Set up a Sync Job, Step by Step

After you install Little SIS Premium, you can create sync jobs. Once you begin creating a sync job, the pages advance, taking you through each step. All you need to do is complete the steps and save the job. After creation, jobs appear in the Roster sync list, where you can filter and sort them.

In this article, you'll learn, step-by-step, how to set up a sync job. 

Pro Tip: To avoid errors when running a sync job, be sure to list all domains and subdomains in Administration > Settings > User Account Domains.

Creating a sync job is a multi-step process. You'll configure settings to sync your SIS classes to Google Classroom during setup. A sync job contains the following settings:

• Creating a sync job
• Selecting source data
• Creating a class alias
• Creating field mappings
• Managing inclusion/exclusion rules
• Setting update preferences
• Selecting automation settings
• Teacher review custom welcome message notification

Let’s get started.

Creating a Sync Job

To create a sync job, do the following:

1. Open Little SIS Premium.
2. Using the left navigation pane, go to Jobs, then Roster sync jobs.
3. Click + located at the top right to create a sync job.
   

4. Enter a Job Name.

   Pro Tip: If you have existing jobs, consider cloning and modifying an existing job. If you are using the same enrollments file, this can save you a lot of time.

5. Enter a Description.
   
6. Click Next to advance to Source data & mappings.

Selecting Source Data

Next, you need to select the source CSV file that contains your enrollment data. Don’t worry if the file contains more classes/records than you intend to use in this job. You’ll be able to exclude them later in the setup.

To select a data source, do one of the following:

1. From Source data & mappings, drag the file to the upload box.
   OR
   Click the upload Arrow to browse and select the file.
   OR
   Select a file from the Select a previously uploaded file drop-down.
   
2. Click Next to advance to Data Mapping.

Note: To join all required fields into a single export, you’ll need to identify only one source file.

Creating a Class Alias - Data Mapping

You'll create the Class Alias in the Data Mapping step. Before we get there, let's take a closer look at this field. The Class Alias field is the least obvious and most critically important. The alias provides a unique tag for each Google Classroom class associated with the job. The alias makes the class available for future updates. For more on class aliases, see the article on data requirements. Here are some tips for constructing a good class alias:

• Something like SchoolID-CourseID-SectionID-Year/TermID is quite common. You do not need to concatenate these fields in your source data. You'll have more flexibility if you leave these as separate fields.

• The string should be unique across many schools, terms, and years.

  Pro Tip: If you do not export the school year from your SIS, manually add it to the end of the expression.

• Build it using stable record IDs instead of human-readable values. Course ID and Section ID are examples of stable record IDs. Only the Little SIS Premium admin will see aliases. Human-readable course names are more likely to change, which can cause problems with your sync.
  • The following fields populate human-facing sections within Google Classroom:
    • Class Name (required)
    • Section (optional)
    • Room (optional)
    • Description Heading (optional, rarely used)
    • Description (optional, rarely used)
• Separate the different terms in your alias using a dash (-). The dash makes them easier to read as you review staged jobs.
• It's best practice not to use teacher identifiers in the alias. Teacher identifier aliases prevent the transfer of class ownership when the teacher changes in the SIS. When the teacher changes in the SIS, the alias changes too.

To create a class alias, do the following:

1. Class Alias appears at the top of the field mapping list. Click the Edit Expression gear for Class Alias. Unique Class Alias builder opens.
2. Double-click or drag your source fields from the Available Source Fields list to the Expression field.
3. Double-click or drag additional fields if necessary. Your expression can be made up of more than one field.
4. If necessary, you can include string values as separators by placing your cursor in the Expression field. We recommend adding the school-year value to the alias to ensure a smooth transition between courses for a new school year.
5. If necessary, click the colored indicator between fields to insert custom manual text. It is common to incorporate hyphens for easier readability,
6. Click Save. The Class Alias section updates to show both the field and its mapping.
   

Creating Field Mappings

To map fields, do the following:

1. In the Field Mappings list, click the Build Expression gear for the field you need to map. The expression builder opens.
   
2. Click expand > to reveal the data source's individual fields.
3. Double-click or drag your source fields from the Available Source Fields list to the Expression field.
4. Double-click or drag additional fields if necessary. Your expression can be made up of more than one field.
5. If necessary, you can include string values as separators by placing your cursor in the Expression field.
6. If necessary, click the colored indicator between fields to insert custom manual text.
   
7. Click Save. The Field Mapping section updates to show both the field and its mapping.

8. Repeat these steps for each field you need to map.
   

   Note: If you organize classes by bell period, we recommend the following when mapping the Class Name field. Use the word Period followed by the field for the class period in your Class Name field.

9. Click Next to advance to Manage inclusion/exclusion rules.

Managing Inclusion/Exclusion Rules

The Job scope & rules step lets you do two things. First, you can verify the classes that will sync. Second, you can create inclusion/exclusion rules for the classes or teachers included in the sync job.

Setting Inclusion/Exclusion Rules

Inclusion and exclusion rules let you further define the classes and teachers in the sync. When you set an inclusion rule, only teachers/classes meeting the rule are included in the sync. When you set an exclusion rule the sync excludes teachers/classes meeting the rule.

It is best practice to include at least one inclusion rule. A common inclusion rule to catch all would be Teacher Email contains @. Your file may be called something other than Teacher Email. Use the column that matches up with that field in your CSV.

Inclusion rules provide the outermost container of the universe of classes to include. Adding many inclusion rules increases the set's boundary. 

Adding multiple exclusion rules further reduces the number of classes in the job. An example is to create an exclusion rule excluding classes containing the name Physical Education. This rule reduces the number of included classes.

To add an inclusion rule, do the following:

1. From the Job scope & rules, Create or update classes in Google Classroom where any of the following are true block, click + ADD RULE.

2. Select the Source Field for the rule.

   Note: As you enter rule criteria, the number of classes updates to reflect the classes that fit the rule.

3. Select the criteria for the rule; equals, contains, is one of, starts with, ends with, does not equal, does not start with, does not contain, and is not one of.
4. Enter a Value for the rule to match on. 
   
5. Repeat if necessary to add additional rules. 

To add exclusion rules, do the following:

Pro Tip: You must have at least one inclusion rule before creating any exclusion rules.

1. From the Job scope & rules, Except where block, click + ADD RULE.

   Note: As you enter rule criteria, the number of classes updates to reflect the classes that fit the rule.

2. Enter the Source Field for the rule.
3. Select the criteria for the rule; equals, contains, is one of, starts with, ends with, does not equal, does not start with, does not contain, and is not one of.
4. Enter a Value for the rule to match on. 
   
5. Repeat if necessary to add additional rules.
6. After adding all inclusion and exclusion rules, click Next to advance to Update preferences.

Setting Update Preferences

The Update preferences step contains the following tabs:

• Roster Updates. This tab opens by default when Update Preferences opens.
• Teacher Notifications
• Class Links
• Class Field Overrides 

Roster Updates

Based on SIS data, these settings determine whether to add and remove students in linked Google Classroom Classes. In general, you should select both options; 

• Add any newly-SIS-enrolled students to classes
• Remove non-SIS-enrolled students from classes

There are a few cases where you would want to deselect the Remove option:

• If you suspect lags in your SIS source data.
• To give teachers greater control over their rosters. There may be a reason for students to be in a Classroom who aren't enrolled in the SIS. Also, when removing students from classes, the teacher may still need to access their work for grading. 

To set roster update preferences, do the following:

1. Be sure you are on the Roster Updates tab.
2. Check the Add any newly-SIS-enrolled students to classes checkbox.
3. Check the Remove non-SIS-enrolled students from classes if necessary.
4. Click the Teacher Notifications tab.
   

Teacher Notifications

In general, we recommend enabling the three teacher notification options. If you have concerns over email volume, be aware that: 

• Notifications roll into a single email per teacher within the same sync job.
• Teachers do not receive update notifications for PROVISIONED classes. Teachers must accept a class to receive notifications.
• You should deselect these options if you are pushing out Classrooms before notifying teachers of the sync. While not recommended, we do understand this may happen. In this case, you do not want Little SIS Premium to be the first to tell the teachers they have new Classrooms. For change management recommendations and a teacher email template, visit the Help Center's best practices section.

Note: Notifications are not customizable.

To set teacher notifications, do the following:

1. Be sure you are on the Teacher Notifications tab.
2. Check the Little SIS Premium creates new classes checkbox.
3. Check the Little SIS Premium updates the roster or class details for an ACTIVE class checkbox.
4. Check the Little SIS Premium links an existing class to a class within your SIS checkbox.
5. Click the Class Field Overrides tab.
   

Class Field Overrides

These settings determine whether Little SIS Premium should overwrite class information values. Overrides on linked Google Classroom classes include Course Name, Section, Room, etc.. You should only generally select these settings if you have a specific purpose. Some viable reasons to enable these settings are:

• Enforcing a class naming convention
• Changing the naming convention on already-synced classes
• Ensuring accurate room numbers 

To set class field overrides update preferences, do the following:

1. Be sure you are on the Class Field Overrides tab.
2. Check the values to overwrite existing values for SIS values.
   
3. Click the Teacher Review/Class Links tab.

Teacher Review/Class Links

Teacher Review offers your SIS classroom rosters to your teachers who can then make the decision to accept, decline, combine and/or link to an active Google Classroom class. With Teacher Review enabled, a teacher will receive an email with instructions and a link to access and manage their class rosters.

To set Teacher Review/Class links update preferences, do the following:

1. Be sure you are on the Teacher Review/Class Links tab.

2. Check the option you want to enable; Enable Teacher Review, Provision missing classes, Analyze for class links.

   Note: You can set the custom message after you finish setting up the job.

   
   
    

3. After setting all update preferences, click Next to proceed to Automation Settings.

Selecting Automation Settings

These settings determine the extent of automation to apply to the sync job.

1. From Automation, select an Automation setting from the drop-down.
   Manually perform sync analysis, approve and execute all changes manually: When you begin to sync a new swath of SIS classes, you will want to start with Stage and execute this job manually. This lets you review staged changes, tweak settings, and restage as needed. Once you're satisfied, you can apply the settings.
   
   
   Schedule automated sync analysis, but approve and execute all changes manually: If you are near the beginning of a school term, more roster changes will likely be applied with each sync. Staging the changes may take Little SIS Premium some time, yet it may be desirable to always manually review before applying changes. In this case, you'll want to select this option. 
   
   
   Schedule automated sync analysis, and auto-approve and execute all changes that meet the specified hold conditions: Once you are comfortable that the sync job is set up correctly, you can select this option. It provides a set-it-and-forget-it experience but has safeguards to prevent unintended mass exchanges.
   
   You can set the thresholds for when staged changes should be held for manual approval. Thresholds can be set for the number of new classes to create or the number of students to add or remove from a single active or provisioned class.

   Note: When you choose this automation setting, you should always have a threshold. If those are left to 0, it will keep the job on hold. The Hold changes when the source file has not been updated option is selected by default and can be deselected. Changes are held for manual approval when the source file has not been updated.

   

2. Select additional parameters for your automation setting.
3. Click Save. The Roster sync jobs list opens with the new job at the bottom.

Teacher Review Custom Welcome Message Notification

After a new sync job with Teacher review enabled is saved, a notification is added in the left navigation panel. This indicates that a sync job is not using a customized welcome message.