Addresses

5.1 Introduction

All addresses in Banner must comply with U.S. Postal Service addressing requirements in order to enhance the processing and delivery of mail, reduce instances of 'undeliverable' mail, and position Bethel to obtain the most advantageous postal rates.  The Clean Address software that interacts with APAIDEN to format addresses identical to their representation in actual USPS files upholds these requirements electronically.  

The goal is that addresses be entered exactly as they will print on correspondence and in reports.  Given these considerations, the following address data entry standards are to be followed.

5.2 General Standards

All information is entered in mixed upper/lower case format (i.e. not all caps or all lower).

Limit all address lines to 30 characters.

Remember that the postal service “reads” the address from the bottom up. 

In general symbols should not be used in names, addresses, codes, or descriptions.

• Symbols should never be used in the first position of a field.
• The ampersand '&' should not be used in place of 'and' unless otherwise noted in this document.
• The percent symbol '%' should never be used. Designate 'in care of' as 'c/o' (lowercase) and enter it on the first street address line.

• The underscore character '_' should never be used.
• Avoid using the pound sign '#' within an address. The standard default for a unit designator is "Apt".

5.3 Street Standards

Punctuation

Punctuation should be avoided with two exceptions shown below.  Commas and apostrophes are never used. 

Secondary Address Unit Designators

Enter secondary unit designators, such as an apartment, suite, building, at the end of the street address.

If the primary address is longer than 30 characters, place the secondary unit designator on the first address line preceding the primary address. It should never be entered on the line following the primary address.

Recommended abbreviations for common unit designators

Compass Directions

Compass directional words should always be abbreviated.  A directional is only spelled out when it is the actual street name.

 Some addresses use compass directions in the house number (with no spaces).

Dual Addresses

If an address contains BOTH a street address and a post office box, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver mail to the first address line listed above the city/state/zip line. Usually the post office box is entered on the line immediately above the city/state/zip.  If Clean Address places the PO Box first, defer to the Clean Address format.

Abbreviations for Street Designators

Common abbreviations for street designators are listed below. 

Sources for Additional Information

Refer to the Bethel University Style Manual on the Communications and Marketing web page for more information about addressing style. 

The USPS web site https://www.usps.com offers a helpful address lookup feature.

The Canadian Postal service (Canada Post) also offers a useful web site at http://www.canadapost.ca.

5.4 City Standards

Clean Address will automatically fill in the city name when a zip code is entered. Unlike addresses, city names are spelled out in their entirety. 

When the city name defaults to a metro area name, it is acceptable to change the city to the actual community name.   (For example, when entering the zip code 55112, the city will default to Saint Paul, but could be manually changed to Arden Hills.)

Compass directions are not abbreviated when part of the city name.

5.5 State and Province Standards

Clean Address will automatically enter the state when a zip code is entered. State codes must be entered for all U.S. addresses and province codes must be entered for all Canadian addresses.

Both are entered in the state field, not the city field and all are included in the Banner state/province table.

5.6 Zip Code Standards for the United States and Canada

Zip or postal codes MUST be entered for all U.S. and Canadian addresses.  Clean Address should automatically add the four digit extension for U.S. addresses.  When applicable to the country, it should also be entered for other international addresses. 

United States

A hyphen is acceptable punctuation for separating the first five digits of the zip code from the four digit zip extension.

Canada

Letters in Canadian postal codes must be in uppercase. Enter the six-character postal code by keying in 3 characters, a space and the last 3 characters.

Clean Address will automatically enter the USA nation when a zip code is entered.  The Canada nation code CDN must be selected from the nation table lookup. The nation table in Banner, STVNATN, contains the most current ISO (International Standards Organization) codes.

5.7 Nation Standards

International Addresses

A nation code is required for all non-U.S. addresses.  The code should be entered only in the nation field using Banner’s built-in lookup table of nation codes.  The name will automatically display to the right of the code.

There is no need to enter the nation in the city or any of the address fields.  The continent (Africa, South America) is not needed.

Limit international addresses to five lines maximum, including the nation, or the mail will be undeliverable. 

Usually only Canada and Great Britain have postal codes.  If the submitted address appears to have a postal code, enter it in the zip code field.  When embedded in the address, leave it there.

Enter the address lines as received; do not abbreviate words that are spelled out.

For additional information try a Google search on “international address formats.”

Military Overseas Locations

Overseas military addresses must contain the APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office) designation in the city field, the zip code in the zip code field, and a two character "state" abbreviation of AE, AP or AA as follows.

AA for mail in the Americas other than Canada

AE for mail going to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada

AP for mail destined to the Pacific

Military Domestic Locations

Domestic military mail uses regular street style addresses.

5.8 Banner Address Types

Bethel’s goal is to maintain a standardized list of address types based on purpose of the address, rather than separate types for each department.  Some types are used by only one office but many are shared.

(For example, an individual may be an alumnus, an employee, enrolled as a current student, appear in accounts payable, and have only a single address.)

It is very important to forward updates to the responsible office and contact the appropriate office with questions.

Special Types:

5.9 Address Sources

Bethel’s goal is to add a source to every new address entry.  One address = one source. This greatly helps to track the trail for address changes for an individual, particularly when maintenance is shared by a number of offices.

Many sources are unique to a certain office; others are shared among a number of offices.  Sources common to several offices are listed below.  Additional sources only specific to one office are not included below but do appear in the Banner lookup table.

Address Sources for New or Current Addresses:

Add only to an outdated address when the new address is not known:

5.10 Basic Address Change Process

In Banner we never update an existing address; we inactivate the old address and insert a new record for the new address entry.

• Change the ‘TO’ date on the existing address to the current date.
• Be sure the inactive box is also checked.
• Select ‘Insert Record’.
• Enter address information, including the from-date, type, street address, city, state, zip, nation, and address source.
• Save all changes.

NOTE:  The Business Office should be notified of address changes for students who have id records beginning with a ‘C’ or ‘V’.  Data managers may proceed to make the change if they choose, but the address for the corresponding id without the ‘C’ or ‘V’ MUST be updated.

5.11 Householding

Context:

Banner has the capacity to store householding information but it is unreliable and out of date. The Advancement org of Salesforce should be considered the source of truth for householding information at Bethel. The household information does not currently sync between Salesforce and Banner, only relationships.

The decision was made in 2023 when migrating from Raiser's Edge to Salesforce, that only spouses who share an address would be householded. Siblings and children are not householder with each other or their parents because it became too difficult to maintain/update and un-household the child once they graduated.

When a spouse becomes deceased, the Advancement office has a manual process to remove them from the household of the surviving spouse, primarily for donor, donation roll-up, and household greeting purposes on physical mail communication.

Manually Updating Data:

• If you are updating an address for an individual in Banner that Banner thinks has household members, you will see an additional "Household Members" tab appear in APAIDEN. You do not need to worry about switching to that tab to update the address of associated household members. Only update the addresses in Banner for the contact(s) who have directly requested the change.
• Advancement is working on data integrity reports to help them identify potential householding issues. Therefore, it is increasingly important to update marital status (in Banner or Salesforce) as Bethel becomes aware. That way, a data integrity report can be built to identify individuals who have a marital status of single or divorced who are part of a household with 2 members for data clean up. Without updating marital status, the former spouse will remain householded and the former spouse's address will be updated to match the newly provided address.
• If you'd like to proactively notify the University Advancement data team about a household update, you can contact: university-advancement-updates@bethel.edu

Automatic Householding Updates in Salesforce:

• If you update the address for Spouse 1 in Banner, that information will sync from Banner > Admissions Salesforce > Advancement Salesforce
• Advancement Salesforce has an automated process to ensure that all household members' addresses get updated as needed. Therefore, Spouse 2's address will automatically be updated to match Spouse 1.

Updating the addresses of householded family members is a necessary part of updating any address.

• Initially check the “Household Members” tab on the far right of APAIDEN to determine if there are household members. This tab is only activated and accessible from the “Address” tab.  The number of householded individuals will be noted in parentheses.
• Once in the “Household Members” tab, use the Argos/Banner Search/Current Student and Employee Check data block to determine whether any household members are current or retired employees or current students. If so, stop and email all pertinent information for employees to bethelhr@bethel.edu.  Stop and email all pertinent student information to the Registrar.
• Review each individual’s relationship and current address to determine which addresses should or should not be updated.

Spouse addresses (indicated by “SPS” in the field labeled “Cross-Reference”) are usually updated.

Children’s addresses (indicated by “CHD” in the “Cross-Reference” field) are usually updated when their address is still the same as the parent’s previous address.  If listed, the age can be helpful in this decision as well.

Data managers who work with recent CAS graduates should be careful not to update parents’ addresses.  They will be indicated by “PAR” in the “Cross-Reference” field.  Most likely the graduate is moving into his/her own residence.

• To update a household family member’s address, leave the check mark in the “Update” box. To bypass updating a household family member’s address, remove the check mark.

Household updates are only done for MA or SE address types.

5.12 Frequently Asked Questions

Under what Circumstances do Data Managers Inactivate an Address?

• When updating an address, the current address is marked inactive and another record is inserted for the new address.
• When mail is returned and there is NO forwarding address, the current address is marked inactive and source changed to “RETN.” This is the only time a source is changed on an existing address. 
• When cleaning up data, such as marking an individual deceased or processing a duplicate id.
• When the address itself is incorrect.

What is Clean Address?

Clean Address is a purchased software product that revises US addresses to a format that matches the actual USPS address files.  It is triggered by entry of the zip code and will return the correct format of the address, city, state, four-digit zip extension, and nation.  When the zip code is uncertain, the combination of city and state will also trigger Clean Address to run.

Delivery Point, Correction Digit, Carrier Route

These three fields on the right side of the Address tab will automatically be filled in when the address is legitimate.  Presence of numbers in these three fields is, in essence, a visible stamp of validation.  The presence of the four-digit zip code extension is another key indicator that the address is correctly formatted.

When these three fields do not populate, the end-user needs to investigate the address to find out why it is not being recognized by Clean Address.

Dual Addresses

A dual address is an address that contains both a post office box and street location.  The USPS recommends eliminating dual addresses on pieces of outgoing mail whenever possible.   If a dual address is used, the intended delivery address should be on the line immediately above the city/state/zip, which is usually the post office box. 

Clean Address will automatically order the dual address lines according to the USPS file format.  Usually the post office box is immediately above the city/state/zip, but if Clean Address places the PO Box first then defer to the Clean Address format.  The ZIP+4 code MUST be the correct code for the delivery address on the line directly above the city/state/zip.

City Names

Clean Address will enter the city name from the zip code; however it may be a greater metropolitan city name rather than the community city name.  The end-user may override by keying in the community city name and saving. 

For example, entering 55112 will result in a city name of “Saint Paul.”  However, “Arden Hills” may then be keyed in over “Saint Paul” and will remain when saved.

HINT:  When entering addresses, skip the city and state and key in the zip code.  When you hit TAB or move the next field, Clean Address will fill in the city and state automatically.

How are missionary addresses entered?

When missionaries or their children do not want mail delivered to their address on the field, an “LC – Location” address could be used for the foreign location.  The mailing address would be that of the person in the United States who is forwarding the mail, using a “c/o” in “Street Line 1” for the person’s name.

Mailing Address Example       Andrea Smith

                                                c/o William Smith, Sr.

                                                10820 Tall Oak Dr

                                                Fort Worth, TX 76108

What is the standard for street addresses?

The basic guideline is abbreviate whenever possible and avoid any punctuation.  Street suffixes, compass directions, and apartments are all abbreviated with no periods.  Whenever possible, addresses should be limited to a single line.  Abbreviating will usually make that possible.

What is the standard for city names?

In contrast, city names are always spelled out to comply with USPS standards.  Saint Paul, Saint Peter, South Saint Paul, and Fort Worth are common examples.

Avoid abbreviations like “Hgts”, “Twp”, “Sprgs”, “Mpls”, “Pk”, “Vlg”, “Fls”, and “Hls.”

How should mail be addressed to a Bethel PO box from outside of Bethel?

The recommended format for addressing to a po box from OUTSIDE of Bethel is to use “MSC” or “Mail Stop Code.”  Using a mail stop code completely eliminates the word “box” from the address.  This is a directive from the USPS aimed at preventing any possible confusion with a postal box at a USPS site.  The mail stop code is intended for businesses and organizations, such as Bethel, that have their own internal system of mail delivery.

                  Correct Format:           John Jones

                  (follow exactly)            Bethel University MSC 1234

                                                      3900 Bethel Dr

                                                      Saint Paul, MN  55112-6902                 

What about entering future addresses?

 Currently there is no provision in Banner to handle address changes that become effective in the future.  Several offices have tried such entry only to find that reports and mailings were picking up the incorrect address.  Most offices are handling this situation by manual tracking.

When should one inactivate an address vs. adding no-mail exclusion?

An address should only be inactivated when it is no longer a valid address for that individual.  Otherwise mail from all Bethel offices will be stopped, not just mail from one office or department.  Another department or office may have an important need to communicate with the same individual.

Termination of admission to a program or participation in an event should be done on the form used to track that program or event.  For example, admissions would change the status of the application in SAAADMS or SRARECR.

When an individual wants no further communication with Bethel, the appropriate exclusion should be applied.  In general, those exclusions include no mail, no contact of any type, no phone calls, no email, and no solicitation.  Because these exclusions apply globally to all Bethel offices, they must be assigned prudently.  Only a few departments have the ability to maintain exclusions.  Feel free to contact ITS, Development, or Alumni and Parent Services if an exclusion is needed and you do not have access to the form