> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.lena.africa/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Import students from a spreadsheet

> Add a whole class to your school from an Excel sheet, check every row before anyone is added, and hand out their sign-in details.

Importing is the quickest way to bring in a class. You fill in Lena's template, upload it, fix anything Lena flags, and
download a sheet of sign-in details to hand out. Superadmins and Academic admins can import. Set up your
[structure](https://support.lena.africa/schools/structure.md) first: every student is placed in it.

## Import a class

**1. Open Import**

Go to **Students**, open **More actions** beside **Invite**, and choose **Import**.

**2. Download the template**

Choose **Download template**. It's made for your school: you pick each student's faculty, department and level
from a list in the cell.

**3. Fill it in**

Add one row per student on the **Students** sheet. The **Instructions** sheet says what goes in each column.

**4. Upload it**

Drag the file onto the page, or choose it. It must be an Excel (.xlsx) file, up to 10 MB.

**5. Check every row**

Lena shows every student in a table. Nothing is added until every row is ready.

* A red stop sign marks a problem to fix. A yellow triangle marks a warning. Hover over the sign to read it.
* Correct a cell by typing in it, or remove the row with the bin icon.
* Tick **Show only rows to fix** to see just the ones that need you.

The button reads **Fix N rows to import** until they're all ready.

![The import preview table with 12 students, all ready, showing matric number, names, email, faculty and department](https://mintcdn.com/lenaafrica/L730hi-OSS5z45py/images/school/import-preview.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L730hi-OSS5z45py\&q=85\&s=4b9f9ce00fe0c1655e4bd0927ecbfcf8)

Every row checked and ready to import.

**6. Import**

Choose **Import N students**.

**7. Download the sign-in details**

Choose **Download sign-in details** to save a PDF with every new student's sign-in details. **It's only offered
now**, so download it before you leave the page, and keep it somewhere safe.

![The import result saying 12 students added, with a Download sign-in details button](https://mintcdn.com/lenaafrica/L730hi-OSS5z45py/images/school/import-result.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L730hi-OSS5z45py\&q=85\&s=b96d83d45ed2d6aee7be4995c32ef88c)

The result, with the sign-in details to download.

## The template's columns

| University | K-12 | Other schools |
| - | - | - |
| Matric Number | Student ID (class or admission number) | First Name |
| First Name | First Name | Last Name |
| Last Name | Last Name | Email (required) |
| Email (optional) | Email (optional) | Cohort (optional) |
| Faculty | Grade/Class | Program |
| Department | Arm | Group |
| Level | | |

At a university or K-12 school, a student with no email gets a username instead. You'll find it in the sign-in details.

## Signing in for the first time

At a university or K-12 school, imported students aren't emailed. Give each student their own sign-in details from the
PDF, privately: never post the sheet where others can see it. They sign in to
[Lena for Students](https://support.lena.africa/students/get-started.md) with them.

Ask students to change their password as soon as they're in; see [settings](https://support.lena.africa/get-started/settings.md). A student who already had a Lena
account keeps the password they have, and the result screen says how many did.

At other schools, each student is emailed an invitation to the address in the sheet and signs in with it, so the
result says "invited" rather than "added".

## Good to know

* **Old templates still work.** A sheet made from an older Lena template imports fine. Lena ignores the Section column
  in old K-12 sheets.
* **CSV files don't work.** Save the sheet as an Excel (.xlsx) file.
* **Made a mess of your edits?** **Reset changes** puts the table back as it was uploaded. **Download sheet** saves
  your corrected version.
* **Rows that look like the template's examples** get a warning. Import them anyway if they're real students.
* **Some rows may not go in.** The result lists them: fix them and import a sheet with just those rows.

## Troubleshooting

> [accordion] “That doesn’t look like the template. It has no … column.”
>
> A required column is missing or renamed. Download the template again and copy your rows into it.

> [accordion] “Only Excel (.xlsx) files can be imported”
>
> Open the file in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice, and save or download it as an Excel (.xlsx) file.

> [accordion] “Same as row N.”
>
> Two rows share a matric number or email. Remove the duplicate, or correct one of them.

> [accordion] “'…' isn’t one of your grades.” or “'…' isn’t a department of …”
>
> The place doesn't match your structure exactly. Pick it from the list in the cell, or [add it to your
> structure](https://support.lena.africa/schools/structure.md) and upload again.

> [accordion] “… has no arms set up, so it can’t be imported.”
>
> Add arms to that grade in **Grade Management**, or add the student with **Invite** instead.

> [accordion] I lost the sign-in details PDF
>
> Lena shows the sign-in details only once, straight after the import, and can't show them again. A student with an
> email address can set a new password with **Forgot password?** on the sign-in page; see [sign in to
> Lena](https://support.lena.africa/get-started/sign-in.md#forgot-your-password). For students without an email address, [contact
> support](https://support.lena.africa/help/contact-support.md).

> [accordion] “Enter a matric number.” or “Enter a valid email address.”
>
> Fill in or correct the cell in the preview. The row turns ready once it's right.

## Next

> [card] [Manage students](https://support.lena.africa/schools/students.md)
>
> Edit, move and remove students once they're in.

> [card] [Lecturers](https://support.lena.africa/schools/lecturers.md)
>
> Import your lecturers the same way.


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