To view commonly imported data fields, see Commonly Imported Fields. To learn more about public key requirements, see SSH Public Key Requirements.
Overview
SIS integration is an automated import that transfers student data from your Student Information System (SIS) into AwardSpring on a recurring schedule. Your IT department configures a scheduled job that delivers a CSV file to the AwardSpring secure SFTP server.
AwardSpring imports the file overnight, creating and updating student accounts. The imported data supports applicant matching and scholarship qualification and can include other student data needed on applications.
Logins: With SSO, students are redirected to your IdP portal to sign in, and SSO auto-provisioning can be disabled if accounts should be created via import only. Without SSO, the import creates student accounts only if account creation is turned on for your site. AwardSpring configures this with your team during implementation. If it is off, rows for students who do not already have an AwardSpring account are not imported, and no account is created. Students set an AwardSpring password using the email address on their account before their first login.
Data visibility: Once a data point is imported, the mapped question is no longer displayed in the student view. Imported questions may also be hidden regardless of whether students have an imported answer.
Timeline: Integration typically adds one to two months to the onboarding timeline. Discuss this with your AwardSpring contact.
If something goes wrong: Rows that fail validation are reported as exceptions. Some can be resolved directly in the platform, while others may require help from AwardSpring support or your IT team. Only the most recent import's exceptions are kept, and the weekly exception email covers only the latest import. For institutions that send files daily, each import run replaces the previous day's exceptions.
Task | Owner |
Choose the data fields to export | Scholarship Admin and IT |
Build the export file, SFTP connection, and automated daily transfer | IT, with AwardSpring support |
Configure and validate AwardSpring | AwardSpring |
Review imported data | Scholarship Admin |
Technical specification
File format
Item | Requirement | Recommended / Example |
File type | The file must be in CSV format. | Enclose every field in double quotes. |
Encoding | No requirement. | UTF-8 |
File name | The file name must end in | Include the generation date. Avoid spaces in the file name. |
Multi-value fields | Separate values with a pipe. A trailing pipe is not permitted (an empty value is rejected). | Example: Biology|Chemistry |
Required fields
Field | Requirement | Recommended / Example |
Student ID | Always. Must not be blank. | Example: A123456 |
First Name | Always. Must not be blank. | Example: Jane |
Last Name | Always. Must not be blank. | Example: Doe |
Email Address | Always. Must be a valid email address. | Example: jdoe@school.edu |
Username | Required if imports are paired with SSO and the Email and Username sent via SSO differ. | Example: jdoe |
Phone Number | Required if texting is enabled on your site. | Example: 5556667777 |
You can include additional fields to support qualification, matching, and other application data. See Commonly Imported Fields.
Student ID and matching
Topic | Requirement |
Matching key | The Student ID matches each row to an existing account. It is trimmed and not case-sensitive. |
ID format | Student IDs must be unique and unchanging. |
Reassignment | Email addresses and usernames must not be reassigned to another student. |
SSO | If SSO is used, the Student ID sent at login must match the import file exactly. |
Field formatting
Type | Requirement | Recommended / Example |
Date | The value must be a valid date, including year, month, and day. | YYYY-MM-DD |
Phone | A phone-number question must contain at least 10 digits. Formatting must be consistent, and values must not be truncated. | 5556667777 |
Numeric | The value must be a whole number or a decimal with no more than one decimal point. Non-numeric characters must not be included. | 85.2 or 3.459. No thousands separators. |
Values
Topic | Requirement |
Data transformation | Values must be sent in the format they should be displayed on the platform. AwardSpring does not transform data. |
Fields with a configured options list (major, class, state, etc.) | The value must match an active option configured in AwardSpring. The row for a student with a non-matching value is not imported. All other rows in the file are still imported. |
Blank answers | A blank answer does not clear an existing value. |
Column headers
Topic | Requirement | Recommended |
Header text | Must match the configured header exactly, including capitalization. | None |
Column order | Columns are matched by header name, so order is not a requirement. | Keep column order consistent between files. |
Changes to the file | Coordinate file structure changes with AwardSpring in advance. | Schedule structure changes between award cycles. |
Data quality
Topic | Requirement | Recommended |
Duplicates | A file must not contain duplicate Student IDs or email addresses. Duplicates are reported as exceptions. | None |
Alignment | Each row must contain the same number of fields as the header row, and values must remain in their correct columns. | Enclose every field in double quotes, and check the file for shifted data (for example, from commas or line breaks within a field). |
Which students to include | Each file must include every student to be updated in AwardSpring. | None |
Delivery
Topic | Requirement |
Test environment | AwardSpring does not provide a test environment. Send production files only. |
Automation | The export and transfer must be fully automated. |
Frequency | No more than one file may be sent per day. |
Deadline | Files must be received by 1:00 AM Central Time. Files received after the deadline are processed the following day. |
Authentication
Item | Detail |
Host |
|
Port | 22 |
Username | Provided by AwardSpring during setup |
Authentication | SSH public key (recommended) or AwardSpring-generated password |
Folder | Place the file in the top-level folder of your account. Files in subfolders are not processed. |
SSH key: Provide your public key as a single line in the form <key type> <key data>. Accepted types:
ssh-rsa(2048-bit minimum)ecdsa-sha2-nistp256ecdsa-sha2-nistp384ecdsa-sha2-nistp521
Ed25519 is not supported. Share only the public key, never the private key. For full requirements and examples, see SSH Public Key Requirements.
Password: AwardSpring provides the password during setup and does not retain it, so record it in a secure, access-controlled location. If it’s lost, contact AwardSpring support to have it reset.
Questions? Contact support@awardspring.com or call 888.258.5628 ext. 2.