Core data such as student, contact, staff, houses and groups normally syncs nightly if configured to do so (automatic sync has been enabled).

Users can also force a manual update from within integration settings.

When the attendance insights platform is configured to use Blackbaud as a data source, the sync runs hourly during the school day. A nightly update is also run.

There is no manual option to force an additional sync.

Attendance data sent from Orah back to Blackbaud is collected in Orah and sent every 15mins from Orah to Blackbaud. This applies to rolls taken today. There may be quite a lot of data in each sync during school hours and it may take 5mins for this sync to complete, so for rolls taken today users should assume that attendance records should at most be 20mins behind.

Passes and absences entered for a future date are not covered by this 15-minute cycle. They are pushed at midnight of the day they apply to, so they will not be visible in Blackbaud ahead of time.

Orah builds class rolls ahead of time. By default, a roster change made in Blackbaud during the school day syncs correctly but applies from the next day. If Apply enrollment changes to today's schedules whose rolls have not started is ticked in the Blackbaud Schedule settings, the change also applies to today's rolls that have not started (see Apply Enrollment Changes to Today's Classes). Rolls that have already started are never rewritten.

If Blackbaud stops returning classes for a date (for example after it is made a non-school day), a manual sync removes that date's rolls that have not been started; a roll that has been started stays until it is discarded and the sync is run again.

For the full explanation and a workaround for a single affected class, see Students or data not syncing from your SIS.

Attendance records created through the SKY API may appear under the user who first authorized the integration. Orah will try to show the actual user who took the action, but when that’s not possible, records may default to the authorized user.
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To make this clearer, we recommend creating a dedicated Blackbaud user (e.g. “Orah Integration”) to authorize the connection. This way, any records created by Orah are easy to identify.

Limitations on the amount of historical data Orah can sync regularly will impact historical edits to attendance data in your school information system.
​Note that this issue only applies when attendance is not taken in Orah.

Orah syncs all attendance records for the past 7 days and so any edits & amendments made in that date range will be picked up in the next regular sync.

When making changes to attendance records outside of that date range, this information will not automatically be reflected in Orah.

One option to re-sync all attendance data is to change the date in the 'sync attendance history from' field in the 'Attendance History' integration settings.

Q: If I update a mapping or configuration, will it automatically apply to existing synced data?
​A: No. Configuration changes (such as mappings) do not retroactively update data that has already been synced. Existing records retain the values assigned at the time of their original sync.

Q: What should I do after making configuration changes?
​A: You should re-run the relevant sync (e.g. student, staff, enrolment) to apply the changes to existing records.

Q: Does this apply to all sync types?
​A: Yes, for data Orah pulls from Blackbaud (students, contacts, staff, houses, groups). It does not apply to Roll Records or Pass Records: these push from Orah to Blackbaud and there is no sync to re-run. New and edited attendance records are sent automatically, usually within about 20 minutes.

Q: What does "Automatically record students on group events as excused from class" do?
​A: This setting controls whether events from Blackbaud, such as athletic practices and games, excuse students from their academic classes in Orah. When it is on, Orah takes the dismissal time from the Blackbaud event and excuses any class that overlaps with that event. The class then shows "Student Excused by SIS Event". If Blackbaud later removes the student from the event, Orah reverts the class to its default status on the next sync.

Q: Does turning it off stop coaches from taking attendance for athletic events?
​A: No. The setting only affects class excusal. Athletic practices and games still come into Orah through the schedule sync, and coaches can still take attendance for them with the setting off.

Q: What happens when a student only misses part of a class?
​A: Orah excuses any class that overlaps with the event by any amount. It does not check how much of the class the student actually attended. For example, if a 2:00 PM athletic dismissal overlaps a class that runs 1:50 to 3:00 PM, the whole class is excused, along with any other period that overlaps the event. There is currently no option to apply the excusal only when a student misses more than a set number of minutes.

Q: What if a Blackbaud event has no end time?
​A: Orah treats it as running until 11:59 PM. This can cause bus routes, after-school programs, and other activities that overlap with it to be excused as well.

Q: How can we handle students who leave class early for athletics?
​A: With the setting off, class teachers take academic attendance themselves. If a student was in class for most of the period, the teacher can mark them Present or follow your school's Late or Left Early process. A pass for the early departure is another option.