Setting the properties of learning plans and certifications

Introduction

Learning programs (learning plans and certifications) are structured sequences of courses (e-learning and Instructor-Led Training (ILT)) designed to support personalized learning paths.They empower you to shape learning experiences tailored to the unique needs and objectives of your people and your organization. Learning programs can be assigned to individual users, branches, or groups.

There are two types of learning programs:

• Learning plans: sequences of courses without certification.
• Certifications: sequences of courses that award a certification upon completion. Certifications confirm a learner’s expertise in a specific area.

This article explains how to set the properties of a learning program.  It applies to both learning plans and certifications unless stated otherwise. 

Create a learning program or access an existing one as outlined in the article Creating and managing learning plans and certifications. Go to the Properties tab and navigate through the sections detailed in the following chapters. 

Summary and languages 

This tab allows you to manage the learning plan/certification information and language options. It includes the following sections:

• Learning plan/Certification summary
• Learning plan/Certification language
• Language filtering

Learning plan/Certification summary

In this section, you can localize the following learning plan/certification fields:

• Title
• Short description
• Description

These fields can be translated manually or using AI. 

Manual translation

• Click Manage translation. 
• In the right panel, click Add language. 
• Select languages and click Add languages. You can only select up to 10 languages at a time. To translate more languages, repeat the previous steps and add more languages.
• Close the right panel to go back to the learning plan/certification configuration page.

Select a language from the Learning plan/Certification summary dropdown menu. Enter the translations and save your changes.

The title and description are mandatory in the default language. In additional languages, all fields are optional. If no translation is provided, the content is displayed in the learning program’s default language.

To remove a language, click Manage translations and click the bin icon next to the language. The default language cannot be removed. When you remove a language:

• The content will be displayed in the default language. 
• The added translations are removed and you cannot recover them. 

AI translation 

To translate summary fields using AI, follow the instructions detailed in the article Translating the course summary fields with AI. The exact same process applies to learning plans and certifications .

Learning plan/Certification language

Use this section to define the default language of the learning plan/certification. The default language is used as the fallback language when translations are missing. This field is mandatory. 

Language filtering

Use this section to define how the learning plan/certification is filtered by language in:

• My courses and learning plans
• Catalogs
• Channels

Select one of the following options:

• Use course language: The learning plan/certification appears in the filter results when at least one of the included courses matches the languages selected in the filters. The learning program default language is ignored.
  • For e-learning courses, the platform checks the course’s default language or training material folder languages. Learn more about configuring training material for an e-learning course.
  • For ILT courses, the platform only checks the default language set in the ILT course properties. 
• Use learning plan/certification language: The learning plan/certification appears in filters only according to the default language configured in the Learning plan/certification language section. Languages configured in included courses or additional languages selected in the Learning plan/Certification summary section are ignored.

Note: Language visibility rules vary depending on the area of the platform and the user level: 

• Learners see translated content when a translation is available in their preferred language. Otherwise, the default language is displayed.
• In admin pages, the platform always displays the default language, regardless of the administrator's preferred language.
• When administrators or managers view another user's My activities or My transcript, active enrollments display the current default-language title, while archived enrollments display the title captured when the enrollment was archived.
• When administrators access their own learner view, the learner visibility rules apply.

General settings

The General settings tab includes the following sections:

Information

• Code
• Unique ID: The platform automatically generates the unique ID. This value cannot be modified.  

Thumbnail

Select an image from the image library or upload your own image. Supported specifications:

• Suggested dimensions: 800 × 400 px
• Maximum size: 4 MB
• Supported file types: PNG, JPG, JPEG 

More on thumbnails and header images.   

Header layout

Header images are displayed at the top of the learning program page in catalogs. The default layout is configured in Branding and design, but you can override it for each learning program.

Select Enable custom settings for the header layout and choosing among the following options: 

• Solid color layout (default)
• Cover image layout
• Basic page layout (no images or colors)

Additional fields 

Configure the additional fields of the learning program. This tab shows only when the learning program has additional fields 

Enrollment options

Enable enrollment links for the learning program. Learners can use the enrollment link to self-enroll in the learning program. Learn more about enrollment links.

Recertification (for certifications only)

See the article Managing certifications. 

Time options

Use the Time options tab to configure enrollment validity periods and soft deadlines for learning programs.

An enrollment validity period defines how long learners can access a learning program.

When you configure an enrollment validity period for a learning program, the same validity period applies to all courses included in it.

Changes to the enrollment validity configuration from the Time options tab apply only to learners who enroll or access the learning program after the change unless you select  Apply settings to all users, including those already enrolled.

Read the article Enrolling users in learning plans and certifications to learn how to set a start and end date for the enrollment validity when enrolling users. 

Enrollment validity period for certifications

The validity period starts from the learner’s initial enrollment. Rules are different for learning plans. 

Enrollment validity period for learning plans

Start the calculation from the first time learners access any course in the learning plan 

An administrator enrolls a learner and in the enrollment validity period they set:

No start or end date or a start date only

• The start date is the date of the user’s first access to a course in the learning plan.
• The end date is obtained by adding the validity period to the start date.

An end date but no start date

• There is no start date
• The enrollment end date is set regardless of the enrollment validity period.

Both a start and end dates

These start and end dates apply regardless of the validity period set in the Time options tab. 

Start the calculation from when learners are enrolled in the learning plan

The number of days is calculated from the user’s enrollment date. If a user is waiting to be approved in the learning plan (due to a pending e-commerce payment or Superadmin approval), the validity period starts from the date the enrollment is approved.

An administrator enrolls a learner and in the enrollment validity period they set:

No start or end date

• The start date is the enrollment date.
• The end date is obtained by ading the validity period to the enrollment date.

A start date but no end date

• The start date is the enrollment date.
• The end date is obtained by adding the validity period to the enrollment date.

An end date but no start date

• There is no start date
• The end date applies regardless of the validity period days set in the Time options tab. 

Both a a start and end dates

• These start and end dates apply regardless of the validity period set in the Time options tab. 

Note: When an administrator resets the enrollment validity period, only the validity period applies without any start or end date.

Soft deadline

A soft deadline allows learners to access and complete a learning program after the enrollment validity period has expired (applies to both learning plans and certifications)

Choose one of the following options:

• Use course soft deadline settings (default): Each e-learning course uses its own soft deadline configuration. This option does not affect ILT courses.
• Enable soft deadlines for all courses in the learning plan: The learning program’s soft deadline applies, regardless of the courses configuration. 

Notes: 

• If you do not configure a validity period, there is no soft deadline.
• If a course belongs to several learning programs, the final learner experience depends on the validity periods and soft deadline settings of all associated learning programs. The soft deadline of a learning program may override  the course time settings used by other programs .

Catalogs and e-commerce

Visibility section

Enable the option Show the learning plan in internal and external catalogs.The same applies to certifications.

E-commerce section

If you enable the learning program visibility in catalogs and you use e-commerce, you can make the learning program available for free in catalogs or you can put them on sale. 

When you sell the learning program, set a price and set whether users need to purchase the entire learning program or parts of it (they will be charged the total sum of the courses they select). 

Regardless of the option you choose, the learning program will be included in the default internal catalog (if enabled in the platform's Advanced settings). 

Note: You cannot sell learning programs containing content from the Content Marketplace. 

Credits (Continuing Education Units-CEUs)

The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) (or continuing education credit) is a nationally recognized unit used to measure participation in structured adult learning and continuing education activities.

Set the number of credits assigned to the learning program, they are shown in custom reports.

Player

Configure the player used for all courses in the learning program.

The player’ default configuration is set from the Branding and design page. You can override this configuration for each learning program. It will apply to all the courses included in the learning program, regardless of each course player configuration to ensure consistent navigation.

Focus mode

Enable or disable Focus mode for the courses included in the learning program. When the focus mode is enabled, the course player opens in full screen. 

This configuration is optimal for an immersive learning experience and minimizes distractions.

Appearance

Configure the appearance of the course player: dark mode or light mode. This setting regulates the color of text, the course header, and the Course syllabus area for all learners. 

Certificate template

Associate a certificate template to the learning program so that its completion certificate is issued accordingly. Learn more about certificate templates.

Note: Learners receive the certificate only after completing all courses in the learning program. Removing the certificate template also removes previously issued certificates associated with that learning program.

Legacy certifications (learning plans only)

Legacy certifications are the ones you created using the Certification and retraining app page. This page is now called Legacy certifications on your platform. 

Click the Add button and select a certification from the right panel to associate it to the learning plan. You can only add one certification. You can change or remove the certification after adding it. 

Legacy certifications remain on your platform but we advise using the Learning plans and certifications page. 

 Learn more about legacy certifications.