MCommunity: Sponsoring Short-Term Guests Using File Import

If you need to sponsor more than one person (with temporary passwords) for the same reason, you can import the data about these individuals from a file to the Sponsor System instead of sponsoring each person separately. This document explains how.

Sponsoring Multiple People by Importing a File

In most cases, university departments or units use the MCommunity Sponsor System to acquire uniqnames for individuals one-at-at-time. There are times, however, when it is more convenient to sponsor a group of people all at once with the same sponsorship information.

For example, a department might want to sponsor a group of conference attendees, all of whom need their sponsorship to begin on the same day and end on the same day.

Important The file import method can only be used for sponsorships that result in temporary uniqnames. This includes conference/program participants and other short-term guests.

Departments can sponsor multiple individuals in two ways:

  1. Use the Sponsor System to import the file and set up the sponsorship by following the instructions below. To use the Sponsor System, you must be a sponsorship administrator.

  2. Ask the ITS Service Center to do the sponsoring by submitting the MCommunity Multiple Sponsorship Application. The application has instructions for preparing a file listing the people to be sponsored.

Preparing a File to Import

You will need identity data for the people you want to sponsor in a Comma Delimited/Comma Separated Values (.csv) file. You can create such a file using Microsoft Excel. A template is available for you to download.

Important The maximum number of identities you can upload at a time is approximately 500. The ITS Service Center recommends that you upload no more than about 100 identities per file. Service Center staff members have found that this is optimal for speed of uploading and for ease of copying and pasting the resulting uniqnames and passwords into a spreadsheet.

Tip Do not include people who are already members of the U-M community in your file. People who already have uniqnames do not need to be sponsored; they already have access to U-M computing resources.

  1. Download this Excel template and open it.

    Important Do not change the column headings. The Sponsor System looks for these specific data attribute names.

    Screenshot of the opened Excel file. Enter first names in column A: umichSponsorGivenName. Entering middle names or middle initials is optional in column b: umichSponsorMiddleName. Enter last names in column C: umichSponsorSurname. Enter non-UMICH email addresses in column D: umichSponsorNonUmichEmail.

  2. Save the file in Comma Delimited/Comma Separated Values (.csv) format. We recommend that you save the file to your computer desktop so that it is easy to find when you upload it to the Sponsor System.

    Screenshot of saving as .csv for Windows and Mac: Windows Users: From the Save as type drop-down menu, select CSV (Comma delimited)(*.csv). Macintosh Users: From the File menu, select Save As. Then, from the Format drop-down menu, select Comma Separated Values (.csv).

  3. The file is ready to be imported/uploaded into the MCommunity Sponsor System.

Importing the File

TipFor best results, we recommend that you use the Firefox web browser.

Important You must connect from a U-M network. If you need to connect from a non-U-M network, you can use a U-M Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection.

  1. Log in to the Sponsor System at https://mcommunity-sponsor.its.umich.edu/sponsor/.

  2. Click on the Create tab on the blue navigation bar along the top of the window.

    Screenshot of Create tab

  3. In the Sponsor People box, enter the general information about the sponsorship. Then click the Begin Sponsoring button.

    Important Pay special attention to the expiry date. The sponsorship will expire on the expiry date, and the sponsored person will be unable to log in to U-M systems. (See Sponsorship Expiry in MCommunity Sponsor System Overview for details.)

    Screenshot of MCommunity Sponsor System, under the create tab. This is the Sponsor people data entry screen. In Department box, type the name of the sponsoring department. Select the reason for the sponsorships from the Reason drop-down menu. You are the sponsorship administrator, so your name will be listed after Sponsorship. In the Requester box, type the uniqname of the U-M employee who requested the sponsorships. Use your own uniqname if you are the requester. Disregard the section labeled 'Send Confirmation and uniqname to,' since sponsorship confirmation emails are disabled by the file upload process. Any selection made here will be disabled when you select Upload Identity File later in this process. In section labeled 'Send notice before expiry,' choose who should receive email notices before the sponsorship expires, and when the notices should be sent. If the sponsorships expire in two weeks or less, you will not be able to select expiry notices. When finished, click the Begin Sponsoring button.

  4. On the Sponsor People page, click Upload Identity File.

    Screenshot of Upload Identity File link.

  5. Click the Browse button. Note that some web browsers may display a different button name. Safari users, for example, will see Choose File instead of Browse.

    Screenshot of Browse button.

    Important Sponsorship confirmation emails are turned off by the file upload process. No confirmation emails will be sent. If you selected expiry notice emails, however, those will be sent.

  6. You'll be prompted to navigate among the files on your computer. Select the appropriate file. Then click Upload File.

    Screenshot of a selected file path displayed next to the browse button. The location of the file you selected is displayed here. Then click on the Upload File Button.

  7. If the upload is successful, you will see a list of the people uploaded from the file. Click Finish.

    If there are problems with any of the data you provided, such as missing information, you'll be prompted to resolve those issues before finishing. See Troubleshooting Import Problems below for details.

    Screenshot showing five people uploaded from the file. Click Edit to make changes to an entry. Click the Trash icon to delete an entry. Click Finish when all entries are correct.

  8. You will see confirmation that the people whose information you uploaded have been entered into the Sponsor System as sponsored individuals.

    Important Copy this information and paste it into an Excel spreadsheet. This is the only chance you will have to record the information. After you have copied and pasted the information, click Finished Sponsoring. Or you can click Continue Sponsoring to sponsor additional people with the same sponsorship details.

    Screenshot of page confirming sponsorship creation. It reads '5 People from File are Sponsored.' It lists the sponsored persons' uniqname and passwords. Important! Write down (or copy and paste) the uniqname and passwords. This is the only chance you will have to do so. After recording the uniqnames and passwords, click on the 'Finished Sponsoring' button. Or click 'Create another sponsorship' to upload another file.

  9. It is your responsibility to convey the passwords to the sponsored individuals in a secure manner. We recommend that you convey passwords either by phone or in person. We also recommend that you tell each person to change their password to something easier to remember that only they know and direct them to the Change UMICH Password Page.

    Tip You can reset passwords for sponsored people with temporary uniqnames using the Sponsor System. See Resetting Passwords Using the Sponsor System.

Troubleshooting Import Problems

If you see an Invalid File Format error message, these are some of the likely causes:

You uploaded a file that is not in .csv format. For example, if you upload a .docx or a .xlsx file, you will see the Invalid File Format error.

You inadvertently typed something outside the columns in the file for data entry. Check your file to make sure that nothing was typed outside the labeled columns.

If there are problems with the data in the file you uploaded, the Sponsor System will list them for you and prompt you to fix the errors.

  1. If there are problems, you will see a list of errors to fix immediately after you import the file. Click the first Fix Error button in the list to begin fixing the errors.

    Screenshot of list of data import errors to fix. Three people were uploaded from the file with no problems. Two entries have an error icon. Click the Fix Error button for the first error.

  2. You will be prompted to enter missing information or correct invalid data. Do so, then click Save.

    Screenshot of adding missing information. There is a box which tells you how to fix the error. In this example, a first name needed to be entered. Enter the information in the 'First Name' field. Then click 'Save.'

  3. The entry just corrected is now listed with the other entries that were imported without problems. Click the next Fix Error button to continue fixing data problems.

    Screenshot of corrected entry in list and the next Fix Error button. In this example, a last name needed to be entered. Enter the information, then click 'Save.'

  4. You will be prompted to enter missing information or correct invalid data. Do so, then click Save.

    Screenshot of fixing another entry, this time by providing a missing last name.

  5. When all of the errors have been fixed, click Finish.

    Screenshot of all entries completed, highlighting the Finished button. Click Finish when all entries are correct.

  6. You will see confirmation that the people whose information you uploaded have been entered into the Sponsor System as sponsored individuals.

    Important Copy this information and paste it into an Excel spreadsheet. This is the only chance you will have to record the information. After you have copied and pasted the information, click Finished Sponsoring. Or you can click Continue Sponsoring to sponsor additional people with the same sponsorship details.

    Screenshot of confirmation page, reading '5 People from File are Sponsored.' This page confirms that the process has been completed, and lists the uniqnames and passwords of those sponsored. Important! Copy the uniqnames and passwords into an Excel spreadsheet. This is the only chance you will have to record the information.

  7. It is your responsibility to convey the passwords to the sponsored individuals in a secure manner. We recommend that you convey passwords either by phone or in person. We also recommend that you tell each person to change the password to something easier to remember that only he or she knows and direct him/her to the Password Change Page.

Searching for a Group of Sponsored People and Editing the Expiry Date

You can change the expiry date of a sponsorship that applies to a group of people. For example, you might want to extend the expiry date of the sponsorship for a group of conference attendees.

  1. If you are not already on the View and Modify Sponsorships page, click the View/Modify tab to get there.

  2. Find the group of sponsorships by either selecting them from the list or using Advanced Search.

    Selecting from the list.

    Click column headers to sort the list so you can find the sponsorship(s) you want to update. For example, sort by requester, start date, or expiry date.

    Then select the sponsorship(s) you want to update by checking the box(es) in the left column.

    Screenshot of View and Modify Sponsorships

    Use Advanced Search.

    Click the Advanced Search link.

     

    Screenshot of View and Modify Sponsorships

    Enter any combination of information that the sponsored group of people have in common, then click Search.

     

    Screenshot of Advanced Search screen. Enter any combination of information that the sponsored group of people have in common (such as department, reason, start date or end date ranges). Then click 'Search.'

  3. Then, on the Edit Search Results page, check the checkboxes by the sponsorships you want to update.

  4. Enter the new Expiry date and click Update Selected.

    Screenshot showing selection of people whose expiry date is to be edited.

  5. The next screen will confirm that the Expiry date has been updated.

    Screenshot of confirmation page showing the updated Expiry Date of sponsorships.

Editing Expiry Notification Settings

Tip The expiry notifications are automatically updated when the expiry date is changed. They are relative, so notifications are sent a specified number of days prior to the expiry date.

  1. To modify Expiry Notification settings (such as when the expiry notice is sent, and to whom), click the uniqname.

    Screenshot of list of sponsorships.

  2. To edit Expiry Notification options, click Edit.

    Update the notification options, then click Save.

    Tip You can edit other information about the sponsorship from this page before saving changes.

    Screenshot highlighting Saved Changes box.

  3. Important Click Save Changes when finished.

    Screenshot of return to Advanced Search box.
Tags: 
MCommunity
MCommunity Sponsor System
Last Updated: 
Thursday, March 20, 2014 - 00:00