ConnectRE

Vicky Lopuchowycz

Good Afternoon Community!!  I am looking for some information/advice/experience with having RE and OnSuite connected.  When we originally converted from EE to OnSuite, several years ago, things with ConnectRE were rocky at best and in the interest of data integrity we decided not to do use it.  Now, it is been brought back up but I am having difficulty finding current info/experiences with having the databases linked.  I did find the post from December where there were 9 ideas to be voted for, which is great, but I'm looking for more information as far as what's really great and what's there is to be cautious of if pushing the proverbial button.  If you prefer to reach out, my e-mail is vlopuchowycz@aquinasinstitute.com.  

John Rorke

We just recently rolled this out here.  So far, the experience has been great!  I will say, you'll want to be very diligent on your first round of syncs - confirming data, contact matches, etc.  I took it one role at a time and once that role was confirmed and synchronized, I expanded it to include another one.  I do wish it was a two-way sync, but the fact that the two systems are talking now is still a huge step forward.

Brandon Stein

I'm in the process of matching records for the first time and it is causing a good amount of dirty data in prefix, suffix, and addressee/salutation fields.  People enter data in all caps or lower case...this will take a while to clean up.  I've created an idea in the idea bank to try to fix the prefix and suffix fields not being drop downs.  I would appreciate your vote!  https://blackbaudk12.ideas.aha.io/ideas/K12CO-I-2720

Julie Baker

We have been using it a few years.  It is ok and we just have to remember to enter information on the Core side not RE.  It can get a bit confusing as we also use address accelerator in RE so when we update records we have to make sure a new address is in Core first.  I am being patient with some things that frustrate us as I know Blackbaud keeps saying it will be one record soon so the Core and RE record will be the same. Overall it isnt so bad and is helpful with keeping data consistent.  The initial set up and integration take your time with it.

Bryna Gleich

For the official help documentation for Connect Raiser's Edge, see https://webfiles.blackbaud.com/files/support/helpfiles/education/k12/full-help/content/bb-connect-re.html


Keep in mind that the Connect Raiser’s Edge integration is designed as a one-way sync from the Blackbaud Education Management products into Raiser’s Edge. The Education Management products database must be the most current information or else you may lose good data in Raiser’s Edge. This lost data could include specific field values, spouses, and other relationships. 


The first two steps about 

1. Before you can use this integration, follow these steps to prepare for the installation.

2. Be sure to also carefully review how the integration will handle data.
   
    

are very important. Take your time with them. Write down anything that might be challenging for your data entry team (fields that might not be handled in the way you'd prefer, or fields that may be prone to typos in data entry). You can use those notes as a cheat sheet for data entry or as notes that you'll want to review for your first few syncs. Some schools include those notes as part of their "policy and procedures" guide.