Instructions for integrating with your Student Information System (SIS) and automated subscriber uploads

Automated Subscriber Uploads allow your institution to securely sync subscriber data — typically students — from your Student Information System (SIS) directly into uConnect. This integration powers two key capabilities within the platform:

• Email communications — Career center teams can email any students uploaded via SIS directly from the platform
• Engagement data tracking — Analyze which content students are engaging with the most and the least, and segment communications accordingly

While most institutions upload student data, you may also include alumni, faculty, and staff in your file. Manual uploads remain available at any time and are not impacted by enabling automation.

You can manage the entire SIS file setup process within the uConnect platform itself — giving you full control over your file's mapping, syncing, and ongoing settings.

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Before You Get Started: Format Your SIS File

If this is your first time setting up a SIS file, review our formatting guidelines before beginning setup. Understanding the required and optional fields upfront will help your IT team build the file correctly from the start.

👉 How to Format a Subscriber List

You can also reference our SIS sample file template, which defines required and optional fields on the second tab:

👉 Download SIS Sample File Template

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Overview of the Setup Process

Setting up automated uploads includes five main steps:

1. Confirm whether SIS is already enabled in your uConnect platform
2. Coordinate with IT to prepare your SIS file
3. Begin the automated upload process in uConnect
4. IT uploads the file to your secure S3 bucket
5. Complete field mapping and activate the ongoing sync

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Step 1: Confirm Whether SIS Is Already Enabled

Navigate to: Engage > Subscribers > Subscriber Upload Log

Check the User column and follow the appropriate next step below:

• If you see "System-SIS Bridge" listed under the User column, automation is already active. If you need to make changes to your existing SIS file, coordinate with your IT team and submit a support ticket. The uConnect support team will assist you with any configuration changes.
• If "System-SIS Bridge" is not listed, continue reading and follow the remaining steps!

 

 

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Step 2: Coordinate With Your IT Team

Your IT department (or whichever team on campus can generate a student data file) must create a recurring SIS file in CSV format. They will need to:

• Review formatting requirements (share this article and the SIS Sample File Template)
• Determine which fields to include based on your student population
• Configure automated recurring uploads to overwrite the existing file with each new upload
• Combine multiple populations (undergrad, grad, alumni) into a single file if applicable

Email Template to IT

Use the template below to initiate the conversation with your IT contact and get the process started.

Subject: Request for SIS Integration Setup for uConnect

Hi [IT Team / Name],

I hope you're doing well. My name is [Your Name], and I serve as the [Your Title] in the [Career Center / Department Name] at [University Name].

Our office uses uConnect, a content management system that powers our career center website and serves as our virtual career center platform. We use uConnect to share curated career content, manage targeted communications, and support student engagement across career communities.

To fully utilize the platform, we are looking to implement an automated Student Information System (SIS) integration. This will allow us to securely sync student data into uConnect so that we can:

• Email students directly from the platform
• Segment communications appropriately
• Track student engagement with career-related content

We are requesting your assistance with creating a recurring student subscriber file in CSV format that meets uConnect's formatting and field requirements. The file must include the required fields below:

• FIRST_NAME
• LAST_NAME
• EMAIL
• USER_ID or USER_LOGIN (required if SSO is enabled or email is not a persistent identifier)
• GRADUATION (4-digit year format, e.g., 2025)
• STAKEHOLDERS / USERS ( e.g., Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni — one value per user)

Additional optional fields (such as program or community-related data) can also be included if available.

Once the file has been created and is ready for automation, I will initiate the automated upload process within uConnect. At that time, you will receive secure instructions for uploading the file to a designated Amazon S3 bucket. The credentials will be time-sensitive, so we will coordinate timing accordingly.

After the initial file is successfully uploaded, our team will complete the final configuration steps within the uConnect dashboard to activate the ongoing automated sync.

Please let me know a good time to discuss next steps, or if you need any additional documentation regarding file formatting requirements. I'm happy to share the full technical specifications from uConnect.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Best, [Your Name] [Your Title] [Department Name] [University Name] [Contact Information]

 

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Step 3: Begin the Automated Upload Process

Navigate to: Engage > Subscribers > Automate Subscriber Uploads

Click Begin Automatic Subscriber Uploads Process button.

 

 

When you click this button:

• A secure Amazon S3 bucket is automatically created for your institution
• You receive an instructional email that you can forward directly to your IT team
• The email includes a secure link to generate S3 access credentials (valid for 7 days)

What the Instructional Email Includes

The email sent to you (and forwarded to IT) contains:

• Setup instructions for your IT team
• A recommended CSV file template
• A secure link to generate S3 credentials
• Instructions for regenerating credentials if the link expires

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Step 4: IT Uploads the File to the S3 Bucket

Your IT team will:

1. Generate S3 credentials from the secure link provided in the instructional email
2. Configure an automated, recurring process to upload your SIS CSV file to the assigned S3 bucket
3. Ensure each new upload overwrites the previous file (only one file can be processed at a time)

SIS File Name Guidance

There are no specific file name requirements, but including your institution's name, "uConnect," and a time frame can be helpful for reference. For example:

 

"uConnect_CambridgeUniversity_CurrentStudents_Spring2026.csv"

 

The naming convention is entirely up to you — just keep it consistent for your IT team.

 

⚠️ Important: The file must include a header row and at least one data record. Empty files will not be processed. You cannot complete the setup in the uConnect dashboard until the first file has been successfully uploaded.

 

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Step 5: Configure Automation Settings in uConnect

Once the first file has been uploaded, return to:

Engage > Subscribers > Automate Subscriber Uploads

 

Configure the following settings:

Status

Toggle to Active to enable ongoing automated syncs.

AWS S3 Bucket

This is automatically generated when you begin the setup process and cannot be edited.

File Name

Select your SIS file from the dropdown. Typically, only one file will appear.

Sync Frequency

Choose how often uConnect imports your data:

• Weekly (recommended for most institutions — currently processes Saturday night)
• Daily

Auto Deprovision

If enabled, subscribers not present in the most recent SIS file will be automatically removed from your subscriber list. Use this setting carefully and confirm it aligns with your institution's data management practices.

Email Frequency

Optionally auto-enroll subscribers in a specific email cadence upon upload.

Academic Year Start Date

Select the month and day your academic year begins. This is used to determine the correct graduation year for student subscribers and will automatically advance class year designations (e.g., sophomore to junior) on the date you select.

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Actions (Optional Tools)

These optional tools are available on the Automate Subscriber Uploads page:

 

Action	Description
Import Users	Run an immediate, manual sync outside of the scheduled cadence
Download List	Download a report of all subscribers included in the current SIS file
View Log	View details of recent imports, including records added, skipped, or flagged

 

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Step 6: Format and Map Your SIS File

After selecting your file, you will map your CSV column headers to uConnect fields. Once all required mappings are complete and Status is set to Active, your automated SIS sync is live.

👉 Download SIS Sample File Template

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CSV Formatting Requirements

Your file must:

• Be in CSV format
• Follow RFC 4180 standards:
  • Comma-separated values, one row per line
  • Fields containing commas must be enclosed in double quotes
  • Multiple values within a single field must be separated by semicolons
• Contain a header row
• Include at least one data row (an empty file will not be processed)
• Overwrite the previous file with each upload

Example of properly formatted CSV:

student_id,first_name,last_name,email,major

12345,Alex,Morgan,alex.morgan@example.edu,Biology

67890,"Taylor, Jr.",Lee,taylor.lee@example.edu,Chemistry

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Required Fields

Your SIS file must include the following column headers, mapped to the corresponding uConnect fields:

FIRST_NAME

The subscriber's first name, as recorded in your system of record. Some institutions use preferred name here.

LAST_NAME

The subscriber's last name, as recorded in your system of record.

EMAIL

The student's university email address. Must be valid and non-blank — records with invalid or missing email values will be skipped during import. Email may also serve as the SSO identifier if applicable.

USER_ID or USER_LOGIN (SSO ID)

Each subscriber must have a persistent unique identifier that does not change over time.

This field is required if:

• Email is not a persistent identifier, or
• The email does not match the SSO login attribute passed during login

If SSO is enabled:

• USER_ID or USER_LOGIN must match the SSO attribute used during authentication
• This prevents duplicate accounts from being created
• Email may serve as the unique identifier only if it is persistent and matches the email passed via SSO

This field also ensures that a subscriber's identity persists across role changes (e.g., from student to alumni).

GRADUATION

Required if your institution uses class year tags.

• Must be a 4-digit year (e.g., 2025) — no other date formats are supported
• Directly correlates to students' Class Year tags, which are automatically applied to subscribers
• Used to determine when a student's status converts to Alumni. For example, when a student's graduation date passes, their status will automatically switch to "Alumni" based on the Academic Year Start Date configured in your settings (defaulting to August 1st)

STAKEHOLDERS (User Type)

Identifies the subscriber's user type (e.g., Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni).

• You can assign only one stakeholder value per user
• These values are directly tied to the Stakeholder Communities configured in your uConnect platform (also referred to as "Audience," "People," or "People We Serve")
• These are the same user types that new users select when creating an account in your uConnect platform

 

 

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Optional Fields

EMAIL_OPT_OUT

Opts the user out of all email communications. Accepted values: 1, YES, TRUE (case-insensitive)

DELETE

Deletes an existing user record. Accepted values: 1, YES, TRUE

PROGRAM

The PROGRAM field is the primary field used to associate students with Career Communities based on their program of study. This can include a student's academic major, concentration, or program code — whatever your institution uses to classify students by area of study in your system of record.

Important notes about the PROGRAM field:

• Values are typically program codes pulled from your institution's student data system (e.g., ECON, BAC-CHEM-1, CS-GRAD)
• These codes need to be mapped to the corresponding Career Communities in your uConnect platform — this does not happen automatically
• This field is configured during Step 6 (field mapping), after your SIS file has been uploaded to the S3 bucket
• Because program codes vary by institution, this field requires coordination with the uConnect support team to ensure your codes are correctly mapped to the right Communities before or during your initial setup

If you plan to include the PROGRAM field, reach out to our support team early in the process so they can prepare the correct mapping alongside your IT team.

Community Fields (e.g., AFFINITY, INDUSTRY, ACADEMIC_COLLEGE)

You may include additional columns to map users into Community Groups within uConnect.

Community field rules:

• One extra column per Community Group
• One column maps to one Community Group
• Multiple values in a single cell must be separated by semicolons
• Multiple values can map to one community
• You cannot map combinations of values to a single community
• If column headers or values do not exactly match existing Community names in uConnect, you will need to manually map them during the upload process

Example:

INDUSTRY	AFFINITY	ACADEMIC_COLLEGE
Manufacturing	First Gen; Military	College of Engineering

 

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Combining Multiple Populations

If your file includes multiple user types (e.g., Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni):

• Combine all users into one single CSV file
• Include a field identifying the user type (e.g., STAKEHOLDERS or USER_TYPE)
• Each user may only appear once in the file — duplicate records are not permitted

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Email Preference Behavior

If a subscriber has previously:

• Opted out of email communications, or
• Customized their email preferences

Those settings will remain unchanged during SIS sync.

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Step 7: Sync, Monitor, and Optimize Your SIS Integration

Error Handling

If required fields are missing, unmapped, or incorrectly formatted, you will see warnings or error messages in the dashboard. You can update your field mapping at any time by returning to the Automate Subscriber Uploads page. Records with invalid or blank EMAIL values are automatically skipped during import.

Ongoing Sync Behavior

• Syncs run according to your selected cadence (Daily or Weekly)
• Weekly syncs currently process Saturday night
• You can manually trigger a sync at any time using the Import Users action
• View your full sync history — including records added, skipped, or flagged — in the View Log

Additional Technical Notes

Rule	Detail
Only one file is processed	All populations must be combined into a single CSV
Each upload must overwrite the previous file	Your IT team should configure this in their automation
File must contain at least one data record	Empty files will not be processed
Weekly sync default	Runs Saturday night; daily is also available

 

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Need Help?

If you have questions about formatting, field mapping, SSO matching, Community setup, or sync activation, contact the uConnect support team — we're here to help ensure a smooth and successful SIS integration.