What is Secure Sync?

Secure Sync overview

Think of Clever Secure Sync as a bridge between your student information system (SIS) and online learning applications. Secure Sync maintains up-to-date roster information in your learning applications by securely transferring your roster uploads or connecting directly with your SIS. Clever is engineered to be the most secure and convenient way for districts to send vendors data and grant access to learning applications.

The Secure Sync process can be summarized in four steps:

1. Your school district’s data syncs to your Clever account through an Auto Sync or SFTP sync.
2. Set up sharing permissions with each connected application where you determine which data to share with that application.
3. Applications pull all available data from your Clever account, typically on a nightly basis.
4. Student, Teacher, and Admin accounts are automatically created in the applications. From that point on, applications regularly update any changes to your enrollment information as indicated in your Clever account. 

Continue reading to learn about Clever’s different sync types. With all Clever sync types, the school district has complete control over data access and management of the Clever account. 

Auto Syncs

An Auto Sync with Clever involves basic initial setup and requires minimal IT support from your district because Clever syncs directly with your SIS to securely transfer student roster data. There are two types of Auto Syncs: Clever-Managed and SIS-Managed Auto Syncs. Curious if Clever offers an automated sync with your SIS? Check out this article.

SFTP Syncs

This option allows school districts to “push” data to Clever. Districts generate multiple files in a Clever-specific CSV format and submit them to Clever using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). SFTP Sync allows districts to upload data using an FTP client or Clever’s Web Upload tool. Because districts control exactly what data to include in their upload files, this option provides districts a greater level of customization but requires more robust setup and management. Clever also recommends automating the process of exporting data from your SIS and uploading it to Clever. For more information on SFTP syncs, read this article.