How are you handling multiple preferred emails through time pulling into Canvas from Banner via ILP?

[Justin_Reynolds]

We have an issue where a student registers for a driver's ed course using their parent's email address.  This gets entered into Banner as preferred.  Then the student registers as a dual-credit high school student, adding a different preferred email.  Both are being provisioned into Canvas at their respective times via ILP correctly. Still, the result is that several emails are then listed in Canvas because Canvas does not delete any emails/communication channels.  

TLDR: Multiple preferred emails get provisioned into Canvas from Banner, i.e. student registers with parent email, then registers with their own email.  Parents receive Canvas notifications because it doesn't remove previous email addresses. 

How do other schools handle this?  Do you have an automation that deletes the previous emails out of Canvas?  It's obviously a FERPA violation if the student is 18 and their parents are receiving their grades/etc. from Canvas. 

[dbrace]

Hi @Justin_Reynolds,

I am not the "architect" of our Banner to Canvas CSV extracts (that was done by a programmer in our IT Department) but at my institution our data transfers only include the user's (whether faculty, staff, or student) institutional email address as listed in Banner and not a personal email address (which also is in Banner).

From in Canvas, user's (regardless of their role) do have the ability to add their own additional email address(es) but they cannot remove their institutional email address.

This means that unless someone adds their own email address manually, we do not have any personal email addresses in Canvas (especially ones that are coming from Banner).

If a person goes through a name change, they would need to work with the institution (the exact steps vary depending on their role) to have it changed and that would (probably) change their email address. That new email address will be in Banner and would be included in the next data transfer to Canvas.

Does that help?

-Doug

[Justin_Reynolds]

@dbrace Hi Doug,

Yes, that makes sense.  We've allowed users to change their default email in Canvas, so we kind of have a mess now.  The default in Banner no longer matches the email in Canvas, so we're going to run into an issue with the new Microsoft LTI. 

Regarding preferred name, we are considering something like what you mention.  I think we have some work ahead of use though!  

Thanks for your reply.  Justin

[dbrace]

You are welcome, @Justin_Reynolds.

For preferred first name, which we use in Banner and I cannot speak to the exact code/syntax:

1. our job automatically looks at preferred first name first in Banner
2. if preferred first name has anything (be careful with how it is populated) in it, it is automatically used in the CSV file for Canvas and then it moves along to their last name
3. if preferred first name is empty, it moves to the first name field and uses that instead in the CSV file for Canvas and then it moves along to their last name
4. if there is ever a change in preferred first name or first name, it will get picked up in the next run and will change accordingly

I hope that helps.

-Doug