About - What on earth is a patron import and why do I need to do it!?

That is the million dollar question!

The patron import, put very simply, is how you integrate the various student information systems on your campus. Perhaps students pick their meal plans from an entirely different department or if they lose their card they go to student services to get it changed. In either case, the systems need to talk to each other so that student information is always up to date so they are able to eat with no issues. Queue the imports!

There are two ways an import can be done, either manually by the dining services team or automatically by the IT team.

The frequency for which you do these all depends how often that student information may change. For some, doing it once a semester is fine, for others, they need to do it many times a day.

The most critical time for imports is at the beginning of a new semester, that's when all the changes to meal plans happen. For that sensitive period you must make sure you are well acquainted with exactly what happens at the end of a semester to the meal plans.