If you have content that learners are required to complete within a certain time period, consider using Assigned Programs to be able to create and track learning paths that feature due dates.
Use Case Information
Assigned Programs allows admins and Panorama roles with certain permissions to add due dates to learning paths. Assigned Programs requires learners to complete content by a due date so that Admins are subsequently able to report on the completion status of the content. Learner Notifications can also be used to generate reminders about content due dates so learners can stay informed about expectations.
Note
The default permissions of Client Admin and Client Manager roles do not have the ability to create Assigned Programs.
A custom Panorama role must be made for Panorama users so they can fully leverage Assigned Programs, including notifications. The following permissions are required to create learning paths and add and edit a learner notification campaign within a learning path:
- Communications > Manage Notifications: Used to add learner notifications for only the learning paths that are provisioned to a Panorama.
- Manage Content > Creating Content
- Manage Content > Editing Content
- Manage Content > Manage Learning Paths: Used to allow custom Panorama roles to create and copy learning paths. These roles can only add content to an assigned program that has already been provisioned to that Panorama, can add due dates, and can add prerequisite content (only content that has been provisioned to a Panorama).
- Editing Basic Info: This is needed to view the learner profile
- Creating Learners: This is needed to see the learning path search bar* (see later in article). Used so a Panorama role can directly enroll learners in an assigned program. This is limited to only learner paths provisioned to Panorama via Enrollment settings. Used also to bulk import learner enrollment into an assigned program.
Warning
Customized Panorama roles might be able to see content you don’t want them to see with Creating Learner permission, so use this permission judiciously.
How to Create Assigned Programs as an Admin
When creating a new learning path or when modifying an existing one, you will see a due date setting on the Milestones tab. Depending on the use case, Admins can select between a Fixed or Rolling due date. Read more below to differentiate between these two due date types and their settings, along with how to create a program as an admin.
- Create a learning path or find an existing learning path by doing the following: from your homepage, click Content, then Manage Content. Click the Content Title for to the learning path you want to alter.
- Click on the Milestones tab on the learning path authoring interface.
- On the top of the page, click Due Date to expand the container.
- By default, the Include a Due Date toggle is disabled. To enable, toggle it to Yes.
- Choose between two Due Date Types:
- Fixed: When chosen, content is due for all learners on a specific date, regardless of when they enroll. In the Due Date field, select a date using the calendar picker. The date cannot be a date in the past.
- Rolling: When chosen, content is due the specific number of days after a learner has enrolled. Therefore, a learner’s due date will depend on when the learner has enrolled. In the Due Date field, enter the number of days that must pass before the content is due. Be sure to enter a numeric value greater than 1.
- Click Save.
Warning
- Due dates for a learning path can be edited or removed altogether, at any time. However, any changes will only affect new learners who enroll in the learning path, in the future.
- For both fixed and rolling date dates, the due date time defaults to 11:59 PM in your instance's timezone. This applies to both fixed and rolling due dates, regardless of what time of day the learner enrolls.
Note
When the due date has passed, the learning path status is marked not-complete. However, learners still have access to complete the learning path.
How to Create Assigned Programs with a Customized Panorama Role
Customized Panorama roles can also manage Assigned Programs by creating and configuring learning paths for their own Panorama. Consistent with existing Panorama authoring settings, functionality limitations in Assigned Programs are enforced to prevent security risks.
Panorama Content Creation is behind a feature flag.
Panorama Content Creation must be enabled on the instance for customized Panorama roles to be able to used Assigned Programs. Reach out to Thought Industries Support to have this feature enabled.
- From the homepage, click Content.
- Click the blue gear, then Add Content.
- Enter a learning path title and language.
- On the top of the page, click Due Date to expand the container.
- By default, the Include a Due Date toggle is disabled. To enable, toggle it to Yes.
- Select between two Due Date Types:
- Fixed: When chosen, content is due for all learners on a specific date, regardless of when they enroll. In the Due Date field, select a date using the calendar picker. The date cannot be a date in the past.
- Rolling: When chosen, content is due the specific number of days after a learner has enrolled. Therefore, a learner’s due date will depend on when the learner has enrolled. In the Due Date field, enter the number of days that must pass before the content is due. Be sure to enter a numeric value greater than 1.
- Click Save.
- Build the learning path using these instructions to add content to milestones to complete this process.
How Does Content Access Work in Panorama?
For all content created by a Panorama author role, once content is created, the content is automatically added to the Panorama’s Access settings. The content is also added to instance's global content list as unreleased content.
Admins and Panorama roles can filter the main site content list by using the Panorama filter category in order to see content that has been authored within each Panorama. From here, admins have the ability to release the content to the main site catalog or provision it to another panorama.
For learning paths created by a Panorama author role, once the learning path is created, the behavior above applies. Additionally, the learning path is automatically added to the Panorama’s Enrollment settings.
Understanding Milestones in Panorama
In a learning path milestone, a customized Panorama role can search for or add only content that the Panorama has been given access to. Only this content is available to use to create milestones in a given Panorama. Additionally:- Admins can add content to a Panorama in Panorama > Settings > Access > Access Settings > Learning Paths.
- Content is also available from Panorama authors who have created content within their Panorama.
Panorama authors have the ability to add and edit due dates. However, the only milestone completion criteria that Panorama authors can configure is whether content is required or elective. Other types of completion criteria cannot be added.
Note
Competency Assessments are not available to Panorama authors.
Using Prerequisites in Panorama
Panorama authors can add prerequisite content to a learning path the same way site admins can in the Enrollment step of the learning path authoring interface, then by clicking Access > Prerequisite Content.
Prerequisites can be used for different use cases, such as creating associations between pieces of content in order to create a larger, more complete curriculum.
Prerequisites can include other learning paths and content, as long as they are included within the Panorama’s Access or Enrollment settings.
Other Settings in Panorama
Panorama authors can configure other learning path settings the same way a site admin role does, except for the specific limitations defined below.
Note
Settings Limitations for Learning Paths Created in Panorama by Customized Panorama Roles
For security purposes, there are limitations to the customized Panorama role and the content can they create. The following settings are hidden in the authoring interface for Panorama roles:
- Milestones tab
- Competency Assessment
- “Allow Learner to select and complete any session in the content”
- Completion Criteria (except for making content required)
- Design tab
- Catalog tab
- Tags
- Custom Fields
- Ribbons
- Detail Page tab
- Detail Page Layout
- Related Content
- Advanced Settings tab
- External Detail Link
- Enrollment tab
- Access tab
- Prerequisite Courses
- Limit Enrollments
- Access tab
- Ecommerce tab
- Free Access with Registration?
- Catalog tab
- Manage tab
- Release button: All content created by users will default to draft status.
Copying a Learning Path in Panorama
Panorama authors have the ability to copy content that is provisioned to the Panorama, including learning paths. For example, when a learning path in a Panorama is cloned, certain settings will not carry over to the copy because they are settings that a customized Panorama role does not have access to.
These settings include:
- Milestones tab
- Competency Assessments: If a milestone contains a competency assessment, the entire milestone will be removed from the copy of the learning path.
- “Allow Learner to select and complete any session in the content”: If a piece of content has this setting enabled, the content will be removed from the milestone in the copy of the learning path.
- Design tab
- Catalog tab
- Tags
- Custom Fields
- Ribbons
- Catalog tab
- Enrollment tab
- Prerequisite content: If the original learning path is provisioned from the main site, then the prerequisites will not get carried over to the copy because the Panorama may not have access to all prerequisite content. However, if the original learning path was created within the Panorama, the prerequisites will carry over to the copy.
- Ecommerce tab:
- Free Access with Registration
Creating Due Date Reminders (Optional)
Admins use learner notifications to engage learners, remind them of unfinished content, offer tailored messaging, and more. A due date trigger is now available in learner notifications as part of Assigned Programs so learners can receive reminders about content due dates. As such, admins have the option to create and edit notifications directly within the learner notifications interface.
How to Create Due Date Reminders In the Learner Notifications Interface
- Create a new learner notification from your homepage by clicking Communications, then Learner Notifications. You can also edit an existing learner notification.
- In the Learner Notification type container, click Content/Learning Path(s).
- Add a title (required).
- Click the Applies To container, click Learning Paths.
- In the Learning Path(s) container, add the learning path(s) for which you wish to create the learner notification.
- Click Save.
- Click Add Email.
- Select the Trigger dropdown. The triggers related to Assigned Programs include:
- Send days before content due date or
- Send days after content due date
- Note that a
{{dueDate}}
substitution is also available to add in the body of the email.
- Choose which trigger you would like to use on this learner notification.
- Enter the number of days you wish to use in the Days container.
- Choose if you want to use any Exclude Conditions actions.
- Enter an email subject.
- Use the WYSIWYG field to enter an email body.
- Optionally add a call-to-action button and associated URL.
- Click Save.
Note
Learner Notifications are customized and sent from individual Panorama clients, meaning you can customize Learner Notifications in one client and NOT impact any other Panorama client's Learner Notifications.
Scheduling Learner Notifications
When you schedule a learner notification, you can choose from various triggers to define when a learner notification will be sent. Currently, there is a period of time between when a learner notification is scheduled and when it actually gets sent. This is because once the time comes for when a notification to be triggered, it will still take additional time for the email to be sent.
For example, a learning path has a due date of April 1 at 11:59PM EST. If you set the notification trigger for 1 day after the due date, learners will actually receive the email 25-30 hours (more specifically, 24 hours plus a few hours for the background job) after the due date.
To account for this, use these guidelines:
- To schedule a notification X days before the due date, add a day (X+1) to the trigger
- To schedule a notification X days after the due date, subtract a day (X-1) from the trigger
- The exception is for scheduling a notification on the day of the due date. See the chart below for how to configure the due date in relation to the example due date of April 1 at 11:59PM EST.
Examples of How to Schedule Notifications Based on When Learners Should Receive Them
I want learners to receive emails ______ the due date of April 1 at 11:59PM EST. |
Learners receive the email on ________. |
I enter ____ in the Days container of Learner Notifications. |
10 days before | March 22 | 11 days before the content due date |
5 days before | March 27 | 6 days before the content due date |
2 days before | March 30 | 3 days before the content due date |
1 day before | March 31 | 2 days before the content due date |
Day of/same day | April 1 | 1 day before the content due date |
1 day after | April 2 | 0 days before the content due date OR 0 days after the content due date |
2 days after | April 3 | 1 day after the content due date |
5 days after | April 6 | 4 days after the content due date |
10 days after | April 11 | 9 days after the content due date |
How to Create Due Date Reminders In the Learning Path Authoring Interface
Site admins and customized Panorama roles have the option to create and edit notifications directly within the learning path authoring interface. See below for how the creation of learner notifications differs based on these two role categories.
How to Create Due Date Reminders as an Admin
- Create a learning path or find an existing learning path by doing the following: select Content, then Manage Content. Click the Content Title for to the learning path you want to alter.
- Navigate to the Release tab (For Panorama roles, go to the Manage tab.)
- Click Learner Notifications.
Learner Notifications is behind a feature flag.
Navigate to Control Panel in your instance to request to have this feature enabled on your site.
- In the Learner Notifications modal, create or edit notifications for this particular learning path.
- When you click the pencil to edit the learner notification, the following fields will have default values that cannot be changed:
- Type: Content / Learning Path(s)
- Title: The learning path title is prefilled, but editable.
- The All Learning Paths checkbox is hidden and this setting is only available when editing from the global notifications page.
- Click Add Email.
- Select the Trigger dropdown. The triggers related to Assigned Programs include:
- Send days before content due date or
- Send days after content due date
- Note that a
{{dueDate}}
substitution is also available to add in the body of the email.
- Choose which trigger you would like to use on this learner notification.
- Enter the number of days you wish to use in the Days container.
- Choose if you want to use any Exclude Conditions actions.
- Enter an email subject.
- Use the WYSIWYG field to enter an email body.
- Optionally add a call-to-action button and associated URL.
- Click Save.
Note
Admins can view and edit the same learner notifications from the global notifications interface in Communications > Learner Notifications.
- All fields are editable from within the global notifications interface.
- If an admin makes the following edits, the learner notification campaign will no longer be accessible from within the learning path authoring interface:
- Add additional learning path(s) to the learner notification campaign
- Check the box for All Learning Paths
Note
A learner notification campaign will only display in the learning path authoring interface if it applies to that single learning path and no others. When a campaign applies to multiple learning paths, users can only view and edit it from the global learner notifications interface, which will continue to show all campaigns created across the site. This applies to existing and new learning path campaigns.
How to Create Due Date Reminders with a Customized Panorama Role
Because Panorama roles do not have access to the global learner notifications interface, customized Panorama role roles can edit learner notifications for a single learning path within the learning path authoring interface.
To do this, a customized Panorama role will:
- Click the Manage tab in the learning path interface.
- Click Learner Notifications.
- Click Add Learner Notifications.
Note
The customized Panorama role must have the Manage Notifications permission to see this button.
- Add a title (required).
- Click Save.
- Click Add Email.
- Select the Trigger dropdown. The triggers related to Assigned Programs include:
- Send days before content due date or
- Send days after content due date
- Note that a
{{dueDate}}
substitution is also available to add in the body of the email.
- Choose which trigger you would like to use on this learner notification.
- Enter the number of days you wish to use in the Days container.
- Choose if you want to use any Exclude Conditions actions.
- Enter an email subject.
- Use the WYSIWYG field to enter an email body.
- Optionally add a call-to-action button and associated URL.
- Click Save.
How to Enroll Learners in Assigned Programs
Once the learning path is set up with the due date, you can enroll learners in Assigned Programs using existing enrollment flows, including adding an Assigned Program to an individual learner through their profile, making it free with learner registration, assigning content to learners in a bulk import, assigning content to learners through SSO, selling the content using eCommerce, and using registration or redemption codes. Panorama is another available enrollment mode, which is outlined below.
When content was formerly provisioned to Panorama, learners got access to the content, but were not enrolled in it until they clicked on the content from within the catalog widget. With Assigned Programs, Admins and Customized Panorama Roles can control the exact timing of when learners are enrolled in a learning path since learners need to have a finite time to complete the content after they are enrolled.
As part of Assigned Programs, admins can specify which individual learning paths they would like to be available for Panorama roles to access and subsequently enroll their learners in. This allows customized Panorama roles to control which learners enroll, as well as the timing of enrollment
How to Add Assigned Programs to Panorama
Note
Customized Panorama roles must have the following permissions to add Assigned Programs.
- Editing Basic Info: This is needed to view the learner profile
- Creating Learners: This is needed to see the learning path search bar (see later in article)
- As an admin, navigate to a Panorama’s content access settings at Panorama > Client Name > Settings > Access.
- Under Access Settings, navigate to the Enrollment Settings container.
- Access Settings: Adding content here will automatically provision content to the Panorama’s main sublicense. Learners with access to the content will have the ability to enroll in the content. (With Assigned Programs, there is no change to this functionality.)
- Enrollment Settings: Adding a learning path here will make it available for customized Panorama roles to directly enroll learners through either in a learner's profile or via bulk import. (This action will not affect the Panorama’s Access settings.)
- Use the Learning Path field to search for and add any existing learning path. Note: The same learning path can be added to both the Panorama’s Access Settings and Enrollment Settings.
- Click Save.
How to Enroll an Individual Panorama Learner in Assigned Programs
After a learning path has been added to a Panorama via Enrollment Settings, customized Panorama roles can directly enroll learners in that learning path, either in their learner profile or via bulk import. Below are instructions on how to enroll and individual learner.
Note
Customized Panorama roles must have the following permissions to to directly enroll learners.
- Creating Learners: This permission allows Panorama roles to directly enroll learners in content and learning paths that are within the Panorama’s Enrollment settings, found at Panorama > Settings > Access > Enrollment Settings.
- Granting Access: This permission allows Panorama roles to directly enroll learners in content and learning paths that are within the Panorama’s Access settings, found at Panorama > Settings > Access > Access Setting).
It also allows users to change the status of content (e.g. completed, not-completed). Additionally, this permission exposes the subscription field in the learner profile to grant access to subscriptions.
Note: If a user has both permissions above, the Granting Access permission overrides the Creating Learners permission. User will be able to enroll learners in content and learning paths within the Panorama’s Access settings.
- In a given Panorama, click Users, then Learners.
- Click on the learner profile you want, then click the Access tab.
- Use the search bar to find relevant learning paths.
- Click Add Content.
- Users are limited to searching and adding learning paths within the Panorama’s Enrollment Settings interface, found at Panorama > Settings > Access > Enrollment Settings.
- The learner is now enrolled in the learning path(s). The learning path displays to an admin in the learner's profile (within the Learning Path Access field) and in the learner’s Access widget in the Learning Path tab.
How to Enroll Learners in Bulk
- Proceed through the user flow for bulk importing new learners or updating existing learners.
- Once the CSV is uploaded, admins will have the option to search for learning paths. While this is optional, admins are limited to searching and adding learning paths that have already been provisioned to the Panorama's Enrollment Settings in Panorama > Settings > Access > Enrollment Settings.
- Finish the bulk import.
- Once the job completes, all learners are enrolled in the learning path. The learning path displays to an admin in the learner's profile (within the Learning Path Access field) and in the learner’s Access widget in the Learning Path tab.
Note
When an admin visits the Access tab of a learner's profile, the learner’s list of enrolled learning paths displays separately, below the learning path search bar. This also exposes the learning path status, so admins have the ability to change this status of the learning path (e.g. started, complete).
Reporting on Assigned Programs
If a learner is enrolled in an Assigned Program and does not complete the learning path by the due date, the learner will receive a not-complete status in learning path reporting. For rolling due dates where learners may have different due dates, admins will be able to see each learner’s respective due date in reporting.
Path: Content > Manage Content > Learning Path Title > Release Step > Reporting > Learners > Learning Path Status
The following fields have been added or modified to support reporting for due dates:
New Fields in Reporting
- Due Date
- This field reflects the Due Date that was configured on the learning path (e.g. 2023-01-16 23:59:00). This column always displays, even when the due date setting is disabled on a learning path. In this case, the Due Date field will be blank. This fields shows times in the timezone of the instance.
- For rolling due dates, the date will be calculated based on a learner’s enrollment date.
- Any change to a learning path’s due date will only impact newly-enrolled learners, and admins will be able to see that change reflected in reporting.
- Completed Days Late
- This field updates once a learner completes the learning path. The field show how many days late completion is, specifically the number of days between the “Due Date” and “Last Action Time” for a
learning_path_completed status
. - If a learner completes the learning path on time, this field will remain blank.
- Days will round up. For example, if a learner completes the learning path 32 hours after the due date, this field will show completion as 2 days late.
- This field updates once a learner completes the learning path. The field show how many days late completion is, specifically the number of days between the “Due Date” and “Last Action Time” for a
- Required Completed Courses
- Field shows a count of completed content marked as “required” in the learning path
- Required Learning Path Courses
- Updated to reflect only the learning path content that is required. Formerly, this field reflected both required and elective content.
- Required % Progress
- Updated to reflect changes above to Required Completed Courses and Required Learning Path Courses fields
- Reflects % progress for required content in the learning path.
Updates to Existing Fields in Reporting
It is crucial to note that the behavior of some existing fields will change with the creation of the Assigned Programs feature.
- Last Action Time
- Last Action Time presents a date and timestamp for the Last Action Source. Admins can use this field to determine when a learner has completed the learning path.
- Last Action Source
-
Last Action Source tracks the last action for a learner on a specific learning path so that the most recent status is reflected. This field has been updated to exclude any actions that happen after a learner completes the learning path.
-
e.g. If a learner completes an elective milestone after they complete the learning path, the milestone action will not be tracked, and the Last Action Source will be
learning_path_completed
.
-
-
If a learner has not completed the learning path by the due date, this field will update to
learning_path_not_completed
. -
Once a learner completes the learning path (on time or late), field updates to
learning_path_completed
.
-
Note
Learning path statuses get updated hourly as part of a background job.
Tip
Create custom reports by adding the above fields to reports created in Explore.
Learner Experience
How to View and Access Assigned Programs as a Learner
Enrolled learners will be able to access and complete Assigned Programs just as they would access any other content they have access to.
Learners can view due dates for Assigned Programs on both the learner access widget and learning path page.
How to View Due Dates as a Learner
- Log in as a learner who is enrolled in an Assigned Program.
- On the learner dashboard, navigate to the learner access widget and click the Learning Path tab.
- This tab will contain learning paths in a not-started, started, and not-completed status.
- The due date displays to the right of the learning path title
- Format: Due: Jun 2, 2022
- "Due Date” can be translated by navigating to Translations.
- On the learning path page, learners can see the the due date displayed in the top right of the page, below the hero image.
- Format: Due Date: June 2, 2022 11:59PM EST”
- “Due Date” can be translated by navigating to Translations.
- Click the Start or Continue button beside the learning path to complete content.
Note
Times display in the timezone of the school unless changed under Site Settings to reflect the Learner’s local timezone.
Example 1: A school’s timezone is EST, and there is a fixed due date of June 2.
- A learner in Boston (EST) will see Due Date: June 2 11:59PM EST.
- A learner in San Francisco (PST) will see Due Date: June 2 8:59PM PST.
Example 2: A school’s timezone is PST, and there is a fixed due date of June 4.
- A learner in Boston (EST) will see Due Date: June 5 2:59AM EST.
- A learner in San Francisco (PST) will see Due Date: June 4 11:59PM PST.
Overdue Learning Path Behaviors
Learners who do not complete the content before it is due will see that the learning path is overdue. In the Completed tab of the learner access widget, the learner can see the due date. Learners are still able to access and complete the content.
- Due dates on the access widget and learning path page becomes red and "Overdue" is appended
- Ex: Due: Jun 2nd 2022 (Overdue)
- On the Learning Path tab of the learner access widget, the CTA button will read Continue Learning Path.
Overdue
,due
, anddue date
are translatable in Translations.