PeopleSoft Campus Solutions ↔ Canvas LMS Bidirectional Sync

# PeopleSoft → Canvas SIS Import CSV (enrollment sync)
# File: enrollment_sync_2024-01-15.csv
# Endpoint: POST /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/sis_imports
# PeopleSoft IB delivers this via REST/SOAP from STDNT_ENRL record

course_id,user_id,section_id,enrollment_type,status,associated_user_id
PS_CC_SPRING24_CS101_001,PSUID:123456789,PS_SEC_2024_001,student,active,
PS_CC_SPRING24_CS101_001,PSUID:987654321,PS_SEC_2024_001,student,active,
PS_CC_SPRING24_CS101_001,PSUID:555555555,PS_SEC_2024_001,ta,active,

# Canvas → PeopleSoft Grade Passback via REST
# PeopleSoft consumes Canvas submissions webhook, maps to STDNT_GRADE
GET /api/v1/courses/canvas_course_id/courses/canvas_section_sis_id/submissions?student_ids=all&assignment_ids=all
Authorization: Bearer canvas_access_token

{
  "submissions": [
    {
      "user_id": "canvas_user_id",
      "assignment_id": "canvas_assignment_id",
      "score": 87.5,
      "grade": "B+",
      "workflow_state": "graded"
    }
  ]
}

# PeopleSoft mapping (STDNT_GRADE ← Canvas submission)
Canvas.user_id      → STDNT_ENRL.EMPLID    (via SIS_ID cross-reference)
Canvas.section_id   → STDNT_ENRL.CLASS_NBR
Canvas.assignment_id → STDNT_GRADE.ASSIGNMENT_ID
Canvas.score       → STDNT_GRADE.GRADE_POINTS

How we'd take this from discovery to a production-safe cutover — the phases, the canonical mapping, and the edge cases that bite.

Bidirectional synchronization between PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and Canvas LMS ensures consistent course sections, enrollment records, and grades across both systems. PeopleSoft serves as the authoritative source for student identity and enrollment status, while Canvas is the system of record for academic grades. The integration uses Canvas SIS Import API for bulk operations and Canvas REST API for real-time grade push-back.

Implementation Phases

1. Discovery and API Baseline — Inventory PeopleSoft tables (SFAENRL, CRSE_CATALOG, CRSE_OFFER, CLASS_TBL, CRSE_GRADE_OFF) and Canvas endpoints (courses, sections, enrollments, submissions). Validate test tenant access and confirm SIS Import SFTP credentials with Instructure support. Map existing PeopleSoft STRM codes to Canvas term sis_id values.
2. Schema Alignment and Identifier Strategy — Standardize on PeopleSoft EMPLID as the primary sis_user_id in Canvas and CRSE_ID + STRM + CLASS_NBR concatenated as the sis_section_id. Define the enrollment role mapping: PEOPLESOFT ENRL_STATUS = 'E' maps to Canvas enrollment_state 'active'. Establish that PeopleSoft grades (from CRSE_GRADE_OFF) override Canvas when conflict resolution is required.
3. Outbound Pipeline: PeopleSoft → Canvas — Build a nightly batch job using PeopleSoft Integration Broker or a custom Application Engine to extract enrollment deltas since last sync. Generate Canvas SIS CSV format (sections.csv, enrollments.csv, terms.csv) and upload via SFTP to the Canvas-managed SIS Import endpoint. Implement idempotency using CLASS_NBR + STRM composite keys.
4. Inbound Pipeline: Canvas → PeopleSoft — Poll Canvas Assignments API (GET /api/v1/courses/:id/assignments) and Submissions API (GET /api/v1/courses/:id/assignments/:id/submissions) on a configurable schedule (default: every 15 minutes). Transform posted_grade into PeopleSoft CRSE_GRADE_OFF grade_final values. Write grades back via PeopleSoft Grade Collection component or CRSE_GRADE_OFF CI.
5. Error Handling and Retry Logic — Implement dead-letter queues for failed API calls. If a Canvas SIS Import returns a 422 with duplicate sis_id conflicts, flag for manual resolution rather than retry. For PeopleSoft CI failures, log to ETL_ERROR_LOG and alert the SIS team within one business hour.
6. Data Validation and Reconciliation Report — Generate a daily reconciliation comparing PeopleSoft SFAENRL count against Canvas active enrollments per section. Report on missing grades in CRSE_GRADE_OFF where Canvas submissions show posted_grade. Set tolerance threshold: flag mismatches > 0.5% of section enrollment.
7. User Acceptance Testing — Execute parallel-run with three representative terms (past, current, future). Validate that drops processed in PeopleSoft reflect as enrollment_state 'inactive' in Canvas within one sync cycle. Confirm grade push-back populates CRSE_GRADE_OFF.GRADE_OFF in PeopleSoft without stripping existing manually entered grades.
8. Production Cutover — Execute a full historical sync of current term enrollments and active course sections before go-live. Disable manual grade entry in Canvas for integrated sections to prevent divergence. Enable real-time delta sync and schedule nightly full reconciliation.

Canonical Field Mapping

Edge Cases

• Duplicate EMPLID in Canvas — If a user merges occurs in PeopleSoft (OLD_EMPLID → NEW_EMPLID), Canvas retains the old sis_user_id. The sync will create a duplicate user; manually delete the ghost account or run a Canvas user merge before re-enrollment.
• Mid-Term Section Recreates — If PeopleSoft issues a new CLASS_NBR for an existing section (rare but occurs with section splits), the Canvas sis_section_id changes, orphaning prior grades and posts. Freeze the old section in Canvas and crosswalk grades manually.
• Grade Override Conflicts — When an instructor manually changes a grade in Canvas after the sync has pushed a PeopleSoft grade, the inbound pipeline will overwrite it on next poll unless the instructor flag override is set. Lock grades for synced sections to prevent rollback.
• Incomplete Grades ('I') — PeopleSoft incomplete placeholders sync to Canvas as 'incomplete' but do not calculate into course totals. If Canvas has a grade weighting scheme, ensure the incomplete assignment is excluded from final percentage calculations via Canvas assignment group rules.
• SIS Import Race Conditions — Rapid successive SIS imports (e.g., drop-then-add for the same student in the same batch) can cause Canvas to reject the second operation. Sequence operations: process drops first, wait for SIS Import completion webhook confirmation, then process adds.
• Cross-Listed Sections — PeopleSoft cross-listed classes share one CLASS_NBR but belong to multiple CRSE_IDs. Map to a single Canvas section and handle grade rostering by course-specific enrollments rather than section-level.

Cutover

Cutover must be executed with a reversible checkpoint. Before go-live, export a snapshot of CRSE_GRADE_OFF.GRADE_OFF and SFAENRL for all active terms. If the Canvas integration corrupts grade data (e.g., inbound pipeline writes null or malformed grades), disable the inbound job, restore CRSE_GRADE_OFF from the snapshot, and re-import via PeopleSoft grade rostering. For enrollments, if Canvas diverges from PeopleSoft after cutover, re-run the full SIS Import with the overrides flag to overwrite Canvas state with PeopleSoft. Schedule the first reconciliation report within 24 hours of cutover and retain rollback capability for 14 days. Establish a freeze window: no manual grade changes in Canvas for integrated courses during the first 72 hours post-cutover.