Staff Records in openSIS help institutions manage employee and school personnel information. Staff records may include administrators, teachers, office staff, counselors, nurses, finance users, support staff, and other institution users who interact with openSIS.
This article explains the key staff-related terms used in openSIS when managing staff profiles, general information, school information, employment details, certifications, staff fields, access, departments, teacher assignments, and staff status.
Staff refers to users who work within the institution and may need access to openSIS.
Staff may include administrators, teachers, office staff, academic coordinators, counselors, nurses, finance users, support staff, or other school employees.
A Staff Record is the complete profile of a staff member within openSIS.
It may be organized across sections such as General Information, School Information, Address & Contact, Certification Information, and Course Schedule. Staff records are used for teachers, administrators, counselors, office staff, and any other personnel who interact with the system.
Staff records can be created individually or imported through a spreadsheet template.
Found under:
Menu → Staff → Staff List
A Staff Profile is the main record page for a staff member in openSIS.
It may include personal details, contact information, employment information, role details, permissions, assigned courses, login credentials, certification details, documents, and other staff-related data.
General Information (Staff) is the core identity section of a staff record.
It may include the staff member’s name, Staff ID, Alternate ID, date of birth, gender, nationality, ethnicity, race, and photo.
This section may also include the Portal Access Switch that controls whether the staff member can log in to their role-specific portal.
A Staff ID is a unique identifier assigned to a staff record.
It helps identify staff members across roles, permissions, schedules, reports, course assignments, and staff records.
An Alternate ID is an additional identifier that may be stored for a staff member.
It may be used when the institution has another staff number from a previous system, HR process, or internal recordkeeping method.
School Information (Staff) is the section of a staff record that captures employment and school-assignment details.
It may include Job Title, Joining Date, End Date, Grade Levels Taught, Other Grade Levels Taught, Primary Subject, and school assignment.
A staff member may be assigned to more than one school, allowing the same staff record to support roles across campuses without creating duplicate records.
Add School Info is an option used to add another school assignment to a staff record.
This is useful when a staff member works across multiple schools or campuses.
Job Title is a field within the School Information section that identifies the staff member’s official role or position within the institution.
Examples:
Teacher, Principal, Counselor, Librarian, Administrative Assistant, Finance Officer.
Job Title may be used for organizational reporting and staff filtering.
Joining Date records when the staff member started working at the institution or assigned school.
It helps define the staff member’s active service period and may be used in HR-related reporting.
End Date records when the staff member’s employment or school assignment ended.
An End Date may deactivate the staff member’s active association with the school and may also affect system access depending on configuration.
Primary Subject is a field in the School Information section that records the main subject area a staff member is qualified or assigned to teach.
Examples:
Mathematics, Science, English Language Arts, Social Studies.
This field may be used for reporting and for filtering teachers when assigning Course Sections.
Grade Levels Taught is a field in the School Information section that records which grade levels a staff member is authorized or assigned to teach.
This supports scheduling workflows, teacher filtering, and compliance reporting.
Other Grade Levels Taught is a field used to record additional grade levels a staff member may teach outside their primary assigned grade levels.
This may support flexible scheduling and reporting.
An Administrator is a staff user who has access to administrative features in openSIS.
Administrators may manage school setup, student records, staff records, scheduling, grading, attendance, communication, billing, reports, and system settings depending on assigned permissions.
A Teacher is a staff user assigned to one or more Course Sections.
Teachers use the Teacher Portal to manage classroom workflows such as attendance, assignments, grades, Course Sections, and student information.
Office Staff refers to staff users who support daily school operations.
They may help manage student records, attendance, communication, admissions, reports, billing, or other administrative tasks based on assigned permissions.
A Staff Role defines what a staff user can access and perform in openSIS.
Staff roles help separate responsibilities between different types of users.
Example:
A teacher may access assigned classes and gradebook, while an administrator may access school-wide records and settings.
A Profile Type is the role assigned to a staff user that controls which modules and actions are available to them.
Examples:
Super Administrator, School Administrator, Admin Assistant, Teacher, Homeroom Teacher.
A Permission controls what a staff user is allowed to view, add, edit, delete, approve, or manage.
Permissions are usually connected to the staff user’s profile type or role.
Role-Based Access means staff users can only access the areas allowed by their assigned role and permissions.
This helps protect sensitive student, staff, academic, billing, and institutional data.
Staff Fields are data fields used to store information in a staff profile.
openSIS may include default staff fields, and institutions may also create custom staff fields based on their recordkeeping needs.
Default Staff Fields are standard fields available in openSIS for staff information.
These may include common details such as name, email, phone number, address, gender, date of birth, role, school assignment, and other basic staff information.
Custom Staff Fields are additional fields created by the institution to collect staff information that is not available in the default staff profile.
Example:
A school may create custom fields for employee ID, emergency contact, office location, contract type, training status, or HR notes.
A Staff Field Category is a group used to organize related staff fields.
Categories help keep staff profiles structured and easier to manage.
Example:
Employment Details, Certification Information, Emergency Contact, Payroll Information, or Additional Information.
A Department is an organizational group within the institution.
Departments may be used to organize staff by academic area, office function, or administrative responsibility.
Examples:
Mathematics Department, Science Department, Administration, Finance, Student Services.
Staff Status indicates the current state of a staff user in openSIS.
Common statuses may include active, inactive, disabled, terminated, or on leave, depending on the institution’s workflow.
An Active Staff member is currently available for system access and institutional workflows.
Active staff may be assigned roles, permissions, courses, schedules, or administrative responsibilities.
An Inactive Staff member is no longer actively using openSIS or participating in current workflows.
Inactive staff records may remain in the system for historical reference and recordkeeping.
Staff Login refers to the access credentials used by a staff member to enter openSIS.
Staff login may use a username, email address, password, SSO method, or 2FA verification depending on system configuration.
Login Credentials are the details used to access openSIS.
These usually include a username or email address and password.
A Username is a unique identifier used by a staff member to log in to openSIS.
Depending on setup, the staff member may also log in using an email address.
A Password is the secure key used with the username or email address to access openSIS.
Passwords should be kept private and updated according to institutional security practices.
The Portal Access Switch (Staff) is a toggle within the staff record that grants or revokes the staff member’s ability to log in to openSIS with their assigned profile type.
When disabled, the staff member cannot access the system, though their staff record remains stored.
This switch may be useful for substitute teachers, inactive staff, staff on leave, or staff whose access should be temporarily restricted.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) — Staff is an optional security feature for staff logins that requires a second verification step after entering a password.
When enabled, the staff member may need to enter a one-time password or verification code to complete login.
2FA helps protect sensitive academic and administrative data from unauthorized access.
SSO, or Single Sign-On, allows staff users to log in to openSIS using an external account, such as Google, Microsoft, Canvas, or another supported identity provider.
Address & Contact is the staff record section used to store address, phone, email, and other contact information.
This information supports staff communication, recordkeeping, and administrative workflows.
A Primary Contact is the main contact person linked to a staff record, if the institution tracks this information.
This may be used for emergency contact or internal recordkeeping.
Staff Documents are files attached to a staff profile.
These may include certifications, employment documents, identity documents, contracts, training records, background check documents, or other institution-required files.
A Certification is a qualification, license, or credential held by a staff member.
Schools may track certifications for teachers, nurses, counselors, administrators, or other staff roles depending on institutional requirements.
Certification Information (Staff) is the section of the staff record where professional licenses, teaching credentials, and certifications are documented.
Each certification entry may include Certificate Name, Short Name, Certification Code, Primary Certification Indicator, Certification Date, Certification Expiry Date, and Description.
This section supports compliance, credential tracking, and HR-related recordkeeping.
Certificate Name is the full name of a staff member’s certification or credential.
Example:
State Teaching License, School Counselor Certification, Nursing License.
Certification Code is a code or identifier connected to a staff certification.
It may be used for reporting, compliance, or internal tracking.
Certification Date is the date when the certification was issued or became effective.
Certification Expiry Date is the date when the certification expires.
This helps institutions track certificate validity and renewal needs.
The Primary Certification Indicator is a switch within a staff member’s Certification Information entry.
It marks one credential as the primary or principal qualification for that staff member. When multiple certifications are recorded, this indicator helps identify the most relevant certification for reporting and administrative reference.
Employment Information refers to staff-related work details stored in the profile.
This may include job title, department, joining date, end date, employment type, staff ID, school assignment, grade levels taught, or primary subject.
An Assigned Course is a course or Course Section linked to a teacher.
Once assigned, the teacher can access related class lists, attendance, assignments, and gradebook information from the Teacher Portal.
A Teacher Schedule shows the Course Sections assigned to a teacher.
It may include course names, periods, rooms, days, marking periods, calendars, and assigned student groups.
Course Schedule (Staff) is a section within the staff record that displays the Course Sections currently assigned to the staff member.
It may show which classes they teach, associated periods, marking periods, rooms, and calendars. This gives administrators a consolidated view of the teacher’s workload and timetable within the current school year.
A Class List is the list of students assigned to a teacher’s Course Section.
Teachers use class lists to take attendance, enter grades, manage assignments, and support classroom workflows.
Teacher Functions is an administrative feature that allows a School Administrator or Super Administrator to perform teacher-level actions on behalf of a specific teacher.
These actions may include entering grades, taking attendance, or inputting effort grades.
Teacher Functions may be used for corrections, audits, or situations where a teacher is unavailable.
Accessed from:
Menu → Staff → Teacher Functions
Staff Records terms help administrators manage employee records, access permissions, teacher assignments, certifications, and staff-related workflows more clearly.
When staff profiles, school information, roles, permissions, portal access, certification details, statuses, and course schedules are properly understood, institutions can maintain cleaner records and provide the correct system access to each staff user.