been taken care of or that need to be adjusted, you can exit the wizard and attend to those items. You may also click one of the links on this step to take you directly to the records in the current school division.

The chart at the bottom of this step indicates the existing blocks, period codes, and sections for each division. Please make sure that you have either copied that data or built new data for all divisions for the upcoming school year for any divisions which have schedules.

Fixing Different Courses with the Same Name 

This step is to help you clean the data that will be placed into historical marks for the students. If there are no students and courses listed, you may proceed to the next step. 

If a student has two or more courses with the same name but different ids, these will be recorded as multiple different records in historical marks, and these records will show as 2 or more separate lines on the transcript.  Example: A student has grades for courses Algebra I - ID 123 and Algebra I - ID 456. The student will have 2 rows appearing on the transcript, both showing “Algebra I.”

- You have the option to export the list and correct the records after the close.

- You have the option to leave the wizard and handle the courses prior to the close.  Options might include:
    1. Moving all report card grades to one version of the course
    2. Manually recording a historical record for the student regarding this course, then removing their grades from the current year courses.
    3. Migrating Single Student Current Year Marks to History and correcting the historical record.

Confirming Include on Transcript 


The “Include on Transcript” step allows you to locate courses which might be incorrectly excluded from transcripts and history.

The grid shows courses that have mark types that would ordinarily be found in historical marks (Term or Final grades) but the checkbox Include on Transcript is unchecked (which means that the grades would not be moved to history if the setting is not fixed).

The checkbox can be checked directly in the grid.

Reviewing Orphaned Grades

A student may have switched from one section of a course to another without using the “Transfer” button on the Conflicts screen.  In the case of a course set up as a single semester course, both the Orphaned grade and the student current grade (if any) will both be moved to history.  In the case of a full year course, one of the marks will be chosen arbitrarily.  Review any marks appearing in this list and note the “Orphaned?” column.  Note: If the “Orphaned?” column says “yes” then the student is no longer enrolled in that section of the course for that marking period.

If the student has both an Orphaned and non-Orphaned mark for the same course name, the orphaned mark should usually be deleted.

Note: This step shows any students who have more than one grade for the same course and marking period, but a different section.  A student may be legitimately taking multiple different sections of the same single semester course.

Reviewing Grades to History 

Historical Marks are those grades that will be saved and used for future transcripts for your students.  The “Reviewing Grades to History” step lists all the grades that will be archived to history.

The listing in the wizard is performed by Division and then by the Mark Types associated with each grade. Check to make sure that the grades will be placed into history correctly.  Note: It is difficult to fix them once they have been archived by Closing the School Year, though there are methods for Updating Historical Marks individually and in bulk.

For Coordinators who are Closing the School Year, make sure that the staff in each division works with you and has “signed off” on this data to ensure that the grades are properly stored. 

Review the total number of marks to be moved, particularly for any counts that seem unusually low or different.  This could indicate that a new courses’ mark types were not set up properly.  Otherwise, confirm that the totals for the various grade types are consistent with the number of students taking graded courses.

Note:  Term grades for course sections meeting only one term will be copied to the final grade for the course section unless a separate final grade mark type is present.

Note:  If you make changes when Configuring Mark Types, double check the Confirming Include on Transcript step doesn’t include new courses.

Reviewing Attendance to History

This step highlights the Attendance Types that will be summarized into history for transcripts.

The four types of daily attendance that are summarized are Absent Excused, Absent Unexcused, Late Excused, and Late Unexcused based on their Historical Meaning.  Attendance types without a Historical Meaning are not summarized.  If you have daily attendance types that do not have historical meaning showing on this step and that need to be stored, please modify those records here.  Note: Period attendance is not summarized to history.  Note:  Period Attendance can be converted to Daily Attendance by navigating to Admin > Attendance > Period Attendance, selecting the desired period attendance records, and using the “Generate Daily” multi-action.

Fixing Overlapping Marking Periods 

Overlapping marking periods are not permitted.  A daily attendance record that appears during an overlap would be counted multiple times - once for each overlapping marking period.  The marking periods are shown by division with the overlapping periods shown side by side.

To correct bad data in the marking period information, leave the wizard and fix the overlaps in the Marking Period Info. 

Review Users

Users that are incorrectly set up need to be corrected.  

“Staff associated with multiple users” - Staff records should only be associated with a single user.  The resolution depends on why there are multiple users.  If one of the users is a “parent” user, then this user should be removed and the remaining user used as both a staff and parent user.  If there is a duplicate staff user, disassociate the teacher from the user in the user profile.  Note: Be careful when deciding to remove a Staff user as it may be associated with DAT queries or filters.

“Students associated with multiple users” - Students should only be associated with a single user.  Choose which student user to retain and remove the other users for the student.

Parents associated with multiple users - Parents should only have a single user each.  First, make sure the Household Indicator is correctly specified for the users.  If there are still duplicates for a particular household and indicator, remove the duplicate users.  Note:  If the Parent is also a Staff, retain the staff user.

“Parent users with no indicator” - Make sure to specify the Household Indicator for users associated with households.

“User associated with Students and Household/Staff users” - Student users should not be associated with their parent households.  Household users should not be associated with student records. Note: One exception is when the student has a relationship of “Self” with the household.  This occurs for schools where the student applies and submits contracts instead of their parent performing those steps.  Note: Students who are alumni should receive a new user associated with their new household record.  Students typically have users with emails provided by the school.  After the student graduates, they need a household user based around their personal email address information.

Request Closing

All previous steps in the wizard must be completed prior to completing this step and all divisions should be finished with any data corrections before completing this step.

Number of Days School was in session - If your school lists the number of school days on transcripts, please make sure to enter the correct number in the box provided. 180 is the default number displayed.

Admissions Year is the current (pre-close) year that your Admissions is currently operating with.  This year is used to determine which notifications are retained in Admissions.

This step directs you to contact PCR Educator to request that our representatives perform additional closing steps.  Note:  You do not need to remain on this page while waiting for PCR Educator to contact you.  Note: It may take up to 2 business days. Note: The closing process is not reversible. Note: you should not be making any changes after this step and before the year is closed.

Wait to hear back from PCR Educator representatives.

Closing the Database Year Step

If you receive a ticket response from PCR Educator to proceed with Closing the Database, you will need to press the Finish button on this step to finalize the closing. 

When you are ready, press the Finish button to proceed.  You will be presented with a page showing the current status of the closing process.  Each step is shown with a timer counting how long the process has been running.  So long as the timer is still counting, the Close of Year process is still running.  Note: This page can be refreshed/reloaded if you experience an internet interruption.  Note: If the page stays on “Please wait…” for more than 30 seconds or if you reload the page and it indicates that the school year is not being closed, please contact PCR Support at 301-947-7380 ext 2.  Note:  Some steps may start counting over again.  This is expected behavior when there is a lot of data to process.  Note:  Do not press the back button on your browser or close your browser.  Please wait patiently until you are directed to the last step to confirm that the close was successful.

Reviewing Post-Close Checklist 

After Closing the Database Year Step is finished, please complete the following steps to ready the database for the next Academic Year.
1. Confirm the student status’ for the current year.  Corrections can be made by Recording Student Actions
2. Confirm Homerooms and Advisors for students
3. Update year specific attributes if applicable.  Example: You may be tracking Student groups through attributes.
4. Update the Marking Period Info for the new year
5. Update the Daily Rotation
6. If you are using development, check development campaigns.  Make sure you have the next year Annual Fund created if applicable.  Note: Development fiscal years are independent of the school year and do not get updated through this Close of the Year Process.  This is only a reminder.  Annual Fund campaigns may be created at any time.
7. If you are using Development, run the Alumni Wizard for graduating students.
8. Update online donations to use new year campaigns/products.
9. Check the admissions academic year in School Info
    - Check the Apply Online Academic Years for your Inquiry/Apply Online
    - Follow Advancing Admissions Records for the next admissions year if applicable.
10. Delete/deactivate old Users.  Note: The User article has important information on handling staff users.
11. Remove Purchase Options for former students/faculty

Note: After Closing the School Year, every student’s grade next year will be the same as their current grade.  This is desirable because of how the (Re) Enrollment Contract works. The (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles should be looking at the grade next year field to determine which version of the (Re) Enrollment Contract is shown to the parents. If your (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles operate like this, then you should wait before Advancing Student Grades in the new year until you stop accepting contracts for the new academic year.

Note: After Closing the School Year, the School Year is Closed checkbox will automatically be checked in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup.
 
Complementary Student Scheduling Consultations
Need help navigating the delicate process of scheduling students into classes? Let us connect you with one of our scheduling pros, who will come up with a tailor-made solution for your school’s needs! Follow this link to schedule a call today https://bit.ly/3gsDgpF.
Close of the School Year 2021 Announcement
The Close of the School Year Wizard will be available starting July 1st! Keep in mind that you can send notifications to next year’s families, and give them access to the Parent Portal (including next year's schedules), prior to closing this school year. As always, please plan ahead and reserve multiple business days with us in case you need support in closing the school year.

Note: The close of the school year wizard will not be available if your school exceeds the purchased database storage amount. Please contact support@pcreducator.com for help addressing this.
Migrating Single Student Current Year Marks to History
To migrate a single student’s current year marks to history, navigate to Admin > Student > Details > Move To History.  You will need Marks Full roles to access this screen.  

Move To History will act like a closing the school year wizard for just this one student: 
- their marks will move to history 
- the current year grading and comment data will be removed
- daily attendance will be summarized
- attendance records will be removed
- student will be removed from all their classes
GL Account Mapping
Account mapping is the process of creating definable sections in the account numbers that will be used. Each section in the account number can represent a division, department or account type that the school has created.
Example:
 
1-00-1650-12

Division Department Account Type Account Sub Type
(1) 0 (1) (650) (12)

The individual sections of the account number are created in Finance > Maintenance > Account Number. You will need to create the account number mask first.

  - Enter the name of the section in the text box at the top left of the page and click Add Section. 

  - Select the section name, the type and the count. Note: Types like digit and letter use count to represent the number of integers or letters used. Types like specific value allow you to enter a specific letter, integer or symbol. Example: digit 2 represents an account segment with 2 digits. Example: specific value “-” shows as “-” allowing to separate other meaningful segments of an account number.

  - Click Add Mask.
  
  - Repeat steps until all account number sections required are added.

Note: The order of the sections can be rearranged by selecting the up or down arrows under the section name.

The value represented in each section is entered in Finance > Maintenance > Account Number Mappings.

  - Select the section name from the drop-box on the top of the page.

  - Enter the code for that section. Note: The code is the value for that section in the account number. Example: a 2-digit section representing campus of the school may have codes 01 and 02 that refer to descriptions “Austin”, “Washington DC” 

  - Enter the description for the code. Note: The description would be what the value entered for the code represents.

  - Click Add.

  - Repeat steps for all sections added to the account number.
 
GL Account Category / Account Type
Category Type
Asset Bank Account, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Asset, Other, Depreciation, Undeposited Funds, Prepaid Expense.
Equity Equity
Net Asset Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted, Permanently Restricted, Net Asset
Liability Accounts Payable, Credit Card, Current, Long Term, Deferred Revenue, Unearned Revenue, Other
Revenue Income, Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted, Permanently Restricted, Other
Expense Wage, Expense, Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted, Permanently Restricted, Prepaid Expense, Other
Gain Gain, Other
Loss Loss, Other
CMS Widget
CMS Widget is a building element of any CMS page. Content and functionality of CMS pages are defined through CMS widgets. Anything you want your page to do, you do it with a widget. Following are examples of how widgets define the content and functionality of pages in PCR Educator:

  - To display text on your page, you use the CMS Text widget.
  - To display news on your page, you use the News widget.
  - To display a menu on your page, you use the Navigation widget.

Note: All CMS Widgets have a set of CMS Widget - Standard Properties. 
Note: CMS pages are containers where you add the content and the functionality using widgets.

Please follow the steps in Adding CMS Widget to add a new widget.

Here is an index of articles for CMS Widgets:

CMS Widget - Inquiry/Student Action
CMS Widget - Simple Report Runner
CMS Widget - Menu
CMS Widget - Parent/Student Attendance Entry 
CMS Widget - Report Runner
CMS Widget - Sign up Summary
CMS Widget - Simple Report Runner
 

 
Adding CMS Widget
Website Full Role is required to add a CMS Widget.

  1. Click the “Content” link on the top-left of the page.
  2. Click the “Add Widget” tab on the right of the page.
  3. Select the appropriate CMS Container. Note: The selected container will be highlighted on the page to indicate where the CMS Widget is being added.
  4. Select the CMS Widget Category by clicking on the plus icon.
  5. Click on the appropriate CMS Widget to add it to the page.
  6. Specify the properties and click Save.  Note: See CMS Widget - Standard Properties for more information.
 
Standard Query: [Development] Donation Payment Errors
One of the following roles are required to access the query: Development Full, Development Read.

This query returns the contact information, due date/amount, and payment information of any donation containing an error from the last 30 days.
 
Chart of Accounts
Chart of Accounts is a list of all the GL Accounts  that have been entered into one of the Ledgers by the school. The accounts are specific to a given ledger and use the format set up in GL Account Mapping.

There are three basics accounts needed in the Finance portal: 

A Revenue Account, which is a category of accounts used to record the money that the school has received. Revenue accounts can have the account type income, unrestricted, temporarily restricted, permanently restricted, or other. 

An Accounts Receivable account, which is a revenue account used to record customer transactions from billing a customer for goods or services they have purchased. The account type for this account should be income.

A Deposit/Bank Account, which is used to record all payments to the school. The category for this account can be liability or asset and the account type is Bank Account.
DAT Search Feature Demonstration
Ever find yourself a little lost in the DAT? What if I told you there was an easy way to find what you’re looking for, and better yet, that we have a video showing you exactly how to do it? 

Your aimless DAT wandering days are over! Take a gander at our latest video showcasing the DAT Search feature here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBBqg3pYnbM
 
Standard Query: [Admin] Interim Comments
One of the following roles are required to access the query: Marks Full, Marks Read, Registrar Full, Registrar Read.

This query returns all saved Interim comments for the current school year along with student and course information.
 
New Feature: Allocating Credit to Invoices when Adding/Dropping Course
More exciting update news! We have added an option to allocate credits to open invoices when adding/dropping courses in the Finance Module. This means that when you drop a student from a class and it results in a credit, this credit can be used to add a student to a new class or to apply it to other open invoices. 
 
Working Smarter, Not Harder, With Smart Forms
PCR Educator’s Smart Forms are interactive forms that rely on real-time answers to previous questions to dynamically change what the user sees next. This functionality allows you to tailor your forms and personalize their appearance. You can also declutter your questionnaires by hiding sections, questions or entire pages based on the information in the database or based on the answers provided earlier in the form. Smart Forms are available for all CMS portals and features, including online inquiry and application process, annual forms, activity registration, parent and student information update forms, online donation and