ℹ️ Availability: The UCAS integration is available for institutions using Full Fabric in the UK higher-education market. Contact UCAS to confirm eligibility and obtain your UCAS API credentials.
How it works
The integration connects Full Fabric directly to the UCAS API and runs on a scheduled sync cycle 6:00AM GMT and 8:00PM GMT. It covers two core data flows:
UCAS → Full Fabric: New applications and their current journey states are pulled from UCAS and created or updated in Full Fabric automatically.
Full Fabric → UCAS: When a journey state changes inside Full Fabric, the corresponding decision is pushed back to UCAS to keep both systems consistent.
Each application is linked by a stable correlation key shared between both systems, preventing duplicates and enabling idempotent reprocessing. Unknown or additional fields received from UCAS are safely ignored without causing import failures.
Prerequisites
Before enabling the integration, make sure you have:
Full Fabric admin access (to configure integrations and settings).
Valid UCAS API credentials (client ID, client secret, and scope permissions from UCAS).
Your UCAS institution code and the programme/course codes you want to map.
Agreed field mappings between UCAS data fields and Full Fabric application fields.
Journey state mappings between UCAS decision codes and Full Fabric journey states.
💡 Tip: We recommend testing in a staging environment before going live.
Enabling the integration
Follow these steps to activate UCAS in your Full Fabric instance:
Go to Settings and open the Integrations section.
Locate the UCAS integration.
Enter your UCAS API credentials:
Client ID and Client Secret (provided by UCAS).
Institution code (your UCAS-registered institution identifier).
Click Verify Connection. A success message confirms that Full Fabric can reach the UCAS API.
Save your settings.
🔒 Security note: Credentials are encrypted at rest and never exposed in the UI after saving. Only operations within the configured UCAS permission scope are performed.
Configuring course and programme mapping
UCAS identifies courses using its own course codes. You need to map each UCAS course to the corresponding programme in Full Fabric so that imported applications are linked to the right programme and intake.
In the UCAS integration settings, go to the Course Mapping section.
For each UCAS course code listed, select the matching Full Fabric programme from the dropdown.
Assign the correct intake (academic year / entry point) for each mapping.
Save your mappings.
Applications for unmapped UCAS courses will be imported but flagged as requiring manual programme assignment.
Sync schedule and frequency
By default, Full Fabric polls UCAS on a scheduled basis. All applications submitted at UCAS will appear in Full Fabric during the morning or afternoon sync.
The optional real-time sync reduces this window significantly. You can always force a sync in the UCAS integration settings.
What gets imported
Full Fabric combines data from UCAS's API to build a complete application record. The following information is imported for each application:
Applicant personal details (name, contact information, nationality).
Application details (UCAS personal statement, qualifications, referee information).
Course choices and current decision status.
Initial and updated UCAS journey state.
UCAS correlation ID (used as the stable link between both systems).
Last sync timestamp and origin marker (so staff can see the application came from UCAS).
ℹ️ No historical backfill: The integration imports new and incoming applications from the point of activation. Existing applications in UCAS prior to go-live are not backfilled automatically.
Deduplication and correlation
Full Fabric uses the UCAS application ID as the primary correlation key. If UCAS returns the same application in a subsequent sync without relevant changes, Full Fabric will not create a duplicate, it updates the application/record.
If two distinct UCAS applications have very similar data but different IDs, both are imported as separate records. No heuristic deduplication is attempted.
For fields where UCAS is the designated source of truth, Full Fabric reconciles divergent values to the UCAS value at each sync and logs the reconciliation event.
Viewing UCAS applications in Full Fabric
All imported applications behave like any other application in Full Fabric and are visible in the standard Applications view. Each record shows:
Origin: UCAS (clearly labelled on the application card).
Correlation ID: The UCAS application reference number.
Last sync: Date and time of the most recent successful update from UCAS.
Journey state: Mapped from the latest UCAS decision code.
What is not included (scope boundaries)
The following are explicitly out of scope for this integration:
Historical data backfill for applications submitted before activation.
Manual per-application sync triggers (all syncing is automated or forced for all applications).
Applicant communication automation (emails are not sent automatically on UCAS events).
Troubleshooting
Applications are not appearing in Full Fabric
Confirm the integration is enabled and the UCAS credentials are valid (go to Settings → Integrations → UCAS and click Verify Connection).
Check that the two-hour sync window has elapsed since the UCAS submission.
Review the sync dashboard for authentication or network errors.
Application is linked to the wrong programme
Open Settings → Integrations → UCAS → Course Mapping.
Confirm the UCAS course code is mapped to the correct Full Fabric programme and intake.
Correct any mismatches and save.
Duplicate applications appear
Check whether both records share the same UCAS application ID. If they do not, contact support — this may indicate a data issue on the UCAS side.
If they share the same ID, check your sync logs for any partial-creation events and contact support with the correlation IDs.
Credentials / authentication error
UCAS API credentials expire periodically. Obtain fresh credentials from UCAS and update them in Settings → Integrations → UCAS.
After updating, click Verify Connection to confirm the new credentials work before the next scheduled sync.
Getting support
When contacting Full Fabric support about a UCAS integration issue, please include:
The UCAS application reference number (correlation ID) for the affected application(s).
The approximate time the application was submitted in UCAS.
A description of the expected outcome versus what actually happened.
Any error messages shown in the sync dashboard.
This information helps the support team diagnose issues quickly and minimise disruption to your admissions operations.