Learn@UW - Hold Integration Software System (HISS) Technical Documentation [UW-Madison]

This document details the Hold Integration Software System (HISS) and its functions.

Overview

This document describes how to use the Hold Integration System Software (HISS).  The primary purpose of HISS is to place academic holds (aka service indicators) on a student record and to lift those holds once the student completes certain content in Canvas. HISS also has several other functions: 

  • Pass information from external LMS’s into the Canvas gradebook

  • Check the status of individual learner holds

  • Generate reports related to holds

  • Troubleshoot errors

   

Getting Started

The Dashboard will show you relevant information about all of your current course configurations, including the number of learners, run times, number of errors, number of holds, and the number of holds lifted. The Dashboard will only show you the courses that you own.  

HISS Dashboard

Setting Up a Course Configuration

The following steps outline how to configure HISS to lift holds within a Canvas course.  

  • Note: Have the course open in Canvas while you set up the course configuration in HISS.  You will need information about the Canvas course to complete the configuration. 

  • All of the fields in the Course Configuration have ToolTip icons next to their name that will provide you with tips and additional information.  

Example of Course Configuration page.

  1. From the Dashboard, select the Course Configuration tab.

  2. Select Active.

  3. Select Create a New Course Configuration.  

  4. Toggle the switch for Enabled.  

    1. This will turn on the hold lifting functionality as soon as the configuration is complete.  If you want to wait before turning on the hold lifting functionality, then do not enable the configuration until you are ready.  

  5. Enter the name of the course.

  6. Enter the Canvas course ID.

    1. The course ID is the 6 digits number in the course URL.  

  7. Enter the Canvas Assignment ID.  

    1. This pertains to the specific assignment in the Canvas course that students need to complete in order for the hold to lift.

    2. To find the Assignment ID in Canvas, go to the Gradebook and hover your cursor over the name of the assignment in the column header.  In the lower left corner of the page, you will see the URL for the assignment.  The Assignment ID will be the last several digits of the URL.  (Example: https://canvas.wisc.edu/course/555111/assignments/1234567)

  8. Enter the Score Threshold. 

    1. This is the score that the students must receive in order for the hold to lift.

  9. Select the Service Indicator Code.

    1. The code will be specific to your program.  For more information, contact the Learn@UW-Madison team.  

  10. Select the Service Indicator Name.

    1. The name will be specific to your program.  For more information, contact the Learn@UW-Madison team.  

  11. Select the Service Indicator Term.

    1. Select the term when your course begins.  Term codes can be found here.  

  12. Select the Start Date.

    1. This is the date the hold lifting process will begin.  

  13. Select the End Date.

    1. This is the date the hold lifting process will end. 

If the course is connected to an external LMS, continue below.  Otherwise, select Save New Course Configuration.  

  1. Course configuration page shown with "Everfi Integration Enabled" switch set to ON
  2. Toggle the switch for Everfi Integration Enabled.  
  3. Select the API Type.
  4. Enter the Course Name.  
  5. Select the Progress Since Date.
  6. This should be the date when students had access to the course.
  7. Select the Canvas Score Default.  
  8. This is the default grade for students who have not completed the course in Everfi.  If a learner started the course but has not finished it, this is the grade that it will pass back to the Canvas gradebook.  
  9. Enter the Canvas Score Passed.
  10. This is the passing score that will be passed back to the Canvas gradebook.
  11. Select Save New Course Configuration. 

Hold Placement

  1. From the Dashboard, select the specific course where you want to place the holds.
  2. Under Hold Placement, select Check for Holds to be Placed.
    "Check for Holds to be Placed" button is present on the "Hold Placement" page, under "Create".
  3. The review schedule will show you the number of students who are eligible for holds.  This number is based on the Score Threshold listed in the Course configuration.  If the number is correct, select Execute Holds.
    After you create a hold, the "execute holds" button will appear under "place holds"

Hold Lifting

Lifting Holds - Automatically

  • HISS will automatically begin to lift holds on the Start Date listed in the Course Configuration.  Refer to the Dashboard for the status of the hold lifts.  

  • The Dashboard will show you current run times, the number of existing holds, and if there are any errors. 

  • The less students running through the system, the quicker it will run.

Lifting Holds - Group method

Manually lifting all remaining holds within a course is typically done after the course has been completed and the course owner wishes to release holds for students who may have dropped the course. 

  1. From the Dashboard, under Course Configuration Overview, select the desired course.  

  2. Under Learner Records, select Lift all remaining holds. 
    The "Lift all remaining holds" button is at the very end of the "learner records" page.

Lifting Holds - Manually

HISS also allows users to lift holds manually for individual students.  Manually lifting holds individually can be done in the event of an error or if you wish to bypass the automated hold lifts. 

  1. From the Dashboard, select the proper course. 

  2. Under Learner Records, use the search bar to search for the student (alternatively, you can sort the Learner Records by Hold Status).

  3. Once you see the correct student, select Lift Hold.

Errors (troubleshooting)

HISS gives you the ability to spot and identify errors related to holds.  If there are any new errors, they will appear in the Errors tab.  

This example of the HISS header has the number 5 beside the "errors" tab, to indicate 5 errors.

You can investigate errors in two places: the Errors tab and directly within the Course Configuration.  

Errors tab

The Errors tab is the broadest way of seeing errors.  It will show you all errors for all of the courses that you administer.  

  • At the top of the screen, you will see a list of any current errors. It will show you the type of error, the associated course, the student’s name, the error status, and the time the error occurred.  

  • You can print a report of all the errors using the CSV button.  

Near the end of the "Errors" page, you will find a button labeled "CSV", which you can use to export a list of errors.

You can also search for errors by learner or by course configuration.  

The Errors page has search fields available to search errors by learner, and a drop-down menu to search errors by course configuration.

Course Configuration

Viewing errors within the Course Configuration will show you errors that are specific to that course.  You can also search for errors associated with a particular learner using the search field.  

The Course Configuration search modeshows a list of active errors with their error code code, Canvas User ID, Learner Name, their PVI, hold status, and a timestamp.

Learner Records

The Learner Recor search function lists the learners ID, Name, Email, PVI, hold status, and any hold errors that may be present.

The Learner Record section of the Course Configuration will show you every learner in the course and their Hold status.  The list will populate once the course and HISS have been synced. Here, you can:

  • Use the search field to search for specific learners by name, email, or PVI.  

  • See the status of the learner’s hold.  

  • Manually lift holds from this section.  You can do this for individual learners or for everyone remaining in the course.

Reports

You can run several different types of reports in the form of csv files. You can generate the following reports:

HISS Reports

Type of report

Location

Purpose

Learner records

Course configuration

Gives you a complete list of all students, their hold status, and email address.  Can be used to generate email lists for students.

Active errors

Course configuration

Gives you a complete list of all active errors within a particular course, the type of errors, and the students affected.  

Archived errors

Course configuration

Gives you a complete list of all archived errors within a course, the type of errors, and the students affected.

Error report

Errors tab

Gives you a complete list of all active errors within all courses that you administer, the type of errors, the course affected, and the students affected.  

Keywords:
academic lock block lifting placing hold configuring errors reports 
Doc ID:
136067
Owned by:
Learn@UW Madison in Learn@UW-Madison
Created:
2024-03-14
Updated:
2024-10-09
Sites:
Learn@UW-Madison