Edge Import - ILT Sessions Load and Feed

Sessions enable administrators to create any type of scheduled learning event. It is helpful to think of sessions as scheduled instances of instructor-led training courses or individual occurrences of Events. Sessions hold more specific data, including the times, locations, and trainers for a specific course instance.

It is a best practice to load event data prior to loading session data. Session part data should be loaded after loading session data, if necessary.

PERMISSION NAME PERMISSION DESCRIPTION CATEGORY
Access LMS - Sessions Load Grants access to the Sessions data load via Edge Import. This permission cannot be constrained. This is an administrator permission. Edge Import

Starter Guide

Select this link to download the Edge Import Starter Guide.

Select this link to download the Edge Import - Learning Guide.

Unique Identifiers

When loading session data, the unique identifier for sessions can be provided in the following ways:

  • Unique Session ID across all Events - Select this method when you have unique Session IDs available and want to import new sessions or update existing sessions.
  • Unique Session ID within each Event - Select this method when you have a unique combination (Event ID + Session ID) available and want to import new sessions or update existing sessions.
  • Session Locator Number - Select this method when you want to update existing sessions or when your Session ID is not unique in the portal. Session Locator Number cannot be used to create new sessions.
    • When the Session Locator Number is selected as the unique identifier, only this field is required. All other fields are optional. This allows for easier bulk updates, because only the unique identifier and the updated fields need to be populated in the import file.
  • Session Learning Object ID

When loading session data, the unique identifier for events can be provided in the following ways:

  • Event ID - Select this option when the existing event in the portal has a unique Event ID.
  • Learning Object ID - Select this option when the existing event in the portal does not have an Event ID and Learning Object ID is the only way to reference the event.

The following examples show how unique session and event IDs can be used:

  • Unique Session ID across all Events - If two events in the system have the same Session ID, then this option would be invalid.
    • Example: If Event A has a Session 1 and Event B has a Session 1, this would be invalid.
    • Example: If Event A has a Session 1 and Event B has a Session 2, this would be valid.
  • Unique Session ID within each Event - The new Session ID will be loaded as a combination of Event ID and Session ID (“EventID:SessionID”).
    • Example: If Event A has a Session 1, and Event B has a Session 1, this will be loaded as Event A:Session 1 and Event B:Session 1.

Session Parts

For new sessions, the following occurs:

  • One session part is created automatically using the Part Start Date/Time, Part End Date/Time, and Part Timezone provided in the file.
  • The part name can be provided. If a part name is not provided, the default part name is "Historical Data."
  • The frequency (Part Occurrence) is set as Once. Multiple occurrences is not supported.

Session Part Start and End Date and Time

Part Start Date/Time must be less than or equal to Part End Date/Time.

If the time value does not contain a value for HH:MM, 00:00 will be used.

One-day sessions must contain the hours and minutes.

Event Default Values

For new sessions, the following fields from the event are used as session default values when the fields are not available or not mapped in your configuration:

  • General Fields:
    • Availability
    • Available Language
    • Min and Max Registration
  • Penalty Fields:
    • Penalty for No Show
    • Penalty Percentage
    • Penalty Amount
    • Penalty Number of Days Prior to Start
  • Refund Fields:
    • Refund Percentage
    • Refund Amount
    • Refund Number of Days Prior to Start

Session Status

The Session Status field is available for import which allows importing status in Approved, Completed, and Cancelled.

Using this load type, new sessions can be created in Approved, Completed, or Cancelled status as per the value provided in the Session Status field.

  • When creating past-dated sessions with no specified Session Status, the status is set based on the load configuration. A past-dated session is a session with a start date that is earlier than the import date.
  • When creating future-dated sessions with no specified Session Status, the status is set to Approved. A future-dated session is a session with a start date that is later than the import date.

Using this load type, the session status for existing sessions can be updated in the following ways:

  • Approved to Cancelled
  • Tentative to Cancelled
  • Completed to Cancelled
  • Cancelled: No status updates

An existing session cannot be updated to "Completed." Please use the portal to submit the roster and complete the session.

Learning Object Availability Settings

Availability for this learning object type is set using the Learning Object (LO) Availability Load.

Only the following availability related criteria can be loaded using this data load type:

  • Availability: All Users - When this is set to true, it overrides all other availability settings for the learning object.
  • Register Upon Approval
  • Pre-approved
  • Include Subordinates

Copy Availability from its Event

When this value is True for a session, then the following occurs for existing sessions updated for the event:

  • If Availability-related fields have values in the ILT Session load file, the session inherits the event's availability. This availability is appended to the Availability-related fields included in the ILT Session load file.
  • If Availability-related fields do not have values in the ILT Session load file or are not mapped in the configuration, the session inherits the event's availability.
  • If Availability to All Users = True, then this overrides all existing availability criteria from the event and any other Availability-related fields included in the ILT Session load file.

This field is ignored for any new sessions created from the ILT Sessions load. The load respects the Copy Availability to New Sessions value configured for the event.

Exclusion: This field has no impact on the LO Availability load.

Considerations

The following considerations apply to this load type:

  • Events must be loaded prior to loading sessions.
  • Depending on the configuration, the Session ID or the combination of Event ID and Session ID must be unique.
  • Session Period is automatically calculated by Edge Import based on session parts.
  • After a session is created, sessions can be updated using Edge Import regardless of the session status (i.e., approved, expired, tentative, or completed).
  • Sessions in an Approved status cannot be marked as Completed using Edge Import.
  • Session date and time cannot be updated once the session is created.
  • The data load does not check for conflicts, which means the data load does not check if multiple sessions are being conducted at the same date, time, and location.
  • Providers are also referred to as vendors.
  • The Vendor/Provider field can be updated for an existing session, and the Part Instructor must belong to the new Vendor/Provider.
  • When Session Locator Number is selected as the unique identifier for the load, an optional New Session ID field is available. This enables organizations to update the Session ID for sessions. The Session ID value is only updated if a new Session ID value is provided; it cannot be updated with a blank value. The Session ID value does not need to be unique.
  • Administrators can set the provider for a session when creating new sessions if the Enable to select provider when creating sessions. option is selected in ILT Preferences. See ILT Preferences - General.
  • Review the latest template guideline for fields that are not visible in the template but do have default values for new Sessions.