Student Import Overview

Note: If you're a current CutTime Classic user and you're looking to migrate your existing Student records from Classic to Next Gen, see our walkthrough videos here:

Classic Export Guide & Classic Imports to Next Gen

Note: If you're a current Charms Music Office user and you're looking to migrate your existing Student records from Charms to Next Gen, see our walkthrough videos here:

Charms Export Guide & Charms Imports to Next Gen

To import your Students into CutTime, you will first need to populate an import template containing the formatting accepted by our system. See the screenshot below for a list of the available fields for students, the type of data accepted, and limitations on what data will be accepted by the system.

Step 1: Access the import template

Click the link below to access our import template. This is a read-only link, so you will either need to make a copy into your own Google Drive (recommended) by clicking File>Make a copy or download and edit the sheet in excel or another spreadsheet editor (not recommended) by clicking File>Download.

Please note that our support team highly recommends that you complete this process in Google Sheets - Excel and other spreadsheet editors can apply automatic formatting that may not be compatible with our importer.

Step 2: Populate your data

Copy and paste (values only - see note below) your student data from your current spreadsheet into the CutTime import template. The column headers in the import template should not be edited.

Please note: The import template is pre-formatted to help you ensure your data matches the formatting that our importer will accept. This formatting will be broken if you paste your data into the template normally (CTRL+V/Command+V). To ensure the template's formatting is not overwritten, please Paste Values Only (CTRL+Shift+V/Command+Shift+V in Google Sheets, right click>paste special>text in Excel) when pasting data into the template.

Step 3: Save as a CSV

When you have finished populating your import template, you are ready to save and upload it to our import helper for verification. The file will need to be in CSV format for our importer.

• In Google Sheets, click File>Download>Comma Separated Values (.csv)
• In Excel, click File>Save As and change the format from Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) to CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv)

Step 4: Upload and import

Once you have your CSV file saved and ready to import, navigate to your Program Settings page and click the "Import Students" button. Click "Choose File", select the CSV file you just saved, and click "Preview" to open the import helper. The import helper will generate a table displaying the data from the file that you just uploaded. From this screen you can make any final edits necessary before completing the import.

Valid records will appear in the table without any highlighting. These records can be imported as-is, but you can also edit them as necessary (see below for help editing a student).

Invalid records will be highlighted red in the table. These records cannot be imported and must be either edited or skipped before the import can be completed (see below for help editing a student). The field(s) that are not accepted will appear with a help tip in the edit form so you can see why it is invalid and make the necessary adjustments.

Skipped records will be highlighted dark gray. Skipped records will not be imported, so if an invalid record is skipped, it would not prevent other valid records from being imported. Both valid and invalid records can be skipped. If you mistakenly skip a record, you can click the edit form again to "Unskip".

To edit a student:

1. Locate the student in the table and click on that row to open an edit form
2. After you open the edit form, you can make adjustments to any of the fields that were originally imported. Note that the edit form will display Original value so you can always reference the data that was imported with the file
3. When you're finished editing, click "Save" to save the student's new record with the data you just edited. Even after you save a record, you can still open the edit form again and see the Original value if necessary.
4. If you'd like to exclude a student from the import, you can click "Skip" instead of "Save". Skipped records can also be unskipped. See above for more information about skipped records.

When you have verified all of your student records, click the green "Import" button on the top right of your screen to finalize the import. If the button is greyed out, that means you have at least one invalid record that must be either edited or skipped before the import can be finalized - check for any rows that are highlighted red.

Once you click the green "Import" button, you're done! Any records that were not skipped will now appear in your Students page. Now that your students have been uploaded you can get to work uploading their Guardians - see the following help document for more information. Guardian Import Overview

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Where can I find my student data to populate the import template?

• Most Student Information Systems (SIS) have functionality that will allow you to export your students into a spreadsheet. This will typically be in CSV format, which can be opened in Excel or Numbers. These exports are different from system to system, so if you need help finding the export in the SIS you use, we suggest reaching out to a colleague or your district IT department for assistance.

What if I don't know Student ID numbers for my students?

• Student IDs are typically included in SIS exports (see above), so for most teachers they should be readily available. If you do not have access to Student ID numbers you can import students without them, but Student ID is required in order to link students to their Guardians, so we highly recommend finding them before you do your first import. Having Student IDs on your first import will also help the system prevent you from uploading duplicate records for your students.

I pasted Date of Birth into the import template, but it's not displaying with the right formatting (yyyy-mm-dd). How can I fix it?

• The import template is pre-formatted to convert your dates from the format in your export to our accepted format (yyyy-mm-dd), but that pre-formatting can be overwritten. It's important to Paste Values Only when you copy and paste your Dates of Birth from their original sheet into the import template - pasting normally will overwrite the pre-formatting in the template.
• With that said, if you already pasted normally and overwrote the formatting, we can still fix it even if it's too late to undo your original pasting. Here's how to reformat the dates.
  • If you're using Google Sheets:
  • Step 1: In the import template, click on the letter F above the column header for Date of Birth to highlight the entire column.
  • Step 2: With the entire column highlighted, click Format from the menu in the top left of your screen. Under Number, click on "Custom date and time" (the second option from the bottom)
  • Step 3: From the list, choose the option that displays yyyy-mm-dd. This appears as "1930-08-05" as of the writing of this help doc. With the proper formatting chosen, click "Apply" and your dates should all be converted to the proper yyyy-mm-dd formatting.
  • Step 1: In the import template, click on the letter F above the column header for Date of Birth to highlight the entire column.
  • Step 2: Right click the highlighted column and select "Format Cells"
  • Step 3: Under "Category:", click "Custom"
  • Step 4: Under "Type:", there is a text box that will display the current formatting applied to this column. It may say "General" or it may have some other date formatting. Regardless of what is written there, remove the text and type "yyyy-mm-dd" (without the quotations). Click OK to save your formatting. Your dates should now be converted to the proper yyyy-mm-dd formatting.
  • If you're using Excel:
• With the correct yyyy-mm-dd formatting in place, the import helper will accept the dates and you can avoid having to edit them one-by-one.

Why can't I upload Guardians with my students?

• Guardians have their own separate importer, so after you upload your students you can tackle the Guardians as well. A help document for Guardian importing can be found here: Guardian Import Overview

Is it possible for my students to be imported automatically?

• While this is not possible yet, our developers are working on an integration with OneRoster, which would allow us to integrate with your Student Information System (SIS) and import your students for you automatically - no import template required. This is a complex feature that will take a bit of time to build, but we hope to have some basic functionality in place around the beginning of SY2023-24.

Do I need approval from my district before uploading student data?

• Each district has different policies, but many districts do require a Data Privacy Agreement (DPA) to be signed in order to authorize uploading student PII (personally identifiable information) to CutTime. If your district requires a DPA, you can send any required documentation to support@gocuttime.com for review.

If you have other questions during the student import process, don't hesitate to reach us at support@gocuttime.com for assistance.

Primary Positions Accepted

This list can also be found in the second worksheet of the import template. Note that the Primary Position column in the import template contains a dropdown list of the available options.