The System Preferences screen allows district and school administrators to set preferences for how their Focus site functions. District administrators set district-level defaults, while district or school administrators can set school-level preferences. Preferences are set for every school year, and can be rolled from one year to the next so that the preferences do not have to be set from scratch in the new school year.
The Default School Preferences tab is where district administrators set default system preferences that apply to all schools. The Default School Preferences tab contains all of the same system preferences as the School Preferences tab, which allows the district to set a default value for each preference. School administrators may be given access to System Preferences to customize the School Preferences for their school. The Default School Preferences tab also contains additional system preferences that can only be set at the district level, for example, the Online Application and Parent Registration system preferences. See Default School Preferences and School Preferences below for descriptions on what each preference does.
1. In the Setup menu, click System Preferences.
2. Click the Default School Preferences tab.
3. Click the desired sub-tab.
4. Make the desired changes to the preferences.
5. Click Save.
School administrators with access to System Preferences can customize the School Preferences for their school in the School Preferences tab. Any default preferences set by the district will be grayed out; you must clear the default set by the district before you can make changes to the system preference for your school. See Default School Preferences and School Preferences below for descriptions on what each preference does.
1. In the Setup menu, click System Preferences
The School Preferences tab is selected by default.
2. Click the desired sub-tab.
3. To change a system preference from the default value set by the district, clear the check box at the right side of the screen next to the preference and then make the change to the preference as needed.
4. Click Save.
System preferences that can only be set by the district in Default School Preferences are indicated in red.
| Preference | Description |
| Default School Year (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the school year that will display by default when logging in to Focus. The header will display in red when the user has a school year other than the default selected. Certain functions, such as entering new attendance records, can only be done in the default school year, therefore the default school year should only be updated to the new school year after the close of the current school year. |
| Use LDAP for Signatures | This preference only displays when there is an SSO profile (whether enabled or not) that is LDAP, and another SSO profile exists. When this preference is enabled, users logged in with SSO will utilize the LDAP profile for form requests and SSS events that have e-signatures that require authentication, instead of any other SSO profile. |
| Teachers Discipline Referral View | Select All referrals entered by any user to allow teachers to view discipline referrals entered by other users for their students. Select Referrals entered by the teacher to only allow teachers to view the referrals they have entered themselves. |
| Restrict Discipline Referral Date Decided to student enrollment dates | Select the check box to enforce the validation that ensures that the Date Decided on the action record in a discipline referral falls within the student’s enrollment dates. If the Date Decided falls outside of the student’s enrollment dates, the validation error “Date Decided is Outside Enrollment” will display. This preference is enabled by default. |
| Limit the results displayed when searching for Referrals. Set this to the nearest thousand rows +1. Minimum 1000 (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the maximum number of discipline referrals to display when searching on the Referrals screen. The minimum is 1000. The maximum should not exceed 5000 to avoid performance issues. When this preference is left empty, the default value is 5000. |
| Allow Teachers to Search Entire School for Positive Behaviors | Select the check box to allow teachers to award positive behavior badges to any student in the school on the Reward Positive Behavior screen, not just students in the teacher's sections. |
| Alert Teachers when a Referral is Closed | Select the check box to display a Portal alert to the teacher when an administrator closes a discipline referral without processing. The alert will state “X new referrals have been closed.” Clicking the Portal alert will open the referral and will display “The Referral Has Been Closed With The Following Comment” along with the administrator’s comment at the top of the referral. |
| Maximum number of ISS/OSS days for an ESE/504 Student | Enter the maximum number of days of in-school and out-of-school suspension (combined) that can be assigned to an ESE or 504 student per school year. Users will not be able to enter a Length of Action for in-school or out-of-school suspension that exceeds this amount on the discipline referral. |
| Maximum number of ISS days for an ESE/504 Student | Enter the maximum number of days of in-school suspension that can be assigned to an ESE or 504 student per school year. Users will not be able to enter a Length of Action for an in-school suspension that exceeds this amount on the discipline referral. |
| Maximum number of OSS days for an ESE/504 Student | Enter the maximum number of days of out-of-school suspension that can be assigned to an ESE or 504 student per school year. Users will not be able to enter a Length of Action for an out-of-school suspension that exceeds this amount on the discipline referral. |
| Victim Letter | Select a letter to generate for the victim student when an entry is made on the Victims table in a discipline referral and the referral is processed by an administrator and saved. Letters set up in Students > Print Letters & Send Email and/or Students > Communication that are attached to Discipline are available for selection. |
| Enable Minor Infractions | Select the check box to enable the minor infractions functionality. When the preference is enabled, the check box “Minor infraction - No administrative action needed” is available on the referral for both teachers and administrators. When selected, the referral will not be sent to administrators in the Portal alert for processing. Minor infractions do not count against the student in Students with Referrals. The Category Breakdown, Referral Log, and Referrals screens have options to include minor infractions in the report. In Students > Advanced Report, the “Minor Infraction” field in the Discipline Referrals category will indicate if the referral is a minor infraction. |
| Enable Closing of Unprocessed Referrals | Select the check box to allow administrators to close referrals without processing them. When this preference is selected, the “Closed without Processing” check box is available on referrals for administrators. |
| Enable Voiding of Forms | Select the check box to allow administrators to void forms submitted by students or users (Form Builder forms). The Void button will be available when viewing the form. Clicking the Void button and then confirming the void will move the form over to the Voided tab. Voided forms have “VOIDED” displayed at the top of the form when viewed in Focus and when printed. When this preference is enabled, the profile permission "View Voided Forms” is available for administrator profiles under the Form Builder permissions in Users > Profiles. Only administrators with this profile permission enabled are able to view forms that were voided in the Voided tab. |
| Display Referral Code With Title | Select the check box to display the code before the title for discipline codes on Add Referral, Referrals, Advanced Report, and Print Letters & Send Email. When disabled, only the title of the discipline code displays. |
| Enable “All Schools” checkbox when linking a SESIR (Florida only) | Select the check box to enable the “All Schools” check box when linking a SESIR to a discipline referral. When the “All Schools” check box is selected, a SESIR from any school can be selected and linked to the discipline referral. |
| Discipline Referrals Count Codes - Choose the Codes that will count Discipline Referrals over school years | Select the discipline codes that are counted for the student across school years (instead of being counted per school year) when considering the number of offenses. |
| Send a mobile app push notification with every message by default when using Communication (if permission enabled) | Select the check box to enable push notifications for every message by default via Communication. This ensures that users are promptly informed about vital communications without delay. When enabled, the Push Notification check box is selected by default. Note: The Push Notification check box displays if you or the applicable users have permission via Users > Profiles > Students. |
| Add log entries by default when using Communication | Select the check box to enable the "Add Log Record” check box by default when sending a message through the Communication module. |
| Add student log entries by default when using Print Letters and Send Emails | Select the check box to enable the option “Add log entries for each student” by default on the Print Letters & Send Email screen, and when generating letters in Student Info. |
| Add user log entries by default when using Print Letters and Send Emails | Select the check box to enable the option “Add log entries for each user” by default on the Print Letters & Send Email screen. |
| Search Settings - Enable search entire school for teachers | Select the check box to allow teachers to search and view student records for any student in their school. Leave the check box unselected to only allow teachers to search and view student records for students in their assigned classes. When enabled, an “Entire School” option displays in the Select Student pull-down in the header. |
| School is Post Secondary | Select the check box to activate the post-secondary features in Focus for the school. |
| Restrict Parents/Guardians to editing their own Contact and Address info and Non-Custodial Contact info (During Parent Registration, the Parent/Guardian's name must also match one of their Student's Contacts) (only in Default School Preferences) | When enabled the following changes will take place:
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| Require Complex Passwords (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to require users to have passwords with at least four characters, with at least one upper-case letter, lower-case letter, number, and special character. This preference is used by districts that do not use a directory system, such as Active Directory or SSO, to log into Focus. |
| Minimum Password Length (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the minimum number of characters for passwords. This preference is used for districts that do not use a directory system, such as Active Directory or SSO, to log into Focus. |
| User Password expire after this many days (only in Default School Preferences) | Select “Don’t Expire” or select a number of days to prompt users (non-parents and non-students) to change their passwords after the selected number of days. This preference is used by districts that do not use a directory system, such as Active Directory or SSO, to log into Focus. |
| Student and Parent Password expire after this many days (only in Default School Preferences) | Select “Don’t Expire” or select a number of days to prompt parents and students to change their passwords after the selected number of days. This preference is used by districts that do not use a directory system, such as Active Directory or SSO, to log into Focus. |
| New Password cannot be the same as one of the last __ passwords used (only in Default School Preferences) | To restrict users from reusing their last passwords, enter the number of previous passwords that cannot be used. An error message will display to the user when entering a previously used password. |
| Enable overriding permissions for individual users (not recommended) (only in Default School Preferences) | Select this check box to allow setting permissions for individual users in Users > User Permissions that will override permissions set on the user’s profile in Users > Profiles. |
| Allow public access to student photos (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow student photo URLs to be accessed without being logged into Focus and regardless of profile permission, making them available for applications such as Focus Analytics. |
| Billing - Enable Course Fees. Automatically create student fee(s) based on the enrolled course. | For post-secondary schools, select this check box to allow fee templates to be assigned to programs and/or courses. |
| Invoices - Enable invoices to be created from the Student Schedule screen | For post-secondary schools, select this check box to allow the ability to create and access invoices directly from the Student Schedule screen. |
| Email Notifications - Enable email notifications for Parents/Students (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow parents and students to set up and receive email notifications for attendance, discipline, billing fees, upcoming assignments, grades (a link is included in the notification email to allow the parent or student to log in to Focus to view grade information), and events and messages. Parents and students can set up notifications in the Parent/Student Portal in My Information > Preferences > Notifications tab or on the Email Notifications block on the Portal. |
| Login button text for Mobile App (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the text to display on the Focus Log In button on the mobile app. The default is “Log In.” |
| Enable user account deletion option in mobile app (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow parents and students to delete their accounts from the mobile app. The Delete Account option will display in the menu in the mobile app. For parents, deleting the account deletes their record in the students_join_users and users table. For students, deleting the account merely updates their record, setting their password to null. |
| Single Sign-On button text for Mobile App (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the text to display on the Single Sign-On button on the mobile app. The default is “Single Sign-On." |
| Use Single Sign-On for parents (only in Default School Preferences) | For districts that use SAML or LDAP SSO providers, select the check box to allow parents to log in to Focus and the mobile app using single sign-on. Note: The Single Sign-on tab in System Preferences is used to set up single sign-on. At least one single sign-on profile must be set up in order for this preference to display. |
| Use Single Sign-On for students (only in Default School Preferences) | For districts that use SAML or LDAP SSO providers, select the check box to allow students to log in to Focus and the mobile app using single sign-on. Note: The Single Sign-on tab in System Preferences is used to set up single sign-on. At least one single sign-on profile must be set up in order for this preference to display. |
| Use Single Sign-On for staff (only in Default School Preferences) | For districts that use SAML or LDAP SSO providers, select the check box to allow staff to log in to Focus and the mobile app using single sign-on. Note: The Single Sign-on tab in System Preferences is used to set up single sign-on. At least one single sign-on profile must be set up in order for this preference to display. |
| Select where students/parents will be directed when clicking grades link (only in Default School Preferences) | When the preference “Enable email notifcations for Parents/Students” is enabled, select where students and parents are directed when clicking the grades link in the notification email. Select Grades to display the Grade Changes screen. Select Portal to display the Portal screen. |
| Account Access Notification - Send an email notification for selected user role types when user logs in from a new device (only in Default School Preferences) | Select which user role types should receive an email notification when the user logs in from a new device or has cleared the cookies from their device. |
| Portal Message - Remove the from email address on the portal page for Students (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to remove the Your Email Address field that allows students to enter a “from" email address when sending an email to a teacher from the Student Portal. When this preference is enabled, emails sent by the student use the student’s email address defined in custom_200000012. If the student does not have an email address on file, then the email is sent from [email protected]. Parents are still able to change the Your Email Address field when sending an email to a teacher on the Parent Portal. This preference has no effect if students have Messenger access. |
| Hide Sender’s Name in Email ‘From’ Field | Select the check box to remove the sender’s name in the From field of the email for emails sent from Focus. When enabled, the school will display in the From field when emails are sent from Report Cards, Progress Reports, Print Letters & Send Email (both Students and Users menu), Student Info, and Edit Rules & Workflow > Workflow Triggers. |
| State Math Test | Select the state math test that will be considered when using the Elementary Scheduler. One or multiple tests can be selected. The Elementary Scheduler will look at the most recent test administration for each student across all of the selected tests. |
| State ELA Test | Select the state ELA test that will be considered when using the Elementary Scheduler. One or multiple tests can be selected. The Elementary Scheduler will look at the most recent test administration for each student across all of the selected tests. |
| Achievement Level Type | Select the Achievement Level Type for the state math and ELA tests selected above. The Achievement Level Type must be the same for all the tests selected. |
| Special Education Term for Elementary Scheduler (only in Default School Preferences) |
Select the term to use for Special Education in the Elementary Scheduler. For Florida districts, ESE is selected by default. For other states, SPED is selected by default. |
| Show User Birthday List on Portal | Select the Yes check box to display upcoming users’ birthdays on the Portal page in the Birthday List block along with upcoming students’ birthdays. |
| Disable links in User Birthday List portal alert | Select the check box to disable/remove the link to User Info for users listed in the Birthday List block of the Portal. |
| Hide Time In, Time Out, and Duration on Caseloads & Services screen | Select the check box to remove the Time In, Time Out, and Duration fields from the pop-up window when adding a service in SSS > Caseload & Services. These fields are also removed from the Service History tab. The Units field becomes a pull-down where the user can select the number of units (0.5-45) when adding a service. The units are used when billing a student from the Service Billing tab of Caseload & Services. |
| Forgot Password Link - Show The “Forgot Password?” Link on login screen (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to display the “Forgot Password?” link on the login screen. |
| Forgot Password Title (only in Default School Preferences) | When the preference “Show The ‘Forgot Password?’ Link on login screen” is enabled, enter the text to use for the link. The default is “Parents: Forgot Password?" |
| Don’t Run Edit Rules on Prior Year Enrollment Records (recommended) (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to not validate enrollment records from previous school years. Errors such as a missing drop date on an enrollment record with a drop code will not display. |
| Maximum number of attempts for Log In (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the maximum number of times the user can attempt to log in before being locked out. If no maximum is entered, the default is 5. |
| Show Maintenance Mode Banner - Display a message during site installations/upgrades (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to display a message to users during SIS version upgrades. |
| Maintenance Mode Message (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the message that will display to users during SIS version upgrades. |
| Inactive Student Login - Allow inactive students to log into Focus (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow inactive students (students without an active enrollment record and students without any enrollment records) to log in to Focus. This preference is enabled by default. |
| Allow parents to view inactive students (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow parents to view students who are inactive in the Parent Portal. |
| Allow parents to view students over 18 (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow parents to view students who are over 18 in the Parent Portal. |
| Display Preference for Student Name Format on Parent/Student Portal (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow students and parents to select from the “Portal Student Name Format” pull-down via Preferences > Display Options tab. If this setting is not enabled, the pull-down does not display for parents and students; instead, the name format is determined by the selection made from the “Student Name Format” pull-down via Setup > System Preferences > Default User Preferences > Student Listing. |
| Scheduled Job email unsuccessful notifications ONLY (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box so Focus only sends email notifications regarding scheduled jobs if the job was unsuccessful. |
| LMS - Custom Teacher Web Pages | Select the check box to allow teachers to create web pages that are viewable to the public using the Lesson Planner in LMS. |
| InformaCast API Key | For districts integrating with InformaCast to provide the ability to request emergency assistance or initiate a lockdown from the Focus mobile app, enter the API key, as provided by InformaCast. |
| InformaCast Request Assistance Message Template | Select the request assistance message template. The options available for selection are pulled from the API key. |
| InformaCast Request Assistance Distribution Lists | Select the request assistance distribution lists. One or multiple can be selected. The options available for selection are pulled from the API key. |
| InformaCast Request Assistance Device Groups | Select the request assistance device groups. One or multiple can be selected. The options available for selection are pulled from the API key. |
| InformaCast Request Assistance Users | Select the request assistance users. One or multiple can be selected. The options available for selection are based on the users set up in InformaCast. |
| InformaCast Lockdown Message Template | Select the lockdown message template. The options available for selection are pulled from the API key. |
| InformaCast Lockdown Distribution Lists | Select the lockdown distribution lists. One or multiple can be selected. The options available for selection are pulled from the API key. |
| InformaCast Lockdown Device Groups | Select the lockdown device groups. One or multiple can be selected. The options available for selection are pulled from the API key. |
| InformaCast Lockdown Users | Select the lockdown users. One or multiple can be selected. The options available for selection are based on the users set up in InformaCast. |
| Always Confirm Recipient Count when Sending Communication | Select the check box to always display a confirmation pop-up window indicating the number of recipients when using Students > Communication, instead of only displaying the confirmation when the recipient count is over 100. This preference only affects staff users, and not parents and students. |
| Use Original Text Editor for Communication | This check box is selected by default. In order to update Communication with the new CKEditor, clear the check box. Once saved, this setting is removed and cannot be enabled after the new editor has been applied. Note: All existing communication templates are automatically migrated to use the new editor. Subsequent migrations will update saved templates' HTML to be compatible with the CKEditor. |
| Default Student Recipient Type (only in Default School Preferences) | Select an option to pre-select this option in the Students > Communication > Compose > Recipient Type Pulldown. |
| SMS Character Limit (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter a numeric value here to determine how many characters are allowed upon generating a SMS in the Communication module for administrative users and teachers. The character limit defaults to 130 and cannot exceed 300; i.e., if the limit is set to 160, that means users cannot enter more than 160 characters upon creating a SMS. |
| Do Not Send Calls, SMS Messages or Push Notifications Before This Time (only in Default School Preferences) |
Enter a time to determine the hours in which messages should not be sent. After the time entered, messages will be sent. The time defaults to 5:00 am. I.e. enter the time calls should start being sent out. Note: If the maximum time is set to a value earlier than the minimum time, the system will treat the window as extending past midnight into the next day. For example, if the minimum time is 8:00 AM and the maximum time is 1:00 AM, calls will be allowed anytime between 8:00 AM and 1:00 AM the next day. Calls will not be sent between 1:00 AM and 8:00 AM. |
| Do Not Send Calls, SMS Messages or Push Notifications After This Time (only in Default School Preferences) |
Enter a time to determine the hours in which messages should not be sent. Messages will not be sent after the entered time and not before the time entered in the Do Not Send Calls Before This Time text box. The time defaults to 10:00 pm. I.e. enter the time calls should stop being sent out. Note: If the maximum time is set to a value earlier than the minimum time, the system will treat the window as extending past midnight into the next day. For example, if the minimum time is 8:00 AM and the maximum time is 1:00 AM, calls will be allowed anytime between 8:00 AM and 1:00 AM the next day. Calls will not be sent between 1:00 AM and 8:00 AM. |
| Call Out System Student Reenrollment Form (only in Default School Preferences) | Select a form from a pull-down that will be required to be completed by a student if a call fails when sent to the student’s phone because it is presumed the contact information must need to be updated which can be done using the form. Note: The form will also display on the Parent Portal. |
| Call Out System Parent Reenrollment Form (only in Default School Preferences) | Select a form that will be required to be completed by a parent if a call fails when sent to the parent’s phone because it is presumed the contact information must need to be updated which can be done using the form. |
| Disclaimer for editing Student Info (only in Default School Preferences) | If your district allows parents to edit or make change requests for student information, enter a disclaimer that will display each time parents access the Child Info screen. Markdown formatting can be used in the disclaimer. Click the Markdown Editor link for support on using markdown formatting. The “Show Disclaimer” menu permission must be enabled for parent profiles in Users > Profiles in order for parents to see the disclaimer. |
| Google Analytics (only in Default School Preferences) | Districts can add the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) for their Focus site in the provided text box. This will add the gtag to the footer of each page in Focus behind the scenes, allowing Google Analytics to collect data about the pages being accessed by users logged into Focus. |
| Google Translate (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the script to add the Google Translate widget to the bottom left of the screen in Focus for administrators, teachers, parents, and students. |
| Custom Scripts (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the district’s custom ADA compliance script to apply to all Focus pages. This preference also allows for entering JavaScript and stylesheets from googleapis.com. |
| Community App Custom Scripts (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter a custom script (e.g. Userway ADA Widget) to apply to the Community mobile app. |
| Custom Content Security Policy (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the district’s custom content security policy directive, such as frame-ancestors https://www.example.com, which allows users to add onto the existing content security policy already written into Focus’s code, enabling users to load additional resources Focus does not support by default. |
| Custom Login Screen (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to customize the login screen for your Focus site. The editor includes a variety of formatting tools, such as the ability to upload images, create tables, and edit the HTML. |
| Enable Terms and Conditions (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to enable the Terms and Conditions functionality. This will display a Terms and Conditions pop-up that must be signed by users before accessing the Portal and the mobile app. Selecting this check box will display additional terms and conditions system preferences below, and will also display the “Enable Terms and Conditions” profile permission in Users > Profiles to determine which profiles will see the Terms and Conditions pop-up. |
| Terms and Conditions Frequency (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the frequency the Terms and Conditions pop-up will display to users: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. |
| Terms and Conditions Start Date (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the reset date for the first day of each calendar year to begin the Terms and Conditions pop-up. |
| English Terms and Conditions File (only in Default School Preferences) | Upload the English language version of the Terms and Conditions. |
| Espanol Terms and Conditions File (only in Default School Preferences) | If needed, upload the Spanish language version of the Terms and Conditions. If a file is not uploaded, the link to view the Spanish language version in the Terms and Conditions pop-up will not display. |
| Two Factor Start IP Address (only in Default School Preferences) | For districts using two factor authentication, an IP address range can be defined to allow devices to bypass the Authenticator if their IP address falls within the range. Enter the start of the IP address range in this field. |
| Two Factor End IP Address (only in Default School Preferences) | For districts using two factor authentication, an IP address range can be defined to allow devices to bypass the Authenticator if their IP address falls within the range. Enter the end of the IP address range in this field. |
| Remember 2FA on each device (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to only require two factor authentication when a user signs in on a new device or when their cache/cookies have been cleared. |
| File Size Limit (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the maximum file size in MB for file fields throughout Focus. |
| Immunization Compliance - Enable Immunization Compliance (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to enable the Immunization Compliance feature. This adds Immunization Compliance and Immunization Exemption logging fields to the Immunizations category in Student Info. This also makes available a Compliance Report in Reports > District Reports, and a Nightly Immunization Compliance scheduled job in Setup > Scheduled Jobs. |
| Rule Selection (only in Default School Preferences) | When the "Enable Immunization Compliance" preference is enabled, select a Rule Selection option. Currently the only option is Florida. This follows the immunization rules for dosage requirements and types of immunization compliance records found on FloridaHealth.gov. |
| Error Selection (only in Default School Preferences) | When the "Enable Immunization Compliance" preference is enabled, select an Error Selection option. This controls how immunization errors display. Select Generic to display a generic error message, such as “DTaP compliance incomplete.” Select Ruleset to display a ruleset error message associated with the immunization compliance that failed, such as “5 doses, 1 on or after 4th birthday.” Select Itemized List to display individual failed tests within the ruleset in the generic error message, such as “DTaP compliance incomplete. Requires 1 dose on or after 4th birthday.” |
| Grace Period __ Days (only in Default School Preferences) | When the "Enable Immunization Compliance" preference is enabled, select the number of days for the grace period. This is the number of days to use as a buffer when computing immunization compliance. By default, this is set to 4. |
| Import Immunization Status along with FLShots Immunization Records | Select the check box to import individual shot records as well as the student’s immunization status when the “Import from Florida Shots” button is clicked via Students > Student Info. |
| Allow Students to End Hall Pass |
Select the check box to allow students to end their hall passes from the Student Portal or mobile app. |
| Max number of student passes per day |
Enter the maximum number of passes a student can have per day. Students will receive an error message and will not be able to proceed with creating a pass when this maximum is reached. Administrators and teachers will recieve a warning message that the student has exceeded the maximum number of passes, but can override the warning and create the pass for the student. Note: Student-specific restrictions for number of passes per day set in Student Restrictions in the Hall Passes tab of Student Info should be less than the number entered in the system preference. Student-specific restrictions are prioritized over the system preference. |
| Prevent creation of hall passes within __ minutes after the start of the period |
Set this preference to prevent students from requesting a pass within the defined number of minutes after the start of the period. The message “You cannot request a pass within X minutes of the start of class” will display to the student. |
| Prevent creation of hall passes within __ minutes before the end of the period |
Set this preference to prevent students from requesting a pass within the defined number of minutes before the end of the period. The message “You cannot request a pass within X minutes of the end of class” will display to the student. |
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Report Card Codes | Select an option (Percent and letter grade, Letter grade, or Percent) to determine how grades are posted and stored in Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank. This preference only affects posting grades; it does not restrict the Gradebook. |
| Disable Emailing Progress Reports | Select the check box to disable the ability for progress reports to be emailed to parents/students. |
| Log Progress Reports emails sent to students or custodial contacts | Select the check box to ensure progress report letters created via Grades > Reports > Progress Reports are logged via Student > Student Info > Letter Logging tab (or the applicable tab set up by the district). |
| Use Final Semester Exams | Select the check box to use semester exams in the calculation of final grades. When this preference is enabled, teachers will be able to post semester exam grades when the grade posting window is open for the semester. The grade posting schemes in Setup > Grade Posting Averaging will have options to include semester exams in the calculation of posted grades. |
| Use Full Year Exams | Select the check box to use full year exams in the calculation of final grades. When this preference is enabled, teachers will be able to post full year exam grades when the grade posting window is open for the full year marking period. The grade posting schemes in Setup > Grade Posting Averaging will have options to include full year exams in the calculation of posted grades. |
| Use Quarter Exams | Select the check box to use quarter exams in the calculation of final grades. When this preference is enabled, teachers will be able to post quarter exam grades when the grade posting window is open for the quarter. The grade posting schemes in Setup > Grade Posting Averaging will have options to include quarter exams in the calculation of posted grades. |
| Don’t change year/semester exam weight if a grade is not posted (blank/40/20 -> 80/20) | This preference determines the way marking period grades are calculated when using a grade posting scheme if a grade is not posted. If this preference is disabled, an ungraded marking period will be excluded from the calculation based on the remaining weights. For example, the grade posting scheme for semester 1 grade weights the quarter 1 grade as 40%, the quarter 2 grade as 40%, and the semester 1 exam grade as 20%. A transfer student does not have a quarter 1 grade and received a 90 for quarter 2 and a 95 for the semester 1 exam. The student’s grade is calculated as follows: [90(.4) + 95(.2)]/.6 = 91.67, which rounds to a 92% If this preference is enabled, the total grade is calculated out of 100, rather than only the weights of the marking periods which have grades. For the same transfer student, the grade is calculated as follows: [90(.8) + 95(.2)]/1 = 91% |
| Semester Exams can be used in Grade Posting Schemes | Select the check box to use semester exams in the calculation of the full year grade in grade posting schemes (Setup > Grade Posting Averaging). |
| Quarters grades are calculated as average of progress periods | Select the check box to use progress periods in grade posting schemes (Setup > Grade Posting Averaging) to calculate quarter grades. When enabled, the "Include Quarter Calculated" check box is selected by default via Grades > Posted Grades Verification Report. |
| Exclude Assignments Due after the last day of progress periods when posting | Select this check box to exclude assignments where the due date is after the last day of the progress period when calculating grades for progress reports. |
| Max Posted Percent | Enter the maximum grade that can be posted for the selected marking period (defined using the Min/Max Posted Percent Affected Marking Periods setting below). The teacher will receive a notification if a grade above the value is posted, and the grade will be automatically adjusted to the maximum value. |
| Min Posted Percent | Enter the minimum grade that can be posted for the selected marking period (defined using the Min/Max Posted Percent Affected Marking Periods setting below). The teacher will receive a notification if a grade below the value is posted, and the grade will be automatically adjusted to the minimum value. |
| Min/Max Posted Percent Affected Marking Periods | Select the Quarter marking period or All marking periods from the pull-down to determine how the Max Posted Percent and Min Posted Percent settings above affect grades posted. |
| Maximum Semester Exam Grade | Enter the maximum semester exam grade that can be posted for a student. A notification will display if a grade above the setting is entered, and the grade will be automatically adjusted to the maximum value. |
| Restrict percent of extra credit | Enter the percentage to limit extra credit on assignments to XX percent over the points assigned. If the field is left blank/null, any amount of extra credit is allowed. If a teacher tries to enter a value that exceeds the limit set, a pop-up displays altering the teacher that they have exceeded the maximum amount of extra credit. The value will then default to the maximum amount of credit allowed. |
| Posted Grade Comments - Short comments per course | Select the check box to allow teachers to enter short comments for each student in the course in the Comments field when posting grades. Teachers can use comment codes that have been set up for use in Grades > Grading Scales & Comments or can enter free text. Either the “Short comments per course” or “Pull-Down Comments” option should be used, not both. |
| Pull-Down Comments | Select the check box to enable a select multiple pull-down in the Comments field when posting grades. Teachers can select one or multiple comments from the comments set up for use in Grades > Grading Scales & Comments for each student in the course. If enabled, a Report Card Comments column also displays in Course History. Either the “Short comments per course” or “Pull-Down Comments” option should be used, not both. |
| One longer comment per course | Select the check box to allow teachers to post a longer comment for each student in the course. |
| One longer comment per student | Select the check box to allow teachers to post a longer comment for each student on the Report Card Comments screen. Please note, comments from each teacher will be compiled into one table on the report card. |
| Conduct Comments | Select the check box to allow teachers to post conduct comments. |
| Comment Maxlength | Enter the maximum number of characters teachers can use to post short comments. The maximum value that can be entered for the preference is 255. If a value over 255 is entered, the preference will automatically change to 255. |
| Force teachers to enter a comment if they override posted grades | Select the check box to force teachers to enter a comment when they change a student’s posted grade, including changing a grade after using the “Use Gradebook Grades” link to post grades. These entries are stored in the same field as posted short comments and will be included on report cards if “Comments” is selected when printing. |
| Hide Comments, Conduct Comments and local posting fields for all marking periods not setup as quarters | Select the check box to hide comments, conduct comments, and local grade posting fields from the Post Final Grades screen for all marking periods not set up as quarters (all marking periods not housed in the school_quarters table). When the preference is selected, a Hide Options pull-down displays where you will select the specific posting options that will be hidden except for quarters. |
| Report Card Comments Max Length | Enter the maximum number of characters allowed upon creating report card comments. Note: When the value is set to null, comments per student are unlimited. Teachers receive an error when attempting to enter a long comment that exceeds the max length for a comment. |
| Report Card New Line Length | Enter the line length allowed when entering long comments for report cards; this setting restricts how many characters a new line can contain. It helps maintain report cards within a specific page length based on comment size. |
| Allow Teachers to modify the gradebook after grade posting closes | Select the check box to allow teachers to make changes in the Gradebook, including editing existing assignments or adding new ones, after the grade posting window has closed. This also allows administrators with the proper permissions to edit prior marking period gradebooks in Users > Gradebook Grades. Please note, changing grades in the Gradebook does not update the posted grade. If changes are made in the Gradebook after posting grades, this will result in a difference between the Gradebook grade and posted grade. Teachers should use the Request Grade Changes form to request a change to the posted grade. |
| Hide posted grades from parents and students until grade posting closes | Select the check box to prevent parents and students from seeing posted grades in the Parent/Student Portal until the grade posting window is closed. |
| Hide grades X days after posting closes (only use if above option is checked) | This preference is used in conjunction with "Hide posted grades from parents and students until grade posting closes.” Enter a number of days to prevent parents and students from seeing posted grades until the defined number of days has passed after the grade posting window has closed. Three digit numbers are allowed. |
| Default Credits | Enter the default number of credits to populate the Credits per Course History Term field on the course in Courses & Sections and the Cred. Attempted field in Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank when manually adding a grade record. The credits can be edited on the course or grade record as needed. |
| Use course catalog credits first before using default credits (where applicable) | Select the check box to use the credits set on the course in the Course Catalog to override the Default Credits defined above. Please note, when the credits are set in the Course Catalog, the Credits per Course History Term field is not editable on the course in Courses & Sections. |
| Hide Class Rank | Select the check box to remove the class rank information from Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank and remove the class rank fields from More Search Options and the Advanced Report. |
| Hide Class Rank from Parents/Students | Select the check box to hide the class rank information on the Parent and Student Portal. |
| Hide GPA | Select the check box to remove the GPA from Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank and from More Search Options and the Advanced Report. |
| Only Show Custom GPA | Select the check box to hide non-custom GPAs from the box at the top-left corner of the Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank screen and the Grades Summary. |
| Use Weighted GPA | Select the check box to calculate a weighted GPA for students. When this preference is enabled, a Weighted GPA Value column is available when setting up the grading scale in Grades > Grading Scales & Comments. The weighted GPA will display in Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank, and will be available in More Search Options and the Advanced Report. |
| Calculate GPA Automatically | Select the check box to recalculate GPA automatically whenever grades are posted or manually entered or updated in Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank. Please note, this preference does not update class rank. If this preference is not enabled, GPAs must be manually calculated in Grades > Calculate GPA. This is also where class rank can be updated. |
| Prevent Grade Change Requests for inactive students | Select the check box to prohibit teachers from submitting Grade Change Requests for inactive students. If teachers try to submit a grade change request for inactive students, the alert "The student was not active during that period, please select a different term" displays and blocks the change request. The warning displays if the student was not active on the last day of the quarter. This alert checks the student enrollment dates and/or the student schedule enrollments. |
| Recalculate parent marking period grades and GPAs when a teacher posts grades or a grade change is approved | Select the check box to recalculate all parent marking period grades when a teacher posts a final grade for a child marking period or the request for a grade change for a child marking period is approved. For example, if a quarter final grade is changed, the semester and full year final grades will be recalculated. All parent marking periods that have grades will update according to their grade posting schemes. The recalculation process works with both letter and percent grades. If the auto-calculate GPA system preference is also enabled, then this will trigger the student’s GPA to update accordingly. |
| Recalculate parent marking period grades and GPAs when a grade is changed on Final Grades, GPA, and Class Rank | Select the check box to recalculate all parent marking period grades when a grade for a child marking period is changed via Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank. |
| Hide Semester/Year options from Grade Change Form | Select the check box to prevent teachers from entering grade change requests for semester 1, semester 2, or full year on the Request Grade Changes screen. |
| Hide Quarters from Grade Change Form | Select the check box to prevent teachers from entering grade change requests for quarters on the Request Grade Changes screen. |
| Hide Progress Periods from Grade Change Form | Select the check box to prevent teachers from entering grade change requests for progress periods on the Request Grade Changes screen. |
| Weight GPA by Credits | Select the check box to calculate GPA using the credit value of each course. This also applies to GPAs calculated through the Calculate Class Rank and GPA scheduled job. When this preference is enabled, the Credits colum is added to the Student Schedule screen and on schedules printed from the Print Student Schedules screen, which displays the attempted credits. When this preference is disabled, and a course is added to a student’s schedule that exists in the student’s Course History but without any credits awarded, the warning message “The student has already taken this course, please verify the reason for the retake before rescheduling this class” displays. This warning can be disabled for a course using the “Exclude from Schedule Warning” option in the Course Catalog. |
| Round Credits to __ Decimal Places | Select the number of decimal places for which to round credits. |
| Base class rank on | Select whether to base class rank on unweighted GPA, weighted GPA, or local GPA. |
| Partition Class Rank by (Florida only) | Select whether to partition class rank based on grade level or cohort. When cohort is used, the grade_total column in student_gpa_calculated will reflect the number of students which are a part of the cohort, and not the grade level. |
| Include Early Graduates in Class Rank | Select the check box to include inactive students in class rank. |
| Include all students in the denominator for IB rank | Select the check box to have students with “Include in Class Rank” set to “IB” receive a rank with the denominator including all students. When this preference is disabled, the rank denominator only includes students set to IB. |
| Include all students in the denominator for AICE rank | Select the check box to have students with “Include in Class Rank” set to “AICE” receive a rank with the denominator including all students. When this preference is disabled, the rank denominator only includes students set to AICE. |
| Default Term for Graduation Requirements Report | Select the term that will be selected by default on the Graduation Requirements Report. |
| Allow Parents/Students to Email Teachers | Select the check box to make the Teacher's name a hyperlink in the Student Grades Portal Block for Students/Parents to click and email the teacher. |
| Allow teachers to post grades for standards not on report cards | Select the check box to allow teachers to post grades for standards that are marked as “Hide From Report Card” in Assessment > Standards. |
| Allow teachers to post for standards outside of marking period restrictions | Select this check box to allow teachers to post grades for standards that are not tied to the current marking period. When this preference is enabled, a “Show Not Evaluated Standards” check box will display on the Post Standards Grades screen. When selected, all standards assigned to the course will display, not just those for the current marking period. |
| Enable 'Students can reply to other students' feature in Teacher Gradebook/Web Pages | Select the check box to make the option “Students can reply to other students” available to teachers on Web Pages and on assignments in the Gradebook. When this check box is deselected, the option will not be available to teachers. |
| Round GPA to X Decimal Places | Select the number of decimal places that should be used to round GPAs. |
| GPA Rounding | Select an option for GPA rounding: Round normally or Round down (Truncate). This preference works in conjunction with the “Round GPA to X Decimal Places” preference. |
| Enable multi-lingual report cards | Select the check box to allow report cards to be generated in multiple languages. The option “Multilingual Report Cards” will be available on the Report Cards screen when printing report cards. Report cards will print in the language indicated in custom_65 in their Demographic record. Please note, translations will need to be set up in Setup > Translations in order to print report cards in other languages. Letterheads will also need to be set up for each language in Setup > Letterhead Templates. |
| Enable reason code for grade change | Select the check box to require users to select a reason code from a pre-defined list of options when changing a student’s posted grade in Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank or Request Grade Changes. Reason codes are set up via Grades > Grading Scales & Comments > Grade Change Request Reasons tab. |
| Make Explanation Required on Submission of Grade Change Request | Select the check box to require teachers to provide an explanation when submitting a grade change request via Request Grade Changes. This also applies to administrators when using the Request Grade Changes teacher program. This setting is enabled by default. |
| Make Explanation Required on Grade Change Request Approval | Select the check box to require administrators to provide an explanation when approving or denying a grade change request on the Approve Grade Changes screen. This setting is disabled by default. |
| Enable Special Double-Blocked Posting Averaging | Select the check box to add the Double Blocked check box to section setup in Courses & Sections. This is typically used if one school in the district uses a 4x4 block schedule and the rest do not. If a course in the Course Catalog is assigned 1 credit for a Full Year grade posting window, but the section is marked as a double-blocked section that meets every day, then the 1 credit needs to be posted at the end of the semester for this section. When a section is marked as double-blocked, the system will post the credit at the end of the semester instead of the end of the year for this section (or at the end of the quarter for a semester class). This preference also adds an area for setting up double-blocked grade posting schemes in Setup > Grade Posting Averaging. The double-blocked section on the grade posting scheme must be set up for grade posting to work, and the regular section on the grade posting scheme must be set up for the Gradebook to work. |
| Show Start/End dates on Final Grades | Select the check box to display the Start Date and End Date fields on the Final Grades, GPA & Class Rank screen. |
| Hide Start/End dates on Post Final Grades | Select the check box to hide the Start Date and End Date fields on the Post Final Grades screen. |
| Hide virtual grades & waivers on report cards | Select the check box to hide grades from virtual courses or waivers on report cards. Grades from the following courses will be hidden: 1500410 OR CUSTOM_5 = '71' OR CUSTOM_6 like ‘7%’ in the student-report-card-grades table |
| Show Graduation Met Column on Graduation Requirement Report. | Select the check box to display the Graduation Met column on the Graduation Requirements Report. This column displays an indicator for whether the student has met the requirements of their graduation program. |
| Include Future Classes as Enrolled in Graduation Requirements Report |
Select the check box to include courses scheduled in a future marking period with the Enrolled courses on the Graduation Requirements Report. |
| Use FE Grad Subject for EC and PL | Select the check box to split Economics credits for courses 2102300 or 2102305 between graduation subjects Economics (EC) and Political Science (PL) on the Graduation Requirements Report. This preference is specifically tailored for Florida. |
| Use Personal Fitness Option on Graduation Requirements Report | When selected, the following logic will be used on the Graduation Requirements Report:
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| Select All Possible Personal Fitness Graduation Subjects | Select all the graduation subjects that are applicable for Personal Fitness. |
| Use Personal Fitness Waiver Option on Graduation Requirements Report (For JROTC Only) | When selected, the following logic will be used on the Graduation Requirements Report:
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| Show non-graded scheduled courses on the Graduation Requirements Report | When enabled, students scheduled into courses that have been flagged as N/A or Not Graded will display as Completed or Enrolled upon hovering over the check mark (and hourglass) on the Graduation Requirements Report. |
| Show Failed Courses on Grad Requirements Report | Select the check box to include failed courses in the “Completed” section of the pop-up that displays when hovering over the “Credits remaining to be taken” and “Currently enrolled credits” fields on the Graduation Requirements Report. |
| Use Individual Final Grades Field Permissions (only in Default School Preferences) | When enabled, users have the ability to limit what columns (fields) are viewable/editable on the Final Grades, GPA, & Class Rank screen depending on users’ profiles. |
| Enable checkbox on Grades Completion Report to show additional section data | Select the check box so the Teacher Completion report displays the "Courses/Section Numbers" check box and selects this check box by default whenever you navigate to the screen. Enabling this setting removes the “Click the red Xs to post grades for the teacher” tooltip at the top of the screen and displays all the applicable sections in the corresponding period column. |
| Add Letters and Sounds to Standards posting |
In the pull-down, select the courses where the Letters and Sounds Knowledge table should display when teachers and admin post standard grades. The table displays options for “Identifies letter,” “Knows letter sound,” and “Writes letter for sound given” for each letter of the alphabet. |
| Recalculate DT grades in API | Select the check box to recalculate DT grades (stored Gradebook grades) when grades are transferred via the API. |
| Allow Posting Comments and Conduct Without a Grade | Select the check box to allow teachers to save comments and conduct grades without posting a final grade on the Post Final Grades screen. For example, if a virtual teacher adds grades for some students and not others, but adds some comments, there will be grade records blank for those students without a grade posted. |
| Disable the ability for teachers to post grades that differ from gradebook | Select the check box to disable the ability for teachers to post grades in Post Final Grades that differ from the Gradebook. This also applies to administrators using the Post Final Grades teacher program. |
| Display the checkbox to include inactive students | Select the check box to allow teachers to post final grades for inactive students. If teachers select the “Include Inactive Students” check box, inactive students will be pulled for the entire school year. Note: This preference defaults to enabled. |
| Round Assignment Grades to X Decimal Places | Enter a number between 0 to 9 to determine how many decimal places to which assignments will be rounded in the Gradebook. The default is 2 decimal places. |
| Send Posted Grade Updates to | Select Custodial Contacts or Linked Users from the pull-down to determine the email address used when the grade report is emailed once created via Students > Print Letters & Send Email. Note: This only applies when Course History Record is selected from the Attach to Tab pull-down for applicable letters. |
| Email Letter for new posted grades | If a letter from the Print Letters & Send Email screen is attached to the Course History Record tab, the letter can be selected here from the pull-down to be emailed to the corresponding student as well as the students’ custodial contacts when new grades are posted from the Post Final Grades screen. Note: This setting applies to post-secondary schools only. |
| Add Letter to Queue for new posted grades | If a letter from the Print Letters & Send Email screen is attached to the Course History Record tab, the letter can be selected here from the pull-down to be generated and added to the Letter Queue when new grades are posted from the Post Final Grades screen. Note: This setting applies to post-secondary schools only. |
| Allow teachers to override grading scale score breakoffs | Select the check box to allow teachers to create their own score breakoff points in Gradebook Configuration. |
| Custom name for “Assignment” | If the district wants to replace the word “Assignment” in the Gradebook with another term, enter the custom name here. |
| Custom Name for "Points" Entry | Enter the word that should replace “Points” in the Gradebook. The default name is “Points;” once changed, the entered text replaces all instances of "Points" in the the Gradebook. |
| Custom Name for "Letter Grade" Entry | Enter the word that should replace “Letter Grade” in the Gradebook. The default name is “Letter Grade;” once changed, the entered text replaces all instances of “Letter Grade" in the the Gradebook. |
| Grades are Entered By | Clear the (SELECT) check box in order to view additional options in the pull-down. To determine what teachers are allowed to select from the “Enter Grade By” pull-down in the Gradebook, select from the following options in the setting pull-down: Allow teachers to select, Points, Percentage, or Letter Grades. |
| Show Student blocks on Parent/Student Portal | The check box is selected by default, if disabled (the check box cleared), student blocks do not display on the Parent/Student Portal. |
| Show Gradebook Assignments & Grades in Parent/Student Portal | Select the check box to allow parents and students to view the Gradebook assignments and grades in the Parent/Student Portal for all school grade levels available at the school. Clear the selected check box to select specific grade levels from the pull-down. Note: If the permission to Grades via Users > Profiles is enabled, parents and students cannot view calculated grades, but can still view final grades without the links to Grades (Assignments). If Grades permissions are not enabled via Users > Profiles, but the system preference is enabled, both grades display but links are removed from all grades. If both the permissions and the system preference is enabled, all grades are viewable and contain links to the Grades (Assignments) screen. If not enabled, students and parents will not have access to the Planner tab, which normally displays assignments, and assignments will not display on the News tab. For districts using the mobile app, this preference also dictates whether Gradebook assignments and grades are viewable by parents and students in the app. |
| Show Non-Graded Courses on Parent/Student Portal | Select the check box to display non-graded courses in the Parent/Student Portal. |
| Show DT grades instead of calculated grades on Parent/Student Portal | Select the check box to display DT grades in place of gradebook grades on the Parent/Student Portal. Stored (DT) Gradebook Grades will use the running average stored in the student_report_card_grades table. This option is much faster but the DT scheduled job maybe needed to ensure accurate gradebook grades display. Grades imported or brought in through the API may not trigger the DT grade to update on its own. |
| Teachers set possible points for each assignment | Select the check box to allow teachers to set the number of possible points when creating an assignment in the Gradebook. When this preference is not enabled, all assignments are worth 100 points. |
| Minimum Percentage for Gradebook Grades | Enter a gradebook grade percentage minimum, such as 50 percent, which will limit the percentages factored into students grades. If enabled, teachers can enter grades below the minimum percentage which will be visible to all users; however, the minimum percentage set by the district, in this case 50%, will be applied to students' overall grade average. Note: If a grade is dropped due to the drop lowest setting on a category, that grade is not eligible to be raised (dropping happens first). Raised grades show with an arrow up in the gradebook grid, so teachers know they will count extra. |
| Minimum Percentage for Proficiency Gradebook Grades | Enter a proficiency gradebook grade percentage minimum, such as 25 percent, which will limit the percentages factored into students grades. If enabled, teachers can enter grades below the minimum percentage which will be visible to all users; however, the minimum percentage set by the district, in this case 25%, will be applied to students' overall grade average. |
| Prevent Saving Gradebook Grades Below Minimum (zeroes still permitted) | This setting works in conjunction with the Minimum Percentage for Gradebook Grades preference. Select the check box to define a minimum entry for teachers per Gradebook assignment, per school. Note: This setting does not eliminate a teacher from entering a 0 or NA. |
| Use Proficiency Gradebook | Select the applicable option from the pull-down to enable the proficiency gradebook in place of the assignments gradebook. Assignments are broken down by assigned standards/competencies. Select For all sections to apply the proficiency gradebook to all sections in the selected school (when set in School Preferences) or all sections in the district (when set in Default School Preferences). Select If Enabled on Grading Scale to add a proficiency option to grading scales, which allows admin users to enable the proficiency gradebook by scale. |
| Maximum points per standard (Proficiency Gradebooks) | Enter the maximum number of points that can be awarded for each standard/proficiency grade in the Proficiency Gradebook. |
| Allow Teachers to Combine Gradebook | Select the check box to allow teachers to combine the Gradebook by period or by custom groups in My Information > My Preferences. |
| Allow Admins to Combine Gradebooks when Combine Gradebooks is not enabled for Teachers | Select the check box to allow administrators to combine the Gradebook for a teacher in Users > Preferences (in the Teacher Programs section of the menu) when teachers are not allowed to combine the Gradebook. |
| Enable Gradebook Student Notes | Select the check box to allow teachers to enter public or private student notes using the clipboard icon next to the student name in the Gradebook. |
| Ignore Rotation days when combining by period | Select the check box to combine all sections in a period regardless of rotation day when teachers combine the Gradebook by period. When this preference is disabled, sections with different rotation days are not combined when teachers combine the Gradebook by period. |
| Send Categories as Google Classroom topics when syncing grades. | Select the check box to synchronize Focus assignment categories to topics in Google Classroom. |
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Calculate By | Select an option (Minutes, Percent of Periods Present, or ADA Period) to determine how a student’s daily attendance code is calculated. When Minutes is selected, a student accumulates the number of minutes defined in Setup > Periods for each period of the day he or she receives a present code (this includes presumed presence when attendance is not entered). This number of minutes is compared to the system preference “Minimum minutes attended to count as a full-day present” to determine if the student has met the minimum, and the student receives a present daily code or daily absent code. When Percent of Periods Present is selected, enter the percentage of periods the student must be marked present to have a daily code of present in the provided field. For example, if a student is scheduled for 8 periods and the student needs to be marked present for 4 of the periods to have a daily present code, enter 50%. When ADA Period is selected, the “Attendance Period for FTE” preference is displayed. Select the period used for taking attendance for FTE reporting. |
| Minimum minutes attended to count as full-day present | When calculating attendance by minutes, enter the minimum number of minutes attended to count as a full-day present. |
| Minimum minutes attended to count as half-day present | When calculating attendance by minutes, enter the minimum number of minutes attended to count as a half-day present. If half-day attendance is not used, then this value should be set to a higher number than the full-day present minutes. |
| Attendance Period for FTE | Select the period used for taking attendance for FTE reporting, or select "Varies by Day" if the attendance period changes depending on the day. When “Varies by Day” is selected the ADA period can be selected on the attendance calendar for each school day. Note: For non-Texas districts, this preference only displays when the “Calculate By” preference is set to “ADA Period.” |
| Default Attendance if no attendance is entered | Select an option to determine whether a student defaults to Present or Absent if no attendance is entered. Setting this to Absent could cause potential issues for elementary schools where students’ daily attendance is often based on one period. If attendance is not entered and the student is assumed absent, this may result in inaccurate attendance calls and emails to parents. |
| Teacher Comments on Take Attendance | Select the check box to allow teachers to enter comments in the Comment field when taking period attendance on the Take Attendance screen. Teacher comments are stored in period attendance and will not be visible for parents and students. Teacher comments will not override office comments. |
| Allow teachers to view the previous days’ attendance | Select an option to determine the number of previous days teachers can view on the Take Attendance and Attendance Chart screens. Options range from 0 days to the start of the school year. |
| Allow teachers to modify previous days’ attendance | Select an option to determine the number of previous days teacher can modify on the Take Attendance and Attendance Chart screens. Options range from 0 days to the start of the school year. If office staff/an administrator has adjusted the attendance, it will be locked for teachers and cannot be modified. |
| Minutes before period attendance is considered late | In this provided text box you can define the number of minutes past the start time of the period after which attendance taken by the teacher is considered late. When a number of minutes is defined, the option to display teachers who took attendance late on the Teacher Completion report includes the number of minutes: Show teachers who took attendance more than X minutes late. When hovering the mouse over the late icon on the Teacher Completion report, a tool-tip displays with the date and time attendance was taken for the period and when the period started. |
| Minutes before period attendance is considered early | In this provided text box you can define the number of minutes before the start time of the period at which point attendance taken by the teacher is considered early. When a number of minutes is defined, the option to display teachers who took attendance early on the Teacher Completion report includes the number of minutes: Show teachers who took attendance more than X minutes early. When hovering the mouse over the early clock icon, the tool-tip displays with the date and time attendance was taken for the period and when the period started. |
| Allow teachers to modify attendance after pressing “Save" | Select the check box to allow teachers to modify the period’s attendance in Take Attendance after clicking Save. |
| Track Time In/Time Out on Daily Attendance | Select the check box to add a Time In and Time Out column on the Administration and Absence Summary screens to enter the student’s time in and time out for daily attendance. |
| Track Daily Tardies | Select the check box to give a student a daily attendance code of UT (unexcused tardy) or ET (excused tardy) if the student misses first period but is present at any other point of the day. It will also assign a daily tardy for students who have an attendance code specified as tardy during their first period class. After the check box is selected and you click Save, the preference "First period in the day for calculating daily tardy” is displayed to select the period to use as the first period of the day. |
| First period in the day for calculating daily tardy | When the Track Daily Tardies preference is enabled, select the period to use as the first period of the day. |
| Combine attendance by period regardless of rotation day configuration | Select the check box to ensure the teacher's Take Attendance screen displays all students regardless of rotation day when combined periods are used for attendance. |
| Teachers enter hours present (recommended for some adult/vocational schools) | Select the check box to have teachers enter hours present when taking attendance. When this preference is enabled, the Class Daily Hours can be set on the section in Courses & Sections, and can be modified for individual students on the student schedule if he or she will be attending for more or less hours. Teachers enter the number of hours when Present is selected on the Take Attendance screen. When this setting is enabled, the "Mark All Present" button is removed for teachers on the Attendance Chart. |
| Period or hourly attendance | Select the check box to allow post secondary schools to enable sections with both period attendance and hourly attendance at the same site. |
| Teachers are allowed to enter more hours than scheduled | Select the check box to allow teachers to enter more hours than scheduled when taking attendance. |
| Students can have attendance for more than one section in a period (not recommended) | Select the check box to allow students to have attendance entered for more than one section in a period. Combined Sections: If a teacher combines their sections, they will not be able to assign two different attendance codes for each period when they have students in both classes. The system ensures that students in combined sections receive the same attendance code in both periods. Separate Sections: If a teacher does not combine sections and takes attendance separately for each class taught in the same period, both classes will have the same attendance code in each period if the teacher has students in both classes. This maintains consistency in attendance tracking across the multiple classes a teacher is handling during the same period. |
| Default Present Code for Scanner App | If attendance scanners are used to take attendance for post-secondary schools, select the default present code to use. This can only be set in School Preferences, not Default School Preferences. |
| Default Absent Code for Scanner App | If attendance scanners are used to take attendance for post-secondary schools, select the default absent code to use. This can only be set in School Preferences, not Default School Preferences. |
| Enable smarter Attendance Completion portal alerts | Select the check box so that Attendance Completion Portal alerts are broken down by school period and are only displayed when the period has ended. This requires that periods used for attendance have a Start Time, End Time, and Length defined in Setup > Periods. If this preference is enabled and the bell schedule is not set up for the periods, the Portal alert will not display. |
| Prevent teachers from taking attendance before the period starts (please verify bell schedules & early release schedules) | Select the check box to prevent teachers from taking attendance before the period/sections starts via Take Attendance or Seating Charts. |
| Display a "Check In" block on the Student Portal that allows students to mark themselves Present for the day's sections | Select the check box to display the Check In block on the Student Portal, which would allow students to sign in and mark themselves as Present for all scheduled courses throughout the day. If using hourly attendance, the student is awarded the “Class Daily Hours” possible set via Scheduling > Courses & Sections > Vocational/WDIS tab; however, if an Hours Override is set for a Section, the student will be awarded the “Override Hours” via Attendance > Attendance Setup > Hours Override tab. |
| Student "Check In" Period-by-Period | Select the check box to allow “Student ‘Check In’ Period-by-Period” via the Check In portal block, which marks the student Present for the currently active class only. When the preference is not enabled (current functionality) it marks the student present for all classes that meet today. |
| Attendance Code for Student "Check In" Block | Select the Attendance Code that is used when a student checks in via the Check In portal block. The “Display a “Check In” block on the Student Portal that allows students to mark themselves Present for the day’s sections” must first be enabled. Note: The attendance code defaults to P (Present) if this setting isn’t enabled when a student uses the Check In block. |
| Attendance Mobile Message | Enter the applicable message to be texted to parents/guardians in the provided text box when the selected Attendance Mobile Alert is met. |
| Attendance Mobile Alert | Select one or multiple attendance codes from the pull-down to determine what codes will generate a text message to parents/guardians of the applicable students. Text messages will be generating via the Attendance SMS scheduled job. |
| Enable checkbox on Attendance Completion Report to show additional section data | Select the check box so the Teacher Completion report displays the "Courses/Section Numbers" check box and selects this check box by default whenever you navigate to the screen. Enabling this setting removes the “Click the red Xs to take attendance for the teacher” tooltip at the top of the screen and displays all the applicable sections in the corresponding period column. |
| Hide attendance on Parent/Student Portal | Select the check box to hide the attendance columns on Student Portal Blocks and the Grades Summary screen on the Student and Parent Portals. |
| Show minutes missed in Student Absence Summary | Select the check box to calculate and display “Minutes missed from late check-in/early release" on the Absence Summary when using the late check-in/early release functionality. |
| Show confirmation dialog in Take Attendance when all students are marked Present | Select the check box to display a confirmation message “Please confirm that all students are present and in attendance” on the Take Attendance screen when a teacher attempts to save attendance and all students are marked present. |
| Student Kiosk ID | Select the desired student identifier when scanning students with the kiosk or handheld device.
Note: If “Both” is selected and the student does not have a pin, the student will not be able to use the kiosk as it will sit at the pin prompt and it cannot be bypassed. |
| Student Kiosk Pin Field | If the Student Kiosk ID system preference has been set to “PIN” or “Both,” select the student field that will be used in place of the student ID or as a secondary entry when scanning in the student. |
| Admin Logout Kiosk Pin | A kiosk pin can be set and used instead of entering a username and password when logging out of the kiosk. |
| Check-in Default Attendance Code | Select the default attendance code to be recorded in period attendance when the student is scanned or keyed in through the kiosk when “Check In” is selected. |
| Check-in Attendance Code Exemptions | When attendance codes are selected in this preference, students who have these attendance codes already populated in period attendance will not have their period attendance updated when checking in. Even though the attendance is not updated, there is a record stored in the database in the kiosk_entries table. |
| Check-in Between Periods | When the preference is selected, student check ins are recorded in the kiosk_entries table but the next period attendance is not updated. |
| Check-in Minutes Threshold | Enter a number of minutes. Period attendance is not updated when students check in within X number of minutes before the end of the period. Period attendance will not be updated, but the record will be stored in kiosk_entries. If it is outside of the defined window, period attendance is updated. |
| Check-out Default Attendance Code | Select the default attendance code to be recorded in period attendance when the student is scanned or keyed in through the kiosk when “Check Out” is selected. |
| Check-out Attendance Code Exemptions | When attendance codes are selected in this preference, students who have these attendance codes already populated in period attendance will not have their period attendance updated when checking out. Even though the attendance is not updated, there is a record stored in the database in the kiosk_entries table. |
| Check-out Between Periods | When the preference is selected, student check outs are recorded in the kiosk_entries table but the next period attendance is not updated. |
| Check-out Minutes Threshold | Enter a number of minutes. Period attendance is not updated when students check out within X number of minutes before the end of the period. Period attendance will not be updated, but the record will be stored in kiosk_entries. If it is outside of the defined window, period attendance is updated. |
| Attendance Kiosk Print Slip upon Check-Out | Select the check box to print a slip when a student checks out in the attendance kiosk mode. When this preference is disabled, a slip will not print when checking out. |
| Attendance Kiosk Print Slip upon Check-In | Select the check box to print a slip when a student checks in in the attendance kiosk mode. When this preference is disabled, a slip will not print when checking in. |
| Enable Attendance Kiosk Print Slip upon Check-In for Log Fields | Select the check box to display the option "Print Attendance Slip on Check-In” on the Edit Field window for logging fields that have a kiosk attendance code set in Students > Student Fields. When the “Print Attendance Slip on Check-In” option is enabled for the logging field, a slip will print when students check in on the kiosk using the logging field. |
| Send E-mail and Text Message to parents when printing Tardy Slips | Select the check box to send an email to custodial contacts who have an email address set up (custom_100000001) when the student is marked tardy. If the custodial contact does not have an email address set up, or there's an absence of a custodial contact altogether, the email will then be forwarded to the email address of the linked user. Custodial users who have signed into the mobile app will receive a notification when the student is marked tardy. If the student has a custodial contact with a cell phone number with SMS set up and the contact has not logged into the mobile app, the contact will receive a text message when the student is marked tardy. |
| Automatically confirm check in/out for the student | Select the check box to complete the confirmation step automatically after a student scans their badge to check in or check out so that the student does not have to tap Confirm. The student sees the message “Student Automatically confirmed! Redirecting…” after checking in or out. |
| Attendance Kiosk allow multiple check ins and out for a period |
Select the check box to allow students to check in and check out multiple times during the same period. This preference is particularly useful for elementary school setups. |
| Kiosk Barcode Format | Select “STANDARD” or “QR.” This determines whether a standard barcode or a QR code is printed on the tardy slip from the kiosks or handheld devices. |
| Disable Excuse Notes for All Users | Select the check box to hide the Excuse Note column for applicable attendance screens prohibiting users from viewing and uploading excuse notes. |
| Disable Excuse Notes for Parents | Select the check box to hide the Excuse Note column for applicable attendance screens prohibiting parents from viewing and uploading excuse notes. |
| Check-in Minutes from Start Time Threshold | Enter a number of minutes. Students who check in X minutes or later after the start time of the class will receive the period attendance code selected in the following preference, “Check-in After Threshold Attendance Code.” |
| Check-in After Threshold Attendance Code | Select the period attendance code that students will receive when checking in at X minutes or later after the start time of the class. |
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Prevent all enrollments from being deleted | Select the check box to prevent users from deleting the only remaining enrollment record for a student. When a user attempts to delete an enrollment record for a student who only has one, the validation error “Single Enrollment” will display in the Errors list. The tool-tip for the error displays the message "If a student has only 1 enrollment record, it cannot be deleted." |
| Add a Student - Allow Manual Student IDs | Select the check box to allow users to enter a student ID when adding a student from the Add a Student screen. If the check box is not selected, Focus will generate a student ID, which will display in the student’s record after the new student is saved. It is recommended to allow Focus to generate student IDs. |
| Automatically update Local Student ID when the Student ID changes | Select the check box to automatically update the local student ID when the student ID changes. |
| Show option to Go to or Enroll another Student | Select the check box to display a pop-up window with the options to go to the current student’s record or enroll another student after the user adds a student from the Add a Student screen. If the check box is not selected, the pop-up will not display and the current student’s record will automatically open after adding the student. |
| Show username/password fields on Add a User | Select the check box to display the Username and Password fields on the Add a User screen. |
| Show username/password fields on Add a Student | Select the check box to display the Username and Password fields on the Add a Student screen. |
| Show Preferred Name fields on Add a Student | Select the check box to show the Preferred First Name and Preferred Last Name student fields in the search fields on the Add a Student screen, as well as in the Primary Info category in Student Info (when the user has the profile permission to view these student fields). |
| Show Second School on Add a Student | Select the check box to ensure the Second School check box displays on the Enrollment tab of Student Info which would allow users to enroll students in a second school in addition to a primary school. |
| Verify Demographic Information when transferring a student in Add a Student | When this preference is enabled and the user is transferring or dual-enrolling an existing student, the user will have the ability to view and edit the student’s address, contacts, and any other required fields marked “New Student” in Student Fields for verification before enrolling the student. |
| Show all enrollment fields on Add a Student (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to display the following enrollment fields on the Add a Student screen: Drop Date, Drop Code, Rolling/Retention Options, Next Grade, Include in Class Rank, Grad Requirement Program, Team, Progression Plan, along with the Florida fields Educational Choice, Student Offender, Came From, Moved To, Grade Promotion Status, Good Cause Exemption, Zoned District, Zoned School, WDIS, and Free/Reduced Meals. This preference is selected by default. |
| When adding a student, order search results by | Select a sorting option (Name, Birthdate, or Student ID) for search results when searching for students on the Add a Student screen. |
| Hide fields from Add a Student users that don’t have edit permission | Select this option to hide address fields on the Add a Student screen to ensure users do not have access to fields for which they do not have permission. |
| Default Enrollment Code | Select the default enrollment code to populate when adding a new student. |
| Default Drop Code for Applicant School | Select the default drop code when dropping a student from the Applicants School on the Add a Student screen. |
| Default City | Select the default city to populate the address fields when adding a new student. |
| Default State/Province | Select the default state/province to populate the address fields when adding a new student. |
| Default Zip/Postal Code | Select the default zip/postal code to populate the address fields when adding a new student. |
| Default Area Code | Select the default area code to populate the address fields when adding a new student. |
| Use the Address Catalog for address validation | Select the check box to use the Address Catalog to validate that the student’s address is within the district and within the zoned area for the schoool. The Address Catalog must be loaded onto the site to use this function. |
| Allow Address Change if Address is in Address Catalog | Select the check box to allow users, such as parents filling out a re-enrollment form, to enter an address that is not zoned for the student’s currently enrolled school but exists in the Address Catalog, provided that the system preference “Use the Address Catalog for address validation” is also enabled. |
| Require Address when adding a new student | Select the check box to make the address fields required when adding a new student. |
| Contact Required - Requires contact when adding a student | Select the check box to make a contact required upon adding a new student via Add a Student. |
| Require contact details when adding a student | Select the check box to require contact details to be added with a new contact when a new student is added. When activated, this preference ensures that essential contact details are provided when users add students. Specifically, if a student's contact lacks Contact Detail entries, an error message will appear. For visibility, this system preference will only surface if ‘Require contact when adding a student’ is also active and will default to the 'off' position upon installation. This enhancement empowers districts to ensure that school-based data entry operators capture crucial contact information during key enrollment phases. |
| Hide Address Form When Adding A New Student | Select the check box to hide the address fields when adding a new student on the Add a Student screen. Note: This preference supersedes the preference “Require Address when adding a new student.” If both preferences are enabled, the address fields are hidden and are not required on Add a Student. |
| Use Bus Addresses | Select the check box to allow addresses to be marked as Bus Pickup and Bus Dropoff in Address & Contacts in the student’s record. Any address in the student’s record can be marked as Bus Pickup or Bus Dropoff; it does not have to be the student’s primary address. |
| Use Mailing Addresses | Select the check box to allow a mailing address to be entered if it is different than the physical address in Address & Contacts in the student’s record. |
| Hide Phone Number on Address | Select the check box to hide the Phone Number field when adding or editing an address in Address & Contacts in the student’s record. |
| Use Parents/Guardians/Emergency Contacts | Select the check box to allow contact information to be set up in Address & Contacts in the student’s record when enrolling a student. |
| Enable "Other" Contact Type - Allow 'Other' Contact Type in the Contact Details area on the New/Edit Contact Screen | This preference is enabled by default. When enabled, the “Other” option can be selected as the relationship for the contact and can be selected as the Contact Type in the Phone & Contact Details when adding or editing a contact in Addresses & Contacts in the student’s record. Users will also be able to select “Other” for a contact when completing an online application or enrollment form that was created in the Application Editor. Deselect the check box to remove the ability to select “Other.” |
| Rollover Second School Enrollment Records | Select the check box allow student enrollment records marked as “Second School” to be rolled when rolling students. |
| Allow Users to Back Date W/D Dates | Select an option to restrict how far back non-super users can back date a withdrawal date. Selecting “Any” will allow users to set any date in the past. Selecting “Start of Quarter,” “Start of Semester,” and “Start of School Year” will allow users to set a date in the past between now and the start date of that marking period. Selecting an “X Days” option allows users to set a date in the past between now and the selected number of days. |
| Allow Users to Future Date W/D Dates | Select an option to restrict how far forward non-super users can future date a withdrawal date. Selecting “Any” will allow users to set any date in the future. Selecting “End of Quarter,” “End of Semester,” and “End of School Year” will allow users to set a date in the future between now and the end date of that marking period. Selecting an “X Days” option allows users to set a date in the future between now and the selected number of days. |
| Allow Users to Back Date Enrollment Dates | Select an option to restrict how far back non-super users can back date an enrollment date. Selecting “Any” will allow users to set any date in the past. Selecting “Start of Quarter,” “Start of Semester,” and “Start of School Year” will allow users to set a date in the past between now and the start date of that marking period. Selecting an “X Days” option allows users to set a date in the past between now and the selected number of days. |
| Allow Users to Future Date Enrollment Dates | Select an option to restrict how far forward non-super users can future date an enrollment date. Selecting “Any” will allow users to set any date in the future. Selecting “End of Quarter,” “End of Semester,” and “End of School Year” will allow users to set a date in the future between now and the end date of that marking period. Selecting an “X Days” option allows users to set a date in the future between now and the selected number of days. |
| Prevent W/D Dates Prior to Date Certain (Florida only) | Select the check box to prevent users from selecting a drop date prior to the survey effective date on a student’s enrollment record. |
| Ignore Re-Enrollment Restrictions | Select the check box to ignore active re-enrollment restrictions set for a student when the student is enrolled at the school. Additionally, re-enrollment restrictions and victor/aggressor enrollment restrictions will be ignored when considering the programs students can apply to on the magnet, school choice, or special placement applications. |
| Text to replace “Custody” with | To replace the word “Custody” with another term in Address & Contacts in the student’s record, enter the text. |
| Override Reason Field | To customize which Enrollment field is used to select an override reason when adding students, select a field from the pull-down. For Florida districts, if no option is selected, the Educational Choice field will be used by default. |
| Require users to dismiss warnings when editing student information | Select the check box to require users to click the X on warning messages when there are validation errors in a student’s data before being allowed to continue or save the student’s information in Add a Student. When the check box is not selected, users can continue or save the student’s information in Add a Student without clicking the X on warning messages. |
| Ignore school choice restrictions on Enrollment | This preference is for districts using the School Choice module. This preference is disabled by default. When this preference is enabled, the system will no longer present the "School” validation error on the student’s enrollment record, meaning a user will be able to adjust a student's enrollment regardless of their choice assignment for that school year. The error “This student has a Special Assignment/Magnet Choice at another school” will not display. Additionally, re-enrollment restrictions and victor/aggressor enrollment restrictions will be ignored when considering the programs students can apply to on the magnet, school choice, or special placement applications. |
| Only allow the Primary Parent to complete Reenrollment Forms (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to only allow the primary parent (the parent linked to the student via a contact record, where the contact has custody and the highest priority [lowest priority number]) will be able to complete reenrollment forms. If this preference is not enabled, any parent linked to the student can complete the reenrollment form. |
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Use Course Catalog | Select the check box to enable the Course Catalog. The Course Catalog is district-wide, and is usually imported into Focus during implementation. Course or section information that is set up in the Course Catalog will populate in Courses & Sections and cannot be edited by the school. |
| Grade Averaging Course Num Length (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the course number length used for use in grade posting. Note: Via Grades > Report Cards, this setting overrides the Grade Row Grouping selection, “Course Number” indicating that the full course number be displayed. |
| Course Catalog Course Num Length (only in Default School Preferences) | Enter the course number length used by the Graduation Requirements Report to populate graduation subjects when courses have course numbers greater than 7 digits that use different graduation subjects (grad subject 1,2,3). |
| Max Course Num Length | Enter the maximum number of characters course numbers can have in the Course Catalog or Courses & Sections. The course number length is looked at when Focus decides how to combine grades for report cards. The course number length is also looked at for other purposes, such as the Graduation Requirements Report. |
| Max Section Num Length |
Enter the maximum number of characters section numbers can have in Courses & Sections and the Master Schedule Report. By default, this preference is set to 25. |
| Limit Section Numbers to Alphanumeric |
Select the check box to limit section numbers to alphanumeric characters (A - Z, a - z, 0 - 9). |
| Allow extra characters on the course number | Select the check box to allow extra characters to be added to course numbers. The number of extra characters is capped at the max course number length defined above. |
| Course History Grades Default Term | Select a marking period that will default into the Course History Term field on the section in Courses & Sections if the Course Catalog is not enabled or the Course History Term field is null in the Course Catalog. The Course History Term can be edited on the section, if needed. |
| Do Not Allow Users to Delete Schedule Records with Attendance and Grades | Select the check box to prevent users from being able to delete a schedule record when there are any positive attendance, Gradebook grades, or posted grades between the schedule start date and end date. If the start date is moved up to today and attendance is entered, the delete check box will not appear on the schedule record. If this preference is enabled, users are also prevented from deleting schedule records by setting the end date prior to the start date. |
| Lock Enrollment Date When Positive Attendance or Grades Exist | Select the check box to prevent the start date on a schedule record from being edited when a student has any positive attendance, Gradebook grades, or posted grades. |
| Default Schedule End Date using Section End Date | Select the check box to enable this setting for post-secondary schools. If enabled, when a student is scheduled into a course, the Dropped date on the schedule record is automatically populated with the section end date, which is the WDIS Class End Date in Florida and the End Date in LA. If the end date field is not populated, then the end date for the section is populated from the end date on the marking period set on the section. If there was an end date set on the section, and then the end date is changed, that change will be pushed down to the student schedules. |
| Auto-Populate Course Dates using Marking Period | Select the check box to enable this setting for post-secondary schools. When this preference is enabled, the class start and end dates are populated in the WDIS or Details tab based on the start and end dates of the marking period set on the section. Whether the preference is enabled or disabled, class start and end dates that fall out of the marking period date range cannot be saved. The start and end dates for substitute teachers or co-teachers cannot fall outside of the class start and end dates. |
| Validate Student Schedule Dates Against Section Start/End Dates (only in Default School Preferences) | When this preference is enabled (the check box is selected), users can add a course to a student’s schedule, but are unable to enter an Enrolled date that is outside of the marking period beginning and ending dates set up via Setup > Marking Periods and selected from the Marking Periods pull-down via Scheduling > Courses & Sections or the Term pull-down of the Student Schedule. When disabled, users can add a course to a student’s schedule and enter an Enrolled date that is outside of the marking period beginning and ending dates; users will also have permission to delete the course. |
| Set the Course History Term Equal to the Section Marking Period (only in Default School Preferences) | When this preference is enabled, the Course History Term field is removed from Courses & Sections, Master Schedule Report, and Course Catalog. The marking period set on the section in Courses & Sections or the Master Schedule Report determines the course history term. |
| Enable Ending Period | Select this check box to allow sections to span multiple periods. On the section in Courses & Sections, Beg and End fields will display instead of the Period field, where the user can select the period the section begins and the period the section ends. Please note, when a section spans more than one period, attendance is only entered for the beginning period. The student will earn the total number of minutes present for both periods. When this preference is disabled and scheduling data exists for the applicable school(s), a pop-up message will display, warning the user that existing sections will have their ending period removed. The user must click Confirm to proceed. |
| Display Course Start and End times on Schedule instead of Period | For post-secondary schools, select this check box to display course start and end times on the student schedule instead of periods. This can be useful if multiple class times occur during a certain period. This preference is usually enabled along with the attendance system preference “Students can have attendance for more than one section in a period." |
| Check Level on Basic Skills Assessment | Select the check box to allow Focus to check for Basic Skills status or exemption. This enables Focus to run the Basic Skills Assessment scheduled job. |
| Advanced Rotation | If the school uses a rotation schedule, select a rotation option. Options include a weekday rotation and a range from 2 day to 14 day rotation. When using a rotation schedule, the rotation days must be set up on the calendar and set on the section in Courses & Sections. |
| Rotation Day Label | If the school uses a rotation schedule, select whether to label the rotation days using letters or numbers. |
| Use Both Rotation Days & Meeting Days (not recommended) | This preference only displays if the Advanced Rotation preference is set to a number. Select the check box if the school uses rotation days and alters the meeting days on sections (for example, a section only meets when day 1 falls on a Friday). Attendance will be calculated based on the sections that actually meet that day according to the rotation day and meeting day. |
| Sections can have different periods on different days in the rotation | Select the check box to allow sections to meet different periods on different days in the rotation, for example a section could meet period 1 on A day and period 5 on B day. When this preference is enabled, a period pull-down displays for each rotation day on the section in Courses & Sections to set the periods. This preference is primarily used by Texas districts. |
| Do not allow scheduling without an active enrollment | Select the check box to prevent scheduling a student who does not have an active enrollment record. The error message "An enrollment must be added for this school in order to schedule the student” will display and the user will not be able to schedule the student. When this preference is not enabled, the user will receive a warning message but can still proceed with scheduling the student. |
| Sections can have multiple non-consecutive periods | Select the check box to allow sections to meet on the same day in non-consecutive periods. For example, a section meets both period 1 and period 6 on the same day. This preference is primarily used by Texas districts. When this preference is enabled, the Period pull-down on the section in Courses & Sections becomes a select-multiple pull-down. When multiple periods are selected on a section, a child section is created and is hidden on Courses & Sections and on the student’s schedule unless “Show Children Sections” is selected. This preference cannot be used if the “Enable Ending Period” preference is also enabled. |
| Ignore course number when validating section number uniqueness (not recommended) | Select the check box to prevent a section from being added that has the same section number as any other section at that school, regardless of course number. |
| Allow students to enroll themselves in classes | Select the check box to allow students to enroll themselves in classes. When the preference is enabled, the option “Allow Students to Enroll themselves in this Course” is displayed on the course level in Courses & Sections. The Course Registration Begins and the Course Registration Ends dates must be set on the marking periods in Setup > Marking Periods. From the Student Portal, students will be able to register for courses. |
| Allow Students to Enter Course Requests Starting |
Enter the start date and time when students are allowed to enter course requests for the upcoming school year. This preference should be set in the new school year. The option “Allow Students to Request this Course” must be selected on courses in Courses & Sections that students are allowed to request. Students must also have profile permissions to the Class Requests screen. The courses students are allowed to request are also limited by the student’s assigned progression plan (if set up), the Grade Level(s) field set on sections, and any prerequisites set on the course. If “Locked for Students” is selected on the Student Requests screen, the student will not be able to edit their course requests. |
| Allow Students to Enter Course Requests Ending |
Enter the end date and time after which students are no longer allowed to enter course requests for the upcoming school year. This preference should be set in the new school year. |
| Allow Teachers to Enter Course Requests Starting |
Enter the start date and time when teachers are allowed to enter course requests for their students for the upcoming school year. This preference should be set in the new school year. The option “Allow Teachers to Request this Course” must be selected on courses in Courses & Sections that teachers are allowed to request. Teachers must also have profile permissions to the Next Year Schedule Requests screen. |
| Allow Teachers to Enter Course Requests Ending |
Enter the end date and time after which teachers are no longer allowed to enter course requests for their students for the upcoming school year. This preference should be set in the new school year. |
| Prevent students from requesting courses in core subjects already requested by an admin/teacher | Select the check box to prevent students from entering a course request if an administrator or teacher has already entered a request for that graduation subject (the graduation subject short name exists in the Graduation Subject Area, Graduation Subject Area 2, or Graduation Subject Area 3 fields in the Course Catalog for the course). This affects the following graduation subject short names: Math - MA A1 GE Social Studies - SS AH WH EC AG Science - SC EQ PH CH English - EN |
| Use new Alternate Student Course Requests (Permanent once enabled) |
Select the check box to enable the alternate course requests functionality on the Student Requests screen. This feature allows up to three alternates to be designated for each course request, including non-elective courses. The Alternate Course 1, Alternate Course 2, and Alternate Course 3 fields are also available for courses in Courses & Sections and the Master Schedule Report. This allows global alternates to be designated for the course. When attempting to schedule the student via the Scheduler or Auto-Schedule, the system will first consider the individual student’s alternate requests as set in Student Requests. If the student’s alternate requests cannot be fulfilled, the system will look to the alternate requests set on the course. Enabling this preference is permanent; this preference cannot be disabled once it is enabled. |
| Teachers approve course requests | Select the check box to allow teachers to approve their students’ course requests for next year for courses in the teacher’s subject area. When this preference is enabled, the option “Allow Teachers to Approve Requests” is displayed on the course level in Courses & Sections. Teachers will receive a Portal alert indicating that there are requests awaiting approval. |
| Allow teachers to override automatic course requests | Select the check box to allow teachers to change the course request added by Automatic Course Requests for a student on the Next-Year Schedule Requests screen. |
| Exclude Teachers Middle Names From Section Titles |
Select the check box to exclude teacher middle names from section titles used throughout Focus. After enabling and saving this preference, it is recommended to run the “Retitle Sections” scheduled job. |
| Hide Schedule Requests from Incoming Students | Select the check box to disable the Class Requests screen for students who will be newly enrolled at the school in the next school year. A message will display indicating the student does not have permissions to view class requests when the student tries to access Class Requests. |
| Hide Schedule Requests from Current Students | Select the check box to disable the Class Requests screen for students who are currently enrolled at the school this school year. A message will display indicating the student does not have permissions to view class requests when the student tries to access Class Requests. |
| Hide Schedule Requests from Incoming Parents | Select the check box to disable the Class Requests screen for parents of students who will be newly enrolled at the school in the next school year. A message will display indicating the parent does not have permissions to view class requests when the parent tries to access Class Requests. |
| Hide Schedule Requests from Current Parents | Select the check box to disable the Class Requests screen for parents of students who are currently enrolled at the school this school year. A message will display indicating the parent does not have permissions to view class requests when the parent tries to access Class Requests. |
| Hide schedules from students and parents |
Select the check box to hide the schedule list from Featured Programs and remove the Class Schedule/Registration option from the My Information/My Child menus on the Parent and Student Portal. This option is most often used during the scheduling process for the upcoming school year so that parents and students cannot see the student’s schedule until it is finalized. Because system preferences are year-specific, this option should be enabled in the upcoming school year, not the current school year. This feature also ensures schedules are hidden from the Grad Reqs screen. The Communication module also respects the hide schedules preferences. When this setting is enabled, the teacher pull-down is not populated for parents or students. |
| Hide schedules from teachers |
Select the check box to hide schedules from teachers in the Teacher Portal. The section pull-down is removed and a number of functions become unsusable. If a teacher access a function that requires the schedule, an error message will display. This is most often used during the scheduling process for the upcoming school year so that teachers cannot see their schedule until it is finalized. Because system preferences are year-specific, this option should be enabled in the upcoming school year, not the current school year. The Communication module also respects the hide schedules preferences. When this setting is enabled, the student pull-down for the teachers is blank. |
| Hide lunch from schedule |
Select the check box to hide the student’s lunch assignment from the Student Schedule and printed student schedules. Lunch assignments are set up in Scheduling > Lunches. |
| Require teachers to submit a grade before dropping students | Select the check box to require teachers to post a grade before dropping a student from their course in the Student Schedule. The message “You must post a grade before setting a drop date” will display in the Dropped column on the Student Schedule. When this preference is disabled, teachers can drop a student from their course in the Student Schedule without having to first post a grade. |
| Require documentation when overriding prerequisites | Select the check box to require documentation when adding courses to a student’s schedule when the prerequisites were not completed. When adding a course that has a prerequisite that was not completed, a pop-up window displays where the user must select a Reason and may upload a document. Only users with the profile permission “Allow User to Override Course Sequence” in Users > Profiles under Student Schedule can add a course that has a prerequisite that was not completed. |
| Overschedule electives if there is room on a schedule | Select the check box to allow the Scheduler to fill holes in a student’s schedule with electives, ignoring request priorities, regardless of whether or not core courses have been scheduled. |
| Enable the options for splitting sections in the scheduler | Select the check box to display the options “Override Period Links between Semesters,” “Override Period & Teacher Links between Semesters,” and “Override Team” in Scheduling > Run Scheduler. |
| End schedule records on last day of term when using term override | Select the check box to automatically enter a Dropped date of the last day of the marking period when using a term override on a student’s schedule. |
| Schedule the section with the most available seats for each course in Bulk Create Students. | Select the check box to enable the Enroll in Section pull-down on the Bulk Create Students screen. If the check box is not selected; i.e. the setting disbaled, the Enroll in Section pull-down displays on the screen. Note: This is a post-secondary setting that applies to post-secondary schools only. |
| Limit Seat Count By Max Seats in Room |
(For non-CTE schools) Select the check box to enforce room capacity limits when scheduling stacked sections. In Setup > Rooms, the “Max Seats in the Room” is used to set the maximum seat count for the room. When this preference is enabled, the total number of students across all sections in a stacked period cannot exceed the room's seat limit. For example, if two sections are scheduled simultaneously in a room with a 25-seat capacity, the system will cap the combined student count at 25, overriding the individual section seat counts to prevent overcrowding. Focus will not exceed the room capacity when running the Scheduler. Users will be unable to manually assign students to a section or use the “Auto-Schedule this Student” button to schedule students into a section if the room's maximum seat count is exceeded. However, if the "Override Seat Count" option is selected on the Run Scheduler screen, the system preference will be bypassed, allowing students to be scheduled into the room beyond the set maximum. |
| Use previous attendance to calculate Estimated Course Completion Date | (Post-secondary) This preference is enabled by default (check box is selected), and maintains the current functionality. When disabled (check box is cleared), the Estimated Course Completion Date is calculated without taking prior attendance into account. |
| Don’t allow over fill by room |
For post-secondary schools, select the check box to ensure Focus checks the room capacity on the first day of a student’s enrollment. If the room is at capacity, the student will not be able to purchase the course and administrative users will not be able to add the course to the student’s schedule.
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| Automatically update schedule class minutes for associated periods when Pull-out schedules are added, changed, or removed (Florida only) | Select the check box to automatically update the Class Minutes Weekly field on the non-pull-out section when a pull-out section is added to the student’s schedule for the same period. If the pull-out section’s Class Weekly Minutes is updated or the pull-out section is removed from the student’s schedule, then the associated section’s Class Minutes Weekly will also update accordingly. |
| CTE - Restrict Re-Entry for Cost Reporting Codes of 401-409 | Select the check box to allow students enrolled in AGE (Adult Ed) to drop and re-enroll in the same class one time during the semester. If the student drops again and tries to re-enroll, the system will not allow it. |
| Custom End Date to print on Receipts | If using the Point of Sale system, enter a custom end date to print on receipts, if needed. |
| Maximum Number of Next-Year Teacher Schedule Requests | Enter the maximum number of requests teachers can enter per student on the Next-Year Schedule Requests screen. |
| Max Number of Requests | Enter the maximum number of requests that can be entered for a student. Students entering their own requests will receive an error if they try to request more than the maximum. Administrators will receive a warning that can be overridden. |
| Max Number of Credits in Requests | Enter the maximum number of credits in requests that can be entered for a student. Students entering their own requests will receive an error if they try to request more than the maximum. Administrators will receive a warning that can be overridden. |
| Lock Schedule Builder as of date | Enter a date after which the Builder cannot be run. If no date is entered, the Builder cannot be run after the first day of the active school year. |
| Lock Dragging on Teacher Schedules Report as of date | Enter a date after which modifications to teacher’s schedules cannot be made by dragging sections on the Teacher Schedules Report. |
| Lock Schedule Loader as of date | Enter a date after which the Loader cannot be run. If no date is entered, the Loader cannot be run after the first day of the active school year. |
| Lock Making Changes on Elementary Scheduler as of date | Enter a date after which the Elementary Scheduler cannot be used for this school year. The Elementary Scheduler screen will not be editable. |
| Lock Master Schedule Report deletion as of date | The ability to delete sections from the Master Schedule Report for the upcoming school year will not be available once the school year begins according to the start date of the full year marking period in Setup > Marking Periods. If the school would like to lock this ability before the first day of school, enter a date after which sections cannot be deleted. Only users with the profile permission "Allow Deleting Sections" can delete sections from the Master Schedule Report. |
| Schedule School with | Select the school that will be scheduled with the school currently selected at the top of the screen. This is primarily intended for “school within a school” situations, such as an IB school that is part of the main high school, but is built as a separate school in Focus. The IB students can take classes at both schools. On the Student Requests screen, the school that has the preference enabled will see the school name along with the course name in the Course pull-downs, as well as in the Quick List. Courses from both schools can be added to the students enrolled in both schools. Auto-scheduling the student or using Run Scheduler will schedule for both schools. Only the school with the preference enabled sees courses from both schools on the Student Requests screen and can schedule the student into both the primary and secondary school. |
| Use Individual Schedule Field Permissions (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow users to view and edit certain scheduling fields based on permissions set in Users > Profiles. When the preference is enabled, the Schedule Fields option is available in the Permission Type pull-down on the Profiles screen. Each Florida Field and WDIS/Vocational field will have its own View and Edit permissions. Users will still need the View and Edit permissions for Student Schedules. Only Admin and Teacher profiles can have individual schedule field permissions set. If this preference is disabled, the original schedule permissions will remain and the Schedule Fields option will not display in the Permission Type pull-down on the Profiles screen. |
| Use Individual Course Field Permissions (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow users to view and edit certain course fields based on permissions set in Users > Profiles. When the preference is enabled, the Course Fields option is available in the Permission Type pull-down on the Profiles screen. Each course field will have its own View and Edit permissions. Users will still need the View and Edit permissions for the Courses & Sections screen. If this preference is disabled, the Course Fields option will not display in the Permission Type pull-down on the Profiles screen and only the screen-level permissions will be in effect. |
| Use Individual Section Field Permission (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the check box to allow users to view and edit certain section fields based on permissions set in Users > Profiles. When the preference is enabled, the Section Fields option is available in the Permission Type pull-down on the Profiles screen. Each section field will have its own View and Edit permissions. Users will still need the View and Edit permissions for the Courses & Sections screen. If this preference is disabled, the Section Fields option will not display in the Permission Type pull-down on the Profiles screen and only the screen-level permissions will be in effect. |
| Allow Editing of Section Hours/Duration and Times after Attendance has been Entered | Select the check box to allow the Post Secondary Start Time, Post Secondary End Time, and Class Daily Hours fields to be editable on the section when the section has attendance data. When this preference is disabled, these fields are not editable on the section when the section has attendance data. |
| Do not subtract minutes when using the Inclusion tab | When enabled, the number of minutes set in Inclusion Minutes Weekly on inclusion sections are not subtracted from the Class Minutes Weekly on the associated section. |
| Use Credit Hours | Select the check box to add a scheduling field called "Credit Hours" to the Course Catalog, Master Schedule Report, and Courses & Sections. When Credit Hours is enabled for a course/section, the hourly attendance preference will be ignored, and teachers will be prompted to enter period attendance. When enabled, two new columns are added to the student's Grades Screen/Course History, called "Credit Hours Attempted" and "Credit Hours Earned." When a grade is posted, the Credit Hours assigned at the course/section will populate with the posted grade. A passing grade is defined in the grading scale setup screen by the Gives Credit flag. |
| Convert teacher certification codes automatically | Select the check box to allow the previously used teacher certification codes to be converted to the new values from the DOE. |
| Automatically determine Highly Qualified status for class sections | Select the check box to have Focus compare the Certification Entries on a teacher’s record with the Course Code Directory Requirements set on the Course Catalog to determine the Cert/Licensure/Qual Status on the Florida tab of the section and lock the field so it cannot be changed. When scheduling an out-of-field teacher for a course, a warning message displays indicating the teacher is out of field and a confirmation message is displayed to confirm the selection. |
| Display converted certification codes in Course Catalog | Select the check box to populate the converted certification codes in the Course Catalog. |
| Warning text used when scheduling an Out-of-Field teacher for a section | For districts using the preference “Automatically determine Highly Qualified status for class sections,” enter the warning text that will display when assigning an out-of-field teacher to a section. Users will need to read the message and click “I agree." |
| Confirmation text used to confirm selection when an Out-of-Field teacher is assigned to a section | For districts using the preference “Automatically determine Highly Qualified status for class sections,” enter the confirmation text that will display after a user has assigned an out-of-field teacher to a section and has agreed to the warning text. |
| Enable checkboxes on Reauthorization Completion Report to show additional data | Select this preference to enable the "Course/Section Numbers" and the "Teacher name and employee number" check boxes on the Reauthorization Completion report. |
| Assign Functioning Levels CASAS (only in Default School Preferences) | For post-secondary schools, select the amount of time a CASAS test record is considered valid when running the Assign LCPs scheduled job. Options are 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. |
| Assign Functioning Levels TABE (only in Default School Preferences) | For post-secondary schools, select the amount of time a TABE test record is considered valid when running the Assign LCPs scheduled job. Options are 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. |
| Use TABE language or reading to set Basic Skills (only in Default School Preferences) | This setting allows districts to combine the Math requirement and use the preference to pick Reading or Language from the pull-down in order to satisfy the basic skills requirement. This preference is used in conjunction with Modify Programs where you set TABE minimum scores for Math, Reading, and Language. Running the Basic Skills scheduled job will check the new preference, student's schedule record, and TABE test scores to determine the value to be set on Basic Skills Exam (schedule.custom_31). |
| Use previous TABE test scores, regardless of date (only in Default School Preferences) | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to consider all TABE tests when running the Basic Skills Assessment scheduled job, regardless of date. When this preference is disabled, TABE tests from more than two years ago do not affect the student’s basic skills status. |
| Enable checkboxes on Reauthorization Completion Report to show additional data. | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to display the “Courses/Section Numbers” and "Teacher name and employee number” options on the Reauthorization Completion Report. |
| Reauthorization Drop-Date | For post-secondary schools, select the drop date that will be set on the new schedule when students are reauthorized. |
| Reauthorization - Do not add a drop date to continuing sections | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to not add a drop date to the schedule record for continuing sections. |
| Reauthorization - Allow length to be mass updated | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to allow users to mass update the length field during reauthorization. |
| Reauthorization - Create schedules without invoices | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to allow administrative users and teachers to reauthorize students and create schedules without creating invoices for select students. |
| Reauthorization - Ability to post grades within reauthorization | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to allow teachers to post grades for students via the Student Reauthorization screen. When enabled, the following columns will be added to the screen: Grade, Completion Code, Course Attendance, and Competencies. Note: If the setting is enabled, the screen name changes from “Student Reauthorization” to “Post Grades.” |
| Only Use Section Seat Count on Classes for Sale (only in Default School Preferences) | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to ensure that the seat count for classes listed for sale will be exclusively determined by the seat count configured in the corresponding section. Consequently, the option to manually adjust the number of seats while adding a class to the sale list will be disabled. If a user does not specify a seat count when adding a section to Classes for Sale, the system will default to using the section's pre-configured seat count, maintaining consistency and streamlining the process. |
| Allow the use of “Publish Dates” on Classes for Sale (only in Default School Preferences) | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to display the Publish Start Date and Publish End Date fields on the Classes for Sale screen. This allows the user to specify a start date and end date for when classes display on the Purchase & Pay screen in the Parent/Student Portal and when classes can be purchased. |
| Allow the use of "Require Schedule" on Classes for Sale (only in Default School Preferences) | For post-secondary schools, select the check box to display the Require Schedule column on the Classes for Sale screen. When a user selects the "Require Schedule” check box for a class segment on the Classes for Sale screen, the class is hidden from Purchase & Pay for students and their parents if the student does not have a schedule record for the related course period, or if the student’s related schedule record has an end date in the past. |
| Student must have attended class within the last ___ months to self register. | Enter a number of months to ensure students must have been marked present (Attendance Code = P) after the selected date to purchase a class via Purchase & Pay (Student/Parent Portal). Note: If students have not been marked present for the established number of months, the student will receive the following message: “It has been over __ months since you have taken a class. So we may best serve you, please call or visit the school’s registration or counseling office to meet with a counselor.” |
| Auto withdraw students __ days after schedule start date (leave blank if not using) |
For post-secondary schools, define this preference to automatically set a schedule Dropped date when one is not given. This operates on Purchase & Pay when purchasing a course, on the Student Schedule screen, and when using Run Scheduler. The Dropped date is automatically set regardless of how the student is scheduled into the course, by Mass Add Course, by Purchase & Pay, or by Student Requests, etc. |
| Default section display room to resource display room |
Select the check box to display the Display Room column in Setup > Rooms. When a Display Room is defined, it is populated in the Resource Display Room field on the sections screen in Courses & Sections. The Resource Display Room displays as the room for the section throughout Focus, including on the Teacher Schedules Report, Student Schedule, Print Student Schedules, etc. The Display Room Option field on the section in Courses & Sections can be used to override the Resource Display Room. |
| Restricted Periods |
Select the period(s) that will be restricted for scheduling. Options populate based on periods set up in Setup > Periods. This feature may be used, for example, to restrict aftercare staff to only have permissions to schedule sections and students for the designated aftercare period(s).
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| Default Course Length | When the Course Length for a course is set to Automatic, and no course marking period length can be derived for a section, the Requests Reports will calculate the course length using this preference. |
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Decimal Point Character | Select whether to use a period or a comma for the decimal point character. |
| Currency Symbol | Enter the currency symbol to use throughout Focus. |
| School Year Title | Select the desired format for how the school year displays (e.g. 2017-2018 or 2017). |
| International Address - Add additional options for non-US addresses | Select the check box to add additional address fields for international addresses. Additionally, U.S. military base options will be available in the State pull-down. When this preference is enabled, you can add and save addresses without a Zip Code. This setting updates address fields throughout SIS and ERP. |
| Make Country required | This preference displays when the preference "International Address - Add additional options for non-US addresses” is enabled and saved. Select the check box to require the country to be selected when adding or editing an address. “United States of America” defaults in the country pull-down. |
| Make State required | This preference displays when the preference "International Address - Add additional options for non-US addresses” is enabled and saved. Select the check box to require the state to be selected when adding or editing an address. |
| Alias for Year | If desired, enter a different term to replace the “Year” marking period title. |
| Alias for Semester | If desired, enter a different term to replace the “Semester” marking period title. |
| Alias for Quarter | If desired, enter a different term to replace the “Quarter” marking period title. |
| Alias for Progress Period | If desired, enter a different term to replace the “Progress Period” marking period title. |
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Display Program Number on Test History | Select the check box to display the student’s Program Number on the Test History screen. |
| Calculate Total Clock Hours from Course History | If the check box is selected, the Total Clock Hours Earned Toward Award (calculated field on the student schedule) will pull hours for each course from Course History for the calculation; Additional Hours from student demographic will not be pulled. |
| School Uses Attendance Scanner App | Select the check box if the selected school(s) are using the Attendance Scanner App to record student hours/attendance. |
| Attendance Scanner grace period before start of class | Enter a number here to set the amount of time a student is allowed to check in before a class begins and still be considered on time without gaining any additional hours. By default this is set to 15 minutes. |
| Attendance Scanner grace period after start of class | Enter a number here to set the amount of time a student can check in after the class start time and still be considered on time. By default this is set to 5 minutes. |
| Attendance Scanner grace period before end of class | This preference takes effect if a student checks out before the exact time the class ends. The check out will be considered the end of class without having any hours or minutes subtracted. By default this is set to 5 minutes. |
| Attendance Scanner grace period after end of class | This preference takes effect if a student checks out after the class has ended. The check out will be considered the end of class without gaining extra hours. By default this is 15 minutes. |
| Require Attendance Scanner check out to receive hours | Select the check box to enable this preference, which only gives students hours upon check out. Each time the student checks out, the students will earn the hours for that check in. If the student never checks out, they will not receive hours for that check in. |
| Display WDIS Start and End Dates when adding a section | Select the check box to display WDIS Start/End Dates when adding a section through “Search for a section to add” via Scheduling > Student Schedule. |
| Override on Meeting Pattern | Select the check box to ensure meeting patterns override the days on the section setup where they are different from the default. When enabled, the Meeting Pattern tab allows users to add days that are not part of the regular class meeting days in addition to the current functionality which overrides times, hours, periods, and rooms. Override days are included in the invoice per existing meeting pattern functionality. Override days become available in the Take Attendance screen so that attendance can be entered. Override days become available in the Attendance Chart for attendance entry for scheduled students with an assumed present/assumed absent based on the system preference. |
| SAI Max | The highest possible value for the Student Aid Index is 999,999, representing the upper limit of financial resources available from a family or student. This is used to determine a student's eligibility for financial aid. Note: Student Aid Index (SAI) is a new metric replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in the financial aid process. |
| SAI Min | The lowest possible value for the Student Aid Index is -1500. This negative value allows for more accurate representation of a student's financial need, as it reflects situations where students have significant financial hardship. Note: Student Aid Index (SAI) is a new metric replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in the financial aid process. |
| CPS Transaction # Dropdown | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Post OCP (Final Grades): Don't Auto Withdraw Students after Posting Final Grades | Select the check box so students will not be withdrawn from the selected class when all grades are posted. |
| Post OCP (Standard Grades): Don't Auto Withdraw Students after Posting Standard Grades | Select the check box so students will not be withdrawn from the selected class when all standards are posted. |
| Post OCP Date: Use the Schedule End Date instead of today's date for OCP Dates | If the check box is selected, the OCP date will be set to the existing withdrawal date. When this preference is disabled (the check box cleared), posting the final grade will use current functionality of posting the OCP date as the date the grade was posted. If Don't Auto Withdraw Students after Posting Final Grades and/or Don't Auto Withdraw Students after Posting Standard Grades is enabled, this preference should be disabled. |
| FA Worksheet: Default Hours Calculations |
Select credit or clock from the pull-down to set the default calculation method for financial aid tracking as either credit hours or clock hours. This setting determines the default type of hours that the system will use when generating FA Worksheets. |
| Award Year Hours | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. Enter the default Award Year Hours in the provided text box. The number entered acts as the default but can be edited in the FA Worksheet, as needed. |
| Award Year Weeks | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. Enter the default Award Year Weeks in the provided text box. The number entered acts as the default but can be edited in the FA Worksheet, as needed. |
| Total Award Year - Credit Hours | Enter the number of credit hours to help define the duration of an academic year specifically for programs tracked by credit hours. This setting allows institutions to specify the number of weeks in the award year that corresponds to the total credit hours being tracked. |
| Award Year Weeks - Credit Hours | This setting allows users to input the total number of weeks that make up an academic year for a program that is measured in credit hours. This is essential for calculating financial aid eligibility and disbursements accurately, as the length of the academic year can impact payment periods and the distribution of funds. Note: The number of weeks defined in this setting, along with the total award year credit hours, influences how payment periods are calculated. For instance, if the total credit hours for the award year are spread over a specific number of weeks, the system uses this information to determine how to allocate hours (and therefore funds) across the payment periods. |
| FA Worksheet: Children 0-6 and 7-12 | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Hide Payment Period Additional Amount | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Resident Transportation | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Non-Resident Transportation | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Resident Room and Board (Independent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Non-Resident Room and Board (Independent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Resident Room and Board (Dependent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Non-Resident Room and Board (Dependent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Resident Misc. (Independent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Non-Resident Misc. (Independent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Resident Misc. (Dependent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Non-Resident Misc. (Dependent) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Dependent Care (0 to 6 Years Old) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Dependent Care (7 to 12 Years Old) | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| General: Academic Year Start Date | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Enrollment: Transfer | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Previous Hours At This School | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Previous Hours Paid | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Financial Aid Resources: Resource 1-8 | This fields relates to the Financial Aid module and Financial Aid worksheet setup. |
| Course Progression: Pass (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Course Progression: Fail (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Course Progression: Fail Out of Program (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Course Progression: Course Completion (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Course Progression: Full Program Completed - Basic Skills (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Course Progression: Full Program Completed - No Basic Skills (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Post Final Grades (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| 6-Day Drop (only in Default School Preferences) | Select the default withdrawal codes to use from options set up in the Scheduling menu in the Schedule Enrollment Codes screen. |
| Link FA Worksheets to R2T4 Worksheets | Financial Aid forms can be linked by selecting the appropriate checkbox. |
The Online Application sub-tab is only available under the Default School Preferences tab.
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Allow New Applications to be Started | Select the check box to display the Application for New Students tab of the online application and allow new applications to be started. |
| All In-progess Applicants to Continue their Applications | Select this check box to display the Continue Application tab of the online application and allow in-progress applicants to continue their applications. Note: If Email Validation is used on any application forms on the Application Editor screen, then this must be enabled for new applicants to validate their email. |
| Application tracker | Select the check box to enable the ability for the applicant to track the application by entering their email address and a password for the application. When both the “Applicant tracker” and the “Require Email Address” preferences are enabled, the applicant must fill out the Email Address and Password fields. When the “Applicant tracker” preference is enabled but the “Require Email Address” preference is disabled, the option "Would you like to track the application status?” is displayed. Selecting Yes allows the applicant to enter the Email Address and Password fields to track the application. |
| Make Required Re-Enrollment Forms Student Specific | Select the check box to allow parents who have multiple students to access the Portal for the student whose required re-enrollment form was completed. Parents cannot access the Portal for other students who didn’t have their required re-enrollment forms completed. When this preference is unselected, parents must complete all required re-enrollment forms for all of their students before having access to any student data. |
| Enrollment Year for Application Courses | Select the year that will be used when determining the courses that a student can request in an application. Selecting N/A will use the currently selected syear. |
| Create Students Using Negative Student IDs | Select this option to assign a negative student ID to students who applied via the online application. This is used when districts do not want to create a valid student ID for student until they are enrolled at a school in the district. The student ID changes to a positive number once the student is dropped from the Applicants school and enrolled in a district school. |
| Default Student Profile for Online Application | Select the default student profile that is assigned to the student once the online application is completed. Note: A specific profile can set up for applicant students in Users > Profiles to limit the student's access in Focus until they are enrolled at a school in the district. |
| Process Edit Rules on Student Creation | Select the check box to enforce the edit rules set up in Setup > Edit Rules & Workflow on the online application as the student table is updated for new students. Note: For "Process Edit Rules on Student Creation" to work as expected, both the "Enabled" and "New Student" check boxes must be selected for the rule in Edit Rules & Workflow > Execute SQL. The Execute SQL will be executed upon the creation of the student record in the application school and not when the application is submitted. |
| Process Edit Rules on Student Updates | Select the check box to enforce the edit rules set up in Setup > Edit Rules & Workflow on the online application as the student table is updated for returning students. |
| Contact Required - If an address block is shown then require student to add a contact | Select the check box to require applicants to add at least one contact when the Address block (in the System category) is included on the application and is marked as required in the Application Editor. Note that this preference does not need to be enabled when using the System Addresses and System Contacts fields in the Application Editor, as the individual fields can be marked as required. |
| Allow School Selection - Allow the user to select their desired school from a drop-down. | Select “Required” from the pull-down to display the “Desired School” pull-down on the /apply page. The applicant will be required to select a school. This system preference is intended for post-secondary use for the voluntary re-enrollment functionality. Schools that have the school field “Available on the Online App” selected in School Information will be available for selection by applicants. Select “Optional” from the pull-down to display the “Desired School” pull-down on the /apply page and have the selection of the school be optional. Select “None” to hide the “Desired School” pull-down. |
| Allow Enrolling in Future Year | Select the check box to allow the applicant to select the next school year as the year of enrollment. When the student field “Application School Year” is included on an enrollment or re-enrollment form, the applicant can select the Current School Year or Next School Year option. In the Unprocessed Applications tab and Unprocessed Forms tab of the Online Enrollments screen, the Requested Enrollment Year column will display the applicant’s selection. When clicking Process to enroll the applicant in the Unprocessed Applications tab, the requested enrollment year will default as the enrollment year. This preference is enabled by default. When this preference is disabled, the applicant will not be able to select the Next School Year option in the Application School Year field. |
| Allow Course Selection - Allow the user to select their desired course section from a drop-down (Requires “Require School Selection” to be enabled.) | Select the check box to display “Program,” “Course,” and “Section” drop-downs on the /apply page, which are populated based on the desired school selected. The applicant is not required to select a Program, Course, and Section. This system preference is intended for post-secondary use for the voluntary re-enrollment functionality. |
| Require Email Address - Require the user to provide an email address to begin the application process. | Select the check box to make the Email Address and Password fields required on the /apply page. The “Application tracker” system preference above must be enabled. When the “Require Email Address” preference is disabled and the “Application tracker” preference is enabled, the option "Would you like to track the application status?” is displayed on the application. When the applicant selects Yes, the applicant can enter the Email Address and Password fields. If the applicant chooses not to track the application, then they will not be able to save and return to the application, as that button is removed. If this preference is disabled and the district uses email validation for the application, then if the applicant enters an email, they will receive the validation email. If the applicant does not choose to track the application, there is no validation email and the applicant can continue to the application. |
| Prevent Duplicate SSN | When this system preference is enabled, an error message will display if the parent or student enters a social security number that already exists in the database: “This SSN is already in use. If you have already applied or have attended this institution in the past, please try logging in with your existing account.” The parent or student will be prevented from completing the application. |
| Prevent Duplicate Students | When this system preference is enabled, the online application will run a script to check if a duplicate student is currently enrolled in the school district with the same (case insensitive) first name, last name, and birthdate. If a match is present, a customized pop-up message appears providing the applicant with additional information. |
| Prevent Inactive Students | When this system preference is enabled, the online application will run a script to check if an inactive student exists in the system with the same (case insensitive) first name, last name, and birthdate. The duplicate message will display to the applicant. |
| Prevent Duplicate In-Progress Applications | When this system preference is enabled, the online application will run a script to check if a duplicate student is currently enrolled in the Applicants school with an application status of in progress with the same (case insensitive) first name, last name, and birthdate. If a match is present, a customized pop-up message appears providing the applicant with additional information. |
| Prevent Duplicate Applications in the Applicants School for the Past __ days | When a number is entered in this preference, the online application will run a script to check if a duplicate student has been enrolled in the Applicants school with a start date in the prior X days that has the same (case insensitive) first name, last name, and birthdate. If a match is present, a customized pop-up message appears providing the applicant with additional information. |
| Alert User the email address entered is already associated with another user in /apply | When this system preference is enabled, the user will receive a message when attempting to begin a new application on /apply using an email address that is already in the system. The warning states “The email address you entered is already associated with a user in this system. Please select the Continue Application tab to login to an existing application.” |
| Prevent Direct Access via "/apply" URL | When enabled, the online application will only be available for access via the Parent Portal or Parent Registration Portal. |
| Duplicate Override Code | If a value is entered in this system preference, when the pop-up message displays to the end-user telling them there is a match, they can enter this override code, provided to them by the district, to allow them to continue with completing the online application. |
| Display Parent Portal Alert for In-Progress Applications | When enabled, an alert displays on the Parent Portal when the parent has a linked student who is currently enrolled (default school) in the district’s applicants school and whose application.status = ‘in_progress'. The alert says “Click HERE to complete {STUDENT_NAME}’s application,” and includes a link to complete the application. |
| Log Students in to Focus after completing the Online Application | This preference is enabled by default. When disabled, student applicants will not be automatically logged into Focus upon completing the online application. |
| Define Grade Levels on Application Courses | This preference is used for post-secondary. When this preference is enabled, grade levels can be set for courses in the Application Courses tab of the Application Editor. Additionally, the Current Grade Level field is added to the application. When the applicant selects a grade level, the available courses will display depending on the grade level selected. |
| Duplicate Message Text | The message entered here will display in the pop-up to the end-user if the script returns a “match”. This CK editor box allows the district to customize the match message that is displayed to the applicant. |
| Welcome Screen Text | Using the text editor, customize the text that will display on the welcome screen of the online application. |
| Require that pending applications be processed before users can apply for a job. | Select the check box to require that a user’s application be approved before they can apply for a job. The message “Your application is being reviewed. You will receive an email when your application is approved and you can return here to apply for job openings” will display in red font on the Job Postings screen until the user’s application is approved. |
| Days before archiving Processed User Applications | Enter the number of days before a processed user application is moved to the Archived tab in ERP > Human Resources > Online Applications. |
| Days before archiving Unprocessed User Applications | Enter the number of days before an unprocessed user application is moved to the Archived tab in ERP > Human Resources > Online Applications. |
| Days before archiving Unsubmitted User Applications | Enter the number of days before an unsubmitted user application is moved to the Archived tab in ERP > Human Resources > Online Applications. |
| Archive User Applications for Hired Applicants | Select the check box to move user applications for hired applicants to the Archived tab in ERP > Human Resources > Online Applications. |
The Parent Registration sub-tab is only available under the Default School Preferences tab.
The configuration options for parent registration via /auth are housed under Setup > System Preferences > Default School Preferences > Parent Registration.
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| The introduction text displayed to users for account registration | By default, the text for registering an account will state, “I DO NOT have an Account Registered on the Parent Portal but my child is Actively Enrolled.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Changes the text used for the add a child button for account registration. | By default, the text for adding a student to an account will state, “I have an Account Registered on the Parent Portal but would like to ADD A CHILD.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Changes the text used for the password reset button for account registration. | By default, the text for resetting a password will state, “I have Forgotten My Password and would like to generate a new one.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Changes the text used for username reset buttonf or account registration. | By default, the text for resetting a username will state, “I have Forgotten My Username and would like to retrieve it.” To adjust this statement, enter your desired text. |
| Require SSN and Birthdate for registration | Select the checkbox to require social security numbers and birth dates to complete registration when parents are creating an account. |
| Logo Url | By default, the environment’s main logo will be used as the logo that appears in the Parent Portal Registration header. If you would like to use a different logo, upload the image to your Uploaded Assets folder on the server, then place the full URL in the Logo URL field. |
| Title of the Parent Portal | By default, the title that will appear in the header will state, “Parent Portal Registration.” Enter a different title, if desired. |
| The County Name or title to use in emails and throughout the registration process | Enter the desired name to appear in various places throughout the registration process, including the confirmation email. |
| Prevent parent accounts with domain: @ | If a value is entered in this system preference, parent accounts will not be generated when an email matching that domain is used. Multiple domains can be entered in this preference, separated by commas. If a parent attempts to create a Parent Portal account with a restricted domain, they will be presented with the error message: Please enter an email which is not hosted @ (the domain). |
| Enable Parent Registration | When the check box is selected, parent registration via /auth will be turned ON. When not selected, parent registration via /auth will be turned OFF. |
| Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students | When this preference is selected, new parent user accounts will be created with enabled unchecked, meaning a school or district staff member will need to verify the parent account through the interface prior to the parent seeing their child’s information on the Parent Portal. When this preference is not selected, new parent user accounts will be created with enabled checked, meaning the parent will be able to see his or her child’s information via the Parent Portal immediately following registration. |
| Only allow custodial contacts to register for parent account based on the contact’s email | When the check box is selected, individuals registering for a Parent Portal account via the /auth procedure must use an email address matching that of a custodial contact associated with the student to link to the student's account (via Student Info > Addresses & Contacts). |
| Send parent verification when opening up for a new account | Select the check box to send parents a Verification Email when they open new account in /auth. |
| Email Validation Subject | Enter the text that will display in the subject line of the parents verification email. |
| Email Body Letter Template | Select the letter from the pull-down that will display as the body of the verification email. The pull-down populates with letters in Print Letters & Send Email. |
| Parents can get automatically authenticated if they have an SSN (SSN is optional when enabled) | When this preference is selected and the preference “Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students" is selected, parent accounts will be auto-enabled to their child if a valid SSN is entered during the registration process. If this option is not selected, the process will depend solely upon the “Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students" preference setting. If using this option, the preference "Social security field that will need to be entered by parents" must be filled out. |
| Allows authenticating based on the Student's Username/Password | The student’s username and password can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. When this preference is selected, the parent will be required to enter their child’s username and password. When unselected, the fields will not be present during the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| The email address field that will be used when sending out verification emails | This preference allows you to select the desired email address Focus uses when sending out the registration emails to parents. The options pull from School Fields. |
| Require Name When Linking Students | This preference requires the parent to enter the Student’s First Name and Student’s Last Name when linking the parent to the student’s account. |
| Social security field that will need to be entered by parents | The student SSN can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. To use the SSN option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the SSN entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| Student column that is used for verification | If desired, you can prevent parents from connecting their parent account with their student based on a flag set at the student level. To use this preference, select the desired student field from the drop-down. Only student fields with the type of text or check box can be used. For check box fields, if a student has a value of “Y" in the selected field, the parent will not be able to connect their account with the student. For text fields, if a value is present in the selected field, the parent will not be able to connect their account with the student. No confirmation is provided to the parent to indicate if the student is enrolled in the district. |
| The State ID field that can be entered by parents instead of SSN | The student State ID can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process as a replacement of the SSN. To use the State ID option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the State ID entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| PIN | The student PIN can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. To use the PIN option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the PIN entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| The birthday field that will need to be entered by parents | The student’s birthdate can be used during the Parent Portal Registration process. To use the birthdate option, select the desired student field from the drop-down. If a value of NULL is selected, the parent will not see the Birthdate entry field when registering for their parent account. |
| The email address field that will be used for parents | The parent will be asked for his/her email address during the registration process. This email address will be transferred to the parent user account generated. Select the desired user field this email address should be stored in. |
| Choose Parent Profile | If a parent successfully completes the Parent Portal Registration process, a new user will be created in your database. Select the desired profile type to be assigned to parent users generated from the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| Choose User Profile | If a user successfully completes the user portal registration process, a new user will be created in your database. Select the desired profile type to be assigned to users generated from the registration process. Note: This setting displays when Applicant Tracking has been enabled for the district. |
| Choose Required User Application | Select the application from the pull-down that is required for completion by new users. The application populated in the pull-down pull from Setup > Application Editor. Note: This setting displays when Applicant Tracking has been enabled for the district. |
| Choose Reference Form | Select the application form from the pull-down that should be completed by potential employees when submitting references via Applicant Tracking. The forms populated pull from Setup > Application Editor. |
| Default Additional Employee Fields | Select the employee fields that will be selected by default in the Additional Fields pull-down in Human Resources > Online Applications on the Unprocessed, Unsubmitted, and Processed tabs. These fields will be selected by default only if the user does not already have fields selected in the Additional Fields pull-down. If a user changes the fields selected in the Additional Fields pull-down, those selections will be maintained for that user. |
| Optional Custom HTML for Employee Applications | Enter the text that should display as messages at the top of the appropriate Employee Applications page. |
| Optional Custom HTML for Parent Applications | Enter the text that should display as messages at the top of the appropriate Parent Applications page. |
| Custody Alert Field | If the preference "Parents must provide verification before viewing linked students" is not selected, you can still require verification based on an individual student. This is beneficial if there is a custody concern. Select the desired text, check box, or select field from the drop-down which will be used to determine whether verification is needed before the parent can view the student’s information via the Parent Portal. |
| Replace the intro page text with custom HTML | Enter the desired text in English to appear on the first page of the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| (Spanish) Replace the introduction page with custom HTML | Enter the desired Spanish text to appear on the first page of the Parent Portal Registration process. |
| Optional Custom HTML for Student Locator Screen in Parent Auth | Enter the desired text to appear on the Student Locator screen upon entering student information and adding students. The text displays at the top of the screen beneath the header. |
| Optinal Custom HTML for Last Screen in Parent Auth | Enter the desired text to appear on the last screen of the registration process. The text displays at the bottom of the screen above the footer. |
The Default User Preferences tab is used to set default user preferences for display options, student listings, columns in student lists, Gradebook configuration, Communication, and columns in user lists.
The Display Options tab allows the school or district to set default display options and to disallow users from changing certain display options. Users can individually customize these settings in Users > My Preferences > Display Options tab (for administrators), Preferences > Display Options tab (for teachers), or Preferences > Display Options tab (for parents and students). Disallowed options will not display in My Preferences/Preferences for users, so therefore cannot be changed.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Display Options tab.
3. Set the defaults for the following options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Highlight Color | Select a highlight color to use in the menus, tabs, headers, and other interface elements throughout Focus. |
| Portal Student Name Format | Select the format for how the student’s name displays on the student block on the main Portal screen as well as in the menu on the left side of the screen in the Parent and Student Portal. |
| Student Info Layout | Select whether to display the Student Info screen in one, two, or three columns. |
| Display User Images | Select whether to display staff photos in User Info and other applicable locations in Focus. |
| Use Sidebar Menu | Select the check box to display the menus on the left side of the screen instead of across the top of the screen. |
| Default Filters On | Select the check box to have the Filters functionality turned on by default when accessing screens that have filters. |
| Inactive Users | Select the check box to have the “Inactive Staff” search option enabled by default when using the “Select Student/Staff” search at the top of the screen, and the “Include Inactive” and “Include Inactive Users” check boxes selected by default on the new and legacy user search screens. |
| Menu Icons | Select the check box to display the menu icons when using the top menus (e.g. the wrench for the Setup menu). The menu icons always display when using the sidebar menu. |
| Use 24 Hour Clock Format | Select the check box to enable entering time in the 24 hour clock format in custom fields. Tip: Users can press the “N” key on the keyboard to fill date and time fields with the current date and time. |
| Date Format | Use the pull-downs to select the date format. |
| Month Day, Year | Select the radio button to display dates as Month Day, Year. |
| Day Month, Year | Select the radio button to display dates as Day Month, Year. |
| Configure Gradebooks separately for each section | Select the check box to have teachers set up different Gradebook configurations for each section they teach (score rounding, assignment weights, using letter grades or points in the Gradebook, etc) in Grades > Gradebook Configuration. Leave the check box unselected to have the Gradebook configuration apply to all of the teacher’s gradebooks. |
| Combine sections in the same period for taking attendance | Select the check box to combine sections that are held in the same period on the Take Attendance screen when teachers take attendance. |
| Combine sections for gradebook | Select the check box to combine multiple different sections into the same gradebook as a way for teachers to enter grades for several sections all at once. Teacher gradebooks can be combined By period or by Custom Groups. |
| Default to ERP | Select the check box so users are automatically directed to ERP upon login and don't have the ability to navigate to SIS as the SIS button will be hidden. Note: This setting is only applicable to districts using only ERP. |
| Enable Two Factor Authentication | Select the check box to enable two factor authentication, which requires users to log in using an authenticator code from the Google Authenticator app in addition to their Focus credentials. Note: Two factor authentication can alternatively be enabled for specific profiles in Users > Profiles. |
4. Select the Disallow check box next to any setting to hide it from users.
5. Click Save when finished.
The Student Listing tab allows the school or district to set the default options for student sorting, file export type, student name format, and other options for student lists. The school or district can also disallow users from changing certain Student Listing options. Users can individually customize these settings in Users > My Preferences > Student Listing tab (for administrators) or Preferences > Student Listing tab (for teachers). Disallowed options will not display in My Preferences/Preferences for users, so therefore cannot be changed.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Student Listing tab.
3. Set the defaults for the following options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Student Sorting | Select an option to determine how student lists are sorted. Options are Name; Grade, Name; or Enrollment Date, Name. |
| File Export Type | Select the file type when exporting file from Focus, Tab-Delmited (Excel) or CSV. In a CSV file, data items are separated using commas and have double quotes around each field. In a tab-delimited file, data items are separated by tabs. |
| Default Student Category | Select the student category that displays by default when viewing a student’s record. |
| Default User Category | Select the user category that displays by default when viewing a user’s record. |
| Default Employee Category | Select the employee category that displays by default when viewing an employee record (ERP). |
| Display student search screen by default | Select the check box to display the student search screen by default on screens where a student must be selected. Leave the check box unselected to display the Simple List of students by default. |
| Display customized list by default | Select the check box to displayed the Customized List instead of the Simple List after searching for students. |
| Search all schools by default | Select the check box to search all schools the user has access to by default. Leave unselected to search the school the user has selected at the top of the screen by default. |
| Search inactive students by default | Select the check box to include inactive students by default in the search. |
| Skip the results page when there is only one result | Select the check box to skip the list of students returned in the search and go directly to the student’s record when there is only one student in the search results. |
| Student Name Format | Select an option to determine how student names are formatted. Options are First Middle Last; Last, First Middle; Last, First (Preferred First); Last, First Middle (Preferred First); Last, Preferred First; Last, Preferred First Middle; Preferred First Middle Last; Preferred Last, Preferred First. |
| Display Student ID in student lists | Select the check box to display the Focus Student ID in student lists. |
| Display Local ID in student lists | Select the check box to display the student's local ID in student lists. |
| Display grade level in student lists | Select the check box to display the student’s grade level in student lists. |
| Display alert icons in student lists | Select the check box to display alert icons in student lists. Alert icons are set up in Setup > Edit Rules & Workflow. |
| Display student photos in student lists | Select the check box to display student photos in student lists. |
4. Select the Disallow check box next to any setting to hide it from users.
5. Click Save when finished.
The Columns in Student Lists tab allows the school or district to set the default student information that is included in student lists throughout Focus. Each student field is available for selection, organized by category. The student fields selected here display in the Customized List on student search screens. Users can individually customize these settings in Users > My Preferences > Columns in Student Lists tab (for administrators) or Preferences > Columns in Student Lists (for teachers), if needed.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Columns in Student Lists tab.
3. Select the check box next to each student field to display in student lists.
4. Click Save.
The Gradebook Configuration tab allows schools to set default gradebook configuration options for teachers and to disallow teachers from changing certain options. The district may have set default options for the schools using the Default Gradebook Configuration tab, and may have disallowed the schools from changing certain options. While schools can make changes to the default options set by the district, the options disallowed by the district will not display on the Gradebook Configuration tab, so therefore cannot be changed by the schools. In a similar manner, teachers can make changes to the default options set by the school in the Gradebook, but will not be able to see or change the options disallowed by the school.
Settings are school year specific. Note: You can roll over settings from the current year to the next via Setup > Rollover when the “System Preferences” option is selected.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Gradebook Configuration tab.
3. Select the Disallow check box next to any configuration option to hide the setting from teachers.
4. To change a configuration option from the district's default setting, clear the Default check box next to the configuration option, and then make the change as needed.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Score Rounding | Select how scores containing decimals should be rounded. Scores can be rounded up, down, or rounded normally. |
| New Assignment Method | Select the New Assignment Method radio button. Options include:
|
| Assignment Sorting | Select how assignments should be sorted in the Gradebook. Options are Newest First, Newest Last, Due Date, Assigned Date, Category, and Alphabetical. |
| Default Assignment Points | Enter a value to populate the Points field automatically when adding a new Gradebook assignment. |
| Default Due Date | Select the default due date for assignments, Today or Tomorrow. Teachers can edit the due date as needed. |
| Automatically save all changes to student grades | Select the check box to ensure that teachers do not have to click Save upon entering and saving grades. If teachers do not want grades automatically saved upon being entered, this setting can be disabled. When the check box is selected, the Save button doesn’t display in the Gradebook because changes save automatically. |
| Weight grades by assignment category | Select the option to weight grades by assignment category. For example, homework is worth 15% of the grade. Teachers can set up assignment categories and weights in Grades > Gradebook Categories & Assignments. |
| Add all assignments to each section of your course by default | Select the check box to add all assignments to each section of the same course. For example, if a teacher teaches multiple sections of English 1 and adds an assignment to one section of English 1, the assignment will be added to all the teacher’s sections of English 1. Sections can be deselected if needed when adding the assignment. |
| Display points in the gradebook | Select the check box to display the number of Points earned and the number of Points possible in the Gradebook. When disabled, only the percent and letter grades display (if enabled). |
| Exclude assignments from average | Select the check box to allow teachers to exclude assignments in the Gradebook. When disallowed, the Exclude From Average option is hidden from teachers. |
| Display percentages in the gradebook | Select the check box to display percentage grades in the Gradebook. If the check box is not selected, only points and/or letter grades will display. Percentages will not display in the Gradebook if the number of points for the assignment is not a multiple of 10. |
| Display letter grades in the gradebook | Select the check box to display the letter grade earned in the Gradebook. When disabled, only the percent and points display (if enabled). |
| Display due date in assignment column heading | Select the check box to display the due date in the assignment column heading. |
| Display assigned date in assignment column heading | Select the check box to display the assigned date in the assignment column heading. |
| Display assignment points possible and total questions in column headings | Select the check box to display the assigned points possible and the total questions assigned in the column heading. |
| Display assignment icons in column headings | Select the check box to display assigned images as assignment icons in the column heading. |
| Display student alert icons | Select the check box to display student alert icons in the Gradebook, if applicable. |
| Include Inactive students | Select the check box to include inactive students in the Gradebook, by default. |
| Display estimated semester average column | Select the check box to display a column in the Gradebook with the student’s current semester average based on posted marking period grades and current Gradebook grades. This does not factor in semester exams. |
| Display estimated full year average column | Select the check box to display a column in the Gradebook with the student’s current full year average based on posted marking period and current gradebook grades. This does not factor in full year exams. |
| Display Assignment Class Average on grades (Assignment) Screen to Parents/Students | Select the check box to display a "Class Average" column to the left of the Comments Column on the Grades (Assignment) screen, showing the class average for the assignment to display for parents and students via the applicable portals. |
| Gradebook Method | Select Default to have a separate Gradebook for each marking period (e.g. quarter 1, quarter 2, quarter 3, quarter 4). Select Full year gradebook to have one running Gradebook for the full year. This is often used if students are allowed to turn in assignments at their own pace over the course of the year, such as in adult education. Select Semester gradebook to have one running Gradebook for each semester. Quarter 1 grades will factor into the Quarter 2 average. |
| Enter student numbers in the gradebook | Select the check box to add a column in the Gradebook where teachers can enter a special number or code for each student. This is useful when printing the Gradebook for students to view, as students can identify their grade using a teacher defined number or code instead of their name. |
| Display each student’s grade level in the gradebook | Select the check box to display each student’s grade level in the Gradebook. |
| Display each student's current Gradebook average in the student's portal, and in the Gradebook | Select the check box to display the Gradebook Average “Grade” column in the teacher Gradebook by default. Selecting the check box also displays the Gradebook Average in the Student/Parent Portal. |
| Hide Assigned and Due Dates | Select the check box to Hide Assigned and Due Dates. When enabled, students will not see the assignments and due dates in the Student Portal. |
| Show All Assignments in Student Portal | Select the check box to Show All Assignments in Student Portal. When enabled, students can see all gradebook assignments in the Student Portal regardless of publish date, including those where the publish date is null. |
| Show gradebook average to three decimal places on student detail | Select the check box to display the “Current Grade in Class” as the average rounded by gradebook setting and the average rounded to three decimal places in parentheses, such as “93% A (92.500%)" in the student view of the Gradebook. |
| Custom Grades | It is recommended that custom grades are set up at the district level and disabled to prevent modification by schools and teachers for consistency across the district. To set up custom grades used in the Gradebook for excluded or zero grades, enter the character in the Grade field and the grade title in the Display Name field. Select Exclude or Zero in the Type field and click Save at the top of the screen. To remove a custom grade, select the Remove check box and click Save at the top of the screen. Please note, if a custom grade is removed that was used in the Gradebook, the student’s grade will be zero for the assignment the custom grade was entered on. |
| Groups | To set up groups to be used in the Gradebook, select Enable gradebook groups, enter the group Name and click Save. To remove a group, select the Remove check box and click Save. Teachers can assign students to the groups in the Gradebook. Once students are assigned to groups, teachers can filter the Gradebook by student group to view or enter grades for assignments. |
| Grade Title Colors | To customize the color each grade displays as in the Gradebook, select a color for each grade. All of the grading scales set up in the district are listed. |
5. Click Save when finished.
The Default Gradebook Configuration tab allows the district to set default gradebook configuration options for schools and to disallow schools from changing certain options. Schools can then set up the default gradebook configuration options for their teachers in the Gradebook Configuration tab, based on what was allowed by the district in the Default Gradebook Configuration tab. While schools can make changes to the default options set by the district, the options disallowed by the district will not display on the Gradebook Configuration tab, so therefore cannot be changed by the schools.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Default Gradebook Configuration tab.
3. Set a default for the options that schools are allowed to use.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Score Rounding | Select how scores containing decimals should be rounded. Scores can be rounded up, down, or rounded normally. |
| New Assignment Method | Select the New Assignment Method radio button. Options include:
|
| Assignment Sorting | Select how assignments should be sorted in the Gradebook. Options are Newest First, Newest Last, Due Date, Assigned Date, Category, and Alphabetical. |
| Default Assignment Points | Enter a value to populate the Points field automatically when adding a new Gradebook assignment. |
| Default Due Date | Select the default due date for assignments, Today or Tomorrow. Teachers can edit the due date as needed. |
| Automatically save all changes to student grades | Select the check box to ensure that teachers do not have to click Save upon entering and saving grades. If teachers do not want grades automatically saved upon being entered, this setting can be disabled. When the check box is selected, the Save button doesn’t display in the Gradebook because changes save automatically. |
| Weight grades by assignment category | Select the option to weight grades by assignment category. For example, homework is worth 15% of the grade. Teachers can set up assignment categories and weights in Grades > Gradebook Categories & Assignments. |
| Add all assignments to each section of your course by default | Select the check box to add all assignments to each section of the same course. For example, if a teacher teaches multiple sections of English 1 and adds an assignment to one section of English 1, the assignment will be added to all of the teacher’s sections of English 1. Sections can be deselected if needed when adding the assignment. |
| Display points in the gradebook | Select the check box to display the number of Points earned and the number of Points possible in the Gradebook. When disabled, only the percent and letter grades display (if enabled). |
| Exclude assignments from average | Select the check box to allow teachers to exclude assignments in the Gradebook. When Disallow is selected instead, the Exclude From Average option is hidden from teachers. |
| Display percentages in the gradebook | Select the check box to display percentage grades in the Gradebook. If the check box is not selected, only points and/or letter grades will display. Percentages will not display in the Gradebook if the number of points for the assignment is not a multiple of 10. |
| Display letter grades in the gradebook | Select the check box to display the letter grade earned in the Gradebook. When disabled, only the percent and points display (if enabled). |
| Display due date in assignment column heading | Select the check box to display the due date in the assignment column heading. |
| Display assigned date in assignment column heading | Select the check box to display the assigned date in the assignment column heading. |
| Display assignment points possible and total questions in column headings | Select the check box to display the assigned points possible and the total questions assigned in the column heading. |
| Display assignment icons in column headings | Select the check box to display assigned images as assignment icons in the column heading. |
| Display student alert icons | Select the check box to display student alert icons in the Gradebook, if applicable. |
| Include inactive students | Select the check box to include inactive students in the Gradebook, by default. |
| Display estimated semester average column | Select the check box to display a column in the Gradebook with the student’s current semester average based on posted marking period grades and current Gradebook grades. This does not factor in semester exams. |
| Display estimated full year average column | Select the check box to display a column in the Gradebook with the student’s current full year average based on posted marking period grades and current Gradebook grades. This does not factor in full year exams. |
| Display Assignment Class Average on Grades (Assignments) Screen to Parents/Students | Select the check box to display a "Class Average" column to the left of the Comments Column on the Grades (Assignment) screen, showing the class average for the assignment to display for parents and students via the applicable portals. |
| Gradebook Method | Select Default to have a separate Gradebook for each marking period (e.g. quarter 1, quarter 2, quarter 3, quarter 4). Select Full year gradebook to have one running Gradebook for the full year. This is often used if students are allowed to turn in assignments at their own pace over the course of the year, such as in adult education. Select Semester gradebook to have one running Gradebook for each semester. Quarter 1 grades will factor into the Quarter 2 average. |
| Enter student numbers in the gradebook | Select the check box to add a column in the Gradebook where teachers can enter a special number or code for each student. This is useful when printing the Gradebook for students to view, as students can identify their grade using a teacher defined number or code instead of their name. |
| Display each student’s grade level in the gradebook | Select the check box to display each student’s grade level in the Gradebook. |
| Display each student's current Gradebook average in the student's portal, and in the Gradebook | Select the check box to display the Gradebook Average “Grade” column in the teacher Gradebook by default. Selecting the check box also displays the Gradebook Average in the Student/Parent Portal. |
| Hide Assigned and Due Dates | Select the check box to Hide Assigned and Due Dates. When enabled, students will not see the assignments and due dates in the Student Portal. |
| Show All Assignments in Student Portal | Select the check box to Show All Assignments in Student Portal. When enabled, students can see all gradebook assignments in the Student Portal regardless of publish date, including those where the publish date is null. |
| Show gradebbok average to three decimal places on student detail | Select the check box to display the “Current Grade in Class” as the average rounded by gradebook setting and the average rounded to three decimal places in parentheses, such as “93% A (92.500%)" in the student view of the Gradebook. |
| Custom Grades | If no date is entered, the Scheduler cannot be run after the first day of the active school year. To set up custom grades used in the Gradebook for excluded or zero grades, enter the character in the Grade field and the grade title in the Display Name field. Select Exclude or Zero in the Type field and click Save at the top of the screen. To remove a custom grade, select the Remove check box and click Save at the top of the screen. Please note, if a custom grade is removed that was used in the Gradebook, the student’s grade will be zero for the assignment the custom grade was entered on. |
| Groups | To set up groups to be used in the Gradebook, select Enable gradebook groups, enter the group Name and click Save. To remove a group, select the Remove check box and click Save. Teachers can assign students to the groups in the Gradebook. Once students are assigned to groups, teachers can filter the Gradebook by student group to view or enter grades for assignments. |
| Grade Title Colors | To customize the color each grade displays as in the Gradebook, select a color for each grade. All of the grading scales set up in the district are listed. |
4. Select the Disallow check box next to any configuration option to hide the setting from schools. The district can set an option as default and then select Disallow to prevent a school from changing the option.
5. Click Save when finished.
The Communication tab allows the district to set email notifications for forms and set Communication options. The district has the ability to set Communication options as Disallow, which disallows users from viewing or modifying these options in Students > Communication > Settings.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Communication tab.
3. Select Receive Email When Forms Require Your Attention, if desired.
When a form is submitted by the requester, the form approver will receive an email with a link to the form that is pending approval. The requester will receive an email when the form is approved, denied, or when the form is sent back to the originator.
4. Set the Communication options, as desired:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Remove from Messaging Search |
Select the check box to remove yourself from the staff recipients pull-down when composing new messages. Users still have the ability to respond to your messages but cannot generate new messages to you when the check box is selected. |
| Include Student's or User's Name/ID on Each PDF Page |
Select the check box to add the staff/student name and ID to the header of every printed page. |
| Default Table View |
Select the check box to view the Templates, Announcements, Polls, and Sign Ups data in the table view by default. Without this setting enabled, the applicable tabs default to and open in List View. |
| Opt In for Push Notifications on all messages |
Select the check box to receive push notifications for every message sent to you via the mobile app. |
| Opt Out of Email Notifications |
Select the check box to opt out of receiving notifications for new messages. |
| Signature | Signatures are configured by individual users in Students > Communication > Settings. The district can allow/disallow setting up signatures. |
5. Select Disallow next to a Communication option to hide the option from users in Students > Communication > Settings. The district can configure the option and select Disallow to prevent users from modifying the option.
6. Click Save.
The Columns in User Lists tab allows the school or district to set the default user information that is included in user lists throughout Focus. Each user field is available for selection, organized by category. The user fields selected here display in the Customized List on user search screens. Users can individually customize these settings in Users > My Preferences > Columns in User Lists tab (for administrators) or Preferences > Columns in User Lists (for teachers), if needed.
1. Click the Default User Preferences tab.
2. Click the Columns in User Lists tab.
3. Select the check box next to each user field to display in user lists.
4. Click Save.
The District Preferences tab is used to set preferences related to the district name that displays on Form Builder forms and the district logo.
1. Click the District Preferences tab.
2. Enter the District Name that will display in the footer of forms built in the Form Builder.
3. Select the Allow Logo Transparency check box to allow the background of the logo that displays at the top-left of the screen to be transparent.
4. Select the Remove Logo Border check box to remove the border from the logo.
5. For districts that want to view student documents from IEP Writer in Focus, enter the IEP Security Token and IEP SMS Token.
6. Click Save.
For districts with an Okta integration, select "Create new Okta account when user created in /auth" to create an Okta account and send an email to the user created in /auth with login instructions for Okta. In the remaining system preferences, enter the Okta configuration information.
For districts with functionality to sign in to Blackboard from Focus, complete the Blackboard Sign-On Configuration preferences.
The Single Sign-on tab allows the district to configure their single sign-on preferences directly through the interface. This feature provides multiple single sign-on profile support.
In Users > Profiles, enable the sub-permission "Configure Single Sign-On" under System Preferences to allow the user access to the Single Sign-on tab. For users without this sub-permission, the Single Sign-on tab will not display.
See Single Sign-On Configuration for guidance on configuring each single sign-on profile type.
The settings vary by single sign-on profile. This procedure reviews the General Settings and using View Sessions.
See Single Sign-On Configuration for guidance on configuring each single sign-on profile type.
1. Click the Single Sign-on tab.
2. Click Add a single sign-on profile and select the desired option.
The settings are displayed. The configuration will vary depending on the profile type. Click Save after configuring the profile.
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Provider Title | The default Provider Title can be updated, as desired. The provider title is used on the button that displays on the Focus login screen, e.g. Sign in with Google. |
| Provider ID | The Provider ID will auto-generate upon creating the SSO profile. In best practice, the Provider ID should be updated to be more user-friendly. It is used in the Metadata URL to identify which SSO profile is being used. |
| Automatic Login Redirect |
Yes: When Automatic Login Redirect is set to Yes, end-users will be redirected to the SSO login page when navigating to the Focus login screen. No: When Automatic Login Redirect is set to No, end-users will not be redirected and the Focus login screen will load as expected. |
| Username Suffix | When Automatic Login Redirect is set to No, end-users can be redirected to the SSO login page when they type a username that ends in the entered Username Suffix on the Focus login screen and tab out of the username input. |
| Native Browser on Mobile | Select whether to use a native browser for mobile login requests. |
| QR Code on Kiosk | Select Yes to enable signing in on the kiosk using a QR code. On the kiosk login screen, the user will tap to log in using SSO. A QR code will display for 30 seconds (after 30 seconds, the kiosk login screen will redisplay). The user will scan the QR code with their phone. Once authentication is complete, the user will be logged in on the kiosk. |
The View Sessions button allows you to view recent sessions, including from other users, allowing for troubleshooting.
1. In the desired SSO profile, click View Sessions.
A table is displayed, displaying up to 20 recent sessions, within the last 15 minutes.
The Logged In and Logged Out columns display when the user successfully logged in or out of the SSO provider, not Focus.
2. Click Details to view session details in a pop-up window.
3. Click the X to close the window when finished.
To test an SSO profile, you can log into Focus using local credentials. Open an incognito window and attempt to log in to Focus using SSO. In Focus, click "View Sessions" to view the session details for troubleshooting.