FAQ: How do I Validate Grades Before Printing or Archiving Report Cards?
Grade validation is the process of reviewing grades to ensure that all teachers have entered and saved their marks before report cards are generated or archived. This step helps schools avoid incomplete or inaccurate records on student report cards. You can follow the steps below to validate grades.

Checking Unsaved Grades in Marks

  • Navigate to: Admin > Comments and Marks > Marks.
  • Search for unsaved grades for the desired marking period.

This provides a quick way to identify and address any missing entries before report cards are finalized.
 
FAQ: Why is there a red asterisk next to the student’s name in the CMS Portal?
The red asterisk indicates that the student has a health alert. It provides a quick way for staff to recognize when important health information is associated with a student. To view the details of the alert, you can simply click on the student’s name.
 
FAQ: What’s the process for managing fixed assets we’ve paid for but haven’t placed into service yet?
When you prepay for a fixed asset, but do not place it into service immediately, follow this process to ensure accurate accounting and fixed asset tracking:

     1. Use a Prepaid Account
         On the AP Invoice, use a prepaid expense account instead of a Fixed Asset account. This ensures no fixed asset is created prematurely.

     2. Create the Fixed Asset
          When the asset is actually placed into service, manually create the fixed asset record with the correct date. Follow the steps in Creating Fixed Asset to create the Fixed Asset.

     3. Record a Journal Entry
          Record a journal entry to move the amount from the prepaid account to the appropriate fixed asset account. 
 
FAQ: Students are not able to make Course Selections on CMS

If students are unable to make course selections in the CMS, please review the following items that may be causing the issue:

1. Ensure the correct school is selected in the CMS Widget settings. If the selected school does not match the student’s current enrollment division, course selection options may not appear.
  • Website Full role is required to make this change.
2. Navigate to Admin > School Info and confirm that the Online Selection End Date is set to a future date. If this date has passed, students will no longer be able to access course selection.

3. Navigate to Scheduling > Student > Details and confirm that each student has a Student Selection End Date set to a valid future date. To update this for multiple students:
  • Select all students who should have access to make course selections.
  • Use Multi-Action > Update Fields.
  • Update the Student Selection End Date to a future date.
 
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
 
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.
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.
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.
 
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.
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.
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

 
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. 
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. 
FAQ: How to close Apply Online and prevent new applications?
Follow the steps below when you no longer want to accept online applications:

Website Full role is required to make this change. 

  - Navigate to the Applicant Profile page
  - Go to properties of the Applications widget
  - Clear out the Application Academic Year1 and ApplicationAcademicYear2 settings

Note: Please remove any references on your public website that direct users to the online application once the application is closed.

Note: Consider adding a message on the Apply Online login page to let users know that the application is closed.  

Note: If  you plan to close the online application for a specific program, you can remove the option to select that program from your Inquiry Form and the online application.

Note: If you plan to close the online application for specific grade levels, uncheck the grade levels within the Apply Online Grade Levels setting in the Applications widget.
FAQ: How to suppress blank merge fields
A common request for mail merges is the need to suppress merge fields when they contain no data.

Example: If you have a label mail merge that is used for creating mailing labels and the Address Line 2 and Address Line 3 merge fields are blank for most but not all of the records, you would want to suppress the merge fields when they contain no data so that there isn't two extra blank lines between the Address Line and the City, State, Zip line.

The following method can be used in Microsoft Word to suppress the merge fields when they contain no data:

1. Toggle the field codes in the mail merge document so that merge fields present in the following manner (Alt+F9 can accomplish this): {MERGEFIELD *Field_name*} 
2. Remove any carriage returns and spaces between the merge field that you want to be suppressed if it is blank and the previous merge field.
3. Insert the following text within the merge field at the closing bracket:
\b "
"

Example:

Original template:

{MERGEFIELD AddressAddress}
{MERGEFIELD AddressAddress2} 
{MERGEFIELD AddressAddress3} 
{MERGEFIELD AddressCity}, {MERGEFIELD AddressState}, {MERGEFIELD AddressZip}

Updated template with blank merge field suppression:
{MERGEFIELD AddressAddress}{MERGEFIELD AddressAddress2 \b "
"}{MERGEFIELD AddressAddress3 \b "
"} 
{MERGEFIELD AddressCity}, {MERGEFIELD AddressState}, {MERGEFIELD AddressZip}
 
What information does a “What If” Scenario save?
When a “What If” scenario is created, a snapshot of the following information is saved in that scenario:

- Course Sections
- Course Period and Room Inclusions
- Teacher Period and Room Inclusions
- Student Courses
- Student Selections
- Course Section Grouping
Reviewing Inquiry Actions From Admin Portal
The process of Enrolling Inquiries creates a student record for the corresponding inquiry record. At times, school administrators may need access to student record information created during the admissions process. Such records are typically stored as Inquiry Actions. To achieve this, school administrators can navigate to Admin>Students>Dashboard and add the Admissions Actions widget. 

Note: Actions Read, Actions Full, or Admissions Evaluator role is required to be able to use this widget. 

Note: Since each Action may have different Read Roles associated with it, please ensure that you modify the specific Actions through Maintenance>Actions enabling the Read Roles for your administrators. Example: The school registrar needs to access a Transcript Inquiry Action. Navigate to Maintenance>Actions, locate the Transcript inquiry action, click on Edit, check the checkbox for Registrar Full and click Save.
GPA Calculation
The GPA is calculated as the sum of the GPA points divided by the sum of the GPA credits.  

GPA points are determined by the Grade Conversion Chart and may be further adjusted if the GPA is a weighted GPA and the individual course has additional weighting specified.  

GPA credits are determined by courses’ Credits Per Semester, Number of Semesters, and the type of the grade.  If the grade is a Term grade then the credits attempted are based on the Credits Per Semester for a single term.  If the grade is a Final grade, then the credits attempted are based on the Credits Per Semester multiplied by the Number of Semesters.

Review the Class Rank Details to see how the GPA is calculated for any specific student.
Can wildcards be used when searching?
If the search is for Contains, Starts With, Ends With, or Like then some wildcards are supported:
Wildcard Description Example
% Matches 0 or more characters John% matches John, Johnson, Johnathan.
_ Matches any single character A__a matches Alma, Alva, Anna
[abc] Matches any character in the list [adl][aen]na matches Anna, Dana, Lena
[a-c] Matches any character in the range. Note: 0 is considered to come after the number 9. To get a range of 0-5 you would use [01-5]. [a-cy-z]% matches everything that starts with A, B, C, X, Y, or Z.

Wild cards can be mixed and matched:

[4-7]-1% matches anything that starts with 4, 5, 6, or 7 followed by a hyphen and 1 then any number of characters.  Depending on your account number setup, this type of search might find all Revenue and Expense accounts for your upper school.

[q-twzf-h]___ matches a 4 letter word that starts with F, G, H, Q, R, S, T, W, or Z.  Notice how you can have a mix of ranges and single characters within the same brackets.

When might you use wild cards?  
- Accounting can use wildcards to match all accounts.  Example: If you have a 6 digit account number, _3_5__  would find all accounts where the second digit is 3 and the 4th digit is 5.
- Searching for names where you don’t know the correct spelling.  Example:  You don’t know if the name is spelled Johnson, Jahnson, Jonson, Jonnson, or some other obscure spelling.  But you do know that it starts with a J and ends with son:  J%son
 
How can I manually apply Financial Aid Awards to Customer Invoices?
There are two ways to apply financial aid awards for a student:

- Applying Financial Aid Awards to Customer Invoices as Line Items
- Applying Financial Aid Awards as Customer Credits

Note: Tuition financial aid should be applied as a customer invoice line item as this will decrease each payment in the customer invoice’s payment schedule.
FAQ: Who Gets the New IRS 1099-NEC Form?
The Internal Revenue Service reintroduced Form 1099-NEC to report payments for services of $600 or more during 2020 to independent contractors and freelancers. In the past, such payments were reported on Form 1099-MISC along with other types of income (prizes, awards, etc). Copy A of the 1099-NEC form is due to the IRS by February 1, 2021, for year 2020, with the “B” copies deadline to the actual contractor-recipients also being February 1, 2021. Please note that as a result of this change, you need to double-check how 1099 items are allocated.

You will find the following in the DAT - PCR Imported category.

These are queries for generating IRS forms prior to 2020:
[Finance] 1096 - No Lines (Pre-2020)
[Finance] 1096 - With Lines (Pre-2020)
[Finance] 1099 - No Lines (Pre-2020)
[Finance] 1099 - With Lines (Pre-2020)

These are new queries and printable forms for 2020:
[Finance] 1096 MISC - No Lines
[Finance] 1099 MISC - With Lines
[Finance] 1096 NEC - No Lines
[Finance] 1099 MISC - No Lines
[Finance] 1099 NEC - No Lines

Client Relationship Management (CRM) Automation
Family Actions, Contact Actions, and Customer Actions are excellent features that allow schools to keep track of their interactions with a contact. Such actions may include scheduling a call, generating an automated email, creating personalized touchpoints, or simply recording activity on a family/customer level.

In addition to scheduling or completing an activity, Family Actions, Contact Actions, and Customer Actions feature an advanced customer relationship management tool that allows associating a customer with a predefined track of actions where each follow-up depends on the outcome of the previous step.

For instance, if you have a family that is interested in volunteering, you may predefine a decision tree that features such actions as Volunteering Inquiry, Volunteering Inquiry Confirmation Email, Volunteering Call, Volunteering Interview, Volunteering Assignment. In this case, Volunteering Inquiry Confirmation Email will be automatically emailed to the family once they complete your Volunteering Inquiry form.
Reflecting School Admissions Application Fees in Finance Portal
PCR Educator Online Application can be configured to automatically record your school’s application fees as Misc Receipts. This option eliminates the need to migrate the transactions between Admissions and Finance. It also guarantees that all application fees are reflected in the general ledger and appear for reconciliation.

To enable this feature, navigate to your Online Application submission page and specify Deposit Description, Ledger, Misc Receipt Credit Account, Misc Receipt Debit Account.
Charging Echeck Processing Fees
In addition to providing options for our schools to automatically charge credit card processing fees, we have added an option to automatically charge processing fees with eCheck (Electronic Check) transactions. Just like with credit card convenience fees, the new eCheck convenience fee feature is optional and allows each school to establish how this fee is calculated, whether it is represented as a fixed amount or as a percentage of the transaction.
FAQ: Why are Assessments still editable for some teachers and not others?
There are two reasons why assessments can still be editable for some teachers and not others: 
  1. The teacher’s user has the Marks Full role, which grants them the ability to change assessments and marks outside of the date ranges set in the Marking Period Info.

  2. The teachers are teaching course sections in different divisions with marking periods that have different date ranges set in the  Marking Period Info.
FAQ: Why is a campaign/fund not available for allocation?
For a campaign/fund to be available for a donation to allocate to, the Donation Date must be greater than or equal to the Start Date and less than (not equal to) the End date of the campaign.

Example: if you want to allocate a donation that has a Donation Date of 6/30/2019 to a particular campaign, the campaign must have a Start Date less than or equal to 6/30/2019 and an End Date that is Greater Than 6/30/2019. 
 
How to mark deceased date?
You need Admin Full and Security Full roles to complete this process.

1. Navigate to Admin > Households > Details > Parent 1/Parent 2 (or Development > Contacts > Details > Contact Primary/Secondary for a donor record) and enter the deceased date.
2. Clear associated phones and emails.
3. Update addressee and salutation information in Household Details/Contact Address page.
4. If applicable, navigate to Security > Users > Details > Delete to delete the user account.

Note: If the spouse of the deceased contact remarries, you can use the Split Parents functionality to split the household so that the deceased person has their own household; then add the new spouse to the same household as the remarried contact.

Note: If you are splitting a donor record, make sure to update giving records so that they are associated with the correct donor.
What does a notification “read date” indicate?
The “read date” field generally indicates the date and time when an email has been opened by the recipient. The read date is not a guaranteed approach and it is not recommended for looking at the absolute number of read messages, but it could be used for statistical purposes to compare time trends, population groups, and other criteria in identifying the best approaches to sending out emails.
Q & A: Surveying Parents
Q: How can we use PCR Educator to survey parents about possible online instructions?
A: The easiest way to collect responses to surveys is by adding survey questions directly to your parent portal. You can create a new page for these questions and then email all parents using our bulk email feature to invite everyone to participate. We recommend using student or household attributes to record the responses. 
Q & A: Collecting COPPA Forms
Q: How can we use PCR Educator for COPPA forms to collect parental consent if our school is shut down due to coronavirus?
A: The simplest way to collect parental consent is by using our forms application that allows parents to provide their signature and also automatically generates a PDF a version of the form that the school can keep for its records. 
Q & A: Preparing for School Shut Down and Remote Instruction
Q: What tools does PCR Educator provide which can help our school to continue its operations if we need to switch to remote operations due to the novel coronavirus?
A: PCR Educator system is designed to facilitate efficient school operations entirely online. All you need is internet access to use our system. These are some core features which can be especially useful:
-         Online Forum feature for students, parents, and teachers designed to facilitate discussions within a class environment
-         Online Assignment Submission
-         Online Assignment Calendar for tracking classwork and homework
-         Online Report Card delivery
-         Online Re-Enrollment and Enrollment
-         Online Applicant Review System
-         Online Report Card Comments and Marks ReviewSystem
-         Online Payments-         Online Invoicing-       Online Gradebook
-         Online Inquiry and Application
-         Online Teacher Recommendations
-         Online Donations
-         Attendance Online
-         Online Course Selection
Q & A: Can we create custom fields in PCR Educator?
Q: Can we create forms with custom fields that are not a part of our database?
A: Yes, PCR Educator system provides custom fields functionality that allows schools to easily track any information and use in custom forms, queries, and dashboards.
Q & A: Using DAT Query as a multi-action
Q: Many times, we need to run DAT Query for specific children who do not have a common denominator.  Is there a way to build a DAT Query that would pull from the selected students? 
A: Absolutely! If you include DAT Key Id Field such as student id using your example with students, then you can use DAT Multi-Action to apply that query to the list of the selected records. This approach also works with courses, staff, donations and households.
Testing Payment Configuration
Payment for individual PCR Educator applications and products may be placed in a Test Mode during setup.  The actual behavior of the Test Mode varies by Payment Processor and does not record transactions to your school’s live account.  Customer Invoices, Deposits, and Customer Receipts are still created when Test Mode is on.  Note:  Do NOT use real credit card or bank information for Test Mode.

Use the following test information which is generally accepted by most Payment Processors.  Note:  The test transaction amount should be at least $1.
 
For Credit Card
Credit Card Number 4111111111111111 Visa
Security Code/CSV 555 Some processors may generate an error code based on specific CSV numbers
Expiration Date Current or future If the expiration date is in the past, the transaction is usually declined.
Name on Card Test, Test The name does not matter.
Billing Address Any The billing address does not matter.

Note:  Do NOT use real credit card information for Test Mode.  

For ECheck
Routing Number 052001633 Bank of America
Account Number 999999999999 Invalid Account Number with Bank of America
Account Type Any For testing, the account type does not matter. Note: For live accounts, Savings Accounts are subject to Federal Reserve Board Regulation D
Name on Account Test The name does not matter.
Account Address Any The address does not matter
Email Email is not required
Note:  Do NOT use real bank account information for Test Mode.  


The following link provides additional information for testing with Authorize.Net
https://developer.authorize.net/hello_world/testing_guide/

The following link provides additional information for testing with Network Merchants (NMI)
https://support.nmi.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115002375583-Test-Cards

The following link provides additional information for testing with Pay Simple
https://documentation.paysimple.com/docs/sandbox
 
How do we check emails or text messages that went out?
Navigate to Notifications > Notifications to review individual emails, text messages and voice calls that are generated through PCR Educator. Notice, there is an Error column that is helpful for analyzing unsuccessful notifications. Note: When an email is successfully sent but is not delivered by the recipient server, it typically bounces back to the sender. In that case, the Error column is not populated.  Note: Email categorized as spam does not populate the Error column and the sender does not receive a bounced back email.

Note:  The most common error is “No emails to send to.”  To resolve this error, review Why does my notification job have no recipients?
How do you manually add an Inquiry from the Admissions Portal?
1. Follow Application Setup to ensure the administrative portal is connected to the public inquiry page. 
2. Go to Admissions > Inquiries/Applicants. 
3. Select "New" on the right side of the page.
4. The Inquiry Online page opens. 
5. Fill out the inquiry information on this page.
6. Submit the inquiry. 
7. Upon submit, the Actions checked in the properties are added to the Inquiry. These actions are marked with the user that submitted the inquiry.
8. Upon submit,  if an email was added to the submit action, the email will go to the parent email that you have entered for them.

Note: Entering an Inquiry in this manner  will create the inquiry the same as if the parent had done so. The parent can then continue the process.
FAQ: Recognizing Revenue on a Payment Plan
PCR Educator’s Finance Module recognizes revenue based on the customer invoice issued date. When a customer invoice is posted, transactions are created in the General Ledger with a transaction date that matches the issued date of the invoice. As a result, if an invoice is issued on July 1st and has scheduled due dates that span across the fiscal year, the revenue will still be recognized on July 1st.

If you may wish to recognize revenue based on the payment plan’s due date, you can generate new invoices that are issued on each due date of the payment plan.
CMS Sitemap Page Visibility
User
Unauthenticated Authenticated & Qualifies Authenticated & Unqualified
Page Un-published Hides Hides Hides
Published Shows Shows Shows
Roles Authenticate URL Present Shows Shows Hides
No Authenticate URL Hides Shows Hides
Filters Authenticate URL Present Shows Shows Hides
No Authenticate URL Hides Shows Hides


Note: If there is any situation which would result in the page being hidden for the user, then the page menu item will be hidden.  Example: The page is published (Shows), the user qualifies based on roles (Shows), but does not qualify based on filters (Hides).  The page menu item will be hidden.

Note: When in Content Edit mode, all pages in the site maps are visible regardless of roles, filters, or if the page is published.

Note: Pages may inherit roles from the master page.  Filters are not inherited from the master page.

Note: A page is public if the page is Published and has no Roles or Filters specified.  While such a page will show with an Unathenticated URL specified, the best practice is to leave the Unauthenticated URL blank for public pages.
Why is My Teacher Recommendation Form Blank?
When a recommendation is requested, the system generates a unique link that ties a specific applicant to a specific recommendation type and a specific teacher.  The teacher then has that unique link sent to them, and when they click on it, it loads the recommendation page with all the information.  If you see a blank page as an administrator, please click the “Content” link on the top-left corner of the page; you will then be able to view and edit all widgets on your recommendation form.  You will need the “Website Full” role to access the form in Content mode.
How to manually add siblings in Admissions?
1. Go to  Admissions > Inquiries/Applicants 
2. Locate the first Inquiry from the Household
3. Click “Details” for that Inquiry to enter the Inquiry details page. 
4. Select the Application Form from the left side menu. 
5. Selecting the Application Form tab brings up the applicant profile page on the portal for that student. Or you can choose a user (if more than one is connected to the inquiry) and select “Go”. 
6. On the applicant profile page, select the “New Inquiry” option from the Inquiry selector.
7. A new inquiry page opens. Fill this page out as you would a normal inquiry entry.
Unable to Login - Administrative Portals
If a user is unable to login to any of Administrative Portals:
    - Confirm that the user has a suitable role associated from the Roles Dictionary.

    - Confirm that the user has at least one school associated.

    - If they are unable to access the Finance portal, confirm that the user has at least one ledger associated.
Unable to Login - CMS Website
If the user is unable to login to a CMS page, then confirm that their user has sufficient rights to access the page.
    1. Check that they are trying to log into an appropriate location.  Example: Parents should not be trying to log into the teacher portal or student portal.

    2. Check that the user has appropriate roles.  Example: To access the Teacher Portal, a user must have the Faculty Full or Faculty Read roles.  To access the parent portal, the user must have the Parent role.  To access the student portal, the user must have the Student role.   Note:  For parents, make sure the user Profile is associated with a household connected with an Enrolled student.  For students, make sure the user Profile is associated with an Enrolled student.

    3. Check the target page for any additional criteria to access it.
        i. Log in to the target page with a user having the Website Full role.
        ii. Click “Content” in the upper left corner.
        iii. In the right menu, expand Roles.  Check for the roles required to access the page.  Does the user have all the necessary roles?
        iv. Expand Filter.  Check for any filters limiting access to the page.  Does the user qualify for the filter specified (if any)?
        Note:  It is possible that the roles in (iii) or the filters in (iv) are specified on the master page.  If you believe this may be the case, submit a ticket to support@pcreducator.com.
Migrating DMT to DAT
In order to migrate a DMT to DAT, follow these steps:
1. Review existing DMT queries and clean up duplicate or unused DMT queries.
2. Compare the remaining DMT queries to the existing DAT queries including those available as a DAT Standard Query 
    a. If you believe your report would be beneficial to other schools as a DAT Standard Query,  email support@pcreducator.com with a Bookmark link to the DMT query and an explanation of its purpose.
3. Recreate the remaining DMT queries in the DAT.

Note:  Existing DMT Filters will be accessible as DAT filters and don't need to be updated.

Note: Queries and Filters are associated with users.  If a user’s query or filter does not include roles, it is only visible to the original user that creates the query or filter.
Unable to Login
If a user is unable to log in:
    1. Confirm that the correct username is being used.  Note: Copying and pasting a username out of an email will sometimes include an extra space at the end.  Make sure the username is spelled correctly.  Note: Make sure Caps Lock is off.
        i.  Confirm that the user is Approved and that the user is not Locked Out.  A user cannot log in if they are not Approved or if they have been Locked Out.  If a user has been unapproved, make sure there isn’t a business or security reason for the user being unapproved.

    2. Confirm that the correct password is being used.
        i. If the option is available, advise the user to reset their password using a Forgot Password option.  Note:  An email will be sent to the email address associated with the user containing further instructions on how to reset the password.  Note:  If the user has been locked out due to too many failed password attempts, Forgot Password will unlock the user.
        ii.  Reset the user’s password yourself to ensure the password is a known value.  Note:  The password must be at least six characters long.  Note: Once the user logs in, they should change their password to something only they know.

    3. Confirm the link/page that the user is trying to log into.
        i. If they are trying to log into (Re) Enrollment Contract or (Re) Enrollment Forms) and receive a message “The scn or appId is invalid” then the link they are using is missing important information.  Find out where they received the link from.  If they received it from an email, then the email originator needs to make sure a correct link is sent to all recipients.  If they are accessing it from a website link, the website link needs to be corrected.

    4. Have them try logging in using a different browser.  If they are able to successfully log in with a different browser, then they should clear their cache and cookies for browser they want to use and try again.

    5. If the user is trying to log into a non-PCR Educator page, refer to Troubleshooting Web Services.  

    6. If your school is set up for LDAP, confirm that the username exists in your LDAP configuration and that the username matches the username in Security > Users.


If they are still unable to log in, then they most likely are missing something required to access the page itself.  In this situation, the user is constantly redirected to log in again even though their username and password are correct.  If the username or password were incorrect, they would receive a message indicating so.  If there is no such message proceed to:
     - Unable to Login - CMS Website
     - Unable to Login - Administrative Portals

If you still cannot identify why the user is unable to access the page, submit a ticket to PCR Educator support.  Email support@pcreducator.com and include the user name, the login link they are trying to use, and a “bookmark” link to their user in Security > Users > Details.
Why does my notification job have no recipients?
The most common reason that an email does not have any recipients is that you are sending an email to households and the household does not have Send Mail checked.  The other possibility is that the record does not have any email addresses or any valid email addresses.  Note: A list of all invalid email addresses can be accessed by navigating to Security > Maintenance > Validate Emails.  You need the Security Full role to access this page.
Why can't a user access the Finance portal?
To access the Finance portal, make sure the user has a role of Contract Full, Contract Read, Finance Full, Finance Read, FinanceAccountMgr Read, or FinanceAccountMgr Full.  Make sure the user is associated with at least one ledger. 
Why can't I change the Category or Assessment Weight preferences for my gradebook?
The settings for Gradebook Category and Gradebook Assessment weighting can have a very significant impact on how grades are calculated.  Therefore, as soon as there is a single saved Progress or Report Card mark for the course section - in any marking period - the ability to change the course section’s weighting preferences is disabled.  Note: The school administration can temporarily enable changing weights and preferences per course section by specifying an Allow Weight Calculations Overwrite Until date.

In the specific case where a teacher did not specify any preferences, the preferences can be added by navigating to Admin > Courses or Scheduling > Courses and using the “Gradebook Preferences” multi-action. You must have both Registrar Full and Security Full roles to access this multi-action.  Regardless which setting you choose for Update Sections Having, if the preference has not been specified for a course section, it will be added.  Note: All sections of the selected courses will be updated.
 
Why is my DAT Query or DAT Filter slow?
The DAT Query and DAT Filter are powerful and flexible features.  Depending on the complexity of the query and the amount of data it may take some time to process the request.  Even if the query looks simple, some of the tables are performing advanced calculations to make the data more convenient for you to work with.  The more tables, conditions, and filters included in a DAT Query the slower it may become.

Some suggestions to improve the speed of your DAT Query or DAT Filter:
- Instead of using Contains, Not Contains, Starts With, or Ends With, use the “=” or “<>” DAT Operators.
- Avoid relinking to the same table multiple times.
 
Why is an action not appearing?
For an action to appear for a record, it must be Active, associated with the current Division, and be the correct type of Category.  Check that your user and the action’s Read Role both share at least one role.
How can I help a parent who receives an error message when filling out our Inquiry Form?
Go to Admissions > Maintenance > Application Online Record Check and enter the requested information to see how to resolve the error.  To access this screen, you need Admissions Full or Admissions Read role.
Why is my (Re) Enrollment Contract header banner running off the side of the page?
Make sure the header image that is uploaded for the (Re) Enrollment Contract is 926px wide.
Why do I not see the new action types I created in (Re) Enrollment Contract > Settings?
For actions in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup, make sure the action types you created are Student Actions rather than Inquiry Actions.
Why am I not taken to the payment screen before the (Re) Enrollment Contract is submitted?
- Check that the (Re) Enrollment Contract Profile has products/fees associated with it.

- Check that there is a payment configuration selected on the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings page.

- Check that you have specified a Contract Submitted action and Not Enrolling action on the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings page.
Why is a student not showing when a parent logs in to the (Re) Enrollment Contract application?
- Check that the student has a grade level next year specified.

- Check that the student qualifies based on the Student Criteria on the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings page.

- Check the Households Status and Bill To Households on the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings page.  Make sure the student’s household qualifies.

- If the student is currently in Admissions but not enrolled, check that the admissions record has a Ready For Contract action specified with an appropriate academic year.

- Check that the student qualifies for one of the (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles.
Why is a graduated or withdrawn student is showing when a parent logs into the (Re) Enrollment Contract application?
Make sure such students are excluded by the Student Criteria on the (Re) Enrollment Contract Settings page.
Why am I receiving an error when trying to submit the (Re) Enrollment Contract from the payment page?
- Make sure all of the payment choices in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Payment Options Control have a payment term associated for the student’s (Re) Enrollment Contract Profile.  An invoice cannot be created without a payment term.

- Contact your payment processor to find out if and why the payment is not going through.
 
Why is there is extra space between paragraphs on the PDF version of my (Re) Enrollment Contract?
Repeat these steps for each control:
1. Cut the text out of the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control in the (Re) Enrollment Contract application.
2. Paste the text into Word (for reference).
3. Paste the text into Notepad.
4. Save the control so that the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control is blank.
5. Copy the text in Notepad.
6. Paste the text into the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control.
7. Make all font style changes in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control.
8. Save the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control.

The purpose of these steps is to ensure that no additional hidden markup is included due to the text being pasted from Word or another application.  All styling of the text must be made in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control editor.
 
Why are the drop downs in Finance > Contracts > Student Contracts - Options Selected showing the same option multiple times for (Re) Enrollment Contracts?
- This could be caused by having different (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Options for different (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles.  If all (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles should be the same, please check that all (Re) Enrollment Contract Profiles are in fact the same.  Consider using the “Copy To Other Profiles” button.

- Clean the (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Options for all students that have ever been used for testing purposes.
How can I change the line items on the Summary Page in the (Re) Enrollment Contract?
This line item information is coming from the Product created in Finance > Products > Products.  Change the description field for the product will change the summary on the (Re) Enrollment Contract.
What does it mean when I receive an error in my email for the (Re) Enrollment Contract?
This email is being generated because your email address is in the Email on Error field in the (Re) Enrollment Contract Application Setup.  The application sends you an email every time there is an error when generating an invoice for a student.

Example: “Student Name (#####) cannot insert the value NULL into column ‘payment_term_id’ table ‘xxxx’; column does not allow nulls.  INSERT fails.”

    - The ‘Student Name’ is the student that the error pertains to.
    - The (#####) is the student’s id.
    - The error message tells you why the invoice was not created.  In this example, the invoice was not created because the was no (Re) Enrollment Contract Control Option selected specifying a payment term.
Households by Division
Unless the “all divisions” option is checked, the list of households (Admin > Households, Health  > Households, FinAid > Households, ...) only shows records which belong to the selected division. A household record belongs to the currently selected division if the household has a student which belongs to the currently selected division.  See Students by Division for details on when a student belongs to a division.

Unless the “include all” checkbox is also checked, the system will only show households which have a Student with a status of Enrolled for the currently selected school division.  Note: See Households Include All (Admissions) for how “include all” works in for the Admissions portal.
Household Include All (Admissions)
Unless the “include all” checkbox is checked, the system will only show households with an Inquiry / Applicant for the admissions year in the currently selected school division.
Why are duplicate emails being sent out on our Apply Online submit?
The Apply Online Submit widget that is typically placed at the very end of your online application governs the rules and processes associated with application behavior when an applicant submits an online application. One of its properties Thank You Email allows administrators to specify what email template to use to generate a confirmation email for the applicant. In addition to email types specified on the saved template, PCR Educator system always sends the email to the user submitting the application. This mechanism is designed to ensure that even if there is a situation where the current user has an email address different from household emails, he/she will still receive a confirmation. To only have one email sent to the user submitting the application, do not select any recipient email types on the template and be sure to use the “One email per student” radio button option when creating / saving the template.
Why is my report card blank when I run a report card pdf?
There are several possibilities for why a report card pdf is blank.

- The most common reason a specific student’s report card is blank is because they do not have any Parent households with Send Mail checked.  Report cards are generated with an address to send to a specific household.  If there are no send mail households, the report card will have no data. 

- Are you running the correct report?  Courses have a Report Card Type associated with them. If the wrong type of report is being run, then courses won't show up. And since the student likely has all the same type of courses, the student won't have anything to print. Note: If a particular course is not showing up on the report card, make sure that the Report Card Type is specified for that course.

-  Are you running the report from the wrong division?  Report cards are based on courses, which are division specific. If you run it from the admissions division, you will get no data.

- Does the student have any marks or student comments?  Report cards will only print if there is a student comment or mark.  A course comment alone is not sufficient for a report card to print.  This situation could occur if teachers haven’t entered comments yet, and if the registrar hasn’t used the Calculate Official Marks function to pull the marks (not all schools use the calculate function).  Note: If a particular course isn’t showing up for students, check to ensure that the course has Mark Type Headings associated.
Email Issue with Chrome Extension Grammarly
On the Email screen, if you receive a popup error that reads, "Error while executing filter StripScriptsFilter - TypeError: Cannot read property 'replace' of undefined," please review your Chrome extensions to make sure that Grammarly is disabled.

This link provides information on how to manage Chrome extensions

Grammarly extension has a script/code that accesses text fields on a given webpage. It also attempts to modify the page to provide feedback to a user. This code, which is owned and maintained by Grammarly inserts its own HTML and also sometimes works incorrectly causing pages to crash. PCR Educator has no technical capability to access Grammarly code and to fix it and thus the only solution is to disable Grammarly extension or use "incognito" browser feature.

This is a known problem that affects many web applications:
Grammarly Known Errors
 
Why can’t I change the Weight for my Gradebook Category?
The category weight cannot be changed if there is a Report Card mark or Progress Report mark recorded for any student in any marking period of the associated course section.  Note: If the category is an MYP Category, then the weight is determined by the Mark Type and cannot be changed by the teacher.  Note: The school administration can temporarily enable changing weights and preferences per course section by specifying an Allow Weight Calculations Overwrite Until date.

If you want to use new weights for the upcoming marking period, create a new category (or set of categories) with the desired weights and make sure the new assessments are created with the new categories.  

Example: Suppose you have two categories, “Tests” is worth 40% of the grade and “Homework” is worth 60% of the grade.  In quarter 2, you decide you want Tests to be worth 50% and Homework to be worth 50%.  To accomplish this, create a category called “Tests Q2” and “Homework Q2” with the appropriate weights.  This way, you are not changing the gradebook category weighting for an existing category; instead, you are creating new gradebook categories with new gradebook category weights.  Make sure that all your gradebook assessments in quarter 2 are using the new categories.
Our Parent Teacher Conferences are based on Term 1 classes, but the actual conferences will be spanning over Terms 1 and 2. When we create such conferences, what should we specify as the “Term”?
Since the parent teacher conferences are based on classes that students are signed up for in Term 1, please select Term 1 when you create PTCs. To ensure that families can sign up for PTCs even during the start of Term 2, please go to Admin > Maintenance > Marking Period Info and verify that Parent-Teacher Conference Registration dates in Term 1 are set appropriately. It is ok if parent-teacher conference registration dates in Term 1 overlap the attendance dates in Term 2.
Verifying 1099
Please use the following reports located in Data Analytics Tool (DAT) -> PCR Imported category
prior to preparing 1099 forms and sending them to your vendors. Please note, you will need  FinanceAP Full or FinanceAP Read roles to access them.

- [Finance] 1099 Verification Report – Invoices
- [Finance] 1099 Verification Report - Misc Payments
- [Finance] 1099 Verification Report - Summary

These reports are year-specific, so you need to make sure to pull the correct year. To do so:
- Open a report.
- Click on Query tab on the left.
- Click on ‘1099 Items’ table.
- Specify the correct Tax Year below Table Required Parameters.
- Click Save.
Troubleshooting Parent Teacher Conferences
If Parent Teacher Conferences are not showing for parents, please check the following:

- Are the Parent Teacher Conference Registration Dates open in Marking Period Info?  In particular, make sure the years are correct.  Also, don’t forget to click Save!
- Make sure the Parent Teacher Conf checkbox is checked for the Course.
- Have you set up Parent Teacher Conferences for a future date?  Configuring Parent Teacher Conferences is necessary for each Term that Parent Teacher Conferences are held.
- Do the parents have a student enrolled in a course section taught by a teacher eligible for Parent Teacher Conferences?  The course section must have a teacher, the course must be eligible for Parent Teacher Conferences, and the student must be enrolled in the section.
- Does the student belong to the school division where the conferences are created? Review Student by Division to understand how students are associated with divisions.
- Are there settings you need to change on the portal?  Please review Configuring Parent Portal for Parent Teacher Conferences

If Parent-Teacher Conferences are not being generated for the selected teacher, please check the following:
- Does this teacher already have conferences at the same time? It is not possible to have overlapping conferences or two conferences at the same time for the same teacher.

 
Our school has just started. Parents and students cannot see their class schedule even though the control is visible. Why?
If parents and students are not able to see class schedule, 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 in the current term. 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.
How do I add new grades for summer courses or historical courses to transcripts?
There are a number of ways for Updating Historical Marks.

If the course was taken last year, and you were expecting it to migrate to history as part of the close of school year, please ensure that the course is set to Include On Transcript.
Student by Division
Unless “all divisions” option is checked, the list of student (Admin>Students, Admissions>Students, Development>Students, or Scheduling>Students ...) only shows records which belong to the selected division. A student record belongs to the currently selected division if:

-   The user is looking at the student records from any location other than Scheduling>Students or the user selected current year scheduling and the student:
       -   is enrolled in any course from the currently selected division
       OR
       -   has any course selections for the currently selected division, 
       OR
       -   belongs to a course waitlist in the currently selected division
       OR
       -   has a grade level associated with the currently selected division.

OR

-   The user is looking at the student records from Scheduling>Students, the user selected next year scheduling, and the student:
       -   has next year grade level that is associated with the currently selected division
       OR
       -   has course selections for next year for the currently selected division
       OR
       -   belongs to a course waitlist for next year in the currently selected division
       OR
       -   has a next year grade level associated with the currently selected division.


Unless “include all” checkbox is also checked, the system will only show students if

-   The user is looking at the student records from any location other than Scheduling>Students  or the user selected current year scheduling and the student has a status of Enrolled in the currently selected division.

OR

-   The user is looking at the student records from Scheduling>Students, the user selected next year scheduling, and the student has next year status of Enrolled in the currently selected division.
 
How to remove Form submitted status?
Forms centers around updating information and consenting to various requirements of the school. In the end a Forms Submitted action is generated with any PDFs being associated with that action. So, aside from deleting the action (which also removed the PDFs generated), there should be nothing more to reset.
Staff / Teacher by Division
Unless “all divisions” option is checked, the list of staff and teacher records (Admin>Staff or Scheduling ->Staff) only shows records which belong to the selected division.

A staff record belongs to the currently selected division if one of the criteria applies:

- The staff record is connected to a user account which is associated with the currently selected division. 
OR
- The staff is marked as a primary or secondary teacher for at least one course section for the current year.
OR 
- The staff is marked as a primary or secondary teacher for at least one course section for the next scheduling year, the user selected next year scheduling and the user is looking at the staff records from Scheduling ->Staff.

Example: if a user selects “Next Year Schedule” on the home page, then only teachers who teach any course sections in next year schedule will show up on the list of staff records (Scheduling ->Staff) unless they are associated with user accounts connected to the currently selected division.
 
Is there a way to remove all assessments from last year which automatically moved to current year?
Each teacher can delete his or her assessments by navigating to the list of assessments in the Teacher Portal, selecting all assessments in bulk and using a multi-action “Delete Assessments" option.
Can someone please explain why when I selected 680 "Enrolled" students to archive their final reports, PCR Educator showed that 695 reports are being archived?
When reports are archived, they are archived for each household that is connected to a student and has the “send mail” option checked. If you have students that are linked to more than one household with the “send mail” option checked, then it is expected by design that more reports will be generated than the number of students that were selected.
Is there a way to check the number of free students in a particular block?
A user must have Scheduling Full or Scheduling Read role to access this functionality.

To check the number of free students in a particular block, navigate to Scheduling > Students. Select your students and go to multi-action menu > Free Periods. If students are free during a certain block, it will show a numerical value on the left corner of the cell, which you can click on to view student names. You can toggle between marking periods using the dropdown on the top left side of the page.
Finance - Monthly Closing
How do we close a month so that we do not accidentally post a transaction/entry to a month that has already been reported to the Finance Committee or audited by our external auditors?

In the fiscal year setup (Finance > Maintenance > Fiscal Years > Details), there is a field called "Open Period Date." Once the month is closed, you can update that to the next month. For example, if August is closed, you can change the open date to 9/1. This will allow you to enter invoices/receipts/credits in the closed month but you will not be able to post them unless you re-open the month.

The same concept applies to future months or years.  You can enter invoices/receipts/credits in the future but you will not be able to post in a future year it is not open.  You can post in future months as long as they are within the open period of your active fiscal year.
How can I get rid of the duplicate teachers? It doesn’t look like they are separate records as the same id number is attached to each duplicate record.
When you see the same teacher (with the same id listed twice), it means that you have two users who are connected to this teacher. Navigate to Security>Teachers and search users by the teacher id. Once you identify the user record that should be disconnected from the teacher, go to Details -> Profile and click Delete button next to the teacher’s name. Then click Save. 

Schedule Demo
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