This document outlines the integration of Banner student data into Salesforce using a robust architecture led by a team at GU360. Key objectives include modernizing business processes, improving user experience, and establishing a single source of truth for academic data. The project utilized Mulesoft for data synchronization, ensuring that Salesforce reflects up-to-date student information in real-time through various integration strategies.

1. Integrating Banner:
Transform Your Student Data
Sarah Hawkins, Project Lead for Administrative Applications
Caitlin Marshall, Senior Consultant

2. GU360
Enterprise Wide CRM Solution
Intuitive
• Minimal training
• Confidence in technology
Integrated
• Single source of truth
• Shared data model
Engaging
• System as enabler, not
obstacle
• Foster community building
Trusted
• Reliable, Auditable,
Transparent
Transformative
• Industry leader
• Modernized & innovative
• Simplifies & aligns processes
• Solves shared challenges

3. What We Did
Bringing an Academic Hierarchy to the Salesforce Object Model

4. “How do we avoid recreating the
SIS while also presenting the data
using the advantages of
Salesforce? ”

5. Pain Points
Critical Data Elements
Streamline Business Processes
Modernized User Interface
Data Decisions

6. Student Data Model
Mapping Banner Data to CRM Data Model
• Accounts = Schools, Programs, Departments
• Contacts = Students, Faculty, Staff
• Term = Academic Term
• Education = Program record related to a student
• Contact Facet = Student Attributes, Cohorts, GPA, Holds
• Alternate Channel = Phones and Addresses
Use of APIs
• We pull in some data via API rather than storing: course schedule, degree audits, class rosters

7. Banner > Salesforce ERD
Academic Hierarchy

8. Integration Design
How Did We Do It?

9. Integration Design Overview
Initial Data Load
• Historical student data going back 5 years
Mulesoft as Middleware
• Ability to schedule batch processes
• Robust API layer
Core integration: Scheduled Mulesoft job
syncs Banner data to Salesforce
• Nightly upsert of data
Process Builder/Apex writes data back to
Banner in real time
• Limited to set of data students can update
API layer used to display some data in
Salesforce without storing it
• Class rosters, financial information, and course
schedules
• Considerations: data storage, nature of this data

10. Architecture Diagram
Email
Phone
Address
Preferred Name
Students
Education
Student Attributes
Advisors
Scheduled Data Load
Real-Time Write-Back
Banner APIs
Process Builder
Apex
Lightning
Components

11. Handling Banner Complexities
What happens when records are updated in Banner?
• For some tables, old records are removed
• For other tables, old records are deactivated
Evaluated table by table to understand Banner behavior and plan integration approach

12. Goal: ensure Salesforce
reflects latest Banner data
set after every nightly
integration run.
Integration Approach
Approach 1: Drop all records in Salesforce and then upsert
• Example: Contact Facets, i.e., GPA, Holds, Student Attributes
Approach 2: Deactivate all records in Salesforce and then
upsert
• Example: advisor data
• Result: Salesforce shows only current set of advisors as active and
any deleted records as inactive.
Filtering data to bring in: Changed since last run vs. Active in
current term

13. Mulesoft Flow Order of Operations

14. Syncing Salesforce Updates to Banner
Process Builders
• Used to check for changes in records and sync back to Banner
Apex
• Processes invoke code to make callouts to Mulesoft endpoints
• Using existing Banner APIs, we built services to insert, update, and delete data in Banner
Use Case: Student updates their address, phone, or email in Student Community

15. Syncing Salesforce Updates to Banner – Process Builder
Contact Updates

16. Syncing Salesforce Updates to Banner – Apex Action

17. Considerations
Banner Customizations & Validations
• Know your customizations and validations so you can account for them early on
System Limits and Best Practices
• Be aware of all the processes and code working on objects you are touching with the integration
• Consider batch size
• Ensure all code in org is following best practices
Error Handling
• Custom System Logs for real-time feedback

18. Why We Did It
Results
Modernize the way that we do business!
• Improve User Experience
• Streamline Business Processes
• Increase Efficiency

19. Banner Student View

20. GU360 Lightning
Page View
Snapshot of Critical Data

21. Banner > Salesforce ERD
Academic Hierarchy

22. Notifications Using Process Builder
Changes to Student Records

23. Student Notifications
Apply to Graduate Task Generation

24. Student Indicators
Dashboards

25. Filters & Formulas
Reports

26. Takeaways
Lessons Learned
Know Your Database
• Customizations and Validations
• Impact on Salesforce Limits
Know Your Data
• Architecture
• Localizations
• Data Hygiene

27. Enrolled Student Count
Dashboard

29. Building Momentum Around a Single Organization
• Thursday @ 4:30pm Breakout #7 (National Harbor 11)
Extending the Power of Lightning Communities to Empower our Faculty and Students
• Friday @ 9:00am Breakout #7 (National Harbor 11)
Keynote: Education Empowered
• Online TBD
Visit us in the Quad
Website: gu360.georgetown.edu
Learn More about GU360
Other Sessions @ Higher Ed Summit