Courses - How to Bulk Import Third Party Courses and Content

Task

Many of our customers purchase training content in bulk that they would like to quickly import into UniversitySite.  Fortunately this is possible with the Import tools in UniversitySite, but there are a few details you need to know to make this happen.  It is important to understand that the process is different for Cloud vs Behind the firewall UniversitySite scenarios.

In BOTH cases it is basically a three step process using 2 CSV import spreadsheets and the content files.

1. Import the Training Courses (course profile)
2. Copy the training course resources (content files) to the import directory on the web server hosting UniversitySite
3. Import the Training Course Resources to be loaded to the course created in Step 1 (Resources, eLearning packages, etc)

IMPORTANT: 

• Courses must be imported prior to importing resources for those courses
• ONLY .csv files are supported for imports.  You cannot import using .xlsx or .xls files
• No duplicate courses (prefix+number) are allowed
• Prefix+number on resource import must match prefix+number on course import

Many third party content vendors have already produced both of these spreadsheets previously for use with UniversitySite imports, but it is possible you are working with a vendor who hasn't done this before, in which case you may need to put them in contact with  Daniel for information about these import spreadsheets.

Cloud Steps

This is the easiest import scenario because Daniel will copy the resources provided to him to the import directory on your cloud server for you, and in the case of some vendors, may already have the content staged for your import.

1. Obtain the import spreadsheets for the course and resources from the content vendor
2. Edit the course spreadsheet to remove any courses you don't want to import
3. Edit the resource spreadsheet to remove any course resources you don't need because you aren't importing those courses AND to ensure that the resources that are for instructors only (answer keys, etc., are marked hidden i.e. "True" in the isHidden column)
4. Check with Daniel to ensure he has the content you want to import copied to your cloud server and if not, to provide him an upload of this content, preferably in a single zip file that he can download and extract and copy to your website's import directory.
5. Email Daniel your two spreadsheets so he can ensure all looks good and that the files to be imported on the resource spreadsheet are properly referenced i.e. they match the actual file directory and filename in the import directory.
6. If you are nice to Daniel, he may very well just do your imports for you :)
7. Otherwise, when Daniel confirms the spreadsheets and files are all in order, you can import the training courses (1) then import the resources (2) for those courses

Behind the Firewall Steps

If you've never done this before you may want to simply schedule a call with Daniel for help the first time walking through this, but it will save a lot of time if you make an effort to familiarize yourself with the steps below regardless, and make sure you have the spreadsheets and files needed for the import and have removed courses and content you don't want to import.

1. Obtain the import spreadsheets for the course and resources from the content vendor
2. Download the resources/content from the vendor to your desktop
3. Edit the course spreadsheet to remove any courses you don't want to import
4. Edit the resource spreadsheet to remove any course resources you don't need because you aren't importing those courses AND to ensure that the resources that are for instructors only (answer keys, etc., are marked hidden i.e. "True" in the isHidden column)
5. Ask the appropriate technical resource to create a share and then map a drive on your computer to the directory on the web server that UniversitySite uses for imports: Usually c:\inetpub\wwwroot\UniversitySite\Data\Default\Temp\Import, but yours could be different.  If you aren't sure, check with a technical resource in your network who has access to your UniversitySite web server.
6. Copy the content you want to import to the UniversitySite import directory you have mapped on your computer.  NOTE: This may involve unzipping the content, depending upon how it was delivered to you and what your resource import spreadsheet looks like. 
7. Email Daniel your two spreadsheets so he can ensure all looks good.  NOTE: It is essential that the files to be imported on the resource spreadsheet are properly referenced i.e. they match the actual file directory and filename in the import directory you have mapped.
8. Open Global Settings tool in UniversitySite and select Import/Export Tools
9. Choose Import Training Courses
10. Select your course CSV file and choose Validate File from the button at the bottom
11. Review the validation screen for errors.  
12. Provided there were no errors on the validation screen select the Import button and accept the default columns for the import
13. Once the courses are imported, choose Training course resources from the import type drop down on the Import page
14. Select the resource import CSV file, and click Validate at the bottom
15. Review the validation screen for errors: NOTE: Most resource import errors are due to filepath/name mismatches between your spreadsheet and the directory you are importing from (mapped drive on your computer hopefully)
16. IF You have a few errors and just want to deal with those separately, click the blue hyperlink at the top of the validation form to download a .csv with only the rows containing errors which you can fix later, and then just proceed with the import by clicking the Import button
17. Accept the default resource import columns and click import again
18. If you had errors, compare the TrainingCourseerrors.csv you downloaded to the mapped directory to find out what's wrong, or take note that the error pertained to missing courses (the course must exist first and is matched up by prefix+number)