Connecticut State Department of Education

PSIS Collection Unsuccessful Uploads

Be sure that your data follows the current Reference Guide.
Common Errors will all file types:
  • The type of file being uploaded does not match the type of file indicated in your district profile. Compare your profile to the type of file you are sending. If you are sending a comma separated values (CSV) file, be sure that your profile does not indicate that you are sending a fixed width file, and vice versa. To check your profile go to the Data Collection Menu and click on “Profile.” 
  • Your data does not pass our edit checks or contains invalid information. 
Common Errors with CSV Files:
  • The file being uploaded contains column headers. Open up the file you are trying to send. Does the file contain column headers (the names of the fields) in the first row? If it does, delete this row, save your file, and try uploading again. 
  • Your DOB contains slashes or is not in the required MMDDYYYY format. To properly format your file open it in Excel. For a Register/Unregister batch highlight column L (the DOB column for Register/Unregister batches), or for a PSIS batch highlight column K (the DOB column for PSIS batches) by clicking on the letter L or K at the top of the screen. Next, right-click on the highlighted area and go to “Format Cells.” Click on the “Number” tab and select the category “Custom.” Under “Type” erase the word General and type in MMDDYYYY. Click on OK. All of your DOB’s should now be in the correct format. 
  • Required data/fields missing from file being uploaded. Is your file missing required information? Compare the required fields on the Reference Guide to your actual data. You may have one or more students missing some information. A fast way to find records with missing information is by using the sort feature in Excel. 
  • The file includes records with too few or too many commas. Open your file in Excel. 
    • If End of Record Marker (column AG in Register/Unregister batches, column AE in PSIS batches) is empty add the letter “X” in this column for each record (do not include quote marks). The “X” will “trick” Excel into thinking information is in this column so that when Excel converts your file to CSV the proper number of commas are generated. 
    • Do any of your students have suffixes (Jr, III, etc) or nicknames separated by commas in the name fields? Are commas included in the Town of Birth field? These extra commas can throw off your file and cause the upload to be unsuccessful. Please remove the commas and try uploading again. If you want to upload a comma in a field, you must use double quotes around the entire field, e.g., change ,NY, NY, to ,"NY, NY",. 
  • The file includes extra "empty" records. Sometimes when editing an upload file with Excel, the CSV file saved will include one or more rows at then end with just commas. If you open the file with Excel, it is very difficult to detect these extra rows. However, if you open the CSV file with Notepad (in Accessories) or another basic text editor, you can see the extra rows at the end of the file as a string of commas. Delete these "empty" rows, save the file, and try uploading again. 
Common Errors with Fixed Width Files:
  • One or more of your fields is not the proper length. Open your file and be sure each field is equal to the length specified on the Reference Guide. 
  • You do not have leading zeros on your fields. It may be necessary to include leading zeros on certain pieces of information to make them the proper length for a fixed width file. For example, if a students DOB is February 12, 1980 it should be listed as 02121980. Without the leading zero the field is too short. 
  • Your records are more/less than the record length specified in the Reference Guide. There are several optional fields at the end of the record layout. If your district is not using these fields, they must be padded with spaces. Also, you may not go over the designated number of characters assigned to a field.