WISEdata Tutorial for Wisconsin Schools

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) requires school districts, charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental Choice program to submit information via its WISEdata open collection system.

Blackbaud's Student Information System is certified compliant through Ed-Fi Version 5.x (22/23) for the following features: 

  • Digital Equity on SIS

  • Student Identity Integration

  • Choice Audit Requirements

For up-to-date information and e-learning courses on WISEdata, WISEid, and WISEstaff, see the Wisconsin DPI help site.

Note: In order to upload, edit, or export WISEdata information, you must be logged in as a user with the WISEdata Manager role. See your school's Platform Manager if you need to be set up in this role.

Students at your school might already have a WISE ID associated with them, or you might need to generate one. To check on the status of a student's WISE ID and create one for the student if necessary, follow these steps:

  1. From the persona menu, select either Core or Academics.

  2. Use the People finder to find a student. Select the student's name to open the profile.

  3. Open the student's Contact Card. Find the student's Student ID and either write it down or copy it.

  4. Scroll down until you find the WISEdata information tile. Select Manage wise identity.

  5. The Student ID should automatically appear in the search bar. If not, enter it now and select the search icon. If the student is eligible for WISEdata reporting this academic year, one of two things will happen here:

    • If students in the WISE database are possible matches with your student, one or more search results will display below. Use the student's Birth date to verify that you are looking at the correct student with that name, copy or write down the WISE ID number to apply it to the student.

    • If no matching search results appear, select Create WISE Id.This will generate a new WISE ID number for the student. Copy or write down this number to apply it to the student.

  6. Navigate back to the WISEdata information tile and edit the student's information. Enter the WISE ID for the student and select Save.

As a WISEdata Manager, you can enter WISEdata for a student via the student's profile in Core or Academics. To enter data for a student:

  1. From the persona menu, select either Core or Academics.

  2. Use the People finder to find a student. Select the student's name to open the profile.

  3. Open the student's Contact Card.

  4. Scroll down until you find the WISEdata information tile. Select Edit.

  5. Use the dropdown menus to enter information about the student's access to the internet and digital devices.

  6. Under Admin Viewable Only, enter the student's WISE ID.

  7. To add another data field, use the -- Select Field -- dropdown menu and then select Add Additional Field. Repeat this as necessary to add further fields and fill them in.

  8. Select Save.

Rather than enter WISEdata for students one at a time, you can enter student data in a spreadsheet and upload the information in bulk.

  1. From the persona menu, select Core.

  2. Select System tools, then Data import.

  3. Select Create import job.

  4. Under Category, select Student.

  5. Under Import type, select Wise Digital Access.

  6. Enter a Name for your import job. This is for internal use only and will help you find this upload on the Data Import page later.

  7. Select View file layout help.

  8. Decide whether you will organize your upload by Host ID or User ID. Select Sample file to download a spreadsheet that you will use to enter data. The spreadsheet will appear as a CSV file in your internet browser's download folder.

  9. Open the sample file in your spreadsheet editing software of choice. The data fields will appear in column headers across the top with a sample student entry in the second row. Delete the sample data and enter information for your school's students. Save the spreadsheet again on your device when you are finished.

    Note: Make sure you save the file as a CSV spreadsheet and not in a proprietary format like .xlsx. Changing the file type can result in an import error.

  10. Returning to your web browser, select Cancel to return to the Import screen.

  11. Under Upload files, either drag the completed spreadsheet into the upload area or select click to browse to choose the file.

  12. Optional: Enter Comments for internal use only.

  13. Select one of the following:

    • Select Validate only before processing the file. The validation process checks to make sure all column headers are correct, all data are in the correct format, and any fields needing to be in the database prior to the import are there.

    • Select Process now after you have received a clean, validated file. This process imports records into the database.

    Note: For more information about bulk imports, see the help topic Data Import .

If you need to generate a WISEdata report, you will need to create an advanced list. For more information about creating, organizing, and running advanced lists, see the help topic Advanced Lists .

  1. From the persona menu, select Academics.

  2. Select Reporting, then Manage Lists.

  3. Select Manage basic and advanced lists.

  4. Select Add, then Create Advanced List.

  5. Give your list a Name, Category, and Description. Select whether you would like the Results available in "List Results" channel and List available in "Favorite Lists" channel.

  6. On the Select Objects tab, use the dropdown menus to choose what information will be included in the query. Depending on your school's setup and reporting needs, many of the fields will probably be found under the headings Constituent Information, Custom Field, and WISE Lookup Tables.

    Some objects include other objects. Select + on a parent object to view its children.

    Objects are connected by either inner or outer joins.

    • Inner: the query only finds fields that both objects have in common. For example, all users with "staff role" also have the "user role." It's like the center region of a Venn diagram.

    • Outer: the query find fields from each object. In a Venn diagram, it's like both circular regions.

  7. On the Display Fields tab, select the data you want to view in the results.

  8. On the Filters tab, filter the objects to only include data that meet your criteria. For example, you many want to only see result from the current school year.

  9. On the Order By tab, select how the results should be sorted.

  10. Optional: Preview the list on the Preview SQL tab. This runs your query based on the objects, display fields, and other criteria you selected.

    The Output Options tab includes options for Mail Labels and Mail Merge, if applicable. You will probably not need these settings for WISEdata reporting.

  11. When you are finished creating your advanced list, select Save & Exit.

  12. The list you just created is now available under My Lists. Find it and select Run.

For more information, see the help topic Advanced Lists

Send WISEdata reports automatically to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI)

WISEdata reports from Blackbaud Education management can be automatically sent to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

To get started with sending automated reports, navigate to Core and select System Tools, and then Integrations in the navigation.

Add a new school year

Before beginning, acquire a client key and secret by following the Adding a Primary Vendor: SIS or a Financial Management System section on the WISEdata website.

  1. Select Add.

  2. Select a School year, noting that only one set of credentials and reporting rules can be associated with each year.

  3. Enter the client key and client secret . Select Validate credentials.

  4. Enter the WISEdata school ID. Select Validate school.

  5. Optional: Toggle Enable for automated export to automatically send reports to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). You can return to this point later and enable this option when ready.

    Note: Enabling this option disables the setting for the previously active school year; only one school year can have the setting enabled.

  6. Under Students to export, select either:

    • All students – All students enrolled at a school.

    • Only choice students – Students participating in Private School Choice Programs.

  1. For the Attendance date (Third Friday in September), enter the date corresponding to the third Friday of September in the year for the school year being recorded (e.g., September 15, 2023).

  2. Optional: Select Include addresses to append student address data to the report.

  3. Select Save.

Divide a school year into grade levels

A school year can be divided into each grade level recorded in Blackbaud Education management (e.g., higher, middle, lower, entire). This enables schools to use a specific School ID key or reporting requirements on a per grade level basis.

  1. Select the context menu () on the row of a school year.

  2. Select Assign by school level and accept the prompt.

  3. For each grade level, select its context menu (), choose either Edit settings or Edit credentials, and align the settings with the unique options specific to the grade level, as needed.

Modify a school year

Modify a school year to change the School ID or API credentials tied to the configuration or activate Enable for automated export.

  1. Select the context menu () on the row of a school year.

  2. Select either Edit settings or Edit credentials and follow the prompts.

  3. Select Save.

Delete a school year

Note: School years divided into grade levels are deleted together.

  1. Select the context menu () on the row of a school year.

  2. Select Delete.

  3. Accept the prompt.