Important Announcement Regarding BBID for EMS

Sarah Bienvenue
Sarah Bienvenue
Ninth Anniversary Kudos 3 Name Dropper Participant
in Blackbaud Enrollment Management System™

On Tuesday October 12th, we are releasing the ability for users to opt in and begin using BBID for EMS. The opt in option will be located in enrollment>admissions>admissions set up>applications. I have attached documentation here that explains how it works once it has been turned on, considerations and suggestions.

Additionally, we will start requiring all BBEMS schools to use BBID for their users being created through EMS starting on 7/19/22. You will start seeing in product communications within the next month or so, that reference the above date. I will also have a recorded webinar when we are closer to that date as well.

Thank you,

Sarah Bienvenue

EMS k12 BBID Communication1.pdf

Comments

  • Geoffrey Goodfellow
    Geoffrey Goodfellow
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant

    Hi, @Sarah Bienvenue. Thanks for the information. I followed the instructions, but I'm not seeing the “connect and invite new users to BBID?” Yes/No setting on my inquiry forms. Will that not appear until October 5? When it appears, will it be defaulting to Yes or No?

  • Sarah Bienvenue
    Sarah Bienvenue
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 3 Name Dropper Participant

    @Geoffrey Goodfellow on October 12th you will first need to go to admissions set up>applications and turn BBID for EMS on (if that is what you want), then the setting for the inquiry form will be available for you. The applications setting for whether BBID for EMS is turned on, will be defaulted to “no”. That setting determines whether BBID is turned on for instances such as creating an account and gives access to the BBID notification, inquiry settings, and the BBID Admissions List.

    The inquiry setting just means that an invite will automatically go out when an inquiry is processed and BBID for EMS has been turned on. If you don't do anything on October 5th, your settings for your school will not change and there is nothing needed on your part. We're just allowing schools to opt in if they so choose.

    Thank you,

    Sarah

  • Geoffrey Goodfellow
    Geoffrey Goodfellow
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant

    Thanks for the clarification, Sarah!

  • Cheryl Quenneville
    Cheryl Quenneville
    Fourth Anniversary Facilitator 1

    I have just tried testing with the BBID option for someone who does not have an account and wants to apply to our school. There were 10 steps ( 10 different screens requiring 10 different actions) in order to get to the application form. I have listed them below. Did I do something wrong? It this really the process?

    Summary of steps for user to Apply:

    1. Click Create account https://.....myschoolapp.com/app#login/apply
    2. Fill in “Create account” screen
    3. Receive “Email Sent” screen - click on “bbid signup link”
    4. Receive Blackbaud screen - create password and click “signup”
    5. Receive “Let’s confirm your identity” message
    6. User logs into email to click CONFIRM
    7. User receives “ Your username is being converted to use Blackbaud ID with your email address” they then click CONTINUE
    8. User has to login to Blackbaud ID with username and password
    9. Then they get the Getting started message
    10. Then they can see the Application and the Fill out button
    11. Then they are in the application form
  • Sarah Bienvenue
    Sarah Bienvenue
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 3 Name Dropper Participant

    @Cheryl Quenneville Hi Cheryl, I've added some notes below to help with your process. The process is different from what your candidates are used to seeing, but not wildly so. Users still need to receive an email and take additional steps before they can access the application whether it's for BBID or not.

    Click Create account https://.....myschoolapp.com/app#login/apply. (same as current process).

    1. Fill in “Create account” screen- This is the same as the current process.
    2. Receive “Email Sent” screen - click on “bbid signup link” -The current process would require them to receive an email so that they could create a password and finish signing up. Instead they are directed to finish signing up when they click on the link.
    3. Receive Blackbaud screen - create password and click “signup”- This is part of the process.
    4. Receive “Let’s confirm your identity” message- this is a pop up that explains the rest of the process, there is no additional action on the part of the parent, I would not consider this an additional step?
    5. User logs into email to click CONFIRM- this is part of the process, however it replaces the need for them to wait for a separate email where they set up a password.
    6. User receives “ Your username is being converted to use Blackbaud ID with your email address” they then click CONTINUE- If they've confirmed their email address, they should not get this message again.
    7. User has to login to Blackbaud ID with username and password- this is the same as the current process. They need to log in, in order to access the application.
    8. Then they get the Getting started message- this is the same as the current process. This can be turned off in your core settings if you'd rather they did not.
    9. Then they can see the Application and the Fill out button- this is the same as the current process.
    10. Then they are in the application form- this is the same as the current process.

    Thank you,

    Sarah

  • Kathy Hannon
    Kathy Hannon
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 K-12 Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge Name Dropper
    This is still a HUGE transition for us - the fact that Blackbaud ID takes the administration piece of logins away from schools - our parents are going to have a culture shock - they won't understand why we (IT) can't assist with their login issues. They have issues with understanding why we can't just change their password for them now, it has to be a temporary and then they can set up their own-- yes they are spoiled! My biggest worry is if a parent has difficulties - how long do they have to wait for support? I am assuming that Blackbaud has a call center for these parents that can't - get the email; the confirm doesn't work; they are setting up another school account or whatever issues arise when they try to set up their Blackbaud ID with us. Is there instructions for those of us in IT who need to take the blunt of prospective parents and eventuallly all parents having issues and our Admissions office gets frustrated with IT because parents aren't able to get their Blackbaud ID set up.


    My admission office saw these steps and said - NOPE - not fighting with this until we absolutely have to - too many points of failure.
  • Bryan Lorenzo
    Bryan Lorenzo Blackbaud Employee
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant

    Hi @Kathy Hannon - we switched all our current parents to BBID in March and it was very smooth. The biggest issue we had was parents still using their username vs. their email address. It still happens today. Other than that, it has been great. I'm very happy we changed before the new password requirements.

    We were in the EAP for EMS and we did not have any complaints from our parents during the admissions process.

    Overall, we are very happy with BBID.

  • Kathy Hannon
    Kathy Hannon
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 K-12 Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge Name Dropper
    Thank you Bryan
  • Brian LeBlanc
    Brian LeBlanc
    Kudos 5 Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper Participant

    Hey @Sarah Bienvenue - we currently use inquiries as an entry point to be able to tell parents whether or not we have seats available in their preferred grade, and send an official note based on that information (one note for “we have space”, a different one for “we are full”). I've tested the new procedure and I think this is the correct workflow, but please let me know if I'm off base!

    • In Admissions Setup>Inquiries>Settings, select NO to “Connect and invite new users to BBID?”
    • Parent submits inquiry
    • Admissions processes inquiry and sends official note
    • Admissions goes to Admissions>Blackbaud ID authentication, clicks “Unregistered”, and connects all users in the report
    • Parent gets BBID email, sets up password, logs in and completes application

    Do I have it right?

    Also, I think I found one other problem: we use inquiries for future years to collect information for marketing purposes prior to a student applying (for new campuses, children too young to enroll in kindergarten, etc.) These students are assigned a blank checklist that allows us to reach out to them prior to applications being available for their preferred enrollment year. However, this blank checklist still includes an application, and if we send the BBID connect email, the parent will be able to log in and complete the application even though they aren't being accepted for the preferred enrollment year. What's the best way to get around this issue?

    Thanks!

  • Sarah Bienvenue
    Sarah Bienvenue
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 3 Name Dropper Participant

    @Brian LeBlanc you've got it right! Nicely done. As for users that are applying for a future year, you should be able to hide that checklist step if you don't want them seeing it. We recently made a change so that the application doesn't show no matter what.

    I'm going to get an entering year filter added to the BBID authentication list to make it easier to find the right candidates. Stay tuned! As a side note-- we added the interview dates back to the checklist step when they've been scheduled. Let me know if you're seeing otherwise.

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