WISEid: User Guide - Message Center

Message Center - Menu in WISEid Portal

Message Center Overview      Agency Notifications      Change Requests     

Duplicate Merge Requests      Alerts

Message Center Overview

General introductory information is provided here.

Agency Notification

This is the WISEid user "opt in" page where you can choose to receive an email alerting you of new system notifications and the frequency for receiving those emails. Most, if not all, notifications require user attention. Examples include: changes requested to student or staff demographic data requiring your approval, addition of comments from dependent districts or DPI regarding changes requested by your district, or existence of errors in recent person uploads. For greater detail about these notifications, please read the Alerts section, below.

Change Requests

Use the links below to navigate to specific sections of the Change Request Menu:

A change request occurs for the purpose of updating previously entered demographic information that now needs to be changed. Every student and staff member is assigned a WISEid when they enter the school system. For this reason, change requests can be found on either WISEid or WISEstaff in the Message Center menu. There are two main types of change requests - to correct a name, or to correct a date of birth.

For students, there is a nightly job that replicates name and birth date changes from the SIS to WISEdata, and then into WISEid for the active school year's most recent, current, and primary enrollment. These replications will generate a Change Request, if warranted.

FILTERS and FUNCTIONS of the Change Request tab in WISEid: 

The Change Requests page provides a view and status of changes requested to personal demographic data. Requests made by your district and by other districts who have former students enrolled or staff employed by your district are displayed. If there are change requests that require your approval this will be indicated by a large orange banner spanning the top of the screen. The number of new change requests for your district will appear in a red circle next to the message icon.

Moving across the screen are the following filters and functions:

• Status - This filter tells you the status of your change requests. Filter can be set to:

  • All

  • Pending - Waiting for the dependent agency to complete the request work.

  • Approved - Your change request was successfully granted.

  • Denied - There was a problem with your change request. One big reason for denial of a change request is that a required comment was not provided. You can appeal denied change requests. Please read the example on Date of Birth  Change requests for details on how to appeal a denied change request.

  • Canceled - This change request no longer needed to be completed.

  • Appeal Pending - You have submitted an appeal to a previously denied request and are now waiting for the dependent agency to complete the request.

  • Appeal Denied - You have submitted an appeal to a previously denied request but the dependent agency denied the appeal. Read the comments section to learn more about why your appeal was denied.

• Action Needed - By clicking this blank box, you can filter to see only change requests that require your attention.

• New Comments - There is a new comment attached to this change request. New comments should be viewed in the comment section. NOTE: Replying to comments is not the same as appealing a denied request!

• WISEid - Lets you see change requests that only apply to a specific WISEid.

• Requesting Agency - The requesting agency is the source of the change request.

  • If you are (i.e., District A) receiving the change request from another district (i.e., District B), District B is the requesting agency and District A is the dependent agency.

• Upload File - Allows you to see change requests that you have created for other districts to review.

• Local Person ID Type - Lets you see change requests that only apply to a specific Local Person ID.

• Change Type - Shows a list of all possible change requests: View the examples below for more details on requirements for each type of change request

  • Birth date (Birth date data element page)

  • Entity ID (Entity ID data element page)

  • First Name, Last Name, Middle Name, Suffix (Student Name data element page)

• Dependent Agency - The dependent agency is the agency receiving the change request. Dependent agencies have work to do to complete, and submit or deny change requests.

  • If you are (i.e., District A) sending a change request to another district (i.e., District B), District A is the requesting agency, and District B is the dependent agency.

  • DPI is agency number 7300, listed as - Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. DPI is always the dependent agency for birth date change requests.

• Filter - This button is blue; once you have selected all of your desired filters, click this button to apply the filters to the results you will see in the table below.

• Reset - Clears all filters and resets to default settings

• Download Change Requests - Click this to download a .csv file of all change requests visible in your table

• Cancel Selected - On the table below, there is a column titled Cancel CR; you may click in the blank boxes to select any change requests in your table. Selected change requests will be indicated with a blue checkmark. Clicking the ‘Cancel Selected’ button will bring up a hovering information window, asking “Are you sure you want to cancel all selected Change Requests?” and you may either select Yes to cancel them, or No to not cancel.

Below the field of filters and functions will be a table. All of the headers in this table are clickable and can sort the information in the entire table in either ascending (indicated with an upward pointing arrow) or descending order (indicated with a downward pointing arrow) for the header that was clicked. Column headers are as follows:

Column headers on the filter results table are as follows:

• Action Needed: Requests with a red flag mean they are waiting on your district for action. This means you are the dependent agency and someone else is requesting your help.

• New Comments: The ability to add comments to change requests which can help to clarify the reason for the change. Comments are very helpful for other districts and for DPI when reviewing and determining whether to approve the change. Sometimes comments are required, and if they are not present your change request will be denied.

• (View): To see more about the request, click View and the request will expand. Here you can see the requested change. If you need to deny a change request, you are required to to enter a comment about why you are denying it. Conversations can happen in the comments sections to determine if the change is correct or not.

• Cancel CR: See "Cancel Selected" in the filters section above

• Status: This will have one of the status labels listed, view them above for definitions.

• WISEid: Shows the WISEid of the person connected to the change request.

  • WISEid and WISEstaff are secure portals, so you are not divulging personally identifiable information (PII) by sharing WISEids on this platform.

  • Use the comment function to communicate using WISEids.

  • DO NOT share WISEids via district or other emails as they are not considered secure and you may be at risk of sharing PII to persons without a need to know.

• Create Date: Change requests are displayed in that order with a date - time stamp.

• Requesting Agency: Shows the four-digit District Code and the name of the school/district requesting the change request.

• Modified Date: Displays the date - time stamp when the change request was last modified by either the requesting or dependent agency.

• Not Responded / Approved / Denied: These columns display the number of requests with this status.

Bundled Change Requests

In an effort to prevent cases where the wrong person has been chosen from being incorrectly updated, last name and suffix (if applicable) are required fields on Change Requests for first name, middle name and/or birth date changes.

As such, there are no more change requests available solely for last name changes. Last name change requests will only occur if they are 'bundled'. Bundled Change Requests include multiple fields being changed at one time (for example - the last name and the first/middle name are being changed at the same time, or the student's last name and birth date are being changed at the same time).

Bundled Change Requests of any name type that also include a birth date change will go to DPI to review. Read the sections below for more details on how to perform Change Requests for first names and how to perform Change Requests for middle names. 

Otherwise, bundled Change Requests will go to dependent agencies with Local Person IDs for review.

Date of Birth Change - Change Request

First, verify the student's date of birth. Check it against the information in your SIS. Schools/districts have local control in Wisconsin, so each LEA may create its own list of acceptable documents to serve as evidence for birth date verifications and changes (meaning, "x" document verified the student's real birth date, so we need to change the incorrect birth date we have listed on the school SIS). Common examples include but are not limited to documentation such as a birth certificate, passport, immigration form, legal affidavits, etc. to verify this change of birth date. The document used to verify a student's date of birth does not need to be seen by DPI.

Next, add comments to the WISEid Change request regarding how the birth date was verified. The agency requesting the change must indicate what document required by the LEA has been viewed by the attending school/district to validate the change. Change requests for date of birth are routed to the DPI. Birth dates are used for match review purposes, so DPI must approve them.

Birth date change requests require comments.

Comments entered on change requests for birth dates must indicate that the district has approved the change request based on district policy for such changes. District policies determine what document or information is required by a district to prove the birth date and what is required may vary by district.

One example is:

• "The parent brought in a birth certificate, which I viewed, and the birth date on the student record now does not match their birth certificate."

If a birth date change request is submitted without the proper comment, DPI will automatically deny the change request with the following comment:

“Comments entered on change requests for birth dates must indicate that the district has approved the change request based on district policy for such changes. District policies determine what document or information is required by a district to prove the birth date and what is required may vary by district.”

Here is an example of what a denied change request looks like:

Notice DPI’s denial statement highlighted in yellow. Also notice that the requesting agency must respond with a comment,  such as “Verified with Birth Certificate, as per school districts policy,” then click 'Post Comment.' 

NOTE: Comments may not presented in chronological date order.

Six Steps to Appeal a Denied Change Request

If your change request is denied, that means DPI has closed the change request in their queue. The next step for the school/district requesting the change is to:

1. Login to WISEid, and get to the Change Request tab in the Message Center menu.

2. On the Message Center Change Request screen, find the Change Request you want to check on using the filters (i.e., Status, Denied, or Change Type, Birth date).

3. Click View to see the expanded view, including the Comments. Here you will read DPI’s denial comment. (Example highlighted in yellow in the image above.)

4. Write your comment in the comment box - indicating that you have viewed legal documentation to support the change request - and click the blue ‘Post Comment’ button. (Example outlined in a red box in the image above.)

   1. Provide a comment that states the required documentation was viewed.

   2. Name the specific form of legal documentation in the comment.

   3. NOTE: Adding a comment and clicking the “Post Comment” button does not change the status of the Change request.

5. Click on the Requested Changes tab. 

6. Click the blue button that says, “Appeal to DPI”. If you do not click this button, your change request will not send the appeal to DPI and DPI will not be able to help you with this change request.

   1. NOTE: If you do not click the "Appeal" button, your comments will never make it to DPI. When DPI denies a change request, it closes that change request in DPI’s queue. Clicking the "Appeal" button is the only way to re-open the item and return it to the queue.

Student First Name Change - Change Request

Change requests for student first names do not come to DPI initially. Rather, change requests for first names will go to all districts besides the requesting agency who have a Local Person ID, regardless of year of enrollment, attached to this student in WISEid. Some common reasons for a ‘first name’ type change request is to correct the spelling of a first name, or if a student's first name changes. In an effort to prevent cases where the wrong person has been chosen from being incorrectly updated, last name and suffix (if applicable) are required fields on Change Requests for first name, middle name and/or birth date changes. Comments are not required for name type change requests, but are very helpful to the dependent agency and DPI. If the dependent agency denies a change request for a first name, that appeal will come to the DPI. Please refer to the Bundled Change Requests section for information on change requests for last names. 

Change requests will be sent by the current attending school, who is the requesting agency. The change request will be received by the previous attending school, who is the dependent agency. The job of the previous attending school / dependent agency is to:

1. Verify that the student on the change request previously attended that school/district - AND -

2. Agree that the student on the change request is the correct student. Do this by checking multiple points of verification - especially by checking that the WISEid for the student matches, and that you can confirm the transfer with a request form.

When the prior attending school can successfully achieve the two steps above, it is their job to Approve the change request. Prior schools do not need to update the student's name, nor should they.

Name change requests - for first name and middle names - that are not responded to by the prior attending school within seven (7) days will be automatically approved by the WISEid system, thereby allowing the new school/district to adjust the WISEid record.

Suffix change requests - do not process for additional approval. They can get changed automatically within an agency’s student information system (SIS).

Student Middle Name Change - Change Request

Change requests for student middle names do not come to DPI initially (but, like first name change requests, if the dependent agency denies the request the requesting agency can appeal that denial - that appeal comes to DPI). Rather, change requests for middle names will go to all districts besides the requesting agency who have a Local Person ID, regardless of year of enrollment, attached to this student in WISEid. In an effort to prevent cases where the wrong person has been chosen from being incorrectly updated, last name and suffix (if applicable) are required fields on Change Requests for first name, middle name and/or birth date changes. Comments are not required for name type change requests, but are very helpful to the dependent agency and DPI, especially if the middle name is changing to an entirely new/different middle name. Change requests that are expansions of current middle names, such as from middle initial 'M' to middle name 'Michael', do not generate a Change Request. This change can be made by the school/district directly in their SIS.

When Should You Deny a Change Request?

Denying a change request should only occur when the prior attending school is absolutely certain that the student being referenced in the change request is not attending the new school (i.e. it is likely that the new school has mistakenly chosen the wrong person in the change request). This should be verified by using multiple points of identification for every student that gets a change request, such as matching WISEids, transfer request forms. If legal documentation provided does not support the change, - or - DPI special rules don't apply for overriding the legal name, such as for transgender or similar protected student group rules, the request should also be denied.

Change requests for birth dates will be denied by DPI when there are no comments provided indicating that legal documentation(for example, a Birth Certificate) proving that the request has been viewed .

Race and gender changes are up to parent choice and should not be denied unless you believe that incorrect persons may be linked together. If you believe that two persons are incorrectly linked, please create a Help Desk Ticket. A WISEsupport member will investigate and can help you separate the people.

Duplicate Merge Requests

This is where WISEid Administrators can resolve duplicate WISEid records. Also, agencies can view the status of submitted duplicates.

Alerts

Overview

System-generated alerts are a method of notifying a district that there are updates to their WISEid or WISEstaff data which require their attention. Alerts come in two parts: first is a message generated within WISEid / WISEstaff which can be viewed by anyone within the district; second is an email sent to notify district staff that there are alerts awaiting review. Based on the importance of the data affected, some emails are designed to automatically notify the district via email, while others are optional, allowing the district to opt in to receive emails.

Alerts are generated nightly, based on data changes or new data entry deadlines from the previous day.

Return to Alerts menu

Types of Alerts

There is a separate alert generated for each type of data affected.

WISEid Data

• New Change Request Comments - Student Data
• Change Request Action Needed - Student Data
• File Upload has Errors - Student Data
• New Potential Matches - Student Data

WISEstaff Data

• Entity IDs are Missing
• New Validation Errors / Warnings - Staff Data
• Checklist Progress Alert
• Agency Certification Needed
• New Change Request Comments - Staff Data
• Change Request Action Needed - Staff Data
• New Potential Matches - Staff Data
• File Upload has Errors - Staff Data

Return to Alerts menu

Viewing Alerts

To viw your alerts, follow the steps below:

1. A “New” icon will appear in the header section of the application near the Message Center option when you have unread alerts. Click the Message Center link and select Alerts to view a list of messages.
2. The alerts page will show a list of messages generated for your district. You’ll see the subject of the alert and the date it occurred. New, unread alerts will have a “New!” label in red text next to the most recent occurrence date.
   • The Title of each alert will indicate the type of data affected.
   • The Important Information column contains more information about what the alert indicates and why it is important to address.
3. To view the affected data, click the alert title. The system will open the page where you can view data which needs updating.

Return to Alerts menu

Email Notifications

For users who do not work in the WISEid or WISEstaff application on a daily basis but may still have data changes which require their attention, they can be alerted by email that new alerts exist.

Alerts pertaining to data that has a specific deadline, like agency certification prior to a WISEstaff snapshot, will automatically generate an email to the email addresses listed as primary and secondary contacts within the WISEstaff or WISEid application.

For all other alert types, you can opt in to receive an email notification when your district has new alerts.

Opt in to Email Notifications

1. From the WISEid or WISEstaff tab, click the Agency Notifications link in the Message Center menu.
2. Click the Add Email button at the top of the page. An Email text field will display where you can enter the email address of the intended recipient (yourself or another district staff member). Click Update to save the email address or Cancel to disregard the email.
3. After an email record is added, you’ll see a list of alert types that you can opt in for that email address to receive email notifications.
   • First, click the Edit button on the far right for the alert type you want to receive.
   • Next, click the checkbox in the Opt In column, then select the day/s of the week on which you want to receive email notifications. You may select more than one day or all days of the week.
   • Click the Update button to save your changes.
4. You may opt in to email notifications for any or all of the alert types listed.
5. If you have opted in an email address and you no longer want to receive email notifications for any alert types, click the Delete Email button to remove that email address from the email notification system.

Return to Alerts menu

Notifications by Email Alert Types

These alert types will automatically generate an email alert to the email addresses listed as primary and secondary contacts within the WISEid or WISEstaff application:

• Entity IDs are Missing
• WISEstaff Agency Certification Needed
• WISEstaff Checklist Progress Alert

These alert types have optional email notifications available to sign up for on the Agency Notifications page in WISEid or WISEstaff:

• File Upload has Errors - Staff Data
• File Upload has Errors - Student Data
• New Change Request Comments - Staff Data
• New Change Request Comments - Student Data
• Change Request Action Needed - Staff Data
• Change Request Action Needed - Student Data
• New Potential Matches - Staff Data
• New Potential Matches - Student Data
• New Validation Errors/Warnings - Staff Data

Return to Alerts menu

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The Customer Services Team is here to help!

Please submit a Help Ticket so we may better assist you.

Want help from a live DPI employee about a WISEstaff or WISEid question you have about your agency's staff? Please join us! Every Tuesday at 11am there is a WISEstaff & WISEid User Group. The WISEstaff and WISEid User Group Agenda allows Users like you to add questions to our agenda as a comment, and also provides the link you need to join the Teams Meet.

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