Sync user accounts from Microsoft Entra ID to Apple School Manager

Overview

You can use OpenID Connect (OIDC) to sync user accounts to Apple School Manager. Using this system, you can add Apple School Manager properties (such as grade level and roles) with user account data imported from Microsoft Entra ID. When you use OIDC to sync user accounts, the account information is added as read-only until you disconnect from Microsoft Entra ID. At that time, the user accounts become manual accounts, and attributes in these accounts can then be edited.

Note: The initial sync takes longer to perform than subsequent cycles do. Consult the Microsoft Entra ID documentation to learn how often users are synced.

How is federation data from Microsoft Entra ID used for directory syncing?

The following information is read by Apple School Manager when you link to Microsoft Entra ID for directory syncing:

Microsoft Entra ID user attribute	Apple School Manager user attribute	Required
givenName	First Name
surname	Last Name
userPrincipalName	Managed Apple Account and email address
displayName	User Name
department	Department
costCenter	Cost Center
removed	For user removal

For more information, see the Microsoft support article Get a user.

OIDC user attribute mapping

When a user account is synced from Microsoft Entra ID using OIDC to Apple School Manager, the following user attributes are stored as read-only. The table also denotes whether the user attribute is required.

Important: Adding attributes not listed in the table may break the OIDC connection because Apple School Manager only processes the attributes listed above and unmapped attributes can cause token validation failures.

Microsoft Entra ID user attribute	Apple School Manager user attribute	Required
givenName	First Name
surname	Last Name
userPrincipalName	Managed Apple Account and email address
objectId	(Not shown in Apple School Manager. This attribute is used to identify conflicting accounts.)
Department	Department
Employee Id	Person Number
employeeOrgData.costCenter	Cost Center
employeeOrgData.division	Division

Turn on Microsoft Entra Connect

Important: Review the following before you configure directory syncing.

In Apple School Manager , sign in with a user who has the role of Administrator, Site Manager, or People Manager.
Select your name at the bottom of the sidebar, select Preferences , then select Managed Apple Accounts .
Turn on Microsoft Entra Connect Sync then select Sync Now.

Manually sync

You can manually sync Apple School Manager to Microsoft Entra ID to import any changes made in Microsoft Entra ID.

In Apple School Manager , sign in with a user who has the role of Administrator, Site Manager, or People Manager.
Select your name at the bottom of the sidebar, select Preferences , then select Managed Apple Accounts .
Select Sync Now under Microsoft Entra ID.

Helpful?

Apple School Manager User Guide