Data enhancements in education accelerator

As part of our work to make Dataverse more relevant to our education partners, the 2022 release wave 1 of the Dynamics 365 education accelerator includes features that we developed in response to your feedback. In addition to new and enhanced data model entities, you’ll find updated sample applications that demonstrate how to use the entities in K-12 and higher education.

What’s new in the education data model

• An enhanced learner record captures students’ home language, preferred language, accommodations, achievements, program level, and mode of study.
• A new school record captures information about school hierarchy, calendar, schedule, special learning needs, and daily attendance.
• A new teacher certification management record captures certification requirements, process, and completions.

What’s new in the sample applications

The higher education and K-12 model-driven apps capture more detailed information in the contact data for each student, such as home and preferred languages.

The higher education and K-12 student portals capture achievement data.

The K-12 portal captures school calendar data.

The K-12 model-driven app captures teachers’ certification and credential information.

What our partners are saying

“As an ISV who has aligned with the Higher Education Accelerator (HEA) since V1, we see the April 22 (V4) release of HEA as a substantial step forward for partners and customers. With the inclusion of the learner record, school calendar, instructor certifications and other new features along with the ability to leverage components from K-12 for Higher Ed, this release truly enriches our greymatter Higher Education Lifecycle CRM and allows us to deliver a comprehensive learner record and true Student 360 view to empower institutions like the College of Southern Nevada to create exceptional student experiences.”

Shekar Kadaba, CEO, Frequency Foundry

“We are seeing a real positive response from the K-12 space since the recent releases of the industry accelerator. It is providing a platform that allows schools to adjust to the ever-changing demands for their industry. The flexible nature of the accelerator has meant that schools have been able to start modernizing the way they interact with their parents and students through the different channels provided with the Dynamics 365 platform. One of the many advantages we have seen for schools is how they can move away from the traditional siloed environment. This has allowed them to interact with their data in ways they have not been able to previously. It is an exciting time being a partner in the education space and leveraging the Microsoft Education Accelerator and Power Platform to improve the whole customer experience in schools.”

Brad Orders, Solution Specialist, Fusion5

“For PwC, keeping our clients’ systems evergreen is as important as upgrading and extending their usability. Private preview allows us to plan and schedule updates in our clients’ data models. We are excited about the new release, which expands the student learning profile and workforce development and directly addresses what we have learned from schools.”

Khue Trinh, Lead Solution Architect Connected School, PwC

Next steps

• Get started right away with version 4.0 of the Dynamics 365 education accelerator on Microsoft AppSource. The data model, solutions, sample applications and data, Power BI reports, and UX controls that come with the education accelerator are available to any Microsoft Power Platform developer.
• For more information, read the education accelerator documentation.