Transferology Connector

This article provides an overview of the Transferology Connector. uAchieve® institutions use this Java web application to supply transfer rules and degree audits to Transferology®. CollegeSource will work with the Transferology-subscribing institution to install and configure the Connector. It is recommended that institutions start the installation process as soon as the School Administrator’s Transferology account is created.

Institutions should follow the steps below when implementing the Transferology Connector:

1. Review the requirements for the Transferology Connector.
2. Install and configure the Connector.
   • Connector downloads and other documentation require a CollegeSource Account.

What Is the Transferology Connector?

The Transferology Connector is a Java web application installed at the college or university that enables equivalencies and degree audits to be retrieved from uAchieve® for use in Transferology®.

Once an institution has successfully gone live with equivalencies in Transferology, the Transferology Connector will retrieve new and updated equivalencies daily. Institutions running version 5.0.x of the Connector will see equivalencies in Transferology and the Transferology Lab the next day. Audits requested by students (See how your courses might count towards this program) will be delivered in real-time.

Requirements

Mandatory Requirements  

• Java
  • Java versions 8 and 11 are currently supported.
    • The institution will likely already have Java, but if not:
      • OpenJDK: https://openjdk.org/install/
      • AWS Corretto: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/corretto/latest/corretto-8-ug/downloads-list.html
      • Oracle (if the institution has a license): https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/
  • Java 8 and higher use TLSv1.2 by default, required by the Transferology® web services.
  • Java Application Server
    • CollegeSource recommends Tomcat 8.5.x or 9.0.x, which can be obtained from the following page: http://tomcat.apache.org/index.html
      • Institutions using Tomcat 9.0.x are required to update to Transferology Connector 5.0.5.
• Firewalls
  • The school’s external firewall must allow traffic to:
    • The institution’s production Transferology Connector from www.transfer.org (18.207.24.42).
    • The institution’s test/development Transferology Connector from test.transfer.org (23.22.104.35).
    • CollegeSource recommends restricting access to the Transferology Connector only after it is correctly installed and configured. Restricting access before this makes troubleshooting difficult.
  • Internal TCP keepalive must be enabled between the institution’s Java Application Server and database when the JDBC connection traverses an internal firewall.
• OS Access
  • Institutions need OS access to the Java Application Server and database when the JDBC connection traverses an internal firewall.
• CollegeSource Audit Server
  • The minimum version required: uAchieve 4.2.2.
• CollegeSource Tables
  • Minimum table definition version: uAchieve 4.4.0.
• Database User and Password
  • Necessary for the Connector to access CollegeSource tables.
• JDBC Driver
  • A JDBC Driver compatible with the institution’s specific database type must be used.
    • If a JDBC Driver is not currently being used, see one of the following pages:
      • Oracle - http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/indexes/downloads/index.html
      • SqlServer - http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=33291
      • DB2 - https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/db2-jdbc-driver-versions-and-downloads
• Specify the correct daversion in the cas4.properties:
  • daversion=uachieve
• CollegeSource Audits     
  • When using the degree audit functionality:
    • uAchieve - Define RequestHandler in daemonContext.xml

Transferology Connector 5.0.5 Features

• Compatible with uAchieve API 4.4.0, including the Long data type for the job_queue_xxx int_seq_no columns.
• Provides native uAchieve degree audit report types to Transferology (TXT, HTML, and PDF).
• Provides web services to facilitate the next-day equivalency refresh into Transferology.
• For uAchieve degree audits, provides the server name and directory location of the uAchieve server that produced the degree audit.

Additional Information

• The Transferology Connector does NOT access a school’s Student Information System.
• Transferology makes HTTP (or HTTPS when defined) connections to the Transferology Connector.
• Transferology sends/requests data via POST.
• Schools can use an SSL Certificate to secure the data exchange between Transferology and the Transferology Connector.
• Schools can restrict access to the Transferology Connector with the institution's firewall by only allowing Transferology (18.207.24.42) traffic to reach the Transferology Connector.

Upgrade or Install Transferology Connector 5.0.5

The JOB_QUEUE tables within the uAchieve database must be upgraded to version 4.4 prior to installation.

Follow the steps below to upgrade or install version 5.0.5 of the Connector:

1. Execute the Connector 5.0 sql database script for the particular database.
   • This script adds the last_mod_descendant_utc column to the tca_master and tca_rule tables.
     1. Oracle - connector-oracle-5_0.sql
     2. SQL Server - connector-mssql-5_0.sql
     3. DB2 - connector-db2-5_0.sql
2. Execute the Connector 5.0 sql database trigger script for the particular database.
   • The triggers maintain the last_mod_descendant_utc columns of the tca_master and tca_ruletables.
   1. Oracle - connector-oracle-triggers-5_0.sql
   2. SQL Server - coming soon.
   3. DB2 - coming soon.
3. Install Transferology Connector version 5.0.5.
4. Within the Transferology Lab,
   1. Go to the Program Setup menu.
   2. Select Audit Setup.
   3. Within the Audit request format drop-down, select Connector 5.x.
   4. Within the Audit Report Type drop-down, select TXT, HTM, or PDF.
5. Send an email to transferology-support@collegesource.com indicating the installation is complete.

Transferology Connector 5.0.x, 4.4.x, and 4.3.x Compatibility with uAchieve versions

• The above Mandatory Requirements identify the minimum versions of the CollegeSource audit server and CollegeSource tables compatible with Transferology Connector versions 5.0.x, 4.4.x, and 4.3.x.
• Transferology Connector version 5.0.5 is required for Transferology-subscribing institutions running uAchieve 5.0 or higher. Colleges and universities running versions of uAchieve prior to 5.0 do not need to upgrade from previous versions of the Connector.

Install and Configure the Transferology Connector

Follow the below steps to install and configure the Connector:

1. Configure Database Table Access

The Transferology Connector must access several uAchieve tables to provide course equivalencies and degree audit functionality.

2. Review Default and Reference Tables Recognized by Transferology

Institutions should note that Transferology® does not recognize all types of default or reference tables. The following types of default or reference tables are recognized:

• Defaulting MSTREF Data - Reference Only
• Defaulting TA Rules - Reference Only
• Defaulting TA Rules - All Articulation Rules
• Defaulting TA Table with Additional Rules

Please review Setting Up Default Tables for encoding details.

3. Install and Configure the Transferology Connector

The configuration instructions for the RequestHandler defined in the uAchieve daemonContext.xml were revised due to the additional uAchieve report types HTM and PDF.

Retrieve and Load Equivalencies into Transferology

Once the Connector has been installed, email the Connector’s URL to transferology-support@collegesource.com.

The Transferology® servers must be able to connect to the institution’s Transferology Connector to retrieve equivalencies. After the installation and configuration of the Connector are complete, make sure that the institution’s firewall allows access to the following Transferology servers:

23.22.104.35 - Test 
18.207.24.42 - Production

After Transferology is able to communicate with the Connector, the institution’s equivalencies successfully will be retrieved and loaded into Transferology.