In the LMS, completing certain courses, learning plans, or reporting external training activities can result in earning a certification.
This article describes how to create certifications and set requirements, such as courses or live events. Learners earn certifications upon meeting these pre-determined requirements.
Add a Certification Track
1. From your Dashboard click Admin > Certification Setup
2. Click Add button from the List tab
3. The Track Details section enables you to configure key information regarding the certification and define its intended functionality. Fill out the required fields (Name, Credits/Hours, Name on Certificate, Message on Certificate)
Below are the definitions of each field:
- Name - Name of the Certification (appears on Manage Certifications and My Certifications
- Hours - Total Credit Hours for the Certification
- Name on Certificate - This is a required field but currently not shown anywhere
- Message on Certificate - Message shown on the certificate (i.e. has successfully completed Sample Certification on)
- Template - The background image on the certificate
- Invite Only - Values are No and Yes. If Yes, admin should manually assign certification to users. If No is selected, users assigned to a course linked to a certification will be automatically enrolled in the corresponding certification.
*If certifications share a course, select Yes; otherwise, users will be auto-enrolled in all certifications with overlapping courses. - Completion Method - Hours or Standard (If Hours, requirements can set as electives / not required; otherwise, all are required.)
- Auto-Enroll Courses Upon Completion - If a course or courses were selected, users who completed the certification will be automatically enrolled to these.
- Achieve Subscale Score on Completion - If a subscale or subscales were selected, subscale points are ‘awarded’ to the user’s subscale scores once the certification has been completed. Note: This cannot be set until after submission. (see later section for setup info)
- Show in Users’ Track List – If selected, the certification is shown on Manage Certifications > Users and My Tracks pages.
- Auto Renewal: Re-certify learners after a set number of days, resetting all activities to 0%. *Completion timeframe and auto renewal cannot be combined. Note: This must be set up during initial certification and cannot be changed later.
- Completion Timeframe: A due date. From the time the learner gets assigned to the certification, they have a timeframe set to complete. Example: 30 days to complete after the certification is assigned. *Completion timeframe and auto renewal cannot be combined.
4. Click Submit
Add Requirements to the Certification
The Track Requirements section allows you to define requirements for your certification, such as courses, write-ins (ex: Outreach programs, on-the-job training) or certifications (sub certs). You can mark each requirement as either required or optional. Keep in mind the credits/hours assigned should reflect what was set on the Track Details Credits/Hours field.
On Edit certification mode, table of requirements are displayed. Click Add Requirement button.
2. Complete the Requirement Settings
For each requirement type, configure these options:
a. Required: Define if the requirement is optional or required (mandatory). Values are Yes and No (If Yes, requirement must be completed to get credit hours; otherwise, requirement can be skipped / also referred to as elective).
b. Credits /hours: Define how many credits/hours the requirement is worth.
Example 1:
Track Details total Credit/hours = 10. The requirements must add up to 10 total in order for a learner to complete the certification.
Course 1 = 5 hours. Course 2 = 5 hours. Both are marked Yes as required.
Example 2:
Track Details total Credit/hours = 10.
Requirements: Course 1 = 5 hours. Course 2 = 5 hours.
c. Order: Order for which the requirement is displayed on the requirement table.
d. Optional This requirement fulfills a subscale – If a subscale is selected, subscale points are ‘awarded’ to the user’s subscale scores once the requirement has been completed. Points must be set per subscale.
3. Click Submit to save the requirement.
Requirement Types:
Course: List shows all available courses in the site. Course must have at least one class for the selected group for it to show up on the list. For live classes, as soon as an instructor takes attendance the learner gets credit for the requirement.
- Auto-Enroll – This field is displayed if type is Course. Values are No and Yes. If yes, the course is automatically assigned to user once the certification is assigned to the user.
Write-in: Want to set a requirement that does not take place within the LMS. Examples: Learner submits a letter of recommendation, attend a live event. Allows user to enter custom requirement name.
- Maximum Credit/Hours – This field is displayed if type is Write-in. This is like Credit/Hours except for Write-in requirement type, multiple approvals or completions can be made to reach this maximum value. For example, the maximum credit is 10 hours. User can complete a 5-hour seminar, 2-hour live class and 3-hour field trip to achieve 10 hours. See image below.
Certification: Learner must complete a sub certification with it’s own set of requirements.
Subscale: List shows all subscales assigned to the user admin or admin’s assigned repositories. The certification will be awarded once the subscale score threshold is reached.
- Threshold – This field is displayed if type is Subscale. User must meet this subscale score threshold (percentage) and minimum points to complete the requirement.
- Minimum Points – This field is displayed if type is Subscale. User must meet the minimum number of points (currently number of assessment questions) and threshold to complete the requirement.