Login and implementation updates

In preparation for the new school year, we have made some updates to assist and streamline login and new implementations.

Login

• Updated Login Guidance - Since July 1st, users have been prompted after logging in to enter their district email address. Once confirmed, this email address becomes the user's username for logging in going forward (unless they use LDAP). The blog post from 7/1/20 has now been modified to include updated resources, including a step-by-step walkthrough of the login update, general login support, and updated guides to help admins add and update users.
• Increased LDAP Support - With the July 1st login updates, LDAP users were asked to login with their email address (rather than LDAP username) going forward. However, based on community feedback, SameGoal now re-supports LDAP login with LDAP username (the same as prior to July 1). LDAP users will continue to be prompted to enter their email address, but it will be used for email notifications rather than login.

New Implementations (relevant for local support partners)

• Simplified user creation - The user loader spreadsheet populated by new districts has been simplified for clarity. Please use the updated bulk-load-users.xlsx and instructions for new implementations going forward.
• Streamlined PDF Extract - When ITCs migrate districts from SpS to SameGoal, we recommend using PDFExtract, a program that automates PDF extraction from third-party systems. When used with SpS, this tool automatically extracts all PDFs for completed tasks. However, only PDFs included in our import policy (next point) will be imported into SameGoal.
• Updated PDF Import Support - PDF imports help new districts bootstrap their SameGoal environment in year one. Imported documents are automatically inspected to flag whether a student participates in a given program, and used to automatically create new upcoming deadlines. In order to best accomplish these tasks while not cluttering new environments, SameGoal has updated its import support.

If you have any questions about these changes, please email help@samegoal.com.