Alma Tips

These instructions are ONLY for creating a Student User record for a new student whose SIS records haven’t yet made it into Alma.

Required Roles: Circulation Desk Operator or Manager OR Circulation Desk Operator – Limited (student workers) - for creating the record. User Manager - to toggle the record to external, making it recognizable to SIS.

1. Search for previous patron record in Patron Identification; select Fulfillment from the side navigation and choose Manage Patron Services from the menu.  In the search box, you can enter their name in either order, First Name first, or Last Name first. If no record is found, create a new student record.

2. Click on green Register New User link in the upper right screen.

5. Enter the Mandatory and Recommended Information. 

Mandatory Information: 

• First name
• Last Name
• Primary Identifier: If you have the patron's MyNOVA username enter it here, otherwise keep the Alma generated number.
• User Group: Student
• Campus: NVCC
• Expiration Date: One year from creation date
• Purge Date: One year from expiration date (per VCCS system office)
• Keep the default - Patron has institutional record: No
• Email Address: Include Email type (school, personal, etc.)
• Address: Include Address type (home, work, etc.)

Recommended Information:

• Phone number: Include Phone type

6. Click on the green Update User link in the upper right screen.

7. To add the EMPLID and Barcode (if available) as Identifiers, click on the linked MyNOVA username or the Alma generated ID number in the ID field to view user details.

8. Alma defaults to the Identifiers tab. To add a new identifier (i.e. EMPLID or Barcode), click Add Identifier on the right hand side of the screen.

9. A drop-down menu will open and default to Barcode. Change Identifier Type dropdown to EMPLID. Enter number in Value box. Click Add and Close.

10. If you are a User Manager, follow the directions below, starting with step 3. If not, inform one of your library User Manager's of the new student's name and EMPLID, and ask them to toggle the record to External.

Required Role: User Manager.

1. Search for new Student user's account information by name or EMPLID.

2. Click on the linked MyNOVA username or the Alma generated ID number in the ID field to view user details.

3. On the User Details page, click the Toggle Account Type button in the upper right.

4. Click Confirm in the Confirmation Message window.

5. Back on the User Details page, click Save.

6. This changes the Account Type to External, allowing SIS to update the student's account.