OneRoster® FAQ

Single Sign-On (SSO) and Auto-Rostering

This article applies to districts that use the SSO and Auto-Rostering Access Service. SSO applies to districts that use an SSO portal, district website, or Learning Management System (LMS) to access McGraw Hill digital programs. Auto-Rostering means that account creation, class setup, and roster management are automated through a process handled by your district.

Not sure which Access Service your district uses? Click here to learn more about the four Access Services that we support.

Introduction

OneRoster® is an open standard developed by IMS Global Learning Consortium® to normalize data transfer between school districts and Learning Tools. This guide provides answers to common questions for using the OneRoster® specification to populate McGraw Hill platforms.

Q: Can we leverage OneRoster® without a Single Sign-On (SSO) integration in place?

A: No. We require that SSO be set up prior to syncing your OneRoster® data with McGraw Hill platforms. 

Q: How does the SSO integration work with OneRoster® data?

A: After configuring your SSO integration, your Digital Integration Specialist will help you determine what is passed as the unique ID for each user. This ID value must be matched exactly in your OneRoster® users.csv data in either the ‘sourcedId’, ‘username’, ‘userId’, ‘identifier’, or ‘email’ field. The unique IDs for both teachers and students must be present in the same column; they cannot be split. OneRoster® data is used to create users, assign content, and create classes on McGraw Hill platforms.
 

Q: Which versions of OneRoster® does McGraw Hill support?

A: Currently, McGraw Hill supports OneRoster^® 1.0 in CSV format and OneRoster^® 1.1 in both CSV or REST API formats. We recommend using OneRoster^® 1.1.
 

Q: What is the difference between OneRoster® version 1.0 and 1.1? 

A: The main difference is that OneRoster® 1.1 allows you to assign content using Resource files. For more information, click here to learn more about OneRoster® 1.1.

Q: Is it possible to switch between OneRoster® 1.0 to OneRoster® 1.1?

A: Yes. Ensure that your course, class, or user ‘sourcedIds’ do not change as you make this transition. As long as these keys and their references remain the same, the transition should be fairly seamless. Let your Digital Integration Specialist know when you are ready to make the change.

Q: How are the OneRoster® CSV files transferred to McGraw Hill?

A: We host a SFTP site and provide you with the credentials to connect and upload your zipped CSV files. Before you can connect to this site, we will need the IP address or range of IP addresses from which you will submit the files so that we can whitelist them on our end.  Your Digital Integration Specialist or Digital Integration Analyst will provide you with the SFTP credentials when we are ready for this step.  Alternatively, you can upload your zipped files manually using the McGraw Hill Access Manager tool.

Q: Can I schedule automatic syncs of my OneRoster® API data?

A: Yes, you can schedule when your file syncs on Access Manager. Select Upload and then select Schedule to specify the time that you would like the sync to occur. To run an immediate sync, select OneRoster® API Connection and then select Sync Data Now.

Q: Is it possible to switch between CSV to RESTful API?

A: Yes. As long as the ‘sourcedIds’ that are passed in the API match the ‘sourcedIds’ on the CSV files, the transition should be fairly seamless. Be sure to let your Integration Specialist know if you would like to make this change.

Q: What should I include in my OneRoster® data?

ANSWER: Ideally, your OneRoster® data should only include those users, classes, and courses that need access to McGraw Hill digital content. This is not required. You can send all data, if needed, but assigning content and class management tends to be easier if the data only includes users that need access to McGraw Hill platforms and content.

Q: What is a sourcedId?

A: The ‘sourcedId’ holds a unique value for every record within the file. They are primary keys that should NEVER change for the lifetime of a given user, org, class, etc. Every file has a column header ‘sourcedId’ and these values are referenced in other files. For example, ‘userSourcedId’ in the enrollments file corresponds to the ‘sourcedId’ in the users file. 

Q: How should I name my classes?

A: Class names on McGraw Hill platforms come from the title field in the classes file. The title should be less than 50 characters and recognizable by teachers and students. We recommend the formula, teacher last name + course + period number + school year. For example, ‘Ruiz Biology Period 1 22-23’.

Q: What is the difference between a course and a class?

A: A class should be thought of as a specific section. For grades PreK-5, the class may be ‘Ms. Smith’s Class,’ because she has one group of students all day. For grades 6-12, classes might need to be broken down as ‘Ms. Smith, Per. 1’ and so on. This will ensure that each period of students is rostered correctly on McGraw Hill platforms.
A course is an umbrella for several classes using the same McGraw Hill product. Several individual classes should be associated to a single course. This means that there should be far fewer courses than classes. You assign content primarily to courses. By assigning more classes to a single course, it is easier and faster to assign content. For example, a course named ‘Biology’ should have multiple classes associated to it, such as Ms. Smith Period 1, Mr. Ruiz Period 2, etc.

Q: Can I rename classes by changing the ‘classes.title field’?

A: As long as the ‘classes.sourcedId’ does not change, altering the ‘classes.title’ field will update the class name. If you wish to make a change to a large number of class names, we recommend contacting Digital Integration Support first to ensure the data is correct before making updates.

Q: Can I use the same class name for all periods taught by a teacher?

A: Yes, but we recommend differentiating the titles between individual class sections to avoid confusion for teachers and students. A common way to do this is by including the academic year or the class section ID or period, if applicable, such as Ruiz Biology Period 2 22-23.

Q: Can I remove students from classes using OneRoster®?

A: Yes. To improve the efficiency of roster management, customers requested that roster files update class rosters on McGraw Hill platforms. When a student is removed from the files and the files are processed, the student will be removed from the class. Currently, this feature does not apply to ConnectED classes.

Q: How do users get access to content?

A: Organization administrators use Access Manager to assign content to courses and classes. Users can be assigned content automatically by using the OneRoster® 1.1 Resource files.

Q: How do I enroll teachers and students in classes?

A: First, the teacher and the students must be defined in the users file. The ‘sourcedIds’ for the users should be present in the enrollments file in the ‘userSourcedId’ field, and they should all share the same ‘classSourcedId’, which refers to the classes file. 

 
Q: What should I include in my ‘academicSessions’ data? 

A: We will use the academic sessions to define when a particular class is active, and when we should assign/revoke content from a set of users. As a minimum, you should have one full-year session, but many districts will have three sessions: one for year-long classes, one for semester 1 classes, and one for semester 2 classes. One of those sessions must be associated with each class in the classes file.  Based on the ‘endDate’ of that session, we will pull the content away from all students enrolled in that class to free up the licenses for the next group of students. We will not pull content away from teachers unless they are unenrolled or removed from the class.

Q: Can I Add/Delete/Reorder the column headings?

A: You can add columns to the files if other service providers need them. Our system will ignore those columns if provided. However, do not delete or reorder any of the required fields. If you generate the CSV files and wish to examine them before submitting them to us, please do not open them in Excel and save them before doing so. This will cause data formatting issues.

Q: Who can I contact with questions for my current OneRoster® upload?

A:  For assistance with your existing OneRoster® upload, contact Digital Integration Support at 1-855-315-6417 and or email IntegrationSupport@mheducation.com.

Q: Who can I contact with questions about my SSO and Auto-Rostering Access Service that uses OneRoster® files?

A: To discuss setting up SSO and Auto-Rostering for your district or getting more information, click here to schedule a call with one of our Digital Integration Analysts.

Need additional help?

Email Digital Integration Support at IntegrationSupport@mheducation.com or call 1-855-315-6417.