This overview describes the various aspects of an integration and estimated technical effort to complete.
See the Study Abroad Integration Planning Form
SFTP : Terra Dotta will provide each client account with an SSH folder for the transmission of text-only SIS (Student Information System) data files. The client will provide a nightly SFTP of the SIS text file extract(s).
Estimated Effort: 1 hour to generate public/private key pair and test SFTP connection
Custom URL: Both the public and post-login portions of the site will have a custom URL using the institutional domain. (e.g. goabroad.myuni.edu, international.myuni.edu, etc.)
Estimated Effort: 1-2 hours to generate an SSL cert and configure DNS
SIS Integration:
The SIS file must be a tab-delimited text file, containing user creation information for all potential campus users of the site, plus additional optional information. IT will also need to create a routine to refresh the extract file on a regular basis (e.g., nightly)
(see SIS/HR Data for more detailed documentation on the required format of the SIS file)
Potential users will be determined by the primary business use of the site.
- Study Abroad: potential users of the site would be anyone wishing to apply for a study abroad program. In practicality, this generally means that any currently enrolled student at the institution would be a potential user.
Estimated Effort: 8-16 hours after data fields are agreed to amongst the functional, campus data stewards, and IT
- Up to an additional 4 hours is likely required for Deferred Fetch integrations
HR Integration:
HR data may be transferred in a separate flat file, or it may be included in the same file as student/applicant/user data with a flag to indicate who should be considered as HR.
- Must contain the entire eligible population of potential staff users.
(see SIS/HR Data for more detailed documentation on the required format of the SIS file)
Estimated Effort: 2-4 hours of assistance to provide Terra Dotta integration engineers with documentation, network, authorizations, etc.
Authentication: uses the institutional user authentication mechanism. When an integrated user attempts to login to the Terra Dotta system, the system sends a request for user authentication and the user's "UUUID" (Unique, Universal, and Unchanging ID) to the institutional user authentication service. User access is granted based on the response from the institutional system.