SIMAT Integration - Athena ERP

What is SIMAT?

The Sistema Integrado de Matrícula (SIMAT) is Colombia’s national student enrollment information system, managed by the Ministry of National Education. All official educational institutions must register and maintain student enrollment data in SIMAT.

Official Reporting: SIMAT data is used for official statistics, resource allocation, and educational policy. Errors or omissions can affect your institution’s funding and regulatory status.

How Athena Handles SIMAT

Athena serves as your internal enrollment management system while maintaining synchronization with SIMAT:

Local Enrollment: Manage student enrollments in Athena with full workflow support
Export Preparation: Generate SIMAT-compatible CSV files with validated data
Manual Upload: Upload the CSV to the official SIMAT web platform
Status Tracking: Mark enrollments as synced and track SIMAT IDs

Athena does not directly connect to SIMAT servers. The official SIMAT platform requires manual file uploads through their web interface. Athena prepares the correctly formatted export files.

Database Schema

School Settings

SIMAT configuration is stored in the school_settings table:

CREATE TABLE school_settings (
    school_id         UUID PRIMARY KEY,
    simat_settings    JSONB NOT NULL DEFAULT '{}'::jsonb,
    -- other fields...
);

SIMAT Settings Structure

{
  "enabled": true,
  "institution_code": "211001234567",
  "dane_code": "211001234567",
  "export_encoding": "latin1",
  "field_mappings": {
    "document_type_map": {
      "TI": "3",
      "CC": "1",
      "RC": "2"
    }
  },
  "csv_delimiter": ";",
  "last_export_at": "2026-03-10T10:30:00Z"
}

Enrollment SIMAT Status

Each enrollment tracks its SIMAT synchronization state:

CREATE TABLE enrollments (
    id            UUID PRIMARY KEY,
    school_id     UUID NOT NULL,
    student_id    UUID NOT NULL,
    simat_status  JSONB NOT NULL DEFAULT '{}'::jsonb,
    -- other fields...
);

SIMAT Status Structure

{
  "synced": true,
  "synced_at": "2026-02-15T14:22:00Z",
  "synced_by": "user-uuid",
  "simat_id": "20260215ABC123",
  "export_batch": "2026_periodo1",
  "last_error": null
}

Configuration

Step 1: Institution Setup

Navigate to Configuración → SIMAT y Codificación Required Fields:

DANE Code: Your institution’s official DANE code (e.g., 211001234567)
Institution Code: SIMAT institution identifier (often same as DANE)
CSV Encoding: latin1 (default) or utf8 depending on regional requirements
CSV Delimiter: Usually ; (semicolon)

Verify with Your Secretaría: Different regional education secretariats may require specific encoding or delimiter settings. Confirm these settings before your first export.

Step 2: Field Mappings

Athena automatically maps most fields, but document types require specific SIMAT codes:

Athena Document Type	SIMAT Code	Description
TI	3	Tarjeta de Identidad
CC	1	Cédula de Ciudadanía
RC	2	Registro Civil
CE	4	Cédula de Extranjería

Step 3: Grade Level Codes

SIMAT uses numeric codes for grade levels. Athena handles the mapping automatically:

Grade	SIMAT Code
Transición	0
1°	1
2°	2
…	…
11°	11

Export Process

From the Enrollment Dashboard

Go to Matrículas (Enrollment Management)
Filter enrollments by status if needed
Click Carga Masiva SIMAT button
Select the academic year and enrollment status
Click Generar Exportación SIMAT

Export File Format

Athena generates a CSV file with the following structure:

DANE_CODE;STUDENT_DOC_TYPE;STUDENT_DOC_NUMBER;FIRST_NAME;LAST_NAME;BIRTH_DATE;GENDER;GRADE;GROUP;ENROLLMENT_DATE
211001234567;3;1098765432;JUAN;PEREZ GARCIA;2010-05-15;M;10;A;2026-01-20

Encoding Matters: The file encoding (Latin-1 vs UTF-8) affects how special characters (á, é, í, ó, ú, ñ) are displayed. Always use the encoding specified by your regional authority.

File Naming Convention

Exported files follow this pattern:

simat_export_{school_name}_{year}_{timestamp}.csv

Example: simat_export_colegio_santafe_2026_20260310.csv

Uploading to SIMAT

Manual Upload Steps

Login to SIMAT Portal
- URL: https://www.sistemamatriculas.gov.co/ (verify current URL with MEN)
- Use your institutional credentials
Navigate to Enrollment Upload
- Go to “Carga Masiva” or “Importar Matrícula”
- Select the academic year
Upload CSV File
- Choose the file generated by Athena
- Wait for SIMAT validation
- Review any errors or warnings
Resolve Validation Errors
- Download the error report from SIMAT
- Fix issues in Athena
- Re-export and upload
Confirm Synchronization
- Once SIMAT accepts the file, record the transaction ID
- Mark enrollments as synced in Athena

Validation Failures: Common SIMAT validation errors include:

Document number already registered in another institution
Invalid birth date (student too young/old for grade)
Missing required fields
Encoding issues with special characters

Status Tracking

Sync Status Indicators

In the enrollment dashboard, you’ll see SIMAT sync status:

Pendiente SIMAT (Pending): Not yet exported or synced
Sincronizado (Synced): Successfully registered in SIMAT
Error SIMAT: Validation failed, needs correction

Bulk Status Update

After successful SIMAT upload:

Go to the enrollment detail page
Scroll to Validación SIMAT section
Check “Validar” to mark as synced
Enter the SIMAT ID if provided
Save changes

API Integration

For programmatic access:

PATCH /api/enrollments/{enrollment_id}

{
  "simat_status": {
    "synced": true,
    "synced_at": "2026-03-10T15:30:00Z",
    "synced_by": "user-uuid",
    "simat_id": "20260310XYZ789"
  }
}

Permissions

SIMAT export and sync operations require specific permissions:

Role	Permissions
Rector	`export:simat`, full access
Coordinator	`export:simat`, can export and mark as synced
Secretary	`export:simat`, can export and mark as synced
Teacher	View only, no export
Student	No access
Guardian	No access

# From permissions.py
ROLE_PERMISSIONS = {
    Role.RECTOR: {"export:simat", ...},
    Role.COORDINATOR: {"export:simat", ...},
    Role.SECRETARY: {"export:simat", ...},
}

Troubleshooting

Export File is Empty

Cause: No enrollments match the filter criteria Solution:

Check enrollment status filters
Verify academic year selection
Ensure students have required fields (document, birth date, etc.)

Special Characters Display Incorrectly

Cause: Encoding mismatch Solution:

Verify export_encoding in simat_settings
Try switching between latin1 and utf8
Confirm with your Secretaría which encoding they require

SIMAT Rejects Document Number

Cause: Student may be registered in another institution Solution:

Contact the previous institution for transfer documentation
Use SIMAT’s “Traslado” (transfer) process
Verify document number is correct

Grade Level Not Accepted

Cause: SIMAT grade code mismatch Solution:

Verify grade level mapping in Athena configuration
Ensure grade matches student age range per Resolution 1740

Best Practices

Regular Synchronization

Export and sync to SIMAT at least once per academic period. Critical times:

Beginning of school year (initial enrollment)
End of enrollment window
After enrollment status changes (withdrawals, transfers)

Data Quality

Before exporting:

Verify all students have complete documents
Validate birth dates and ages
Confirm Habeas Data consent is captured
Review enrollment status accuracy

Keep Records

Maintain:

Copy of exported CSV files
SIMAT transaction IDs
Error reports and resolutions
Correspondence with Secretaría regarding SIMAT issues

Regulatory References

Decree 1075 of 2015: Education Sector Regulatory Framework
Resolution 1740 of 2009: SIMAT implementation guidelines
Ministry of Education Circular: Annual SIMAT enrollment instructions

Stay Updated: SIMAT requirements and formats may change annually. Always review the Ministry of Education’s current guidelines at the start of each school year.

Get Started

Core Features

User Roles

Administration

Colombian Compliance

​What is SIMAT?

​How Athena Handles SIMAT

​Database Schema

​School Settings

​SIMAT Settings Structure

​Enrollment SIMAT Status

​SIMAT Status Structure

​Configuration

​Step 1: Institution Setup

​Step 2: Field Mappings

​Step 3: Grade Level Codes

​Export Process

​From the Enrollment Dashboard

​Export File Format

​File Naming Convention

​Uploading to SIMAT

​Manual Upload Steps

​Status Tracking

​Sync Status Indicators

​Bulk Status Update

​API Integration

​Permissions

​Troubleshooting

​Export File is Empty

​Special Characters Display Incorrectly

​SIMAT Rejects Document Number

​Grade Level Not Accepted

​Best Practices

Regular Synchronization

Data Quality

Keep Records

​Regulatory References

​Next Steps

Habeas Data Compliance

Enrollment Management

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What is SIMAT?

How Athena Handles SIMAT

Database Schema

School Settings

SIMAT Settings Structure

Enrollment SIMAT Status

SIMAT Status Structure

Configuration

Step 1: Institution Setup

Step 2: Field Mappings

Step 3: Grade Level Codes

Export Process

From the Enrollment Dashboard

Export File Format

File Naming Convention

Uploading to SIMAT

Manual Upload Steps

Status Tracking

Sync Status Indicators

Bulk Status Update

API Integration

Permissions

Troubleshooting

Export File is Empty

Special Characters Display Incorrectly

SIMAT Rejects Document Number

Grade Level Not Accepted

Best Practices

Regulatory References

Next Steps