Student records age like fish, not cheese. When information about students becomes outdated, library services are among the first to feel the impact. Institutions that use separate systems for academic operations and library management must keep these records in sync to ensure smooth access, borrowing rights, and identity verification.
Many institutions that have recently migrated from on-premises Ellucian Colleague to Ellucian SaaS also use Ex Libris Alma for library management. Their earlier integrations between on-premises Colleague and Alma typically relied on manual file exports, transformations, and uploads, which made the process slow and error-prone. After moving to the SaaS platform, these institutions need a modern replacement for that legacy integration.
In this blog post, we show how the ABCloudz team rebuilt this integration for one such customer using Ellucian Data Connect pipelines and the Ethos Data Model API. The solution is fully aligned with the Ellucian SaaS architecture. Our team designed it to be reused for other institutions with the same requirements. Our team has also successfully integrated Colleague with other systems, such as Maxient for student conduct and case management or the T2 parking system.
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Challenges of using outdated student records
Before the ABCloudz team delivered an automated synchronization solution, our customer manually orchestrated the data flow from Colleague to Alma. As a result of this manual effort and human factor, errors in the library management system were a common case.
The use of artificial intelligence could automate some of the steps of this process, leaving our customer with the need to perform fewer routine manual interactions. However, they wanted to fully automate the synchronization of student and faculty demographic data with Alma. In addition to this key goal, our customer wanted to maintain accurate patron records and streamline library access for all students, including freshmen.
Current state architecture
The following diagram shows the current state of our customer’s system.
At the first step, the Colleague systems administrators manually run scripts to export student records. At the next step, they format these XML files according to the Alma requirements. Finally, the Alma systems administrators upload these formatted files to the SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) server. Both departments are kept busy and don’t have time to innovate.
Automating the data flow
The ABCloudz team thoroughly analyzed the current implementation and carefully listened to the customer’s needs and goals. Since the customer now operates in the Ellucian SaaS environment, the new integration was designed using the native SaaS tools, including Ethos APIs and Data Connect pipelines. As a result of this initial step, we decided to build two automated Data Connect pipelines for transferring data from Ellucian Colleague to Ex Libris Alma.
The first pipeline manages the student data, such as name, address, contact info, and enrollment status. With this data, Alma can manage user identity and access.
The second pipeline manages the faculty data, such as department affiliation, contact information, and title. With this data, Alma can ensure appropriate borrowing privileges and access rights.
To extract data from Ellucian Colleague, our team used Ethos Data Model APIs. Next, we created Data Connect pipelines to transform this extracted data and securely load it to an Amazon S3 bucket, with support for SFTP or dual delivery depending on configuration. Finally, we scheduled nightly runs for these pipelines to avoid extensive system load during working hours while ensuring regular data synchronization.
Future state architecture
The following diagram shows the future state of the automated integration between Colleague and Alma.
At the first step of this automated integration, the pipelines use Ethos Data Model APIs to extract raw student and faculty data from Colleague. At the next step, an automated data converter transforms this raw data into a format that meets the Alma requirements. Finally, the pipeline loads transformed data through a secure file transfer to an Amazon S3 bucket.
The ABCloudz team designed this integration for operational scalability and in full alignment with Ellucianʼs SaaS architecture. Also, this automated integration improves the security of sensitive student data. Administrators now don’t have access to sensitive data in the extracted files. Moreover, when institutions choose Amazon S3 as the delivery target, it provides additional security advantages over a traditional SFTP server. By default, all Amazon S3 buckets support data encryption, so files uploaded through the Data Connect pipelines are automatically encrypted at rest.
Results and benefits
By automating these data flows, the institution reduced the administrative burden on staff. Data Connect pipelines run every night, while administrators can focus every day on improving and developing their systems.
Of course, administrators might need to step in when an error with any of the pipelines occurs. However, the detailed log ensures prompt issue resolution.
The institution has also improved service delivery to students and faculty. For example, the library provides students with fast service without the need to wait in an endless line or share their personal information again and again.
The new automated integration is also compliant with the latest data governance and security policies.
Future improvements
The ABCloud team delivered a fully automated workflow that accomplishes all the goals of our customer. However, our team proposed further improvement ideas. For example, we can introduce live changes by starting the pipeline when changes occur in the Colleague database.
Also, the customer might find two-way data updates helpful. Currently, the Colleague ERP doesn’t get any notifications, acknowledgements, or statistics from Alma. Finally, a small tweak in the Data Connect pipelines can make it possible to use them for transferring historical data. In the existing implementation, pipelines reflect only changes in the Colleague ERP, but our customer might want to use these pipelines to transfer outdated records.
Streamline your Ellucian integrations with ABCloudz
This blog post covers a single customer success story, but the ABCloudz team has already completed hundreds of projects for higher education institutions. Streamlining complex integrations and data workflows, our team provides our customers with deep technical expertise with Ellucian products, automation pipelines, and cloud solutions.
To modernize your Ellucian Banner integrations, automate data flows, or improve data security, you can rely on our experience. Contact ABCloudz to discuss how you can take advantage of our expertise in solving emerging challenges in your next Ellucian integration.
