8.9 How to create and manage Candidates

Owned by Miles Skinner (Unlicensed)
Sept 14, 2023
3 min read

To create a single new candidate:

  • Click Settings from the top menu

  • Click Manage Candidates

  • Click + Create new Candidate

  • In the free text boxes type in the

    • Candidate ID (required)

    • First name (optional)

    • Surname (optional)

    • Email Address (required)

    • Password (optional)

  • Using the dropdown menu, select the appropriate timezone for the Candidate. This will be used for scheduling purposes.

  • Using the Change button, the by searching or clicking, identify and select all Blueprint Categories that should be mapped to this Candidate

  • Click Create Candidate

To edit a single Candidate:

  • Click Settings from the top menu

  • Click Manage Candidates

  • Use the filters and search functions to find the required Candidate

  • Click Edit next to the required Candidate

  • Make any required changes

  • Click Save Changes

To import more than one Candidate:

  • Click Settings from the top menu

  • Click Manage Candidates

  • Click Import / Update / Export

  • Click Import new Candidates

From this screen you can click Choose File and then Upload File when you have selected the file you wish to upload.

You can download a CSV template file (with or without any applicable Blueprint Dimensions) which can then be manipulated outside of the system. The download will include all pertinent information and will be in the correct format to be accepted by the system. Please scroll to the bottom of the page for information on the Candidate import format, this information is also found directly in the system when performing this action.

To update Candidate information (including download Candidate Export):

  • Click Settings from the top menu

  • Click Manage Candidates

  • Click Import / Update / Export

  • Click Update Candidate information

This action is done using the same process as importing new candidates, however in this scenario it is also possible to download an export of the candidates in the system, update the required information in the export and re upload the export to the system. To do this:

  • From the manage Candidates page

  • Click Import / Update / Export

  • Click Export Candidates

  • Manipulate the downloaded file

  • Return to the Manage Candidates pages

  • Click Import / Update / Export

  • Click Update Candidate information

  • Choose the file and click Upload File

Candidate import format

ID (Required)

This is the internal identifier of the candidate. This value often comes from a student management system.

If you are using Microsoft Excel to prepare the CSV file for upload, you may encounter an error stating that the file is a SYLK file, and Excel cannot load it. This is due to having ‘ID’ as the header in the first column. Practique will still accept this file. You can also avoid this error by using ‘id’ instead of ‘ID’.

First name

Surname

This will map to Last name in risr/assess

Email (Required)

PIN

Candidate PIN or password which will be used for users to log-in into the Practique for iPad application. If this is left blank, the ID will be used.

A common example of this is importing candidates with ID numbers in format 'XYZ1234567', but you would like them to be able to log in to the iPad with 'L1234567' (where L is letter for the exam). In that case you would import your candidate with PIN column ‘1234567’.

Preferred variant

Code of the preferred item variant this candidate will be using when taking an exam. If not set defaults to the Primary variant of the item set used in the exam. Allowed values: en fr

Timezone

The time zone where the candidate takes the exam. Usually used for a remote written exams when candidates can be assigned to different sessions taken in different time zones.

Optional, defaults to the Practique server time zone.

Dimensions 1,2,3...

These are useful for importing other fields for candidates, for example telephone numbers and years of study. To import dimensions for candidates, these must already exist in the Master Blueprint and be marked as applying to candidates. Note that dimension categories are case sensitive.

There is no limit on the number of dimension columns. For dimensions that have discrete options, multiple categories can be indicated by delimiting with a semicolon, in the same cell.

For dimensions that are free text, the value of the text is expected in that column.