The Certificate Expiration Settings are a very important part of a learning path set up, as they define the period after which a user's certificate expires, and based on this, the time the user is obliged to retake this specific learning path.
A learning path's Certificate Expiration Settings can be defined when the learning path is first created and edited after the learning path creation. Admins and training managers (if permitted) can create and edit all academy learning paths, while users with the "Create Learning Path" permission can create a learning path and edit only the learning paths they have created. The instructors of a learning path can edit its settings even if they do not have permission to create a new learning path.
Learn how to define these settings, what each of them means, and what happens if you edit them.
To award a certificate for your learning path, set the Award Certificate setting to Yes. If this is set to No, then the learning path does not award a certificate and the Certificate Expiration Settings are hidden.
Certificate Expiration Period
There are two different options when defining the Certificate Expiration Period based on which the users' certificates expire:
1.In X Months, set upon Enrollment/Completion Date
If you select this option, then the users' certificates expire in X months after they complete the learning path. If you select the Certificate to expire in 0 months, then the Certificates awarded has no expiration date.
Enrollment Date vs Completion Date
The Certificate expiration period counts always from the day of completion. However, the expiration period of a user's certificate is calculated differently based on the Set Upon setting that your learning path has the moment a user completes it.
When a user completes a learning path, we check if at that time, the setting of the learning path is set upon Enrollment or Completion Date.
- When a user completes the learning path, the setting is set upon Enrollment date, then we check which value this setting had when the user enrolled in this learning path. If when the user enrolled in this learning path the selected Certificate Expiration Period was in 12 months, then this user's certificates expire in 12 months after they completed the learning path.
- When a user completes the learning path, the setting is set upon Completion date, then we check which value this setting has at the moment. If when the user completed the learning path the selected Certificate Expiration Period was in 10 months, then this user's certificates expire in 10 months after they completed the learning path.
Example #1: Upon Enrollment date
I create a learning path on 03/15/2021 having selected the certificate to expire in 12 months, set upon Enrollment date.
- User A completes this learning path on 03/16/2021 and the learning path certificate is valid until 03/16/2022.
- User B enrolls himself in the learning path on 03/16/2021 but doesn't complete the learning path.
- On 03/20/2021 I change the settings to "In 1 month, set upon Enrollment date"
- User B completes the learning path on 03/25/2021. The learning path certificate is valid until 03/25/2022 (based on the settings that the learning path had when the user enrolled himself in the learning path)
Example #2: Upon Completion date
I create a learning path on 03/15/2021 having selected the certificate to expire in 12 months, set upon Completion date.
- User A takes this learning path on 03/16/2021 and the learning path certificate is valid until 03/16/2022.
- User B enrolls himself in the learning path on 03/16/2021 but doesn't complete the learning path.
- I change the settings to "In 1 month, set upon Completion date" on 03/20/2021
- User B completes the learning path on 03/25/2021. The learning path certificate is valid until 04/25/2021 (based on the settings that the learning path had when the user completed the learning path)
Example #3: Upon Enrollment date changed to Completion date
I create a learning path on 03/15/2021 having selected the certificate to expire in 12 months, set upon Enrollment date.
- User A takes this learning path on 03/16/2021 and the learning path certificate is valid until 03/16/2022.
- User B enrolls himself in the learning path on 03/16/2021 but doesn't complete the learning path.
- On 03/20/2021 I change the settings to "In 1 month, set upon Completion date"
- User B completes the learning path on 03/25/2021. The learning path certificate is valid until 04/25/2021 (based on the settings that the learning path had when the user completed the learning path)
2. Every x Year(s) on Month / Day
If you select this option, then the users' certificates expire every x Year(s) on a specific date, no matter when they completed the learning path.
If you select this option, an extra setting is available where you can define that “If the user completes the learning path X months before the certificate expiration, the certificate expiration period will be shifted to next year".
Based on the example shown in the screenshot below, if a user completes the learning path on 11/15/2020, his certificate will not be expired on 01/01/2021 but on 01/01/2022.
Reassign learning path when certificate expires
This option allows you to set certificate expiration dates without triggering a reassignment of the associated learning path.
Reassign learning path before certification expires (in days)
If your learning path is set to have a Certificate Expiration Period, then by default all users whose certificates expire, are obliged to retake this learning path.
With this setting, you can define how many days prior to their Certificate Expiration these users are reassigned with this learning path, to ensure that your employees will always have an active certificate.
Note:
This setting works retroactively for users that currently have an active certificate. So, if a user has an active certificate that expires in 40 days, and you adjust this setting to 60 days, then this user is reassigned within the day.
- This setting is only available if your learning path has a Certificate Expiration Period.
- If you have selected the Certificate Expiration Period for your learning path to be "Every x years on" then:
- If the "If the user completes the learning path X months before the certificate expiration, the certificate expiration period will be shifted to next year" setting is set to 0, the learning path is reassigned to the users the exact same day their certificate expires.
- The days of this setting should be less than the days of the "If the user completes the learning path X months before the certificate expiration, the certificate expiration period will be shifted to next year" setting because the Reassignment Period cannot be bigger than the Certificate's expiration shift period for next year.
Learning Paths' Courses Reassignment
If your learning path is set to have a Certificate Expiration Period, then by default all users whose certificates expire, are obliged to retake this learning path. When a user is obliged to retake a learning path, by default, they are obliged to retake all of the learning path courses, except the ones that you have selected not to be affected.
If you need a specific course's progress to remain unaffected when users are obliged to retake the learning path, then you just have to check the If Course is part of Learning Path setting on this course's Edit Course page.
The learning path's courses are also reassigned based on their own certificate expiration settings. In order to avoid having the users complete the learning path's courses multiple times (once when the learning path is reassigned and once when the actual course is reassigned) it is suggested that either:
- the courses do not have a certificate expiration period
- the courses do not award a certificate
Editing the Certificate Expiration Settings
The Certificate Expiration Settings of a learning path by default do not work retroactively. If the learning path Certificate Settings are set and a user completes the learning path with these settings, editing the Certificate Settings for this learning path after the user's completion has no effect on this user's certificate.
1) If a learning path is set to expire in x months upon enrollment, changing the number of this setting affects users who enroll in this learning path after the setting update.
2) If a learning path is set to expire in x months upon completion, changing the number of this setting affects all users who complete this learning path after the setting update.
3) If a learning path is set to expire in x months upon enrollment and you change it to expire in x months upon completion, the changing of this setting affects all users who complete this learning path after the setting update.
4) If a learning path is set to expire every x Year(s) on a specific date, changing the number of years or date of this setting affects all users who complete this learning path after the setting update.
Users who have already completed the learning path are not affected.
Example:
- I create a learning path on 03/15/2021 having selected the certificate to expire in 12 months upon Completion.
- A user completes this learning path on 03/16/2021. Their certificate is valid until 03/16/2022.
- On 03/17/2021 I edit the learning path settings and select it to expire in 15 months upon Completion.
In this case, the user's certificate is not affected and still expires on 03/16/2022. The new settings are only applied to the certificates of the users who complete the learning path after the new settings have been selected.