Merit automatically validates your spreadsheet uploads to ensure that your student data contains the required fields needed to create new student records or match up to students already in Merit.
When you advance to Preview Your Achievement, Merit will let you know if it found any invalid records in your spreadsheet. Invalid records will look like this:
Pro Tip: Scroll to the right to view a brief description of each error on your list.
Students with invalid records will not have achievements created for them, but you can click the Download CSV File button to save your list of invalid students and add them to the achievement later on:
Click here to learn more about adding students to a previously sent achievement.
Understanding Invalid Records
There are multiple reasons why a student from your list could be flagged as an invalid record. Students who are new to Merit will be flagged as invalid if they are missing any one of the following required fields:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Postal Code
- Email Address
Students who already have Merit pages may be flagged as invalid records for the following reasons:
- The student has previously opted out of Merit
- Email mismatches (the email address in your spreadsheet matches up to a different person in Merit)
- The student appears in multiple rows in your spreadsheet
To review the error, hover over the ! symbol, or scroll to the right side of the sheet for an explanation.
Common Validation Errors
When validating your spreadsheet, Merit will alert you to any problems. Here are some common validation errors and how to resolve them:
First name is required, Last name is required, Postal code is required. This record did not match an existing person. You must provide a name, postal code and email if you want this person added to Merit
This error occurs when one of the required fields is missing. In these instances, the student is new to Merit, and either their first name, last name, postal code or email address is missing. To fix this, add the missing data and upload your spreadsheet again.
Email does not match [NAME]
This error occurs if a student significantly changes their name in Merit. This will not occur, for example, if "Jonathan Smith" changes to "Jon Smith," but will happen if "Jonathan Smith" changes to "Jon Smythe," because both the first and last names have changed. To fix this error, locate the student in Merit to see how the student's information in Merit differs from your data. Then make the appropriate changes to either your spreadsheet or Merit.
If you are seeing these errors due to recycled campus email addresses, contact Merit at help@meritpages.com.
Class of is not a number
The "Class Of" field should not be anything other than a four-digit graduation year. Classifications (freshman, senior, etc) cannot be mapped to the "Class Of" column, but they can be used as placeholders wherever needed in your story. To fix this, go back to your student mappings and un-map the "Class Of" column.
'DATA' is not a valid postal code
The information mapped in your student or parent postal code field is not a valid US postal code. To fix this, change the postal code to a valid one and upload your spreadsheet again. This frequently happens with international zip codes. Avoid this by giving all international students a zip code of 00000 or 0.
Student has opted out
This student has chosen to not have a Merit page. No story or press release will be created for them.
Students may only appear once in your spreadsheet
This student appears in multiple rows inside your spreadsheet. In this instance, ONLY the first record will have a story created for them. Students with multiple majors, parent emails, etc., should only appear in your document once. To fix this, edit your spreadsheet and move any extra information from the second line into the first record and delete the duplicate row.
More than one student found for...
This student has two Merit pages. The student's primary email address is associated with one Merit account, and their secondary email address is tied to another account. These accounts will need to be combined before future achievements can be added to the student's page. The Merit team will need to merge these two student accounts for you. Contact us at help@meritpages.com.
If you have any questions about spreadsheet validations, contact help@meritpages.com