The following fields must be present in a user record for it to be successfully processed:

  • EXTERNAL_PERSON_KEY
  • USER_ID
  • SYSTEM_ROLE
  • FIRSTNAME
  • LASTNAME
  • EMAIL
  • INSTITUTION_ROLE
User Data Feed Elements
Element Description and Data Type
SYSTEM_ROLE The user's administrative role, describing the user's level of system administration privilege. The role of "none" has no system administration or Course creation privileges associated with it, and is the most commonly assigned role. The following strings are acceptable:
  • User Administrator: "account_admin", "accountadmin" or "user_admin"
  • System Support: "system_support" or "syssupport"
  • Course Creator: "course_creator" or "creator"
  • Support: "course_support" or "support"
  • Guest: "guest"
  • None: "none"
  • Observer: "observer"
  • Portal Administrator: "portal_admin" or "portal"
  • System Administrator: "sys_admin", "sysadmin" or "system_admin"
  • eCommerce Administrator: "ecommerce_admin"
  • Card Office Administrator: "card_office_admin"
  • Store Administrator: "store_admin"
  • User defined system roles can be used. Just match the "Role ID" found in Administrator Panel > System Role
If one is not given the system defaults to none.
EXTERNAL_PERSON_KEY A unique identifier for a user at the institution. This ID is provided by the institution and is not displayed to users. It is strongly recommended that the key data be a permanent, non-changing identifier for each user. An example of a good key is a permanent Student ID assigned when the person applies to the institution. The database cannot merge data between distinct accounts. String. Max length 64. Multi-byte characters accepted. Not Null, External Key
NEW_EXTERNAL_PERSON_KEY This field is used only on the rare occasions when a user's EXTERNAL_PERSON_KEY changes. String. Max length 64. Multi-byte characters accepted.
COMPANY The name of the company for which the user works. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
USERNAME The username used to log into Blackboard Learn. The user name must be unique. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted. Not Null
PASSWORD The password used to log into Blackboard Learn. On insert, if a password is not included, than the password defaults to the username (Unless it is "not owned" by the institution). Must be sent MD5 encoded if the encrypt.password property is set to N. String. Max length 32. Multi-byte characters accepted. If Multi-byte characters are included, the encrypt.password property must be set to Y.
STUDENT_ID Generic identifier field. This is a display only field. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
EMAIL The email address of the user. Blackboard recommends that user_email is not null. Users without an email address cannot send email. String. Max length 100
STREET_1 The first line of the address of the user. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
STREET_2 The second line of the address of the user. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
GENDER The gender of the user. Passed as a string. ("Not Disclosed", "Male", "Female")
BIRTH_DATE The user's birth date in yyyy-mm-dd format. Date
TITLE The title that the user prefers to use. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
CITY The city name corresponding to the user's address. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
STATE The state or province name corresponding to the user's address. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
ZIP_CODE The user's ZIP or Postal Code. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
DEPARTMENT The name of the department or sub-section where the user works. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
COUNTRY The country name corresponding to the user's address. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
B_PHONE_1 The work phone number associated with the user. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
B_PHONE_2 An additional work phone number associated with the user. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
FIRSTNAME The user's given first name. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted. Not null
H_FAX The user's home fax number. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
B_FAX The work fax number associated with the user. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
H_PHONE_1 The user's home phone number. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
H_PHONE_2 An additional home phone number associated with the user. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
M_PHONE The user's mobile phone or pager number. String. Max length 50. Multi-byte characters accepted.
JOB_TITLE The associated job title for the user. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
PUBLIC_INDICATOR Determines if the user's personal information will be displayed in the User Directory. Values may be "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. Char(1). Y/N
AVAILABLE_IND User account availability within the user interface. If set to no, the user account will appear in gray to the Administrator and Instructors. The user will not be able to log into the system. Values may be "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. Char(1). Y/N
ADDRESS_INDICATOR Determines if the user's home address will be displayed in the User Directory. Values may be "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. If a value is not provided the default is no. Char(1). Y/N
EMAIL_INDICATOR Determines if the user's email address will be displayed in the User Directory. Values may be "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. If a value is not provided the default is no. Char(1). Y/N
PHONE_IND Determines if home phone, fax or cell phone numbers will be displayed in the User Directory. Values may be "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. If a value is not provided the default is no. Char(1). Y/N
WORK_INDICATOR Determines if work contact information (company, department, title, phone, fax) will be displayed in the User Directory. Values may be "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. If a value is not provided the default is no. Char(1). Y/N
LASTNAME The user's family/last name. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted. Not null
MIDDLE_NAME The user's given middle name. String. Max length 100. Multi-byte characters accepted.
X_INSTITUTION_ROLE The user's Primary Institution Role, which determines the user's view of the Portal Modules and other items. Passed as a string. See "Manage Institution Roles" in the System Admin panel for the list of valid Institution Roles on the system.
ROW_STATUS Sets the value of the record to one of the following: Enabled: Normal access to the record. Disabled: Record is visible in some areas of the UI, but may not be changed or accessed. Deleted: Record is scheduled to be removed. Passed as a string. ("enabled", "disabled", "deleted")
EDUCATION_LEVEL The highest level of education achieved by the user. Passed as a string. ("K-8", "high school", "freshman", "sophomore", "junior", "senior", "graduate school", "post-graduate school")
WEB_PAGE The URL of the user's personal Web page, if they have one. String. Max length 100
NEW_DATA_SOURCE_KEY Key used to establish grouping of user elements. Passed as a string. Multi-byte characters accepted.
CARD_NUMBER Identifier for a Campus Card used with the Blackboard Transaction System. Passed as a string or as an encrypted string depending on the encrypt.card.number property.
LOCALE Identifier for the user's preferred language pack. The value is expressed as xx_XX, for example, the French language pack is represented by fr_FR.
ADDRESS The associated address for the user.
CONTACT_INDICATOR  
DEMOGRAPHICS The demographics for the user.
ENCRYPTION_TYPE  
FAMILY_NAME The family name for the user. This is also considered the last name.
GIVEN_NAME The given name for the user. This is also considered the first name.
INSTITUTION_ROLE The institution role for the user.
INSTITUTION_ROLE_TYPE The institution role type for the user.
INTERNAL_ID The user's internal identification.
N_ELEMENT  
NAME An additional name field for the user's name.
OTHER_NAME An additional name field for the user's name, typically used for the middle name.
PERSON  
PRONOUNS The user's pronouns
PRIMARY_INSTITUTION_ROLE The user's primary institution role
SETTINGS The user's settings.
SYSTEM_ROLE_TYPE The user's system role type.
SUFFIX The suffix for the user's name.
SZ_PORTAL_ROLE  
TELEPHONE The telephone number for the user.
TELEPHONE_TYPE The type of telephone number for the user.
X_PASSWORD The user's password.
X_SYSTEM_ROLE The user's system role.
X_LMSINTEGRATION_ROLE