Skyward Updates – Summer 2020

#Product Updates

Kevin Duda

by Kevin Duda

Kevin Duda Vice President of Product

Read time:

The Skyward Updates series offers a snapshot of the key features we’ve recently released and how they'll help you work smarter, not harder. Use the links below to jump to the section that interests you most.

SMS 2.0 Business
SMS 2.0 Student
Qmlativ Business
Qmlativ Student

SMS 2.0 Business

Make Accounting Optional for Expense Reimbursement

We’re not all accounting professionals. Now you can enable the Expense Reimbursement feature for users without all the accounting know-how associated with expense details. Employees can enjoy the convenience of the Skyward reimbursement feature while leaving the accounting aspects, like which account number(s) to assign for an Expense Reimbursement detail, to the professionals to add later in the process.

Allow Multiple Vendors via AP Invoice Import

Previously, the Accounts Payable Invoice Import could only be run for one vendor at a time. Not anymore! With this update, a single file containing invoice information for numerous vendors can be imported to create invoices in a flash.

multiple vendors

View Time Off Attachments on Mobile App

It’s now even easier for supervisors to approve Time Off requests from the mobile app. Supervisors can view attachments, like doctors' notes, straight from their phones, without needing to log in on desktop to view them before making an approval.

SMS 2.0 Student

Add Alternate Teachers Using Combined Gradebook

We made a lot of updates to the Combined Gradebook! Here’s an overview:

If a class is part of a Combined Gradebook, Teacher and Meet Type fields on Class Meet will no longer be locked.
There are no limits on the number of teachers included.
Access to Combined Gradebooks and individual gradebooks are dependent on which class(es) the teacher teaches and whether the Combined Gradebook teacher setup is valid. (A Combined Gradebook is only valid if the same individual is the primary teacher for all classes that are combined. It is possible to have additional primary and alternate teachers.)
All combined classes will show on the My Gradebook screen.
Access to the Combined Gradebook and individual gradebooks will be determined by teacher setup and Combined Gradebook validity.

Nicknames for Teachers’ Classes

Sometimes courses and classes have unique course key names that aren’t easily identifiable for teachers. Not anymore! We made an update so teachers can “nickname” their classes for quick identification. For example, if an elementary Phy Ed teacher has six sections of PE, instead of viewing titles like PE/Section 1 and PE/Section 2, they can re-name the classes Mr. Jones’ Homeroom and Ms. Davenport’s Homeroom.

Teachers can set nicknames in My Classes. Class Nicknames are teacher-specific and will show in the following areas:

My Gradebook
My Classes
Post Daily Attendance
Teacher Quick Access Widget
Class Options
Student Options
Educator Access Plus Student Information Class Header

Send Fee Management Auto-Emails

Now you can configure the Fee Management module to send automatic emails when fees are added or deleted. These emails will help ensure payers are always in the know when updates to their accounts have occurred. If recipients prefer not to get these updates, they can unsubscribe via the link included in the email notices.

Note: Bill codes must be flagged to participate in auto-emailing. We're providing a utility for the mass-update of this flag.

fee management

Qmlativ Business

Build Assignment Schedules

Now you can build employee schedules that represent assignment responsibilities without requiring a unique calendar for each. This update will reduce the number of calendars you need and will give you the flexibility to define hours worked each day, which drive time-off requests.

assignment schedules

Determine District-Defined Field Rules

You can now determine whether data is hidden or read-only based on users’ roles and the location of data in the system. For example, only HR personnel need to see birthdates, so you can prevent this information from being displayed for all non-HR users in the system.

defined field

All New: Activity Accounting Module

With the brand-new activity accounting solution, your district can track and maintain student activity accounts. We paid special attention to ensure activity accounts will never be out of balance and will comply with new GASB 84 standards.

Qmlativ Student

Allow Food Service Applications to Be Completed Online

Families can now complete food service applications online! To make the application available to families, go to Food Service > District Configurations > Online Applications. Then, families can log in to Family Access and complete these forms from home.

Track and Monitor Student Intervention Plans and MTSS Watchlist

The MTSS module is now available! You can use this module to create plans as well as to monitor students prior to being placed on an intervention.

intervention plans

Report on Online Form Data

We greatly improved the process by which users report on the data in Online Forms. We understand this was a pain point in the past, so we are very excited to share this update! When publishing an online form, an option is now available to “Report on Online Form.” If the option is enabled, the form can be used as a base object when creating a report within the Report Manager. Data Grids can be added as sections or used as a base object for a separate report.

online forms

We hope you’ll enjoy these new features. Please share these notes with colleagues who might benefit from them.

Stay tuned for more updates! Subscribe to Skyward Insider at the bottom of any article or at www.skyward.com/blogs.

Kevin Duda Vice President of Product