Vista Higher Learning (VHL) provides integration capabilities that allow schools to automate the rostering of users and courses. Additionally, VHL supports single-sign-on (SSO) so that users can access VHLCentral directly from their school SSO dashboard. Rostering and SSO integrations provide an efficient way to manage data and accounts between a school (or District) and VHL but come with a unique set of considerations and constraints.
This document addresses some of the most common questions and issues that arise for Instructors and Students whose school is using rostering and SSO integration with VHL.
Table of Contents
Accessing VHLCentral (Students & Instructors)
I do not see a VHL link or tile on my school’s SSO dashboard
I receive a ‘user not found message when trying to login
I receive an error trying to accept the VHL Terms of Service
I do not see the Program (Book) I want to use for my class
I am missing one or more classes
A student is missing from my class list
My classes are grayed out and cannot be selected for setup
My class is set up under the wrong Program (Book)
I want my class to use more than one Program (Book)
If students transfer between classes will their grades follow?
I received a ‘server error’ page
How to contact VHL Technical Support
Accessing VHLCentral (Students & Instructors)
System Requirements
VHLCentral supports current versions of all major browsers and OSes as detailed in our System Requirements knowledge page. Please note that both Javascript and third-party Cookies must be enabled within your browser.
I do not know how to log in.
If your school has an SSO integration setup with VHL then you must access VHLCentral via your SSO provider dashboard. For example, if your school uses Classlink or RapidIdentity then you should first login to that service and then use the VHL application tile your IT administrator has set up to launch into VHLCentral. Please note the specific name and icon used within your district will be determined by your IT Administrator – common names used include “Vista”, “Vista Higher Learning”, and “VHLCentral”.
I do not see a VHL link or tile on my school’s SSO dashboard.
Your school IT department manages applications on your SSO provider dashboard. If you cannot locate a tile for VHL, your school IT team or curriculum department head should be able to assist. Common reasons you may be unable to find a tile include:
- The integration is not yet setup
- You have not been granted access to the application
- The tile is set up under a different name than you searched for
I receive a ‘user not found message when trying to log in.
If you receive a ‘user not found’ message after clicking the VHL application tile in your SSO provider dashboard (see screenshot), this indicates the user information passed in your SSO launch does not match a user in VHL’s systems. There are two primary reasons why this can occur:
- (most common) The user account is not included in the roster information being sent to VHL. Your school IT administrator/helpdesk should be able to help determine and resolve this issue.
- (less common) The user account is in the roster information sent to VHL but was not loaded properly. If your IT administrator confirms the user is in the roster file and the user still receives a ‘user not found’ error then the issue should be escalated to VHL’s technical support team by someone from the school. VHL Tech Support will need to know the First and Last name of the affected user in order to investigate and resolve this issue.
I receive an error trying to accept the VHL Terms of Service.
When users access VHLCentral for the first time they are presented with a Terms of Service agreement. If a user receives an error after clicking ‘accept’ on those terms, this generally indicates cookie settings in the user’s browser are incorrect. Please have the user review their cookie browser’s settings to ensure cookies are enabled, and then retry. If the error persists VHL’s technical support team can help investigate and resolve the issue.
Instructor FAQs
How do I set up my classes?
In order to set up classes in VHLCentral Instructors must first log in through their school’s SSO dashboard. Once logged in, instructors choose the Program (aka Book) they want to use for a class and then select checkboxes next to the specific class(es) to set up within that Program. The list of available classes displayed to each Instructor is determined based on the roster information passed to VHL. If an Instructor is teaching classes in multiple Programs they will need to repeat this process once for each Program
I do not see the Program (Book) I want to use for my class.
The list of Programs available to Instructors during the setup process is determined by licensing agreements between the school (district) and VHL. If you do not see a Program you expect or require, you should ask your curriculum director to speak with a VHL Modern Language Specialist to review & confirm licensing agreement details.
I am missing one or more classes.
There are several reasons why an Instructor may not be able to find a class during setup. These include:
- (most common) The class is missing from the roster information provided by the school or does not have the Instructor associated with it. Your school’s IT administrator or helpdesk should be able to review roster details in the school SIS and correct these situations.
- (less common) The class setup process in VHLCentral only displays active classes and those scheduled to start within 1 week. If a class’s start date is scheduled to be more than one week in the future then an Instructor must wait for the class to become visible before it can be set up.
A student is missing from my class list.
After a class is set up in VHLCentral, the students rostered for that class are automatically added to it and shown in VHLCentral’s class roster view. After that process completes, if a student is still missing there may be several causes:
- (most common) The student is missing from the class roster information provided to VHL. Your school’s IT administrator or helpdesk should be able to review roster details in the school SIS and correct these situations.
- (less common) A school’s roster may be attempting to enroll more students than the licensing agreement allows. In this case, student enrollments within VHLCentral are blocked once the cap is exceeded. If you think this may be the case, please contact VHL’s technical support team to confirm and help resolve it.
My classes are grayed out and cannot be selected for setup.
During the setup process, you may see classes that appear grayed out and cannot be selected for setup. There are two reasons courses may appear grayed out:
- (most common) The course has already been set up within VHLCentral. If this is the case you will see the associated Program noted alongside the class.
- (less common) The school associated with a class has not been properly set up within VHLCentral. This situation is distinguishable by the presence of a message saying “Not in any school” next to the class. If you encounter this scenario, please contact VHL’s Technical Support team to correct the school setup within VHLCentral.
My class is set up under the wrong Program (Book).
If a class is accidentally set up under the wrong Program, you can change it to use a different Program. First, delete the existing course in VHLCentral. This “frees” the class and allows it to be set up again. Then, go to https://www.vhlcentral.com/home and choose the Program you want to use. In the course setup view you should now see the class as available for setup, and once the setup is complete students will automatically be re-enrolled in the new course. Important: Please note that deleting your course will remove all associated grades and submissions. If you need that information you should extract and record it before deleting the course.
I want my class to use more than one Program (Book).
VHLCentral does not support having a class setup under more than one Program at a time. If you wish to use more than one Program in a class there are two options:
- When you have completed work with the first Program, delete the course in VHLCentral and set the class up again using another Program. Important: Please note that when you delete the original course all grades and student submissions will also be removed, so if you require that information you should extract and capture it before deleting the course.
- If deleting and recreating the course does not work for your situation, you can coordinate with your school IT Administrator to have them update your school’s roster information so it defines two or more classes, each with the same student enrollments. Once each of those classes synchronizes into VHLCentral you can then set up each using a different Program.
If students transfer between classes will their grades follow?
Occasionally it is necessary for students to move between two classes. For example, because a student’s schedule requires them to join a different section, or because an entire class moves from one Instructor to another and therefore gets set up in the school SIS as a new class. In these circumstances, a student’s work history (submissions and grades) will automatically transfer to the new class in VHLCentral provided the following conditions are met:
- The original class and the final class are using the same Program (Book)
- The start dates for both classes are within a week of each other, and the end dates for both classes are also within a week of each other.
Student FAQs
I do not see my class.
After completing the SSO login to VHLCentral, students are presented with a dashboard showing a Program cover for each course they are enrolled in. However, these Program covers do not display for students until the class has been set up by the Instructor. Therefore, if a student logs in and sees no Programs, or is missing one or more Programs, then the reasons may be:
- (most common) The class has not yet been set up in VHLCentral by the Instructor. Once the Instructor completes the class setup it will display to the student.
- (less common). The student’s enrollment is missing from the roster information provided by the school. An Instructor can confirm this by looking at the class Roster view for the class in VHLCentral. If the student is indeed missing, the Instructor should notify the school’s IT Administrator so they can update the roster information sent to VHL.
Errors & Support
I received a ‘server error’ page
An error page like the one below indicates an unexpected error has happened in VHLCentral. Many times this is a temporary issue and can be resolved by retrying your previous action. However, if the error persists you should notify VHL’s Technical Support team for assistance. When reporting an error please provide the ID shown on the bottom-left of the page in order to expedite investigation and resolution.
How to contact VHL Technical Support
Vista Higher Learning’s Technical Support team is available to help! Please visit https://support.vhlcentral.com/hc/en-us for our online knowledge base and to submit help requests.