Overview

Once the FACTS integration has been configured, the next step is to generate a Preview.

The Preview allows schools to review all changes that will occur during the sync before any data is updated in RollCall.

This is recommended before running a manual sync, particularly when configuring the integration for the first time or after changing sync settings.

Accessing the Preview Screen

Navigate to:

• Integrations → Student Sync → FACTS

• Select:

  • Preview

Generating a Preview

No Existing Preview

If no preview currently exists:

1. Click:

   • Generate Preview

RollCall will begin generating the preview in the background.

Existing Preview

If a preview already exists:

1. Click:

   • Regenerate Preview

This will create a new preview using the latest FACTS data.

Preview Modes

When generating a preview, two sync modes are available.

Standard Sync

Updates the standard student fields only:

• Name

• Address

• Date of Birth

Full Re-sync

Includes all Standard Sync fields plus:

• Admission Year

• Admission Grade

When Should Full Re-sync Be Used?

Typically only when troubleshooting student grade-level issues.

Important

If a student's grade level is showing as 0, a Full Re-sync will not resolve the issue.

This usually indicates that:

• The grade level in FACTS is not stored as a valid numerical value

• The data in FACTS must be corrected before RollCall can import it correctly

Preview Task Status

After selecting a preview mode:

• The preview runs in the background

To update the task status:

• Click:

  • Refresh

Important

The page does not automatically refresh.

Preview results will not appear until:

• The task is complete

• The page has been refreshed

Preview Results

Once the preview has completed, the results screen displays a summary of all pending changes.

Overview Panel

The Overview section displays changes for:

Students

• Added

• Updated

• Made Inactive

Parents

• Added

• Updated

• Made Inactive

Relationships

• Created

• Deleted

Relationships are counted per student-parent pair.

Engaged Parent Warning

If engaged parents will be made inactive:

• An additional warning is displayed

• A confirmation checkbox must be ticked before a manual sync can proceed

This helps prevent accidental deactivation of active parents.

Viewing Result Details

Below the Overview panel is a detailed results table.

Categories

Results can be filtered by category:

• Students

• Parents

• Relationships

Action Filters

Results can also be filtered by action:

Additional Notes

• Parents marked as Made Inactive become Past Parents

• Relationships marked as Made Inactive will be removed

Results Table

The results table displays details about each change.

Student Results

Parent Results

Important

Parent matching is based on:

• Email Address

Not:

• FACTS Member ID

Relationship Results

Preview Red Flags

The following items should always be reviewed before proceeding with a sync.

Engaged Parents Being Deactivated

A small number may be expected if:

• Parents have been removed from students within FACTS

A large number may indicate:

• Incorrect filtering settings

• Data issues in FACTS

Further investigation is recommended before syncing.

Large Numbers of Student Creates and Deletes

This often indicates that student identifiers have changed in FACTS.

Example

Original Student ID:

• stud-1

New FACTS Student ID:

• stud-A

RollCall cannot determine these are the same student.

Result:

• Old student becomes inactive

• New student is created

Address Coordinates Being Swapped

Example:

• Old: (100, 200)

• New: (200, 100)

This may indicate:

• Geocoding issues

• Incorrect location processing

These changes should be reviewed before syncing.

Error Fetching Data from FACTS

5XX Errors

Examples:

• 500

• 503

Usually indicate:

• FACTS service issue

• FACTS API outage

These are not typically caused by RollCall.

4XX Errors

Examples:

• 401

• 403

Usually indicate:

• Invalid API Key

• Incorrect API permissions

• Malformed credentials

• RollCall IP Address not whitelisted by FACTS

Best Practice Recommendations

✅ Always generate a Preview before running a manual sync
✅ Review large numbers of Adds and Deactivations carefully
✅ Check Engaged Parent deactivations before proceeding
✅ Investigate any 4XX or 5XX errors before syncing
✅ Use Full Re-sync only when troubleshooting grade-related issues
✅ Refresh the page while previews are generating to view the latest status

Summary

The Preview feature allows schools to safely review all pending student, parent, and relationship changes before synchronising FACTS data into RollCall.

Reviewing Preview results before each sync helps prevent unexpected record changes and ensures data is synchronised accurately.