Create a group

You can create groups manually, dynamically from rules, or by loading them from an external group generation tool. You can also create student cohorts and user groups in Cohort Manager. After you create a group, you can manage it in the Group Management application. For more information, see Manage groups.

Choose a group creation method

Method	Use when you want to
Manual group	Select individual records, or add multiple records using their IDs.
Student cohort	Create a student group and add students by searching, entering student IDs, uploading a CSV file, or combining these methods.
User group	Create a group of users by searching for users or uploading a CSV file.
Dynamic group	Use rules (an SQL query) to decide group membership.
External source group	Use group membership provided by an external source and loaded through the data warehouse ETL process.

Create a manual group

You can create a manual group in the Group Management application or from a detailed list that you open by drilling down on a dashboard metric.

Create a manual group in Group Management

From the main menu, select Utility Apps, and then select Manage Groups.
Start typing in the group list to create a new group.
Enter a group Name.
Select a group Type.
If you want the group to appear in filter options, mark the group Active. New groups are active by default.
Specify whether the group is Public or Private.
If needed, enter an Effective Start Date and Effective End Date.
- By default, the effective date range is one calendar year, starting on the day you create the group.
- On the effective end date, the group changes from active to inactive and is no longer available as a filter option. You can reactivate the group at any time in the Group Management application.
If needed, enter a Description of the group.
On the Manual tab in the Member Source section, do one of the following:
- Select Single Add Mode to add individual members. Type the member name in the Search members field, and then select the record.
- Select Multiple Add Mode to enter a list of record IDs, one per line.
To remove a member from the group, select the Status icon on the record.
Select Save.

Create a group from a detailed list

Drill down on a dashboard metric to open the detailed list.
Select the checkbox for each record you want to include, or use Select All.
Select Actions, and then select Add to Group.
Do one of the following:
- To add the records to an existing group, select the group from the drop-down list, and then select Save.
- To create a new group, start typing in the group list, and then save the group.
To update the settings of a new group, from the main menu, select Utility Apps, and then select Manage Groups.
Locate the new group and select the Edit (pencil) icon.
Update the group settings as needed.
Select Save.

Create a student cohort

A student cohort is a student group that contains a specific set of students. You can add students by searching for them, entering student IDs, uploading a CSV file, or combining these methods.

Create the student group

From the main menu, select Utility Apps, and then select Manage Groups.
Open Cohort Manager.
Select Student Groups.
Select Create Group.
Enter the group details.
Select Save and Continue.

The student group is created without any members. Next, select the students to include in the cohort.

Add students by searching

Select the option to search for students.
Enter the student information in the search fields, and then search.
Select the checkbox for each student you want to add.
To find and select more students, repeat the search.
Select Show selected to review your selections.

Your selections stay in place when you switch to another method. Students are not added to the cohort until you save the group.

Add students using student IDs

Select the option to add students using student IDs.
Enter or paste the student IDs.
Select Validate.
Review the validation results and confirm the students who were matched.
Correct any student IDs that could not be matched, and then select Validate again.
Select Show selected to review your selections.

Valid student IDs are kept in your selection. Unmatched IDs stay available so you can correct them.

Add students using a CSV file

Use a CSV file to add a large number of students.

File requirements

The CSV file can contain up to 100,000 records and must not exceed 50 MB.
You can upload only one file at a time. If you select another file, it replaces the file you selected before.
The template requires a Student ID for each student.

If you prepare the file in Microsoft Excel, format the identifier column as Text before you enter or paste values. This stops Excel from converting long IDs to scientific notation, which can cause them to fail validation.

Prepare the CSV file

Select Student Upload.
Select Download template.
Open the template and enter the student IDs in the Student ID column.
Save the file in CSV format.

Upload and validate the CSV file

Drag the CSV file to the upload area, or select the upload area to browse for the file.
Select Validate.
Review the validation results, including matched, unmatched, and duplicate student IDs.

Validation flags duplicate student IDs and counts each student only once.

Resolve unmatched student IDs

Download the unmatched-records file.
Review the student IDs that could not be matched.
Correct the IDs in your source CSV file and save it.
Upload the corrected file, and then select Validate.
Confirm that the corrected students are matched.

Use multiple methods to build a cohort

You can use more than one method for the same cohort. Your selections stay in place when you switch between methods. For example:

Search for students and select the ones you want to include.
Switch to the student ID option, paste more student IDs, and select Validate.
Switch to Student Upload, upload a CSV file with more student IDs, and select Validate.
Select Show selected to review the combined list.
Clear the selection for any student you don't want to include.
Select Save to add the selected students to the cohort.

Create a user group

A user group puts a set of users into a single group. You can add users by searching for them or by uploading a CSV file.

Create a user group by searching for users

From the main menu, select Utility Apps, and then select Manage Groups.
Open Cohort Manager.
Select User Groups.
Select Create Group.
Enter the group name.
Select the option to search for users, and then enter the search information.
Select the users you want to include.
Review the selected users.
Select Save.

Create a user group using a CSV file

Prepare the CSV file

From User Groups, select Create Group.
Enter the group name.
Select Upload User List.
Download the CSV template and open it.
For each user, enter the District code and Username.
Save the file in CSV format.

Upload and validate the CSV file

Drag the CSV file to the upload area, or select the upload area to browse for the file.
Select Validate.
Review the matched and unmatched users.
If needed, correct the unmatched records in the CSV file, upload the corrected file, and select Validate again.
Review the users selected for the group.
Select Save.

Create a dynamic group from rules

Note: Automated Customers (2.0) District Admins can create and manage dynamic groups.

You can create dynamic groups with a predefined SQL query that returns the records in the group. For example, you can write a query that creates a group of students with less than 90% attendance.

Analytics & Insights - Dynamic Groups Examples.pdf

There are two maintenance types for a dynamic group:

Dynamic: Rebuilds the group membership from the query results after nightly data processing finishes. Members that no longer meet the query criteria are removed. Using the attendance example, a dynamic group contains the students who currently have less than 90% attendance, updated nightly.
Persistent: Runs the query once. The group membership is not updated after that.

Dynamic groups are not processed through the dashboard. They are built during nightly processing of the data warehouse, because large groups can affect performance. The query runs right after you create the group, but it can take some time to finish, depending on how well the query performs.

Apart from the maintenance type, you set up both kinds of dynamic group the same way:

From the main menu, select Utility Apps, and then select Manage Groups.
Start typing in the group list to create a new group.
Enter a group Name.
Select a group Type.
If you want the group to appear in filter options, mark the group Active.
Specify whether the group is Public or Private.
If needed, enter an Effective Start Date and Effective End Date.
- By default, the effective date range is one calendar year, starting on the day you create the group.
- On the effective end date, the group becomes inactive and is no longer available as a filter option. You can reactivate it at any time in the Group Management application.
If needed, enter a Description.
Select the Dynamic from Rules tab in the Member Source section.
Select the Maintenance Type:
- Persistent runs the query once.
- Dynamic runs the query daily.
Enter the validated SQL statement in the Query field. The SQL can be up to 2,000 characters long.
Select Save.

The new group appears as a filter option in all dashboards.

Note: It can take up to 30 minutes for a new group to become available.

Create a group from an external source

You can load groups from external systems that build groupings. These groups are loaded through the standard data warehouse ETL process. Their membership comes from the data the external source supplies, so they don't use the manual or student cohort workflows.

From the main menu, select Utility Apps, and then select Manage Groups.
Start typing in the group list to create a new group.
Enter a group Name.
Select a group Type.
If you want the group to appear in filter options, mark the group Active.
Specify whether the group is Public or Private.
If needed, enter an Effective Start Date and Effective End Date.
- By default, the effective date range is one calendar year, starting on the day you create the group.
- On the effective end date, the group becomes inactive and is no longer available as a filter option. You can reactivate it at any time in the Group Management application.
If needed, enter a Description.
Select the External Source tab in the Member Source section.
Select the members linked to an external source.
Select Save.