National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) transcript services let you automatically transfer and import transcripts that can create new Slate records or match existing ones.

To configure this integration, you’ll do the following:

1. Add the NSC source format to your database

2. Create an NSC service account

3. Configure settings in the NSC environment

4. Configuring remap settings for the source format, activate the source format

💭 Questions about this integration during the implementation phase? Contact the NSC implementation team at: [email protected]

Step 1: Adding the NSC source format

The National Student Clearinghouse source format in Slate

• extracts the contents of the ZIP file sent from NSC

• uses an index file to assign new materials to the appropriate records and material types

To add the NSC source format to your database:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select Source Format Library.

3. Find the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) source format and select Add. A popup appears.

4. Select Add. A browser dialog appears.

5. Confirm the browser dialog to add the source format. You are redirected to the NSC source format overview page.

6. Select Edit.

7. (Optional): Change the Update Only setting to Update Only.

   • This prevents the source format from creating new records if a matching record cannot be found.

   • New documents are still be created and are available for manual processing in Batch Acquire.

8. Select Save.

Confirm the incoming/nsc/directory exists

With the source format added, active, and configured, it’s ready to accept an SFTP sweep. This happens about every 15 minutes.

When the SFTP sweep occurs, the /incoming/nsc/directory is automatically created in your database.

This directory must exist before National Student Clearinghouse is able to connect. To confirm the directory exists:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select SFTP Explorer.

3. Select incoming.

4. Look for nsc in the list.

   

5. If you don’t see it in the list, check again in 15 minutes.

6. If you still don’t see the directory, navigate to Database and select Run Force Process Pickup.

Step 2: Configuring the NSC user account

The National Student Clearinghouse user account is a service account used in the NSC Configuration section below.

It allows National Student Clearinghouse to drop off files to your /incoming/nsc/ SFTP directory.

To configure the National Student Clearinghouse user account:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Configurations, select Slate Template Library (legacy tool).

3. Select refresh the Slate Template Library at the top of the page. A browser dialog appears.

4. Confirm the browser dialog.

5. Under the Users heading, locate the National Student Clearinghouse Service Account and select Add. A popup appears.
   

6. Select Add.

7. From the main navigation, select Database.

8. Under Users & Access, select User Permissions.

9. From the list of active users, select Service Account, National Student Clearinghouse.

10. Select Edit User. The National Student Clearinghouse Account popup appears.

11. Select the Roles Tab.

12. Under SFTP Access, select Reset Password. A browser dialog appears.

13. Enter RESET in the browser dialog and select OK. A password is generated: this is the server password that you will enter in NSC.

14. Copy the password and paste it into a secure location, like a password manager.

    📝  Once you select Save, this password will not appear again. Select Reset Password to generate a new password.

15. Copy the CommandLine line value, starting at nationalstudentclearinghouse=. Paste it alongside the password you copied earlier.

16. Select Save to save the generated password.

This value is part of the server address that you will enter in the NSC SFTP Account Configuration procedure.

🔔 Do not change any other settings for the user account. These settings are required for National Student Clearinghouse to successfully connect to Slate

Step 3: NSC Configurations

To request this service from the National Student Clearinghouse, contact your Regional Relationship Manager (RRM).

1. 📧 Contact your rep

2. 📖 Review NSC documentation to configure the automated FTP scripts.

Step 4: Configuring remap settings for the source format

Remap settings tell the source format how to process the data in uploaded files.

Once you have received at least one file from NSC, you can confirm and customize the remap settings in the NSC source format.

📖 Further reading: Field mappings

To configure the source format remap settings:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select Source Formats.

3. From the list, select National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).

4. Select Edit Mappings.

5. 1. In the Field Mappings section, confirm and customize destination field settings as needed, with the following exceptions:

      🔔 Do not change the following mappings:

      • Material Filename: Tells Slate which document in the .zip file is related to which row in the index file

      • Material Code: Tells Slate which material type the document should be assigned to

6. Select Prompt Value Mappings.

7. Provide the value mappings for any unmapped values, including those for the Material Code destination.

Once finished customizing the Remap settings, turn on the import using the following steps:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select Source Formats.

3. From the list, select National Student Clearinghouse .

4. Set the Remap Active flag to Active.

5. Select Save.

Frequently Asked Questions

I am not getting a 'successful connection' when adding my SFTP credentials.

Confirm that the server address that you are entering is correct. The URL scheme is username@host/path.

For example, [email protected]/incoming/nsc.

How often are documents delivered?

National Student Clearinghouse delivers the zip files with available documents to Slate hourly, and Slate sweeps the SFTP directory for new files approximately every 15 minutes. The maximum number of documents in each zip file is 1,000.

Why are we seeing documents go to Batch Acquire?

Documents will be sent to Batch Acquire for the following reasons:

• The National Student Clearinghouse Source Format is configured to not create new records (via the Update Only setting), and an existing matching record could not be found in Slate.

• Not enough data was included in the index file to match onto an existing record or create a new record.

• The document's filename was not included in the index file.

• The index file did not contain a document type or the document type sent in the index file was not mapped to a material type in Slate.

• The document type was mapped to a school-scoped Slate material, but the index file did not include a school.

Why are duplicate person records being created in Slate?

Sometimes you may receive more than one document for a student. If you receive multiple documents for a student from the same school they are likely to be delivered in the same zip file, which means the same student will be listed in two rows in the index file. If the Source Format is configured to allow record creation, it is not configured to dedupe records within the source, and that student does not yet exist as a record in Slate, then two records will be created for that record. The duplicate records can be merged via Consolidate Records in Slate.

I forgot to map a document type, and now a bunch of documents are in Batch Acquire. Is there a way to assign these documents in batch?

Yes!

1. After you map the document type that was not mapped before, you can run a Retroactive Refresh. Any material in Batch Acquire from the selected sources will be eligible for the refresh.

2. If the Slate material type that you selected is school-scoped, you will need to select the school destinations for the refresh in addition to the Material Filename and Material Code destinations. Otherwise, only the material destinations need to be selected.

Support Resources

For assistance and support from the National Student Clearinghouse:

• During the implementation phase, Contact the NSC implementation team at: [email protected]

• For general support questions once implemented, contact: [email protected]