This guide will show you how to Setup the A2C Exchange for use in Bromcom.
Access: The minimum permissions required to access A2C Centre Setup are found in the Examination Module of Config > Setup > Roles & Permissions.
- Setting up and using the Integrated Examination Submissions Process
- Setting up the A2C Exchange
- Trouble With Connecting
- Submitting Entries & Amendments
- Importing Results
Setting up and using the Integrated Examination Submissions Process.
IMPORTANT : we strongly recommend checking with the exam boards directly to ensure they have the submissions files.
Important note: Following a number of queries raised during the summer 2023 exam season concerning files not reaching the appropriate examination board we have added two improvements to tighten up the process and to ensure we receive an acknowledgment from the secure carrier.
Change 1: The File Name uses the Centre Number stored within the examination configuration area and this must match the Secure Certificate before a file can be submitted. If it does not match, the file will return a failed message and this will prevent Centres using incorrect credentials which do not belong to that Centre
Change 2: Once a file has been submitted the Sent On field will only return a date if the system has received the appropriate response to say that the system has dispatched the file. If the system does not receive this response it will return a failed status. The user should then go to the A2C set up and refresh the connection before trying again.
Setting up the A2C Exchange
Multiple Exam Centre Numbers
Bromcom MIS has an option to add an Additional Centre Number within its Examination Configuration. The A2C Exchange is not currently set up to handle this additional number where a separate awarding organisation certificate and password has been issued for each centre.
To allow schools with Additional Centre Numbers to use the new integrated A2C Exchange, please contact each awarding organisation and request a single Multiple Centre Certificate and password. This certificate will identify both Centre Numbers thus enabling the integrated A2C Exchange for both.
Note: By Additional Centre Number we are referring to National Centre Numbers used in EDI transactions, and not the individual Centre Numbers assigned by other awarding organisations, such as NCFE.
Step 1: Preparing to Connect
To connect to the A2C Exchange you must provide the awarding organisation Access Key (also called a certificate) and Password. The process uses the same credentials for both the A2C Exchange and the A2C app. If you do not have these credentials noted down anywhere, please request a new Access Key and Password from each awarding organisation you wish to connect to.
The Access Key is in fact an encrypted file which you will be able to acquire from each awarding organisation.
If you intend to use a new awarding organisation not previously connected through the A2C app, then there is no need to disconnect it from the app. Simply, acquire the credentials and move to Step 3
Step 2: Disconnecting from the A2C App
Once you have the Access Key and Password for an awarding organisation, the next step is to disconnect it from the A2C app service. To do this is a simple process of selecting the Remove Awarding Organisation option in the app.
If you are already connected to the awarding organisations using the A2C app, then you will be familiar with the Status process, displayed as Ready when the Access Key and Password has successfully been applied.
Within the A2C app select Settings from the Menu. Next choose the awarding organisation from the Select awarding organisation dropdown; click Remove Awarding Organisation and confirm Yes when the popover is displayed.
Repeat this step for each awarding organisation until the app has been in effect disabled. No further files will be sent or received using the app where the connection has been removed.
Step 3: Setting up the A2C Exchange
Initially, access to the A2C Centre Setup page was restricted to selected schools who took part in a limited trial. If, for any reason, this page is still not available, please follow the instructions on the page so we can enable the service for you.
Appropriate permissions are required to access the A2C Centre Setup page which is available through the Configuration>Examinations>Maintenance>A2C Centre Setup menu.
If you are the Examination Officer, this permission should be available as default. If it is not, please contact your system administrator
There is no need to configure anything within your local network to set up the A2C Exchange and this process can be done without IT support
The awarding organisations listed will have an Active state and a connection Status. By default, these will be No and Not Available respectively.
To connect, simply left click on the awarding organisation to display the Edit Awarding Organisation panel
Please leave Centre Number blank
When checking the Active tick box, the Access Key Browse button will activate. When adding the Access Key the Password field will become editable.
Note: Please type the password. DO NOT Copy and Paste the password as this may cause the connection attempt to fail!
Save the settings which will return you to A2C Centre Setup page and if the credentials are correct, the Status will change from Not Available to Ready with a green light indicator
You are now ready to submit and receive files using Bromcom’s A2C Exchange for all awarding organisations with a Status of Ready
Trouble with Connecting
Failed Status
If it is not possible to connect initially to the awarding organisation the system will return a Status of Failed, following repeated attempts to connect. This occurs normally where the credentials are incorrect, for example when using an incorrect/expired Access Key. Please also see Incorrect Passwords below. In the first instance, we would suggest checking that the credentials are correct for the selected awarding organisation and trying again
If this still fails, the only other situation where the connection can fail is at the awarding organisation end, for example if their service goes offline for maintenance work. This will also return a Status of Failed.
In such cases, contact the awarding organisation to either request a new Access Key and Password or to establish if there is an issue with the awarding organisation service.
A Refresh button has been added to the A2C Centre Setup page which can be used if the Status changes from Ready to Failed for any reason, as described above.
Incorrect Passwords
When pasting a Password or typing it incorrectly, you will receive the follow message upon Save as this will prevent the service from connecting
Disconnecting from the A2C Exchange
There are very few situations where a user would wish to disconnect from the A2C Exchange once a connection to an awarding organisation has been made successfully.
Note: If you have sent files already using the A2C Exchange, these will not be available to re-submit using the A2C app. However, disconnecting from the A2C Exchange will revert the process to a manual state and all subsequent submissions or receipts would be managed manually using the app.
To Disconnect from the A2C Exchange, select an awarding organisation and simply untick the Active check box then select Save. This will set the Status to Not Connected and will return the Submissions page to a manual state, allowing files not already submitted to be downloaded ready for use with the A2C app.
Once an awarding organisation has been disconnected, the A2C Exchange will retain the Access Key and Password so that reconnection is a simple reversal of the process, by checking the Active box again and then selecting Save
Submitting Entries and Amendments
Submissions using A2C Exchange
With the A2C Exchange configured for an awarding organisation, the only thing to change in Manage Submissions is the method of sending Submission files.
Submissions
On the Manage Submissions page, an additional Submit button will appear above the Existing Submissions table and all submission files in an Unsubmitted state will have a checkbox on the left-hand side. 2 exchange arrows will also be present instead of the usual download icon to denote that the file is using the A2C Exchange integrated process.
Tick the checkbox against one or more files to enable the Submit button which will turn green.
Click Submit to send the files which will change the Status to Submitted.
As the file has been submitted through the A2C Exchange it is no longer available to download and will have a tooltip message to that effect
Receipts and Acknowledgements
Once the A2C Exchange has received confirmation of receipt by the awarding organisation, the Receipt column will be updated with the Date and Time automatically.
The Receipt is confirmation that the file has successfully reached the awarding organisation.
Some of the awarding organisations also send an extra Acknowledgement file which confirms that the file is being processed. Use the View Acknowledgements button to view the latest acknowledgement files. An embedded counter will display the number of unread acknowledgements
When selecting View Acknowledgements, a list of files received will be displayed.
Unread files are in bold and can be read by simply selecting them. This will display the message in the pane on the right of the page and at the same time change the status of the Acknowledgement to Read, reducing the View Acknowledgements counter accordingly. Files can be updated to Mark as Read/Unread by clicking on the message icon
Setup for both A2C Exchange and A2C App
As mentioned above, the cardinal rule is that only one instance of A2C (Exchange or app) is configured for each awarding organisation as, in effect, both mechanisms share the same channel for submitting and receiving files. This means there would be a risk of a file being issued to the wrong destination and thus appear lost!
Where both the A2C Exchange and the app are configured simultaneously for an awarding organisation, if the file is received in the app then it would be possible to disconnect from the A2C Exchange and upload manually as normal.
However, as the A2C Exchange is set up to submit and receive files, there is no need to have the app configured at the same time for that awarding organisation, which guarantees it is the A2C Exchange that receives the file
It does not matter if some awarding organisations are set up using the A2C Exchange and others continue with the A2C locally installed app. Where a combination of A2C Exchange and app exists, all manual functionality will still apply for awarding organisations not connected via the A2C Exchange. It would also be possible to download any file before the integrated submission process has been set up whereupon subsequent files will be received by the A2C Exchange
In the unusual situation that there is an issue with the A2C Exchange, disconnecting the service to an awarding organisation will release unsubmitted files and make them available again. This would only be possible if for any reason the file could not be sent. In this instance the Status on the Existing Submissions page would change to Failed. Check the A2C Setup Status of the awarding organisation first as it is likely there is a service issue
Importing Results
To import results is straightforward using Import Results from the Action menu within the Manage Results page. Where an awarding organisation has not been connected to the A2C Exchange, the process of uploading results manually will remain unchanged. However, if one or more organisations are connected, the process for these changes slightly, as described below.
A2C Exchange Results Process
Preparation for Importing Results
As it is possible to have a combination of states for different awarding organisations, it is important to check the Status of each awarding organisation in the A2C Centre Setup page. This may be because the school does not use certain awarding organisations or some submissions have been made using the manual download process.
The A2C Exchange process will look to retrieve Results files for awarding organisations which are in a Ready state in the A2C Centre Setup page, regardless of how the initial submission was made.
In the example above, only results for Pearson can be retrieved through the A2C Exchange as it is the only one in a Ready state. However, an attempt has been made to connect both CCEA and WJEC/CBAC so their state should be corrected if results are to be successfully retrieved using the A2C Exchange. Any awarding organisation in a Not Available state will be ignored and the manual results Upload process will be available for any exam board not in a Ready state
Importing Results using the A2C Exchange
Importing through the A2C Exchange works through the same Import Results action in the Manage Results page.
Where no exam boards are in a Ready state, selecting Import Results will open that page directly and the process will be wholly manual.
However, selecting Import Results where at least one exam board is in a Ready state on the A2C Centre Setup page, an additional process will begin.
Firstly, Results files are not yet available. This could be because the Import Results process has been actioned before any results have been released, or perhaps the wrong season has been selected. It is most likely to occur though where the files are not yet available in the A2C Exchange and the following message will be displayed
The assumption is that the Examination Officer has selected the correct season and the results are available, so the only remaining problem is that the results file is not present in the A2C Exchange, a state initiated by the awarding organisation.
Processing Results
Navigate to Modules > Examination > Manage Results.
When a new Results File has been downloaded and is available for import, you will receive the following notification on the Manage Results screen. The same notification will also display in the Bell icon in the top right.
Select Actions > Import Results
The system will display a message as it starts the check for Results files which will summarise the Status of the awarding organisations based on Submissions and their A2C Status.
Once the check is complete, a second message returning the summary of Results retrieved will be displayed against each awarding organisation.
Clicking OK will close the message and open the Import Results page, where the retrieved Results file will be displayed in the Import Results window.
For Results to be imported, Basedata must have been imported for that season.
The Results file page now contains all relevant information about the file in an easy to view table. The latest Results files will always appear towards the top of the table and Date selectors have been added to replace the need to switch between Seasons.
Once imported, the file will be moved to the Previously Imported files page, accessible by a switch of the available radio buttons
Clicking the Manage Results column for a Results file will display the Results for that file
Options to Import the files and to Upload files manually are also available. Each Results file must be imported one at a time and the system will return the user to the Results Import page after each file has been processed
An option to Download the file has also been added to allow users to store a copy of the results locally, if desired. This also facilitates some possible requirements from awarding organisations whereby the examination officer or data manager must make a copy and modify some aspect of the file before it can be imported. (As at December 2021, some OCR Cambridge Technical Results file required such modification)
Importing Component Results Files
From Autumn 2021, new xml Component Results files prefixed with “a2c.” will form part of the Results process and these will also be handled using the Import Results routine. When selecting a file for import, a note will appear indicating that Component Results will be imported.
The system will only display one file type (EDI or a2c.) however as the a2c. file also contains the award results.
As the Components equate mostly to exam units, the existing Results Overview report will include any Component Results. This also applies where there are Components as well as Exam Unit options, both of which will be displayed in the report.
The additional Component Results data item has also been added to the Ad Hoc Reporting Examinations domain, if customised reports are preferred.