If you would like to set up several student records at once, you can upload all their data in bulk. To do so, follow these steps:
Warning: Typically, you use the Bulk Upload option only if your school district does NOT have a route planning system from which to pull the data. If you do, that route planner will contain all the official student information, and Synovia will import it (usually daily). Check with your fleet advisor or support@synoviasolutions.com to see if you can use the function shown here.
- Click
>> Students.
The Students screen will appear.
- Click
at the top right.
The Bulk Load Data dialog box will appear.
- Click Download Student Bulk Data Template.
A bulkLoadTemplate.txt file will be downloaded to your computer.
- Open it in a text editor such as Notepad.
- Fill in the student data below the headers exactly in the order shown, with one student's information in each row and each field separated by commas, as follows:
- first_name: The student's first name. This is a required field.
- last_name: The student's last name. This is a required field.
- card_id: The number to be used on the student's boarding card (if your district has students scan on and off the buses). This is usually the same number as the student ID number but can be different. This is required only if you have Student Ridership; otherwise, it is optional. If you don't include this value, just include a comma to indicate that an empty field is there.
- student_id: The student's school ID number. This is required.
- home_address: The street address where the student lives.
Note: The home_address, home_city, home_state, and home_zip fields are required only if you do not provide the latitude (9.6 format) and longitude (9.6 format) values. In other words, one set of these is needed for the upload — either all the address components OR the latitude and longitude.
Make sure to include just a comma for each field you do not include. - home_city: The student's city of residence.
- home_state: The student's state.
- home_zip: The zip code of the student's home.
- latitude (9.6 format): The latitude where the student lives, in a format with nine significant digits (including six digits after the decimal point).
- longitude (9.6 format): The longitude where the student lives, in a format with nine significant digits (including six digits after the decimal point).
- code: This field is for your individual organization's use, such as if you need to include a Medicaid code or other type of code. This is optional. If you don't include this value, include a comma to indicate that an empty field is there.
- other: Likewise, this field is for your customized use, just in case your district has a special field that hasn't been covered by one of the provided values. This is optional as well. If you don't include this value, include a comma to indicate that an empty field is there.
The file should look similar to this:
- first_name: The student's first name. This is a required field.
- Save the file.
- In Synovia, in the Bulk Load Data dialog box, click Choose File.
- Navigate to and select your bulkLoadTemplate.txt file.
You'll be returned to the Bulk Load Data dialog box, and the bulkLoadTemplate.txt filename will appear in the Data File field.
- Type your email address in the Email Job Results field so that you'll be informed via email when the upload is complete.
- Click Upload File.
A "File Uploaded" message will appear at the top right of the Students screen.
- You can check to see if the students' data has been uploaded by refreshing your screen.
Note: You won't see the address information on each individual student's information screen; this is required because it is necessary for the database.
If you have any issues with this procedure, we recommend contacting your Synovia project manager or fleet advisor for assistance.