OneRoster is a data standard developed by IMS Global, to ease the administrative burden of keeping a school’s technical systems up to date with users and courses. If your SIS can export your courses and users to OneRoster CSV files, then you can upload these files to Atlas and update your users and courses automatically!
Using the data from your OneRoster CSV files, Atlas will add new users, and update their access to units and lessons accordingly. This entire process can be automated by using a scheduled export, and transferring the files to an SFTP server hosted by Atlas. Hence, saving admins the time spent on annual updates (Users and Courses) after the archive.
The Atlas support team must enable “OneRoster Synch” for your Atlas site. Please contact us at support@onatlas.com to start the process. We will coordinate with you on the initial set up, and review your CSV before the first upload.
Compatibility
- SIS Providers such as Blackbaud, Realtime, RenWeb/FACTS, SIMS, Rediker, SchoolTool, and others support OneRoster CSV file exports.
- Third-parties such as ClassLink, GG4L, and Ric One may also provide an option to convert your SIS data into OneRoster CSV files.
- PowerSchool users have reported success exporting OneRoster files by using a community library: PowerSource Exchange - OneRoster 1.1 PowerQueries
- You may even produce these files from a different SIS, using a customized exports.
Check with your SIS provider on how to export OneRoster CSV files.
SFTP Upload Requirements
Atlas requires these CSV files to be included separately in a single ZIP file. Please read the "Preparation for Activating OneRoster" section below before sending us these files.
- orgs
- users
- courses
- classes
- enrollments
Here are the required and optional columns that Atlas uses to process OneRoster files.
orgs.csv
Required: sourcedId, name
users.csv (*remove all student information)
Required: sourcedId, givenName, familyName, email, role
Optional: orgSourceIds, username, userIds
courses.csv
Required: sourcedId, title, courseCode, orgSourcedId
Highly Recommended: grades, subjects
Optional: subjectCodes
classes.csv
Required: sourcedId, courseSourcedId, schoolSourcedId, title
Optional: grades, subjects
enrollments.csv
Required: sourcedId, classSourcedId, schoolSourcedId, userSourcedId, role
Atlas does not need any student information. Students should be removed from the users and enrollment CSV files. Students will be ignored if they are sent to Atlas.
Preparation for Activating OneRoster
In Manage Users
Current users in Atlas will be synchronized automatically when OneRoster is enabled. Hence, to reduce the chance of creating duplicate users, it's important to ensure the primary email for each user in Atlas is the same as the email address provided in users.csv (your SIS database). Click here to learn more about Managing Users in Atlas.
Some OneRoster exports will only include staff who teach students in classrooms in the users.csv. To ensure updating the supporting and administrative staff in Atlas, add them either to the users.csv before Atlas' first synch, or add such people manually to Atlas.
In Manage Courses
The most important work for successfully converting rostering data from the SIS into curriculum maps in Atlas, is to carefully review the records in the courses.csv.
Course Titles
Each unique course title in courses.csv will become a curriculum map in Atlas. For schools adding OneRoster synch to an existing Atlas site, carefully review the course names in courses.csv alongside the course titles in Atlas. They should match perfectly, prior to the first synch. Changes can be made in Atlas or in the SIS, whichever is most appropriate.
Tip: It is possible to associate multiple courses from the SIS with 1 course in Atlas. Coordinate with Atlas support during the introduction of OneRoster synch to handle this edge case.
A Grade and Subject for each course should be specified in the courses.csv. Some SIS exports do not include grades and/or subjects during the export process. Ideally this information is completed in the SIS, before the OneRoster export. If updating the SIS or the courses.csv is not possible, you can add Subjects and Grades to Course Titles in Atlas manually, after the OneRoster export. This only needs to be done one time after the first synch. Click here to learn more about Managing Course Titles in Atlas.
Tip: Exclude “courses” from your OneRoster export that are not going to be used in Atlas. For example:
- Study Hall
- Lunch
- Independent Study
- Bathroom Duty
Grades
If there are courses with multiple grade levels included, make sure to create these grade bands in Atlas before the first synch, in Admin > Grades:
- Mixed-grade Elementary
- Mixed-grade Middle
- Mixed-grade High
Managing the OneRoster Synch in Atlas
Schedule your SFTP upload during “off hours” for your users. Do not send the OneRoster ZIP files more than once per day.
Most SIS systems have a rollover date between academic years, where the active teachers, students and classes are moved forward to support the coming academic year. It is important to coordinate this SIS rollover, with the Atlas archive date, that also happens once each year. Click here to learn more about archiving in Atlas.
Atlas team highly recommends taking two steps:
- Coordinate the Atlas archive with your SIS rollover date.
- Suspend the OneRoster sync with Atlas BEFORE the Atlas archive and SIS rollover, then enable it AFTER both have completed successfully.
Keep in mind that Atlas needs three components for the course to appear in All Curriculum > All Courses:
- The courses title (from courses.csv).
- At least one class associated with the course title (from classes.csv).
- A user is enrolled as a teacher of the class ( from enrollments.csv ).
Setting OneRoster Preferences
In Admin Dashboard > OneRoster preferences
-
- The first section impacts the number of maps created:
-
- 1 per course, including multiple users (recommended for collaboration maps).
- 1 per course, each user has their own map.
-
- The second section is for the permission of users assigned by OneRoster:
-
- Users edit units and lessons (will be assigned as Curriculum Developers).
- Users edit lessons only (will be assigned as Teachers).
-
- (Required) The third section is to select the Admin making the changes.
-
- Changes made by OneRoster synch will be attributed to this System Admin.
-
- Click Save to record your changes.
- The first section impacts the number of maps created:
Additionally, this page allows the manual upload of users.csv, courses.csv, or the entire ZIP of OneRoster CSV files. This may be helpful in checking the number of changes that your CSV will make in Atlas.
OneRoster Icons in Atlas
In Admin > Manage Users
A 1R icon will appear next to users who are synched from OneRoster. The user's SourcedID from OneRoster will be visible if you hover-over the icon.
In Admin > Manage Courses
A 1R icon will appear next to courses synched from OneRoster. The course's SourcedID from OneRoster will be visible if you hover-over the icon.
In Admin > Manage Course > Course Titles
A 1R icon will appear next to course titles synched from OneRoster. The course title's SourcedID from OneRoster will be visible if you hover-over the icon.
Deleting Users and Courses when OneRoster is Enabled
If a user is removed from the OneRoster CSV, and that user had been synched in Atlas previously, Atlas will delete the user from the current year. The user will still be assigned to the archived maps in prior years.
If a course is removed from the OneRoster CSV, and that course had been synched in Atlas previously, Atlas will NOT delete the course from the current year. However, the Teacher(s) and Curriculum Developer(s) assignments to this course will be removed.
FAQs
Can we add teachers in Atlas manually and have them stay synched?
When you add users into Atlas manually, the synchronization will be established in the next OneRoster upload, if the user's primary email in Atlas matches the email in SIS.
Should I add any new Subjects and Grades in my SIS into Atlas before the synch?
We will help you through the initial prototype setup to make sure Atlas Subjects and Grades matches your course.csv file. However, if later on, a new subject or grade is added into your SIS, you need to add it manually into Atlas before the next upload.
If we rename a course in SIS, will it be updated in Atlas, or will it create a new course?
Atlas tracks the course's SourceID from OneRoster, and renaming a course in SIS will not affect the SourceID. Hence, the course title in Atlas will be updated as well in the next upload.
If I delete a user from SIS, will it disappear from Atlas?
Yes. However, the course(s) assigned to this user will be intact.
If I delete a course from SIS, will it disappear from Atlas?
No. However, the 1R icon next to this course in Atlas will disappear. The admin needs to delete the course manually in Atlas.
Will I be alerted via email when the Atlas system is ready to archive?
There is no email reminder about Atlas archive. However, a notification will pop-up when login to the site to all users 30 days before the archive date.
What is the best practice in setting up the syncing schedule between Atlas Archive and SIS?
Atlas team highly recommends taking two steps:
- Coordinate the Atlas archive with your SIS rollover date.
- Suspend the OneRoster sync with Atlas BEFORE the Atlas archive and SIS rollover, then enable it AFTER both have completed successfully.
What is the OneRoster version?
We comply with OneRoster v 1.1
Do we need files or API from them?
We import from compliant CSV files, not API. Please check the "SFTP Upload Requirements" section in this manual page.
What is the fttp layout?
We have an SFTP server, we will provide the credentials for you to upload your files when the files are ready.
Other Resources
- Click here for steps on how to configure ClassLink to ONLY send users for synchronization. Courses rostering will not be synced with Atlas. ClassLink and Atlas USERS Integration Guide.