Many colleges leveraging Ellucian Banner SaaS manage financial aid verification through a combination of institutional processes and integrations with external platforms. Our client is a large public community college in the United States. Their staff relied on manual uploads, custom scripts, and fragmented workflows to connect Banner SaaS with ProVerify, a financial aid verification solution offered by the third-party provider ProEd. These steps often resulted in delays, increased administrative workload, and a risk of human error during critical financial aid processing.
In this blog post, we’ll show how the ABCloudz team delivered a fully automated integration between Ellucian Banner SaaS and the ProVerify platform, using Ellucian Data Connect and a custom API to streamline financial aid verification from start to finish.
We’ll walk through the initial state, the major project milestones, and the technical architecture of the automated solution. By sharing our approach and results, we hope to clarify what it takes to modernize financial aid processes with Ellucian.
If your institution is working to improve or automate financial aid verification, this story will give you clarity about practical solutions, technical details, and insights into modernizing your student data integrations.
This was actually the second integration we delivered for this client. We also built an automated integration between Ellucian Banner SaaS and the Remind communication platform.
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Challenges with manual verification processes
At the start of this project, the entire financial aid verification process was fragmented into a series of manual steps, each introducing its own risks and overhead. Below is how the current state architecture operated at the beginning of our engagement.
Current state architecture
1. ISIR file reception
Banner SaaS received Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) files directly from the Department of Education (DOE). This was the entry point for all downstream processing and triggered the next stage of the workflow.
2. Manual activation file creation
After Banner received ISIR files, staff had to manually execute Automic scripts to extract and compile student data. These scripts generated activation files that served as the basis for verification by ProVerify, an external platform. The manual nature of this step increased the chance for errors, especially if scripts failed or required updates.
3. Manual SFTP file transfer
Once the activation files were created, administrative staff manually transferred them to ProVerify using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). This step required careful handling of secure credentials, accurate manual file selection, and constant attention to ensure files reached the intended destination.
4. Manual retrieval of results
When ProVerify finished processing the activation files, staff had to log in and manually retrieve verification results and corrections files from the same SFTP server. These files then had to be brought back into Banner for further processing. Each transfer was an opportunity for data mismatches or loss.
Manual error handling and monitoring
If any step in the process failed, administrators and technical teams needed to manually investigate and troubleshoot issues. There were no structured logs or automated alerts, making error identification slow and often reactive. Lack of transparency made it challenging to pinpoint problems quickly, resulting in further delays.
Throughout this workflow, every manual intervention contributed to administrative overhead, delays, and increased risk of mistakes. These challenges motivated our client to seek a more streamlined and automated solution that would eliminate manual interventions, mitigate risks, and significantly reduce the workload for staff and technical teams.
Goals for a modernized financial aid integration
The college clearly understood that continuing with manual workflows was no longer viable. They envisioned fully automated data integration between Ellucian Banner SaaS and ProVerify.
Our client’s primary objective was automating the extraction and secure delivery of student financial aid data. The new integration would automatically detect updates or changes in Banner data, then prepare and send this data to ProVerify using secure SFTP pipelines. This automation would significantly reduce the administrative workload and eliminate manual transfers.
Another critical goal was ensuring timely data transfers. By automating file generation and delivery, the college could accelerate verification processing, reducing student wait times and improving operational efficiency.
The integration needed robust error handling and transparent logging. The client required clear visibility into each transfer’s status to quickly identify, investigate, and resolve potential issues. This transparency would reduce downtime, simplify troubleshooting, and improve overall reliability.
Finally, the college wanted to position the solution for scalability and future extensibility. The automated architecture needed to handle potential increases in data volume seamlessly and adapt easily to future changes or additional integration scenarios without significant redevelopment.
With these clear objectives, we began working closely with the college, using Ellucian Data Connect and custom API development, to transform their manual verification processes into a robust, fully automated solution.
Automation with Ellucian Data Connect
To successfully modernize our client’s financial aid verification process, we structured our approach into clear phases. Each phase addressed key technical requirements, from initial assessments through custom development, automation, and secure data transfer. Here’s how we guided the project step by step.
Phase 1. Deep technical assessment and planning
We started with a detailed analysis of our client’s existing infrastructure, Banner SaaS environment, and their manual procedures. Understanding their current workflow was crucial for determining exactly which components needed modernization or replacement.
Reviewing existing Banner SaaS implementation and manual procedures
We closely examined the existing Banner SaaS setup to identify precisely how the college was handling financial aid verification data. Banner received Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) files directly from the Department of Education (DOE). Staff then manually ran Automic scripts to extract student records requiring verification. These scripts produced activation files for upload to the ProVerify platform via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).
Our evaluation confirmed the significant administrative overhead resulting from these manual workflows. We documented the entire manual process from the initial data load, through manual scripting, file generation, transfer via SFTP, and manual retrieval of verification results.
Evaluating current SQL extraction scripts and manual SFTP uploads
Our team reviewed the SQL scripts behind the manual data extraction process. These scripts selected records from multiple Banner tables, including student personal information, financial aid verification data, and specific verification statuses. We analyzed their logic, data transformations, and the final output structure of CSV files used for manual uploads.
We also reviewed the manual SFTP procedures, including credential management, file naming conventions, and transfer schedules. This assessment confirmed the need for a fully automated and secure solution to eliminate risks associated with manual data handling.
Identifying gaps in Banner APIs required for automation
To transition from manual extraction to an automated pipeline, we explored available Ellucian Banner APIs to determine if standard integrations could provide the required data elements. This API assessment revealed critical gaps. While some essential data fields, such as Social Security Number (SSN), preferred email, and phone numbers were accessible, several key verification-related fields and specific filtering criteria were not available through standard Banner APIs.
These limitations meant standard APIs could not fully support automated incremental data extraction. The existing APIs lacked precise control over data filtering by verification priority or student financial aid status.
Determining necessity of custom API fitting
Given these identified gaps, we concluded that a custom API was essential. This custom solution would precisely fulfill the extraction requirements, offering granular control over data filtering criteria such as verification status, financial aid years, and incremental updates based on timestamps.
Insights gained during this phase
- We created a detailed mapping of all required student data fields, including SSN, Award Year, Preferred Email, Cell Phone, School SIS ID, CAL ISIR indicator, and C-Code statuses.
- We recognized that existing Banner APIs could not fully support the complex filtering and incremental extraction logic needed for the automated solution.
- We determined the need for a custom API fitting designed specifically to handle the incremental extraction logic using custom SQL queries and timestamps.
Phase 2. Designing a custom API and automated pipeline solution
With our detailed technical assessment completed, we moved forward to design a robust and scalable automation solution. This involved developing a custom REST API tailored to precise client needs and designing automated pipelines using Ellucian Data Connect.
Custom REST API development
Our engineers developed a custom Specification-based API (SPEC API) named x-proverify. This API addressed all the identified gaps from our initial assessment. The API enabled precise, incremental extraction of student verification data directly from Banner, using customized SQL queries.
This custom API accepted specific input parameters, such as financial aid year codes (aidyCode1 and aidyCode2) and creation dates (createDate). It then executed complex SQL queries against Banner’s internal tables like RCRAPP1, ROBUSDF, GOREMAL, and SPRIDEN. These queries extracted only relevant records, applying conditions like current record indicators, verification priorities (e.g., V1, V4, V5), and C-Code statuses.
Automated Data Connect pipeline design
With the custom API developed, we used Ellucian Data Connect to build fully automated pipelines. Data Connect acted as the central orchestration platform, coordinating data extraction, transformation, validation, and secure file delivery to ProVerify.
We structured the Data Connect pipeline to run incrementally every 10 minutes, ensuring timely data transfer to ProVerify. This schedule eliminated manual triggers and maintained continuously up-to-date student verification data.
Phase 3. Implementing Data Connect pipelines and data transformations
With a clear API and pipeline strategy in place, we implemented automated Data Connect pipelines that managed incremental data extraction, transformation, and file generation.
Data extraction via custom API
The automated pipeline invoked our custom API to extract verification records incrementally from Banner. Each extraction fetched only records modified or added since the last successful run. This minimized data processing overhead and guaranteed efficiency.
Data transformation and validation within pipelines
We implemented data transformations directly within the Data Connect pipeline. Our SQL-based transformations standardized the data to meet ProVerify’s strict formatting requirements. For example, we securely formatted the Social Security Numbers (masked format: XXX-XX-XXXX), standardized phone numbers to the pattern XXX-XXX-XXXX, and ensured email addresses were validated.
We also validated data integrity at this stage, checking for missing mandatory fields, improper data formats, and incomplete records. This ensured consistent quality and reduced data issues downstream.
CSV file generation
After transformations and validations, the pipeline automatically generated a standardized CSV file (proVerify.csv). This file followed exact formatting requirements from ProVerify. It included clear, consistent column headers, UTF-8 encoding, comma delimiters, and automatic file overwriting on each pipeline execution.
Phase 4. Secure automated transfer via SFTP integration
Once the CSV file was generated, our pipeline automatically transferred the file directly to ProVerify’s SFTP server without any manual intervention. We configured secure credentials within Data Connect, ensuring all sensitive information remained encrypted and protected.
We also built robust error handling and structured logging capabilities into the pipeline. Each pipeline execution generated a structured log file (errors_<pipeline_name>_<timestamp>.log) detailing successes or failures. These logs provided clear audit trails, enabling technical teams to quickly troubleshoot any issues.
Phase 5. Building transparency and monitoring capabilities
To give our client clear visibility and control, we integrated comprehensive monitoring capabilities directly into the Data Connect pipeline.
The pipeline automatically created explicit status files (success or error) indicating the result of each execution. These status indicators allowed quick identification of successful transfers or immediate attention to failures.
In addition, detailed log files provided precise records of each transfer, ensuring transparency and ease of troubleshooting. By building these robust monitoring and logging capabilities, we empowered the client’s technical teams to maintain continuous oversight, swiftly diagnose issues, and confidently manage their automated verification workflow.
By carefully structuring each phase from assessment through implementation, we ensured the successful automation and modernization of our client’s financial aid verification processes, greatly enhancing efficiency, security, and reliability.
Future state architecture
After implementing the new integration, the financial aid verification workflow moved from fragmented manual steps to a fully automated process. Every stage that once depended on staff intervention is now orchestrated by Ellucian Data Connect, with built-in logging and monitoring.
The following sequence outlines how the future state architecture operates after automation:
1. Automated ISIR file reception
Banner SaaS continues to receive ISIR files directly from the DOE. This automated process remains the entry point for all downstream workflows.
2. Automated data extraction and transformation
Ellucian Data Connect initiates an automated extraction of all required student records from Banner SaaS using a custom REST API. The pipeline applies all necessary data transformations and filtering logic in real time, removing the need for staff to run manual scripts.
3. Automated CSV generation
Data Connect automatically generates a standardized activation file (proVerify.csv), ensuring that all formatting and field requirements for ProVerify are met every time.
4. Secure SFTP delivery to ProVerify
The pipeline automatically delivers the activation file to ProVerify’s SFTP server using encrypted credentials. No manual file selection or intervention is required.
Automated logging and monitoring
At every step, Data Connect logs the process and generates structured status files for both success and error states. Administrators and technical staff can monitor the integration from a central dashboard, receiving notifications if any issue requires attention.
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Project outcomes
This fully automated solution eliminates the delays and risks of manual processing, creating a scalable integration that is easier to manage and extend.
Here are the most important outcomes:
Manual file handling eliminated: We removed all manual file preparation and SFTP transfers from the workflow. Staff no longer spend time on repetitive export and upload tasks, which allows them to focus on higher-value activities.
Secure and reliable transfers: Every file is generated, validated, and delivered automatically and on schedule. This process reduced the risk of lost files, missed uploads, or transfer delays.
Improved transparency and troubleshooting: Each pipeline run creates detailed logs and clear status indicators. Technical staff can quickly detect and resolve issues, increasing overall confidence in the system.
Enhanced data quality: Automated validations and transformations ensure that every file meets required standards. This minimizes errors and reduces the chance of rejected records, leading to a smoother student experience.
Scalable and future-ready architecture: We designed the integration to scale with growing data needs and adapt to new requirements. The architecture can be reused for other similar integrations, offering long-term flexibility. More on that in the next chapter.
Designed for reuse across institutions
Ellucian is currently reviewing this integration as a candidate for broader deployment across institutions that use ProVerify alongside Banner SaaS. From the beginning, we collaborated with Ellucian to ensure the architecture followed best practices for maintainability, automation, and ease of adoption in other environments.
We designed the solution around Ellucian Data Connect and a custom REST API for incremental data extraction. This combination supports fully automated file generation and secure delivery via SFTP, without relying on institution-specific scripts or infrastructure. Every pipeline component follows a modular structure, which simplifies onboarding and reduces effort for future institutions implementing a similar integration.
ProVerify supports integration via secure file transfers as part of their standard offering, making this architecture compatible with a wide range of institutional setups. Institutions that later pursue direct API-based integration can evolve the solution with minimal rework.
By building for flexibility from day one, we delivered a working integration for the current client while creating a scalable blueprint that other colleges and universities can adopt with minimal customization.
Automate your Ellucian integrations with ABCloudz
ABCloudz specializes in helping higher education institutions streamline complex integrations and data workflows. Our team offers deep technical expertise across Ellucian products, custom API development, integration automation, and cloud data solutions.
If your institution is looking to modernize your Ellucian Banner integrations, automate critical data transfers, or enhance overall data security and efficiency through IT automation, reach out to ABCloudz today.
Let’s discuss how we can support your institution’s next data integration project.
