Automatic Scholarship Eligibility Setup Guide

Overview

Districts that offer family-paid programming can automatically provide scholarships to eligible students using data from their Student Information System (SIS). This guide explains how to set up automatic scholarship sync when:

• Student eligibility data (such as unduplicated status) is stored in your district's SIS
• You want to automate scholarship application without manual family input
• You prefer to eliminate manual discount codes for better security and privacy

Key Benefits

• Automated updates: Changes to a student's unduplicated status can now be automatically synced with 6crickets during the nightly system update. There's no need for staff or families to manually update this information.
• Simplified for Families: Parents no longer need to enter discount or scholarship codes. If a student qualifies, the scholarship is applied automatically during registration.
• Improved Security: Eliminating manual discount codes reduces the risk of unauthorized sharing or misuse. Scholarships are applied only to eligible students.
• Maintained Privacy: All families follow the same registration and checkout steps, regardless of eligibility. This consistent experience helps protect family privacy and reduces confusion.

Before You Begin

Important Requirements:

• You'll need access to both your district dashboard and school dashboard(s)
• Coordination with your IT team is required to modify your SIS sync file
• Student scholarship data must be available in your SIS
• If you manage multiple school dashboards, you'll need to repeat steps for each one

Important Notes:

• Each student can only have one discount code in the SIS
• Scholarship codes are for internal use only—do not share them with families
• This process can be used alongside the manual scholarship process if needed

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Add scholarship data to your nightly SIS sync

Work with your IT team to add a column to your SIS sync file labeled Student Scholarship Discount Code:

• Scholarship data must be contained in a single column.
• Students who receive the same discount must be assigned the same discount code.
• Each student may have only one discount code.
• Discount codes may contain letters, numbers, and/or symbols.

Example 

• Use "S" for students receiving a 100% scholarship
• Use "PS" for students receiving a 15% partial scholarship

Step 2: Create Matching Discount Codes in 6crickets

1. Log in to a school dashboard at 6crickets.com/school-admin 

2. Go to Manage registration and attendance > Add discount codes. 

3. Click + Add a Discount Code and complete all required fields. 

• Create a separate discount code for each unique value used in your SIS Scholarship column.

4. Click Save and repeat for each scholarship

 

💡Reminder: these codes are for internal use only and should not be shared with families. 

Step 3: Disable Manual Scholarship Questions (If Applicable)

If you previously used the Scholarship Custom Question to manage eligibility manually, disable it to avoid conflicts with the SIS sync.

1. From the School Dashboard, go to Manage registration and attendance > Customize registration form.

2. Locate the Scholarship Question and click the pencil icon to edit. 

3. Toggle Active to the off position and click Save.

Step 4: Repeat for Each School Dashboard

If your district manages multiple school dashboards, please repeat Step 2 and Step 3 for each one.

Cross-School Sessions: Important Limitation

Important: Current SIS sync applies to scholarships based on the student's home school dashboard. If students attend sessions at schools other than their home school, automatic SIS sync may not apply their scholarships.

Workaround Options:

1. Manual addition: Add eligible student IDs to the hosting school's manual scholarship question
2. Duplicate discount codes: Ensure all schools that host cross-district sessions have the same discount codes configured

Planning Consideration:

• Review your programming to identify cross-school sessions
• Determine if manual scholarship setup is needed for hosting schools
• Consider this limitation when designing multi-school programs

Step 5: Enable the SIS Scholarship Sync feature

1. Log in to your district dashboard at 6crickets.com/district-admin 

2. Navigate to Manage registration and attendance > Registration options. 

3. Check the box for Use student scholarship discount code during checkout and click Save.

How Scholarships Work Together

Using Both SIS Sync and Manual Setup

You can use both the SIS Scholarship Sync and manual setup simultaneously. This is useful when you have:

• SIS-based scholarships (e.g., full scholarships for unduplicated students)
• Manual scholarships (e.g., 50% scholarships for YMCA members)

Priority Rules:

• If a student is eligible for both types of scholarships and the parent answers the custom question, the manual scholarship takes precedence.
• If the custom question is left blank, any eligible SIS-based scholarship will be applied automatically.
• SIS sync runs periodically, so changes may take up to 24 hours to appear.

For more information about manual scholarship setup, refer to the dedicated help article.

Family Experience

When families register for programs:

1. Automatic application: Scholarships are applied automatically based on the student's ID and SIS data
2. No family input required: Parents don't need to enter any codes or answer scholarship questions
3. Transparent process: Eligible discounts appear during checkout before payment

4. Override option: If manual scholarships are also enabled, parents can still enter a student ID for different scholarships.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

• Scholarship not appearing: Verify the student's discount code exists in both your SIS and 6crickets
• Wrong discount amount: Check that the discount code in 6crickets matches the intended scholarship percentage
• Sync delays: Remember that SIS sync occurs nightly—recent changes may not appear immediately
• Multiple dashboards: Ensure discount codes are created on all relevant school dashboards
• Cross-school sessions: Verify that scholarship eligibility is set up at the hosting school's dashboard, as well as the student's home school

Data Validation:

• SIS column format: Confirm the "Student Scholarship Discount Code" column is properly formatted
• Code consistency: Verify that codes in your SIS exactly match the discount codes created in 6crickets
• Student IDs: Ensure student IDs in the SIS sync file match those used in 6crickets

Need Help?

• Verify that the SIS sync feature is enabled at the district level
• Check that discount codes are active and properly configured
• Confirm the SIS sync file includes the scholarship column with correct formatting
• Contact support if sync issues persist after 24 hours