Student Eligibility File – VitalSource Success

Background Information

The Student Eligibility file enables the management of Student Eligibility through CSV imports delivered via SFTP. In addition to SFTP uploads, Student Eligibility can also be managed in Active Admin using the same file template. After a Student Eligibility file is processed, a default program decision is applied to each student based on the file’s specifications. The default program decision then determines the set of options available to each student.

Delivery Mechanism and Cadence

SFTP Server	sftp.verbasoftware.com
Directory	/home/akademos-ucsd/files/connect
Cadence	There is no required file drop frequency. If a file is available, the system will process it. The system checks for new files every hour at the 30-minute mark.

File Formatting and Specifications

Naming Convention	student_eligibility.csv
Format	.csv
Contains Headers?	Yes
Data:	Please provide delta files only, meaning each file should only include new or updated records since the previous file submission.

The File should consist of 4 columns with headers:

	Column Header	Format	Sample Data	Notes
1	tenant_login	string(255)	sampleschool
2	catalog_name	string(255)	Spring 2026	The catalog name that is sent should match the enrollment_file_catalog_name which is sent in the Enrollment File.
3	student_identifier	string(255)	12345678
4	eligibility_type	string(255)	fa_program	Acceptable values are listed below.

Acceptable Values for eligibility_type are:

fa_program
ea_program
ia_program
no_program
Note: If Eligibility is left blank, the student’s program eligibility defaults to the highest eligibility value for that catalog.

This means for a Flexible Access catalog, if Eligibility is left blank or not received for any students, their program would default to fa_program.

For a Equitable Access configured catalog, if Eligibility is left blank or not received for any students, their program would default to ea_program.

Expected Experience based on Eligibility Value sent for student and catalog configuration:

In a True FA Catalog Configuration

FA Catalog Configuration	Available Programs Based on FA Catalog Configuration	Student Eligibility Value	Expected Outcome
True FA Catalog Configuration
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	fa_program	Student defaults to EA Program The student can remain in EA The student is permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can also opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	ea_program	The student can remain in EA The student is not permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	ia_program	Student defaults to IA Program The student can remain in IA The student is not permitted to choose EA as an option. The student can opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	no_program	Student defaults to No Program The student is not permitted to choose EA or IA as an option.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	null/blank	Student eligibility value defaults to fa_program. Student program decision defaults to ea_program. The student can remain in EA The student is permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can also opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	Multiple Rows present for same student	The last successful update would be the value saved for student.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	No Eligibility File received, Enrollment File present	Student eligibility value defaults to fa_program. Student program decision defaults to ea_program. The student can remain in EA The student is permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can also opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	Student row missing from Eligibility File, Enrollment File present	Student eligibility value defaults to fa_program. Student program decision defaults to ea_program. The student can remain in EA The student is permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can also opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: true True FA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access', 'inclusive_access']	Student present on Eligibility File with null value, not present in Enrollment File	Dependent on if student was previously enrolled or not. Since students are created at the tenant level in connect. If a student exists with the identifier provided we will create a student_program_decision for the catalog specified. If the student does not exist we will not create the student. If a student is not enrolled in the catalog we will not enroll them without an enrollment file. If a student program decision was created for the catalog and a student was enrolled later we will reuse that student program decision.

In a FA Powered EA Catalog Configuration

FA Powered EA Catalog Configuration
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	fa_program	This would result in a failure for the row, which would result in the default eligibility for the catalog being applied. For a catalog with EA enabled only, this would result in an eligibility of ea_program being applied.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	ea_program	The student can remain in EA The student is not permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can opt-out entirely and into “No Program”.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	ia_program	This would result in a failure for the row, which would result in the default eligibility for the catalog being applied. For a catalog with EA enabled only, this would result in an eligibility of ea_program being applied.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	no_program	Student defaults to No Program The student is not permitted to choose EA or IA as an option.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	null/blank	Student defaults to ea_program The student can remain in EA The student is not permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can opt-out entirely and into “No Program”
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	Multiple Rows present for same student	The last successful update would be the value saved for student.
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	No Eligibility File received, Enrollment File present	Student defaults to ea_program The student can remain in EA The student is not permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can opt-out entirely and into “No Program
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	Student row missing from Eligibility File, Enrollment File present	Student defaults to ea_program The student can remain in EA The student is not permitted to choose IA as an option. The student can opt-out entirely and into “No Program
EA Allowed: true IA Allowed: false FA Powered EA Catalog	['no_program', 'equitable_access']	Student present on Eligibility File with null value, but not present in Enrollment File/ enrollments not run	Dependent on if student was previously enrolled or not. Since students are created at the tenant level in connect. If a student exists with the identifier provided we will create a student_program_decision for the catalog specified. If the student does not exist we will not create the student. If a student is not enrolled in the catalog we will not enroll them without an enrollment file. If a student program decision was created for the catalog and a student was enrolled later we will reuse that student program decision.