How to Import Alumni

Importing Alumni

This guide covers how to import new alumni into the system from TSV (tab-separated) files.

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Before You Begin

Important: Read Alumni_Database/IMPORT-FROM-ALMABASE.md for complete details on the import process and field mappings.

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Preparing the Import File

Create a TSV file with these columns (tab-separated):

Column	Description	Required
First Name	Given name	Yes
Last Name	Family name	Yes
Email	Email address (or empty)	No
State	Two-letter state code or country	No
City	City name	No
Class Year	4-digit year (e.g., 1992)	Yes

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Running the Import

Single Alumni

./import_one_alumni.sh "First	Last	email@example.com	CA	San Francisco	1992"

Batch Import from TSV

while IFS=$'\t' read -r FIRST LAST EMAIL STATE CITY YEAR; do
    ./import_one_alumni.sh "$FIRST	$LAST	$EMAIL	$STATE	$CITY	$YEAR"
done < alumni_to_import.tsv

Parallel Import (Faster)

count=0
while IFS=$'\t' read -r FIRST LAST EMAIL STATE CITY YEAR; do
    ./import_one_alumni.sh "$FIRST	$LAST	$EMAIL	$STATE	$CITY	$YEAR" &
    ((count++ % 8 == 0)) && wait
done < alumni_to_import.tsv
wait

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What the Import Does

1. Creates WordPress user with um_alumni role
2. Sets username as firstname.lastname (or firstname.lastname.YYYY if conflict)
3. For users without email: creates placeholder firstname.lastname.YYYY@noemail.antiochians.org
4. Sets Ultimate Member metadata
5. Syncs to MailerPress (if real email)
6. Geocodes location (if city/state provided)

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Checking for Existing Users

Before importing, filter out users who already exist:

# Get existing emails
./wp-cli-php83.sh user list --field=user_email --role=um_alumni | sort -u > existing.txt

# Filter import file
cut -f3 import_file.tsv | sort -u | comm -23 - existing.txt > new_emails.txt

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After Import

1. Verify user count: ./wp-cli-php83.sh user list --role=um_alumni --format=count
2. Run geocoding: ./wp-cli-php83.sh um-maps geocode-all
3. Check MailerPress sync: ./wp-cli-php83.sh um-mailerpress stats

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Troubleshooting

• "User already exists" - Email is already in the system
• "Invalid email" - Email format is incorrect
• Duplicate usernames - Script auto-appends class year

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