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# Managing Students and Faculty
**Why this section matters**
Getting your students and faculty set up properly is the foundation for everything else on the platform. Courses, assignments, progress tracking, and licenses all depend on having accurate, up-to-date records here. There are two ways to add people:
* **One at a time** — useful for the odd new joiner or when you just need to add a few people
* **All at once** — using a spreadsheet upload, which is much quicker when you're onboarding a whole cohort or staff list
***
**Before you begin — a few important checks**
It's worth pausing to confirm a few things before you start adding or importing anyone:
* You're logged in with your Department Admin account
* Your course or year structure is already set up, or at least mapped out on paper
* You've downloaded the latest import template from the dashboard (don't use an old one)
* You know which fields are required and how things should be named
* You're clear on how your department formats year names, for example Year 1, Year 2, and so on, and that you'll use that format consistently
Getting these things right before you start will save you a lot of back-and-forth later.
***
### Students
***
#### **1. Adding a single student**
This is the way to go when you just need to add one student, or maybe a handful at a time.
**Steps**
1. Click on **Students** in the left-hand menu
2. Click **Add Student** or **Invite Student**
3. Click on Add Single Student
4. Fill in the student's details — usually their name, email address, grade, and class or section
5. Make sure you select the correct grade from the list
6. Assign them to a class if the form asks for it (in some setups, you can do this later)
7. Take a moment to check the spelling and details before moving on
8. Click **Submit** or **Send Invite** when you're happy
***
**A few tips to get it right**
* Use the student's official university email address where you can
* Make sure the grade you select matches your department's approved grade list exactly
* Write names in full if your department's reports need legal names, rather than nicknames or short forms
* Assign the student to a class straight away if you can, as doing it later can sometimes cause issues with what assignments they can see
***
#### **2. Importing multiple students at once**
This is the quickest way to add students when you're onboarding a whole class, year group, or doing a big update at the start of term.
**Step 1: Open the student import**
Go to **Students** in the sidebar and look for the Invite Students option. From there, click on Add multiple students and then select the grade in which you want to import students, after which you can download the latest template to use as your starting point.
***
**Step 2: Fill in your spreadsheet**
Work through the template and fill in your student details. Use the downloaded template as-is rather than building your own, as the column structure needs to match exactly.
Your spreadsheet will typically have columns for:
* First Name
* Last Name
* Email
***
**Step 3: Getting grades right**
This one confuses people up more than anything else, so it's worth taking extra care.
Your department's grade list is set up during the initial registration process, but it can be edited by your platform admin if anything needs to change. Make sure you know what your current approved grade list looks like before you start filling in the spreadsheet.
* Only use the grade values that are set up for your school
* Be consistent with your format throughout — for example, always write *Grade FY*, not a mix of FY, *gradeFY*, or *GFY*
* Don't leave any grade cells blank
* Don't create new grade names unless your platform admin has updated the grade list first
If grades aren't filled in correctly, the import may fail, or students could end up in the wrong year group, which creates extra work to fix later.
***
**Step 4: Check your file before uploading**
Before you upload anything, take a few minutes to look through your file for:
* The same email address appearing more than once
* Any required fields that have been left blank
* Email addresses that don't look right
* Grade names that don't match your approved list
* Extra spaces at the beginning or end of cells (these are easy to miss)
* Any odd errors that might have come in from copying and pasting
A quick check now can save a lot of back-and-forth later.
***
**Step 5: Upload your file**
Upload your completed spreadsheet and give it a moment to run through the platform's validation check.
***
**Step 6: Review the results**
The platform will show you:
* Which rows imported successfully
* Which rows didn't go through, and why
* Any warnings to be aware of
If some rows failed, fix those in your spreadsheet and re-upload just the corrected ones. You don't need to re-upload the whole file.
***
**Step 7: Confirm the import**
Once everything looks good, confirm the import and wait for the completion message before moving on.
***
**Step 8: Do a quick sense-check afterwards**
Once the import is done, spend a moment checking:
* That the number of students has gone up by the right amount
* That grades have been assigned correctly
* That class assignments look right (if you included them in the import)
* That invitation or activation statuses are showing as expected
If anything looks off, it's much easier to fix now than after teachers have started working with the data.
***
#### **When something goes wrong with your import**
Don't worry if your first upload doesn't go through perfectly — it happens, and the platform will usually tell you exactly what needs fixing. Here are the most common issues and how to sort them:
| What went wrong | How to fix it |
| ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Email address isn't valid** | Check the format — it should look like [name@university.com](mailto:name@school.com) — then try again |
| **Duplicate email address** | Each student needs their own unique email address. Remove or correct any duplicates |
| **Grade is missing** | Fill in the grade cell using one of your departments approved grade values |
| **Grade name isn't recognised** | Replace it with the correct grade label your school uses, such as *Grade 6* |
| **Required field left blank** | Go back and fill in all the columns that are marked as required |
| **File doesn't match the template** | Re-download the latest template from the dashboard and copy your data into it fresh |
If you're seeing a lot of errors at once, it's often worth fixing them all in the spreadsheet first, then doing a single clean re-upload rather than going back and forth one fix at a time.
***
### Faculty Members
### **Adding a single professor**
This works best when you're adding a new professor, covering a replacement, or just have one or two people to set up.
**Steps**
1. Click on **Faculty Members** in the left-hand menu
2. Click **Add single faculty member**
3. Fill in their details — usually their name, email address, and role
4. Set any permissions if your department's setup allows you to do that here
5. Click **Submit** or **Send Invite** when you're done
***
**A few tips to get it right**
* Use the faculty member's official school or institutional email address
* Only enable elevated permissions if the faculty member genuinely needs them — it's easier to add access later than to undo it
* Make sure every class has one clear lead professor, so there's no confusion about who's responsible for it
***
### Importing multiple faculty members at once
This is the easiest approach when you're setting up staff at the start of term or making bigger changes to your teaching team.
**Step 1: Open the faculty member import**
Go to **Faculty Members** in the sidebar and click Invite Faculty Member then click on Add multiple faculty members
***
**Step 2: Download the template**
Download the template that's available in your dashboard. Make sure you're using the current version rather than one saved from a previous term, as things can change between updates.
***
**Step 3: Fill in your spreadsheet**
Work through the template and add your faculty member details. Depending on your department's setup, you may see columns for:
* First Name
* Last Name
* Email
Stick to the template's structure and don't add, remove, or rename any columns.
***
**Step 4: Check your file before uploading**
Before you upload, run through these checks:
* Every faculty member has a unique email address
* All email addresses are in the correct format
* All required fields are filled in
***
**Step 5: Upload and review**
Upload your file and wait for the validation report. This will show you which rows went through successfully and which ones need attention.
***
**Step 6: Fix any errors and re-upload**
If some rows didn't go through, correct just those records in your spreadsheet and re-upload them. You don't need to re-submit the whole file.
***
**Step 7: Check everything looks right**
Once the import is complete, take a moment to confirm:
* All faculty member records have been created
* Invitations or account statuses are showing correctly
* Permission settings match your department's policy
Catching anything off now is much easier than sorting it out after professors have already started using the platform.
***
#### **When something goes wrong with your professor import**
The same rules apply as with student imports. The most common issues are mismatched role values, duplicate emails, and missing required fields. Fix just the problem rows in your spreadsheet and re-upload rather than starting from scratch.
***
#### **A note on keeping year names consistent**
Year naming errors are one of the most common causes of failed imports, so it's worth getting this right across your whole team.
* Keep one agreed list of year names and share it with anyone doing imports
* Always use the same format throughout — for example:
Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4
* Never mix formats like Y2, year 2, and Year 2 in the same file
* During busy onboarding periods, it's worth doing a quick check of imported year values every few days to catch anything before it becomes a bigger problem
***
#### **Single add or bulk import — which should I use?**
**Add one at a time when:**
* You're adding fewer than around 10 people
* You're fixing an individual record
* You're onboarding a mid-term transfer or replacement
**Use bulk import when:**
* You're setting up at the start of a new term or semester
* You're moving over from another system
* You need to add a large group in one consistent go
***
#### **After any onboarding — a quick checklist**
Once you've finished adding or importing a wave of students or professors, run through these checks before considering it done:
* The total count of records matches what you expected
* You've spot-checked a handful of random records to make sure details look right
* Student years are correctly assigned
* Professors are linked to the right classes and marked as the class owner where needed
* Any failed import rows have been fixed and re-uploaded
* Your teaching team has been told that onboarding is complete and they can log in
***
#### **Quick answers to common questions**
**Can I import students without filling in their year?** Usually not. Year is either required or strongly recommended for any structured department setup.
**What if a student ends up in the wrong year after import?** Edit their record straight away, go to Years in the Students Section and move the student to the right year.
**Can I import professors and students in the same file?** No — they use separate templates and separate import flows.
**Should I delete users who were imported incorrectly?** In most cases, it's better to correct the record or deactivate the account rather than delete it outright. Only delete if your department's policy specifically requires it.
***
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