Introduction

Setting a validity period for courses and blocking access when that period is over allows you to keep the course available until it is relevant while motivating learners to complete it timely.

If the course is on sale, setting a validity period can create opportunities for recurring revenue. Learners who wish to continue accessing the course beyond the initial validity period need to renew their access or purchase updated versions of the course.

In some cases, there might be legal or compliance requirements to limit access to certain content for a limited period.

Whenever you set a validity period for a course, make sure you communicate this policy clearly to learners. This transparency helps manage expectations and ensures that learners understand the terms of their access to the course content.

When the period of validity is over, users will not be able to access the course anymore. If the course is on sale, learners will not be able to buy the course again until the current enrollment exists.

To set the validity period for a course, access the Admin menu from the gear icon in the top right corner of your platform. Then, find the Course management item in the E-learning section.

On the main Course management page, find the course in the list of courses, and click on its description to access the edit mode. Click on the Properties tab and move to the Time options vertical tab

Configuring time validity options for e-learning courses

From the Time options tab of e-learning courses, you can configure the following options:

Course validity period

Use the options available in this section to set a date from when or up to when learners will be able to access the course and its training material, setting the validity of their enrollments. As an option, you can set a period for users to access the course. When configuring these options, you configure them for all of the learners enrolled in the course. You can then configure personalized validity periods at the learner level by editing single enrollments. 

• Start date. Set the first available date for learners to access the course and its training material. The course will have no deadline and will not be displayed in the My calendar widget and page. The start date is expressed in UTC, meaning that the course will be accessible at 00:00:00 UTC on the selected date. If, for example, your timezone is UTC +04:00, the course will be accessible at 04:00:00 on the selected date. 
• End date. Set the last available date for learners to access and play the course. After this date, the course and its training material will no longer be accessible. The end date is expressed in UTC, meaning that the course will be locked at 23:59:59 UTC of the selected date. If, for example, your timezone is UTC +04:00, the course will be locked at 03:59:59 of the following day.
• Period. Select this option and define the period when learners are allowed to access the course using the Start Date and End Date options.

Enrollment validity period

Set the number of days for learners to access the course within the course availability period. This period can either start from the day they first enroll in the course (including the days spent in the course waiting list) or from the day they access the course for the first time. 

If you change these settings after some learners have already enrolled or accessed the course, by default the new calculation will not apply to them. Your update will affect only the users enrolling or accessing the course after your change. Still, you can force the new settings to be applied to all users by enabling the Apply settings to all users, including those already enrolled option. 

When this option is enabled, users will see the number of remaining days to access the course in the Enrollment section of the course.

Soft deadline

When a soft deadline is enabled, the course and its training material can be accessed by learners even after the end date of the validity period has passed.

The soft deadline is calculated on the End date value set in the Validity period section of this tab (either standalone or in the Period option). If the soft deadline is enabled, the enrollment expiration date is not calculated.

The configuration of this option at course level overrides the value selected in the Soft Deadline section of the E-Learning tab in the platform Advanced settings.

Configuring time validity options for ILT and VILT courses

From the Time Options tab of Instructor-Led Training (ILT) and Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) courses, you can configure the following option:

Enrollment validity period

This option allows you to set the number of days for which learners can access the course area in the platform. The start date of the validity period corresponds to whichever of the following dates comes first, given that the session includes training material:

• the end of the last session in which the learner is enrolled
• the date the learner accesses a training material

The start and end validity dates shown in the table of the Enrollments tab of the course become soft deadlines and will have no effect other than to indicate that the enrollment has expired on the course card on the My courses and learning plans page.