Iowa: Troubleshooting Rosters and Student Demographics

Important:

To ensure your district's rosters are successfully loaded please make sure your district has completed the following steps in your student information system:

• any SIS/SIF program updates have been installed
• it is set to send the current year's data
• all student schedule data entry is complete

The most common issues with rosters or student information are related to data entry in the district's student information system (SIS) and resolved by the district's SIS data entry personnel. To save time and assist districts with troubleshooting, we have included steps for identifying the cause and resolutions. 

We encourage users to contact your FastBridge District Managers (DM) for troubleshooting FastBridge roster issues. Only DM accounts have all of the functions needed for the steps in most of this documentation.

If additional assistance is needed at any time, please submit a support request in FastBridge or by emailing help@fastbridge.org with specific details.

Jump to:

• The most common causes of missing students
• Identifying the cause of missing students
• Student(s) should not be on teacher's roster
• Student is visible in incorrect building
• What are orphaned enrollments?
• Inaccurate student demographic information

Related articles: 

• Iowa: How the Automated Roster Process Works
• Iowa: Roster and Student Data Management
• Iowa: Viewing the roster file created from your SIS data

The most common causes of missing students 

New student is not visible in FastBridge  - 

• Student course/section schedule missing or incorrectly dated (#1 cause!)
• Missing student state ID (see special note about missing state ids below) 
• School enrollment date or location

Existing student disappeared - 

• Student course/section schedule ended
• School enrollment ended
• Student's name changed (error message will be in the roster file loaded in FastBridge)

Student missing from teacher's roster but is visible in FastBridge (student visible on district level View Student Roster page but not on teacher roster) -

• Student isn't scheduled into a course/section with the correct teacher
• Teacher is not listed as primary for the course/section (depending on which SIS)
• An error, usually with local teacher id or email, prevents the teacher's roster from loading (an error message will generally be in the roster file)

Identifying the cause of missing students

1. Confirm whether the student is missing from FastBridge or only a specific teacher's roster.

1. In FastBridge, go to Student Info on the left menu
2. Select View Student Roster
3. Search for the student by first or last name
4. If the student is listed on View Student Roster page, review the roster lines for accuracy. Pay particular attention to the teacher assignment but also look at school and grade level, as those may impact student visibility. Depending on how many courses the student is scheduled into, the list may be several pages long.

Student is NOT on the roster page: 

Continue troubleshooting in next step to check for errors in the roster file. 

Student is on the roster page but the teacher isn't listed on one of the roster rows:

You can choose to continue troubleshooting under the next step or go directly to working with your SIS data entry manager to ensure the student is scheduled into an active course with the teacher.  

 

2. Download the roster file from the most recent nightly update in FastBridge 

Use the instructions in Iowa: Viewing the roster file created from your SIS data. Filter the file according to the instructions below. 

The student was NOT listed on the Student Roster page in the step above (#1) - Filter (Data>Filter in Excel) or search the file by the student's name. If the student is in the roster file, there is likely an error listed in column A & B of the student's roster lines. Locate the error code on the Errors in the data file chart and follow the instructions for troubleshooting. If the student isn't in the roster file, see instructions under 'The student and/or teacher isn't in the roster file' below.

The student was listed on the roster page but not with the teacher - The cause is likely an issue with the student's schedule but you can eliminate an error in the teacher's data as the cause. Filter (Data>Filter in Excel) or search the roster file by the teacher's name. If the teacher is listed in the roster file as and showing as connected to a student, look for an error code in column A & B of the roster lines. Locate the error code on the Errors in the data file chart and follow instructions for troubleshooting.

The student and/or teacher isn't in the roster file  

Check the accuracy of the data entry in your SIS. Use the list of required data elements below as a reference and collaborate with your SIS data entry staff, as needed, to confirm the data is entered, correct and currently dated and has been in your SIS for at least a day.  

Required Data Elements   

All of the data elements (and supporting data) below must be accurately entered in your SIS in order for students/staff to be visible in FastBridge. If any of the data are missing, incorrect or have been entered since the last nightly update, the student or roster will not be reflected in FastBridge.

• Enrollment in a school that is active in FastBridge with a start date prior to the current date

• Grade assignment that is enabled for the school

• A valid student state ID (entered for 2-3 days, if your district uses the student locate program to populate ids)

• Student scheduled into at least one class/section, the section is assigned to a teacher, start date prior to the current date (For JMC, this means in the scheduler module with the class scheduled to a period. The homeroom list will not create roster entries)

• The teacher assigned to the class/section must have a valid email address.

Special note about missing students due to state IDs 

There is a known problem that occurs when a student state ID is populated into the SIS automatically by the State ID/SLF locator system (not manually entered). The automatic entry doesn’t prompt the SIS/SIF to send an update to FastBridge. There is a backup process that should pick up the missing ID within a week. If there are time constraints and it needs to be visible in FastBridge more quickly, please submit a support ticket in FastBridge with the necessary information and we can try to refresh the ID using your SIS data so it will be loaded in the next nightly roster.

You've confirmed that the required data is correct in your SIS, what next?  

Please submit a support ticket in FastBridge. Remember: Do not use chat or phone options for FastBridge support in Iowa. 

In the ticket, please confirm:

• each of the required data elements listed above have been checked. Be as specific as possible. i.e.: “confirmed state ID and correct building and class enrollment in the SIS” instead of "our SIS person says Tommy looks good."
• include the exact student's first and last name as it appears in your SIS 
• the district and building
• the teacher's name, especially if class rosters are part of the issue.
• Screenshots of elements (such as the student's course schedule in your SIS) are generally helpful

Student should not be on the teacher's roster in FastBridge

The instructions below are intended for troubleshooting circumstances when the student is attending the school but should not be on the teacher's roster. 

1. Check the student's schedule in your SIS

Confirm the student's schedule has been updated and they have been properly exited from all classes with the teacher in your SIS for at least a day. FastBridge District Managers - you can narrow it down to find the courses connecting the student to the teacher using the following steps:

1. Download the roster file using instructions in Iowa: Viewing the roster file created from your SIS data. 
2. Filter the file by both the student and the teacher names. This shows the course and section information (columns G and H) connecting the student to the teacher. 
3. Compare the course names/section numbers to the student's schedule in your SIS. Ensure the student is exited from each of those classes with an end date. Remember: the data entry in your SIS takes overnight to update in FastBridge. 

Next steps       

An end date has been entered in the student's schedule for all classes with the teacher - Submit a support ticket in FastBridge or email help@fastbridge.org. Include: details of the situation, the student's first and last name, building name, confirmation that the course has been exited and the date. It's also helpful to include the course names and section numbers, as they appeared in the roster file. 

There are no courses/sections in your SIS for the student with the teacher - See information on orphaned enrollments below. 

 

Student is visible under the incorrect building in FastBridge

Check the student's school enrollment in your SIS  

Confirm that an end/exit date has been entered in your SIS for the student's enrollment in the incorrect building for at least a day. 

Next steps       

An end/exit date has been entered -  Submit a support ticket in FastBridge. Include: details of the situation, the student's first and last name, incorrect building name, confirmation that the student has been exited and the date.  Remember: the data entry in your SIS takes overnight to update in FastBridge.  

There is no record of the student being enrolled in the building in your SIS or the student attended the building last year - See information on orphaned enrollments below. 

 

What are orphaned enrollments?

When a student is essentially 'stuck' in a class or a school in FastBridge but there is nothing showing in your SIS connecting the student to that teacher, course section, or school.

• student is rostered into a section in FastBridge and your data manager has confirmed the student is not scheduled into that specific course/section(s) in your SIS
• student is visible in a school building in FastBridge and your data manager has confirmed there is currently no enrollment record for the student at that building showing in your SIS
• teacher's roster in FastBridge contains a class of students but the course/section is not assigned to the teacher in your SIS

What causes orphaned enrollments? Orphaned enrollments are usually the result a record (school or course/section/teacher assignment) being deleted in your SIS. When records are deleted instead of ended with a date, the district's SIF (program) doesn't send an update to FastBridge to remove the record. If your SIS doesn't have a field for ending an enrollment or assignment, an interruption in the process of sending or receiving the update event between your SIS to FastBridge may cause enrollments to be orphaned.

How to fix orphaned enrollments? There is a program that runs periodically to 'clean up' orphaned enrollments. Please allow 2 weeks for the process to run and submit a support ticket in FastBridge, if it remains a problem. In the meantime, we recommend notifying the teacher and/or building staff to ignore the extra student temporarily so they do not waste time submitting support tickets. 

 

Inaccurate Student Demographic Data

Student demographic data such as name, state id, date of birth, free/reduced lunch, special ed/gen ed (under Service Code), etc. is from your student information system (SIS) via the roster files loaded into FastBridge during the nightly updates. Remember: do not edit student demographic data directly in FastBridge

Check the data element in your SIS  

1. Is it entered/coded correctly (conforms to Iowa SRI guidelines)?
2. Has correct data been entered for at least a day?
   

Submit a support request

Submit a support request in FastBridge or email help@fastbridge.org. Please include the following for faster assistance:

• Student first and last name
• Incorrect data element as it's shown in FastBridge
• Incorrect data element as it's entered in your SIS
• When it was changed in your SIS

Still need help?

Follow your district's plan for support, usually by contacting your FastBridge District Manager. If your district doesn't have a plan, submit a support request in FastBridge or by emailing help@fastbridge.org (which also creates a support request). Don't forget to include specific details such as the name of the building, grade level, teacher, assessment and the student(s) first and last names. Do not use the chat feature or phone support number through FastBridge, as your Iowa support team is not available via those methods.