A migration is easier to review when source records have clear ownership and consistent meanings. Clean-up should resolve uncertainty rather than merely change formatting.
A practical starting point
Several spreadsheets use different class names and duplicate contact columns. Importing them unchanged would move the confusion into the new platform.
Turn the idea into a working routine
- Identify the authoritative source for student, staff, class and contact information.
- Map fields and status labels explicitly, noting any values that need a responsible person’s decision.
- Test a small authorised sample and reconcile the result before planning a larger move.
Measure what matters
Review unmatched records, missing required fields and differences between the source and the verified sample.
Automatically combining similar-looking entries can join information that belongs to different people.
What should the team agree before putting this into practice?
Agree who validates the source, who approves corrections and how the institution will confirm the migrated record.
MAKE IT PRACTICAL
Your planning checklist
Use this checklist during a team discussion. It tracks your planning progress, not a score of your institution’s quality. Selections stay in this page and are not submitted.
Data preparation is a decision process, not only a file conversion.
About this archive: 1 April 2026 is the collection’s reference date. This article was prepared and published on 7 November 2026. It is AI-assisted editorial content; examples are illustrative and do not describe a specific customer deployment.
