How do you set up student accounts during enrollment periods?

Here's a link that might help streamline some of your processes: https://dovestones.com/. Hope it assists you in finding a better solution!

I used to run AD Manager Plus but switched to something more flexible. We get nightly CSV files from our Student Information System and rely on Powershell scripts scheduled to run automatically. Powershell is easily maintainable for our needs. If you're starting fresh, I'd recommend looking into Midpoint—it's more tailored for educational environments, but we haven't prioritized the switch yet since our current setup still functions well.

When I worked in a school, we definitely relied on automation due to managing several districts. We would pull data from the administration's student info system using Powershell to not just add students but also remove those who left. Automation helped us save loads of time and avoid errors, which is crucial in a busy environment.

We also utilize a set of Powershell scripts that automate everything from pulling CSVs to creating accounts and assigning permissions. Our scripts have checks in place, so if there's an issue, they notify us, and sometimes they even disable themselves until we fix it. They run hourly, which keeps everything updated seamlessly.

Make sure to collaborate with your admissions team for some basic info about the students, like their names and statuses. You can automate account provisioning and de-provisioning with simple exports or API calls, preventing inaccuracies that might come with doing it manually. It's a much more efficient approach that could also be applied to IT staff.