Direct Admissions Tool - High School Staff Resource Guides

1. Open Direct Admissions Tool:
   • Go to the Direct Admissions tool homepage and sign in. The Direct Admissions Tool uses your LoginMN credentials.
2. Select High School:
   • Choose "High School" from the dropdown.
3. Institution Field:
   • Important: 
     All users must register using only one school, even if you work with multiple schools.
     • Select any one of the schools you are affiliated with to complete your initial registration.
     • After registering, you can request access to additional schools by email (see below).
   • To select your school:
     • Click the magnifying glass icon to select an institution.
     • In the pop-up, select "Participating High School" from the dropdown.
     • Find your school, check the box, and click "Select."
   • Need Access to Multiple Schools? 
     If you need to view student data for more than one school (with different MDE org codes):
     • Complete your registration using just one school as described above.
     • Then, email direct.admissions.ohe@state.mn.us with:
       • A complete list of the additional schools you need access to.
       • Your name and the email address used to register.
       • Your request will be reviewed and processed. You’ll receive a confirmation once access is granted.
       • All users can upload data for any school or MDE org code, regardless of their access level. However, viewing student records is limited to the schools you’ve been approved for.
4. Complete Required Fields:
   • First Name: Pre-populated (editable).
   • Last Name: Pre-populated (editable).
   • Email: Pre-populated (do not change).
   • SIS Vendor: Select from dropdown (if none, select Non-Applicable).
5. Optional Fields:
   • Title: Enter any characters.
   • MDE Org Code: Appears if High School is selected.
   • Request Upload Access: Check if needed. If you are unsure if you need upload access, send an email to direct.admissions.ohe@state.mn.us
6. Submit:
   • Click "Submit."
   • A confirmation message will appear.
   • If you navigate away and return, an "access request under review" message will appear.
   • You will receive a confirmation email.
   • Your access request will be processed within 2 business days. You will receive an email with the outcome, and the application will either grant access or display a denial message. 

Video Tutorials:

• Complete your Academic Review: https://youtu.be/rAOG0pVRTPI
• Find your MDE.org number: https://youtu.be/SzTKon-kTdw

1. Open DirectAdmissions_HighSchoolName_YourName.xlsx, the Excel file for Academic Review Auto-Calculation.
2. Download a copy of the Excel file to your computer before making any changes.
3. Prepare the first sheet, "Calculate Student Tiers" Sheet:
   • Open the "Calculate Student Tiers" sheet.
   • Review the following rows for guidance (do not make any changes to these rows):
     • Row 1: Header.
     • Rows 2-4: Example data in red text for reference.
     • Row 5: "Please Begin Entering Your Student Information in Row 7."
4. Enter Student Data:
   • Start entering data in Row 7:
     • Required Columns:
       • B: MDE Org ID
         Must follow this format: ####-##-### (with dashes).
       • D: Student First Name
         No formatting restrictions
       • E: Student Last Name 
         No formatting restrictions
       • F: MARSS Number
         Must be exactly 13 digits. 
         All public-school students have a MARSS number. 
         If the student does not attend a public school and does not have a MARSS number, enter: 9999999999999
       • G: Student Date of Birth
         Must be in the format: MM/DD/YYYY
       • I: Student Email
         Must be a valid email address. 
         Example: student@example.com
       • J: Anticipated Graduation Date
         Must be in the format: MM/DD/YYYY
       • K: Is the Student On-Track for Graduation as determined by the Counselor? Enter "Y" or "N".
       • L: Should this student be included in the Academic Review? Enter "Y" or "N".
       • M: What is the student's unweighted cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale? Enter the number.
         The value must be between 0.00 and 4.00.  
     • Optional Columns:
       • A: High School Name (can be blank)
       • C: ACT ID (can be blank)
   • Note: Column O will automatically populate a tier based on the GPA entered in Column M. This column is labeled "Direct Admission Tier - This column is locked by OHE" and cannot be changed by users.
   • Note: If your participating high school does not use a traditional unweighted GPA or you have a student scenario where the student’s rendered tier placement is not reflective of their grade level’s academic rigor, please reach out to the Direct Admission Program Coordinator at aaron.salasek@state.mn.us.
5. Export Data from second sheet, "Spreadsheet to Send OHE":

   • Go to the "Spreadsheet to Send OHE" sheet. Fields will auto-populate based on the data entered in step 2 in the “Calculate Student Tiers” sheet.

     Important: You must be on “Spreadsheet to Send OHE” for this step. 
     To ensure the export works correctly, you must be on the "Spreadsheet to Send OHE" sheet. 
     If you stay on the "Calculate Student Tiers" sheet, the export will still create a file but it will not be usable and will fail in later steps. 

   • With "Spreadsheet to Send OHE" selected, follow these steps:
     • Select File and then Export.
     • Choose Change File Type.
     • If you do not see CSV (Comma-delimited) in the visible choices, select Save as Another File Type to find it.
     • Select CSV (Comma-delimited) and click Save As.
     • Name your file as follows: DirectAdmissions_HighSchoolName_YourName.csv and click Save.
     • Ensure you are on the "Spreadsheet to Send OHE" sheet and select OK.
     • If you do not see an option to Export, select Save As and change the file type to CSV (comma-separated values).
     • Note: If you see a pop-up saying "Permission to this workbook is currently restricted. If you continue, any restrictions to this workbook will be removed," select Yes.
     • Note: If you see a pop-up saying "The selected file type does not support workbooks that contain multiple sheets," select OK to save only the active sheet. 

File Requirements: 

• File Format: Only CSV files are allowed for upload. 

• Column Headers: Must match exactly in both name and order as they appear in the "Spreadsheet to Send OHE" sheet at the time of export. Any changes will cause the file to fail during upload. 

• Data Format: All data must follow the required formats outlined in the Prepare CSV File section. This is especially important for fields with leading zeros, which may be dropped if the file isn’t saved correctly. 

• Error Handling: If the file type or headers are wrong, the whole file will fail, and no records will be processed. If there are data format errors, only those specific student records will fail.  

Steps: 

1. Begin the Upload Process:
   • Click the "Upload Student Records" button in the “Student Upload Center” section.
2. Enter Details and Upload File: Enter a description, upload your file, click "Submit."
   • Uploading for Any School:
     • You can upload data for students at any school with any MDE Org ID, not just the school you are linked to.
   • Who Can See the Files:
     • Anyone linked to the same high school you registered with will see the uploaded files associated with your high school. You will see their uploads, and they will see yours. After a file is uploaded, anyone linked to that school can download or remove the file from the "Student Upload Center" section. All past uploads will appear in the table.
   • Multiple Schools:
     • If you are linked to multiple schools, you will only see the uploads for the school you first registered with during the Direct Admissions Tool registration process, not the additional schools you requested access to via email. However, you can download all student data for multiple schools in the student data section at the top of the Tool. This is covered in the Direct Admissions Download Student Data – Multi School User guide.
3. Processing Results:
   • Results will appear under "Last Upload Results" in the "Student Upload Center" section. This may take a few minutes.
   • Only the results of the last file uploaded will appear here.
   • Record(s) Created: Shows the number of records created. Each row without an error creates one record for the student.
   • No Record(s) Created – Duplicate: Shows the number of rows that were identified as duplicates and therefore did not create new student records. 
     • A duplicate is any row where all required fields exactly match a previously submitted and successfully created record.
     • Optional fields are ignored when determining duplicates.
   • Error(s): This will display the number of records with an error.
     • Any record with an error will not create a record. You must fix and resubmit these records.
     • Additional details on which records failed and why will display. Errors are tied to the student's email address. If no email address is provided, the error will not have a specific indicator.
     • Blank rows will not create a record and will not display an error.
4. Check for Newly Created Records:
   • Check the Student List in the Student Records and Survey Results section at the top of the Tool. Only successfully imported records will appear here. Records with import errors will not be included.
   • For more information on viewing student data, see the appropriate Direct Admissions View & Download Student Data guide for single high school or multi high school users. 

Student List Overview: 

• Display: The Student List is located within the Student Records and Survey Results section at the top of the Tool. 

• Page Navigation: The table shows up to 25 records per page. Use the navigation arrows below the table to move between pages. 

• Sorting: By default, the table sorts by Last Name (A-Z). You can sort any column in ascending or descending order by clicking the column name, but only one column at a time.  

Column Order: 

• Name
• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address
• Academic Tier
• Survey Sent Date: Blank until the survey is sent. Only the last sent date shows. The survey link stays the same, and students can update responses anytime.
• Not Interested: Defaults to "No" until changed in the survey by the student’s selection.
• College Selected: Defaults to "No" until changed in the survey by the student’s selection.
• Selected Colleges: Lists colleges chosen by the student in the survey.
• Created On: Shows the date and time the record was created. Use this column to identify the most recent record for a student, especially if multiple records exist due to changes in required fields like GPA or Academic Tier.

Search Instructions: 

• Type in the search box to look through all columns.
• The search starts from the beginning of each column.
• Add * (asterisk) to search the entire text.
• To clear, delete the text and click the magnifying glass to see all records again. 

College Selected Filter Instructions: 

• Yes - Displays only students who have selected a college. 

• No - Displays only students who have not selected a college. 

• All - Displays all students, regardless of college selection. 

Download Steps: 

• To download the data from the student table, click the Download button next to the search bar. This will create an export file with all the data from the student data table. 

Student Data Table Overview: 

• Important: You will only see data in the student table for the school you selected during registration. If you are associated with multiple schools, the additional schools will NOT display in this table.
• Table Display: The table is at the top of the page, with the Upload Students (+Create) section below it.
• Page Navigation: The table shows up to 25 records per page. Use the navigation arrows below the table to move between pages.
• Sorting: By default, the table sorts by Last Name (A-Z). You can sort any column in ascending or descending order by clicking the column name, but only one column at a time. 

Column Order: 

• Name
• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address
• Academic Tier
• Survey Sent Date: Blank until the survey is sent. Only the last sent date shows. The survey link stays the same, and students can update responses anytime.
• Not Interested: Defaults to "No" until changed in the survey by the student’s selection.
• College Selected: Defaults to "No" until changed in the survey by the student’s selection.
• Selected Colleges: Lists colleges chosen by the student in the survey.
• Created On: Shows the date and time the record was created. Use this column to identify the most recent record for a student, especially if multiple records exist due to changes in required fields like GPA or Academic Tier.  

Search Instructions: 

• Type in the search box to look through all columns.
• The search starts from the beginning of each column.
• Add * (asterisk) to search the entire text.
• To clear, delete the text and click the magnifying glass to see all records again. 

College Selected Instructions: 

• Choose Yes or No and click "Apply" to filter.
• To remove the filter, uncheck Yes or No and click "Apply" again. 

Download Steps: 

• Download Student List 

  To download student data for the primary high school you manage (the school you initially registered with), click the Download Student List button located next to the search bar. This will create an export file containing all student records from that school. 

• Download All Schools 

  To download student data for all high schools you manage (including your primary school) click the Download All Schools button. This will create a combined export file with student records from each school under your management.