SchoolCal Overview

The Basics

At the most basic level, SchoolCal:

1. Pulls class and event information from your SIS (i.e. Veracross, Blackbaud, etc.)

2. Processes events based on your event and attendee filter selections

3. Formats those events based on your event template

4. Creates individual calendar events within your calendaring system (i.e. Google, Microsoft) for each processed SIS event with faculty and students invited as event attendees

SIS Event Information

Veracross

Using the Veracross API, SchoolCal pulls information about classes, athletic events and group events:

• of all course types
• for all school levels and campuses
• for the current school year
• so long as the class status is not "Canceled"

The classes pulled from Veracross are those reflected in Veracross query 802586. 

SchoolCal also pulls block schedules and alternate block schedule information.

Blackbaud

Using the Blackbaud Sky API, SchoolCal pulls information about classes, 

Filters

Using filters, SchoolCal allows you to specify which types of events you would like to sync to your calendaring system and who should be invited to those calendar events. There are two types of filters to do this:

Event-level Filters

Event-level filters allow you to specify whether all events should be synced to your calendaring system or just some, based on the properties of the event including:

• the school level of the class

• the course type of the class

• the date of the event

Attendee-level Filters

Attendee-level filters allow you to specify whether events should be synced for all faculty and students or just for some, based on:

• the grade level of the student

• the faculty role with respect to the class

You can read more about setting up filters here.

Event Templates

The event template allows you to specify the details of how events are added to your calendaring system. You can specify: 

• the information that should appear in the event title, location, and description/notes by using merge fields such as class ID, course ID, class description/name, campus, building, room, block, class URL, and more

• the event visibility for others when viewing the attendee's calendar

• whether event attendees should be able to view the entire event guest list

You can read more about setting up the event template here.

SchoolCal-Created Events

SchoolCal creates all processed events within one calendar account (specified in settings), and invites faculty and students, as specified, to those events. The events automatically appear as accepted on attendees' individual calendars with accurate event details and guest lists, allowing those attendees' calendars to accurately reflect event commitments and free time.

Events in Google

The events that SchoolCal creates in Google are:

• individual events as opposed to a repeating event series
• automatically marked with an RSVP of "yes"
• created so that attendees appear "busy" during the event time
• not editable by event attendees (attendees can edit the event on their own calendar after being warned by Google, but edits will not be visible to others and will be overwritten by SchoolCal if the event changes)