The following article will cover the ins and outs of the three R's: Roles, Records, and Relationships.

• All About Guardian Roles
  
• Other Types of Roles
• Relationships in BigSIS
• Setting Up Relationships

Okay, so if everyone in BigSIS starts out as a person, with their own Person Record, then how does BigSIS know when someone is a student, parent, teacher, alumni—how does it distinguish people between each other? 

Great question! The answer is by assigning roles to people. There are lots of different roles you can give someone in BigSIS:

• Advisor
• Alumnus
• Donor
• Employee
• Extended Care Administrator
• Guardian
• Student
• Teacher
• Volunteer

Each of these roles govern what tabs portal users see when they login to BigSIS. For example, let’s say a parent at your school is also a teacher. That person would have multiple roles tied to their Person Record: Guardian, Teacher, Employee, and because they have these roles assigned to them in BigSIS, they would have access to these tabs when logging into their portal.

Let’s go over one of the most common and important roles in BigSIS: Guardians.

Guardian vs Parent

In BigSIS, parents are not automatically assumed to be guardians. This is because parents are not always guardians of their children, and guardians are not always parents. We make this distinction because families are complicated! Only people who are assigned a guardian role will have a Parent Tab in the portal (you choose your own naming convention whether it’s Parent, Guardian, Super Rad Person etc).

This tab allows parents and guardians to view important information pertaining to that student, and allows you to communicate important information to them regarding the student. Any forms, or documentation, you send to parents/guardians will come through this tab in the portal so it’s important that the Guardian Role be assigned to the right person.

Tying a Guardian Role to Person

With the exception of the Quick Add New Student form, which will allow you to simultaneously assign guardianship to a person, all guardians need to be given guardianship in order to access the Parent Portal. You can edit any relation pertaining to a specific person from the Person’s Record. In the example below, Lilac Diner’s mother, Darcy, is related to Lilac as “Mother,” however she isn’t listed as Lilac’s guardian. If Darcy logs into her portal, she won’t be able to see the parent tab, or any of Lilac’s information.
(Right-click and "Open image in new tab" to enlarge)

To give Lilac’s Mother guardianship over her:

1. Select the mother from the list.
   
2. Click the Edit Relation button.
   
3. Then, click the Guardian of Lilac Diner radio button.
4. Finish by clicking the Save and Back button.
   (Right-click and "Open image in new tab" to enlarge)
    

Now that you’ve assigned Guardianship, the Mother will be able to see their daughter’s information in the portal.

Tying a Student, Alumnus, Teacher, and/or Employee Role to a Person

Let’s look at some other types of roles. We’ll start with the most common ones: Student, Alumnus, Teacher, and/or Employee.

1. Go to the Person’s Record.
2. Notice the General related tab, which will be selected by default.
   
3. Select the Roles subtab.
   
   
4. Notice there are four types of records, or roles, you can tie to this person. In the example, below, Dolly is already a student so that record is highlighted yellow. The other three options: Alumnus, Teacher, and Employer are green. This is because Dolly doesn’t have these roles tied to her.
   
5. A Person can have multiple roles. For example, a teacher might have a teacher role and an employee role, or a former student might have a student role and an alumnus role. Select the appropriate roles for that person.
   After you’ve selected a role, you’ll be routed to a different screen prompting you for information
   specific to that role. Complete all necessary fields and click the Save button.

Relationships in BigSIS

Relationships in BigSIS tie families and friends together so you can get the BIG picture. There are many types of relationships to choose from.

• Applicant
• Aunt, Uncle, Aunt/Uncle
• Cousin
• Daughter, Son, Child
• Daughter-in-Law, Son-in-Law, Child-in-Law
• Exchange Student
• Ex-Wife, Ex-Husband, Ex-Spouse
• Friend
• Goddaughter, Godson, Godchild
• Godmother, Godfather, Godparent
• Grandmother, Grandfather, Grandparent
• Great-Granddaughter, Great-Grandson, Great-Grandchild
• Great-Grandmother, Great-Grandfather, Great-Grandparent
• Guardian
• Half-Sister, Half-Brother, Half-Sibling
• Host Mother, Host Father, Host Parent
• Mother, Father, Parent
• Mother-in-Law, Father-in-Law, Parent-in-Law
• Niece, Nephew, Niece/Nephew
• Partner
• Sister, Brother, Sibling
• Sister-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, Sibling-in-Law
• Stepdaughter, Stepson, Stepchild
• Stepmother, Stepfather, Stepparent
• Ward
• Wife, Husband, Spouse

Relationships are based on whether the person identifies as non-binary, female, or male. Whenever you set one relationship, its reciprocal will be assigned to the person to which they are being tied. For example, in the screenshot below, Debbie, the mother, is female, but her child is non-binary, therefore her relationship is “child” as oppose to “daughter” or “son.”
(Right-click and "Open image in new tab" to enlarge)

Setting up Relationships

From the Person’s Record:

1. Click the General tab.
   
2. Click the Related People subtab.
   
3. Under the Related People section, click the New button.
   
4. Enter the person’s name into the Related Person field.
   
   • NOTE: The person must already have a Person Record before you will be able to establish the relationship. You can create a new Person Record from this screen by clicking the Combo Box icon .

5. Then establish how the two people are related to each other by selecting an option from the Related Person drop-down menu. In the example below, Frank is Dolly’s grandfather so “Grandfather” is selected.
   (Right-click and "Open image in new tab" to enlarge)

6. From this screen, you can also establish if the relation Can Pickup the person, and whether or not the relation contact.
   
7. If the relation is the guardian of the person (e.g. the parent), click the Guardian of… radio button. If the relation is the ward of the person (e.g. the child) click the Ward of… radio button. If the relation is neither the guardian or the ward of the person, click the Is neither a Ward of Guardian of… radio button.
   
8. When you’ve completed filling out the form, click the Save and Back button.