Importing Students & Setting Up Classes

You now have students imported and classes configured — the foundation of your school. Next up: the Instructor Dashboard.

By Smart Moves Tutor
Smart Moves Tutorials
Part of School Management
Public

Lesson Steps

Overview
1
Preparing Your Student CSV File
2
Importing Students via CSV
3
Adding Individual Students
4
Creating & Configuring Classes
5
Setting Up Weekly Schedules
6
Assigning Students & Instructors to Classes
Show All Steps

Lesson Overview

📚 Welcome to Lesson 1

Every school starts with students and classes. In this lesson you'll learn the fastest way to get your roster into Smart Moves — bulk CSV import — plus how to create and configure classes with schedules, instructors, and skill levels.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

  • ✅ Prepare a CSV file with student data
  • ✅ Import students in bulk (with automatic class creation)
  • ✅ Manually add individual students
  • ✅ Create and configure classes with weekly schedules
  • ✅ Assign students and instructors to classes

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Screenshot of the Student List page showing imported students in a table with class, email, and status columns

Get Started
Step 1 of 6

Preparing Your Student CSV File

Step 1

📋 Step 1: Prepare Your CSV File

Smart Moves accepts CSV (comma-separated values) files for bulk student imports. You can create these in Excel, Google Sheets, or any text editor.

Supported Column Headers

The system auto-detects these column names (case-insensitive):

Data Accepted Headers Required?
Full Namename, fullname, full_name, student_nameYes*
First Namefirstname, first_nameYes*
Last Namelastname, last_name, surnameYes*
Emailemail, email_address, e-mailNo (auto-generated)
Classclass, classname, class_name, groupNo
Phonephone, mobile, cell, telephoneNo
Parent/Guardianparent, parentname, guardianNo

* Provide either Full Name OR First Name + Last Name.

💡 Tip: If you don't include headers, the system falls back to: ClassName, StudentName, Email — one student per row.

Example CSV

firstname,lastname,email,class,phone,parent
Emma,Johnson,emma.j@school.com,Level 1 - Mon,555-0101,Sarah Johnson
Liam,Williams,,Level 1 - Mon,555-0102,Mark Williams
Olivia,Brown,olivia.b@school.com,Level 2 - Wed,,Jane Brown
Noah,Davis,,Level 1 - Tue,555-0104,
ℹī¸ Info: Students without an email address will automatically get one generated in the format firstname.lastname@smartmoves.ai.

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Screenshot of an example CSV file open in Excel with columns: firstname, lastname, email, class, phone, parent

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Step 2 of 6

Importing Students via CSV

Step 2

📤 Step 2: Import Your Students

  1. Navigate to Students in the left sidebar menu
  2. Click the "Import Students" button at the top of the student list
  3. You'll see the import page at /student/import
  4. Paste your CSV data into the text area, or use the file upload option
  5. Optionally select a Default Class — students without a class column will be assigned here
  6. Click "Import"

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Screenshot of the Student Import page showing the CSV text area, default class dropdown, and Import button

🔄 What Happens During Import

The system processes each row intelligently:

📌 Class auto-creation: If a student's class name doesn't exist yet, Smart Moves automatically creates a new class for you.

📌 Email generation: Students missing an email get firstname.lastname@smartmoves.ai assigned automatically.

📌 Duplicate handling: If an email already exists, a unique suffix is appended.

📌 Passwords: Each student gets a secure random password (they can reset it later).

✅ Import Results

After the import completes you'll see a summary:

  • Students created: total new accounts
  • Classes created: any auto-created classes
  • Errors: rows that couldn't be imported (with details)
⚠ī¸ Important: Review the error list carefully — common issues include missing names or malformed email addresses.
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Step 3 of 6

Adding Individual Students

Step 3

👤 Step 3: Add a Single Student

Sometimes you need to add just one student — a new enrolment mid-term, for example.

  1. Go to Students → Student List
  2. Click "Add Student"
  3. Fill in the student details:
    • First Name and Last Name (required)
    • Email (optional — auto-generated if blank)
    • Phone / Mobile
    • Parent / Guardian Name
    • Class — select from existing classes or leave blank
  4. Click "Create Student"

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Screenshot of the Add Student form with fields: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Parent Name, Class dropdown

💡 Tip: The student's account type is automatically set to Student (type 30). They'll appear in your student list and can be assigned to any class.

📱 Student Portal

Once created, students can log in to their own portal at /student/home where they see:

  • đŸĢ Their current class and enrolment details
  • 📊 Attendance summary (present/absent counts)
  • đŸŽ¯ Skill progress with score breakdowns
  • đŸ’Ŧ Messages from instructors and the school
  • 📸 Class photos they've been tagged in
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Step 4 of 6

Creating & Configuring Classes

Step 4

đŸĢ Step 4: Create Your Classes

Classes are the core organisational unit. Each class has students, instructors, a schedule, and optionally a skill level for tracking progress.

  1. Navigate to Classes in the sidebar
  2. Click "Add Class" (or go to /class/add)
  3. Fill in the class details:
Field Description Example
NameClass name (unique & descriptive)Level 1 - Monday AM
DescriptionBrief description of the classBeginner swimmers aged 5-7
Max StudentsCapacity limit (default: 30)15
TermAcademic term or seasonSpring 2026
LocationWhere the class takes placeMain Pool, Lane 3
Skill LevelLink to a skill tracking levelLevel 1: Fundamentals
InstructionsSpecial notes for instructorsBring flotation aids

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Screenshot of the Class Edit form showing all fields: Name, Description, Max Students, Term, Location, Skill Level dropdown, Instructions

  1. Click "Save" to create the class
💡 Tip: If you used class names during student import, those classes were auto-created. You can edit them now to add descriptions, locations, and skill levels.
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Step 5 of 6

Setting Up Weekly Schedules

Step 5

📅 Step 5: Configure Class Schedules

Each class can have one or more weekly schedule slots — recurring sessions on specific days and times.

  1. Open your class by clicking its name in the class list, or go to /class/edit/:classId
  2. Scroll down to the Schedule section
  3. For each session, configure:
    • Day of Week – Monday through Sunday (0=Sunday, 1=Monday, â€Ļ6=Saturday)
    • Start Time – e.g. 09:00
    • End Time – e.g. 10:00
    • Instructor (optional) – override the default class instructor for this slot
    • Plan (optional) – assign a specific lesson plan for this time slot
  4. Click "Add Schedule Slot" to add more recurring sessions
  5. Click "Save"

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Screenshot of the Schedule configuration section showing a table of schedule slots with Day, Start Time, End Time, Instructor, and Plan columns

🔄 Session Overrides

Need to change the instructor or lesson plan for a specific date? Use Session Overrides:

  • Navigate to the class view page
  • Find the upcoming session in the schedule
  • Click to override the instructor or lesson plan for just that date
  • The override only affects that single session — future sessions use the default
ℹī¸ Info: The system shows upcoming sessions for the next 14 days on the class view page, making it easy to manage overrides in advance.
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Step 6 of 6

Assigning Students & Instructors to Classes

Step 6

đŸ‘Ĩ Step 6: Assign People to Classes

Adding Students to a Class

  1. Go to Classes → View Class (or /class/view/:classId)
  2. In the Students section, use the Add Student dropdown
  3. Select one or more students to enrol
  4. Click "Add"

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Screenshot of the Class View page showing the Students section with an 'Add Student' dropdown and a list of currently enrolled students

When a student is added to a class that has a Skill Level assigned, the student is automatically linked to that skill level for progress tracking.

Assigning Instructors

  1. On the class edit page, find the Instructors section
  2. The dropdown shows all users marked as instructors (isInstructor = true)
  3. Select one or more instructors — they'll see this class on their dashboard
  4. For schedule-specific instructors, assign them per time slot in the Schedule section
💡 Tip: Instructors assigned at the class level see all sessions. Instructors assigned at the slot level only see their specific sessions.

Removing Students or Instructors

  • To remove a student: click the ✕ button next to their name in the class view
  • To remove an instructor: uncheck them in the instructor selection on the edit page
⚠ī¸ Important: Removing a student from a class doesn't delete their account — it just un-enrols them. Their attendance and skill records are preserved.
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