This runbook guides school staff on the steps to take when a mistake is discovered in a student's name and/or email. This can happen either immediately after adding the student to the School Information System or at a later date.
Detailed Explanation
▸ Initial Notes:
- Onboarding a student into our SIS triggers an established and mostly automated process that creates accounts in multiple systems.
- Updating a student's data in the SIS will not update the student's data on the other systems.
- Updating the student's name or email in all systems can be done, but the steps are not supported by our automation and must be handled manually by multiple teams. This carries risk and should be exceptional.
- The SIS does not provide a self-serve “hard delete” option for student records. Offboarding typically results in a deactivated or “soft-deleted” student record.
- The email is a key value and cannot be duplicated on two records (even the "soft-deleted" records).
▸ Suggested approach for new students:
- Create a ticket requesting that Support offboards (deletes*) the incorrect student record.
- Wait until the offboarding is fully processed.
- Onboarding a new student account with the correct details.
*If the student’s email must remain the same, we must change the email to a placeholder value before offboarding (e.g., from john.doe@domain to old.john.doe@domain) since the system cannot have two students with duplicate data, and the offboarded student will keep that email even after being deleted.
▸ Suggested approach for existing students:
- Consider if losing the existing data (i.e., starting fresh as a new student) is acceptable, and follow the process for new students.
- Consider if a new "email alias" (i.e., your Google account will still be linked to your old email, but you can send and receive emails using a different address) is acceptable, and create a ticket and request an alias.
- If you must keep the existing data, create a ticket to explain:
- Why the two considerations above are not acceptable.
- What is the error you need corrected.
- Our Support Team will review the case and start internal escalations to discuss the next steps.
Summary
- If a mistake in a student's name and/or email is noticed immediately after onboarding, it's best to offboard the account and reonboard the student.
- For mistakes noticed later, a case-by-case approach is recommended to balance data integrity with the need for accurate information.
FAQ
- Q: What if I just noticed a typo in a student's email/name right after adding them?
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The best approach is to offboard the incorrect student record and then onboard a new student record with the correct details. Follow the steps in Detailed Explanation.
- Q: What if the student has already started working and noticed a typo?
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In such cases, we need to review the situation on a case-by-case basis. This is because offboarding would result in orphaning their existing data.
- Q: Can we just edit the name/email on the existing SIS account?
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See Initial Notes. Technically, Support may be able to correct the data across systems without reonboarding, but this is exceptional.
- Q: How can I ensure data integrity during this process?
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Offboarding and reonboarding will keep data integrity only for new students without any data within other systems. For students that already have data, a case-by-case analysis is essential.
- Q: What if this is a legal name change, not a typo?
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The same process applies.
- Q: Can we keep the old email working?
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We can add both email addresses as aliases that will catch stray messages and send them to your account. Ensure you create a ticket that explains this requirement.
- Q: Can I onboard the "new" student first, and only then offboard the one with the wrong email address?
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No, our SIS has automations in place to avoid duplicate data, and two students with the same data will trigger this. The order of events is important.
Manuel da Silva
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