03 June 2024

How to set up the integration with UCAS

Set up the integration with UCAS as follows:

Ensure that you have the required information from UCAS, permissions, desks, and applications statuses as defined by the pre-requisites.
Connect to UCAS through the UCAS XML-Link
Import the reference data from UCAS
Set up the required reference data for applications
Set up the required reference data for qualifications
Import an application to make sure the setup is correct and then import all applications

Pre-requisites

Before you start the setup, complete the following:

UCAS endpoints and reference data cycles

The connection to UCAS requires the following:

A UCAS account for the institution and the institution's UCAS code.

A UCAS endpoint and reference data cycle as detailed in the table UCAS endpoint and reference data cycle. You can change the endpoint to import test data into a pre-production environment and increment the reference data cycle to begin importing the data for the next admissions cycle.

UCAS endpoint and reference data cycle
Field	Description
Endpoint	URL of the UCAS endpoint.
Reference data cycle	Year of the reference data cycle to be imported, such as `2022`.

Permissions

The setup requires permissions for Admissions settings and System admin as defined in the table Setup tasks and required permissions. For more information on permissions, go to What is authorisation?

Setup tasks and required permissions
Tasks	Authorisation area	Permission
Set up the integration with UCAS	Web Apps area Edge Admin	Use application
Set up the integration with UCAS	Integrations area UCAS	UCAS – View and UCAS Settings - Edit
Import from UCAS	Web Apps area Integration	Use application
	Integrations area UCAS	UCAS Import – Run
	Integrations area Events and Errors	Application Errors – View and Application Errors – Edit
Set up the required reference data	Web Apps area Reference Data	Use application
Set up the required reference data	Reference area Data	Reference Data – View and Reference Data – Edit
Check applications have been imported	Web Apps area Applications	Use application
Check applications have been imported	Admissions area Applications	Desk-based processing defines the permissions at desks. For more information, go to the section Desk-based processing in What is authorisation?

Desks and applications statuses

The import of applications from UCAS requires the following reference data:

Desks: The reference data Desks requires the default desks and the desks for processing applications with appropriate folder structures. For more information, go to What are desks? The desk that processes an applications depends on the Entry point of the programme, which is defined in the section Set up the required reference data for applications.
Application statuses: The reference data Application status must have the status Active, with the code A, and the status Withdrawn, with the code W. For more information on the reference data for application statuses, go to Statuses - Edit.

Connect to UCAS

Connect to UCAS as follows:

On System admin, go to Integrations and then UCAS tab and then UCAS integration. Then, select Edit and enter the details as described in the table UCAS connection details.

UCAS connection details
Details	Example
Endpoint	`https://<endpoint>`
Reference data cycle	`2022`

Add the UCAS account: go to System admin and then Integrations and then UCAS tab and then UCAS accounts. Then, select Add account and add an account as follows:
- Username and password of the UCAS account.
- Institution code, such as H99 for the University of Hessle.
Test the connection to UCAS: go to System admin and then Integrations and then UCAS tab and then UCAS accounts, and then select Test connection.

Import reference data

Import reference data from UCAS. For more information, go to What reference data is imported from UCAS? Import the reference data as follows:

Import the UCAS reference data. On Applications, go to Integrations and then Imports and then Reference data and then select Import new and updated. For more information, go to How to import from UCAS.
Wait while the reference data is imported, which may take a while as you are importing all the reference data provided by UCAS.
Check for errors when the import is complete. On Applications, go to Integrations and then Applications and then select UCAS import from Error type. Errors should be resolved before continuing with the setup. For more information, go to How to view application errors.

Set up the required reference data for applications

Set up and match the UCAS course structure so that the applications can be imported onto the correct entry point and course. The following tables must be created with the specified data fields matching the UCAS data. On Admissions settings. go to Reference Data and then Applications and then add the required values as follows:

Set up the reference data as detailed in the table Reference data. You must ensure that each admissions programme, academic year, month, and block have values that map to the course codes, year of entry, months, and points of entries used with UCAS applicant choices.

Reference data
Reference data	Field	Value	UCAS applicant choice
Admissions programme	Admissions agency course code	UCAS course code	Course code
Academic year	Four-digit year	Year of entry	Year of entry
Month	Code	Month of entry	Month of entry
Block	Code	Point of Entry	Point of entry

Set up the reference data for the entry points using values defined in step 1.

Entry point
Field name	Value	UCAS applicant choice
Admissions programme	Admissions programme with the Admissions agency course code set to the correct UCAS course code.	Course code
Academic year	Academic year with the correct four-digit year for the year of entry.	Year of entry
Block	Block that matches the point of entry code.	Point of entry
Desk	Desk for processing the applications. If the desk is not defined, applications are allocated to the unallocated desk.	Not applicable
Month of entry	Month code that matches the month of entry code.	Month of entry
UCAS campus	UCAS Campus code, which must match the UCAS campus code so should be left empty if the UCAS campus code is blank.	Campus

Set up the reference data as detailed in the table Highest qualification level.

Highest qualification level
Reference data	Field name	Value	UCAS attribute
Highest qualification levels	Code	Highest attained qualification QUALENT3 level (HIQA)	Matched to the UCAS applicant detail HIQA Records should be created the HESA QUALENT3 data. For more information, go to Fields required from institutions in All fields Highest qualification on entry .

Set up the required reference data for qualifications

Set up the reference data for the qualifications and related reference data such, as mark schemes. The Qualification mark scheme is the link between Qualifications and Mark Schemes which are used to match UCAS provided Exam Level Codes and Grades.

The qualifications data is indirectly provided by UCAS. The data needs to be collated from multiple sources and is presented in a format that needs to be pre-processed before qualifications can be imported.

On Admissions settings, go to Reference Data and then Applications and then add the required values as follows:

Reference data for qualifications
Reference data	Field name	Value	UCAS applicant result
Qualifications	Exam level	Exam level code defined by UCAS. For example, A for A level and BR for BTEC Level 3 Diploma.	Exam level code
Qualifications	Qualification mark scheme	Mark scheme of the qualification. For example, a Qualification mark scheme of AL for A level.	Not applicable
Qualification mark scheme	Elements and then Code	Grade that must be from the mark scheme defined in the qualification. For example, a grade B from the A level mark scheme.	Grade
Qualification subject	ABL subject	Subject name used by the awarding body, such as biology.	UCAS subject name
Validating body	Code	Awarding body that verified the qualification, such as OCR.	Pseudo code
Academic year	Four-digit year	Year of result or qualification obtained. Note that the academic year is used in combination with the Sitting. Summer (S) sittings are seen as part of the year before. For example, a 2021 summer result looks for a 2020 academic year.	Year and Sitting

Import applications from UCAS

Import a single application to check for issues, which requires the UCAS personal ID of an application, and then import all applications.

Import an application as follows:

On Applications, go to Integrations and then Imports and then UCAS and thenApplications and thenapplications import options menu button ⋮, and then select Import applicant.

You must define the UCAS personal ID, institution code, and, optionally, the application scheme code.
Check for errors when the application is imported. On Integrations, go to Applications and then select UCAS import from Error type. Errors should be resolved before importing applications. For more information, go to How to view application errors.

If, for example an entry point cannot be found for the application, an error is logged. The error details the fields and values that the process has tried to match. If you get this error, ensure that the required reference data is correct and that the required values match the values shown in the error log.
Check that the application has been imported. For example, view the application in the applications list.

Import all applications as follows:

On Applications, go to Integrations and then Imports and then UCAS and then Applications and thenapplications import options menu button ⋮, and then select Import all new and updated UCAS records.
Wait while the applications are imported, which may take a while as you are importing all the applications provided by UCAS.
Check for errors when the import is complete. On Integrations, go to Applications and then select UCAS import from Error type. For more information, go to How to view application errors.