Depending on the nature of training materials, Portal Administrators can use this flexible course delivery method to accomplish multiple business goals:
It is important to note that because Self-Study courses are not designed for use with eLearning (SCORM) content, a student’s course progress, completion, and scoring is not automatically recorded in LMS training history. Instead, these courses can be set up to allow different methods of certifying course completion:
This document assumes a basic knowledge of the common elements of adding a new course and will touch on elements that are particular to the Self Study delivery method.
Portal Administrators can build a resource catalog customized to their training needs by uploading content (PDFs, Word, Excel, MP4, or WAV files, etc.) to the LMS and/or providing links to objects such as websites, videos, and more. Resource content can vary from a general LMS user guide to study material associated with a particular training topic. If you are using Resources as content, you can create them before adding the Self Study course or add them later, then modify the course to associate the resources. Use of resources, however, is not required in order to use Self-Study courses.
To add a Self Study Course, you must choose Delivery Method = Self Study. This will dynamically change the fields on the page to allow you to associate content with the course. The key fields used in creating various types of Self Study content are described below. Depending on the type of training you provide in the course, entries in some of these fields may not be necessary.
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You can modify Resources, as described above, by using the Administration menu > Search Courses option, opening the Course Details page, and editing the course record on the “General” tab.
A student can enroll in the new course as they would any other type of course. Once enrolled, how they view the content depends upon the type of content provided. For courses with Resources or Links specified as Content Types, enrolled students can view or download the training material (based on file type).
From the Classic User Interface, look for the Launch button.
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From the Course Search page:
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When a student clicks on a Self-Study course from many responsive user interface pages (e.g. Courses to Complete, My Learning, Course Search) a Course Details Slide-in appears. Buttons shown initially depend upon how the content is set up in the course and whether the user is already enrolled, as shown by the buttons above.
Prior to enrollment, users may see these options. Numbers refer to the image numbers.
After enrollment, action buttons change. These buttons may display, as shown in the image above based on how the course is configured, especially the verification method selected.
If Self Verification is enabled, as it is by default, the student can click Mark Complete (check mark icon) from the Course Details Slide-in on any relevant page. This requires the user to confirm their completion by submitting their username and password. Upon submission, it creates a timestamp with the logged-in user’s account information, to indicate they agree the coursework is completed.
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If Manager- OR Administrator- Verification is enabled, prior to requesting verification, if the learning activities in the course require documentation, the student can upload files to the transcript using the Transcript Attachments button designated by (A) below. When the student has completed their course work and is ready to submit it for manager (or administrator) for review and approval, they must click the Request Verification button designated (B) below. This starts the approval and confirmation process and locks the ability for the student to add more attachments.
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For Administrator Verification approvals, there are no email notifications sent. Under Manager Verification, the manager will receive a Manager – Self-Study Certification Completion Notification indicating there is an self-study approval requirement available for review. Managers and Administrators can find these approval requests on the Approvals page and the My Team – Approvals tab. From either of those pages, the approval options are shown below.
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(A) Type: Icon expands to show more details about the approval requirement and the course.
(B) Transcript Attachments: Allows the managers or administrators to view any attachments added by the student and add attachments of their own. Once approved, the manager is no longer able to add new attachments. This button appears even if no transcripts are uploaded. They can access buttons for approval or denial from the Transcript attachment page, or by clicking the Course Name link in the Pending Approval column. An example of the Transcript Attachments page is shown below.
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(A) Attachment Upload Area: Upload files to the transcript by browsing or drag and drop.
(B) Transcript Attachments Area: Attachments that the studen, manager, or administrator have already loaded to the transcript. Click the file Name link to download.
(C) Delete: Click to delete a specific attachment.
(D) Approve: Sets the transcript status to Pass.
(E) Deny: Denies the verification of completion. This triggers a notification to the student about the denial which may require follow-up with the manager to resolve any outstanding requirements.
(F) Fail: Sets the transcript status to Fail.
