The certification completion editor provides Site Administrators (or other users with the totara/certification:editcompletion capability) a flexible way to manage a user's progress in a certification.
Features of the editor include:
A list of all users who are (or were) assigned to a certification
The ability to manually make changes to the current completion record of a user
Validation of a user's current and historical records, with information stating any issues and how they can be resolved
The ability to view, add, edit or delete certification history for users, even if they are no longer assigned
A full audit trail of all changes to a user's certification completion records
A checker which can identify any certification records that contain problems
Automated fixes which can be triggered to fix discovered issues
Enabling the editor
The completion editor is turned off by default, however it can be enabled by going to Quick-access menu > Configure features > Learn settings (admin/settings.php?section=advancedfeatures_learn) and enabling (checking) the Enable program completion editor option.
Once enabled, the Completion tab will be made available to to users with the totara/certification:editcompletion capability (Site Administrators only by default) when editing a certification and allow them to edit current and historical completion records.
Using the editor
To access the editor, first locate and edit the certification you want to check, then select the Completion tab.
Completion list
The completion list is an embedded report source and the primary purpose of this report is to provide an interface with a list of users who are currently (and were previously) assigned.
Each user has a status and a link to edit completion records. Clicking the link under Edit completion records will take you to the completion editor for that user, which includes the current completion editor which also highlights the current path the user is on within the certification, completion history editor and the transactions log. Above the completion list there is a link to check completions for problems, which can be used to find all records with an invalid state for the given certification.
Custom reports can also be created in the report builder using the Certification membership report source.
If you edit a certification's content then users who haven't completed the certification will need to complete it under the new structure. If a user has completed a course set in a certification and the course set is edited, the users won't need to complete the edited course set.
Edit completion records
To edit the completion records for a specific user, click Edit completion records in the completion list.
Current completion record
This section contains the user's current completion record, if they are currently assigned. The editor is controlled primarily by the state in the dropdown list. Changing the state will determine the form fields which can be edited. Other fields may not be editable, but will be changed automatically to be consistent with the newly selected state.
If there is a problem with the record then it will be highlighted, and a valid state must be selected before any further changes can be made. When saving changes, information will be provided on a confirmation page, detailing the consequences of the changes. For example, if you change the state of a certification from Certified, window is open to Certified, before window opens then you will be warned that the recertification window will be reopened when it is next processed by cron, causing courses to be reset again.
Depending on the scenario, an automated fix may be available, which can be run to correct a problematic record. Other records may include suggestions for manual fixes, however you should ensure that the suggested fixes are appropriate for what you are trying to achieve before acting on them.
Note that certification messages are only reset if the Window open event happens; if the editor is used to bypass this then the messages will not be sent.
You can edit the current completion record using the settings as described below. Note that the options available may be different depending on the choice selected under Certification completion state.
Setting | What can be set | Effect on the certification record |
|---|---|---|
Certification completion state | Selects the overall completion state for this certification record (for example Newly assigned, Certified, Before window opens, Certified, Window is open, Expired). | Determines how the record is treated in the certification lifecycle, including whether the learner is considered not yet certified, currently certified, within the recertification window, or expired. Other status and date fields are derived from this state. |
In progress | Indicates whether the learner is currently working towards the certification, where applicable. | Controls whether the record is treated as 'in progress' rather than fully certified or not certified. This may not be applicable for all certification states. |
Certification status | Read-only summary of the current certification status (for example Not certified, In progress, Certified, Expired). | Reflects the effective status of the certification completion record based on the selected completion state and stored dates. |
Renewal status | Read-only summary of whether the learner is due to renew (for example Not due for renewal, Due for renewal, Renewal expired). | Indicates the current renewal position for the certification, based on expiry and window settings. |
Certification path | Selects which certification path applies to this record (for example initial certification vs recertification path). | Determines which certification pathway applies to the learner, and therefore which learning is required to achieve or maintain certification. |
Due date | Dependant on the Certification completion state setting the Due date shows or, in some configurations, allows setting the date the certification is due. In many cases this is automatically aligned with the expiry date. | Controls when the certification is considered due for the learner, and may be used by due-date notifications and reporting. |
Completion date | Sets the date and time when this certification attempt is treated as completed. | Defines when the learner is recorded as having achieved the certification, which in turn affects the active period and future recertification dates. A value of zero (0) means no completion date is stored. |
Window open date | Sets the date and time when the recertification window is treated as opening for this record. | Controls when the learner moves into the 'window is open' stage, allowing recertification activities to count towards renewing the certification. A value of zero (0) means no window open date is stored. |
Effective expiry date | Sets the date and time when the current certification attempt expires. | Determines when the certification is treated as no longer valid for the learner. Once this date has passed, the record may move into an expired state unless renewed. A value of zero (0) means no expiry date is stored. |
Baseline expiry date | Sets the baseline expiry date for this certification record. | Provides a reference expiry date used internally when calculating the active and window periods for the learner’s certification lifecycle. A value of zero (0) means no baseline expiry date is stored. |
Certification active period | Read-only summary of the configured active period length (for example 1 year(s)). | Indicates how long a certification attempt is treated as valid from its completion, based on the certification’s settings. |
Certification window period | Read-only summary of the configured window period (for example 1 month(s)). | Indicates how long the recertification window remains open before the certification expires, based on the certification’s settings. |
Apparent active period | Read-only summary of the effective active period for this record. | Shows the effective active period that results from the stored dates on this record, which may differ from the configured active period in some scenarios. |
Apparent window period | Read-only summary of what the window period was at the time the user certified. | Shows the effective window period that results from the stored dates on this record, which may differ from the configured window period in some scenarios. |
Program status | Read-only summary of the underlying program status (for example Program incomplete, Program complete). | Indicates whether the attached program path has been completed, which feeds into the certification status. |
Program completion date | Automatically aligned with the certification completion date when applicable, or stored as not applicable (0). | When a user is certified, before the recertification window has opened, the program completion date should be equal to the certification completion date, otherwise it should be empty. This field is only used internally - it is not displayed to the learner or in reports. It is presented here to ensure that it has the correct value. |
Completion history
This section shows completion history. Here you can add, edit and delete historical records.
Transactions
This section shows a list of all transactions that have occurred which relate to the user. This technical information can be used by Site Administrators and developers to assist with troubleshooting.
It includes:
Events that naturally occur during certification, such as becoming certified, the certification window opening, expiry, etc.
Manual changes made to the current or historical completion records using this editor
Changes to the certification settings, such as the active period (this type of change might not directly affect a user's completion records, but the fact that a change occurred might be relevant, and is therefore included in this log)
Changes caused by certification completion uploads, or triggered indirectly by course completion uploads
Automated fixes which were applied
Troubleshooting: Updating certification completion when activity completion status changes
When changing completion for an activity from complete to incomplete, the certification completion may continue to show as complete, and is not affected by the amended activity completion. You may also need to update certification completions in the following scenarios:
Staff have a breach of policy within the certified period
Staff completed recertification before the window period opens
Course content changes midway through a certification period
Human-error issues
You can use the certification completion editor to manually edit certification completion dates for individual users. Course and certification completion reaggregation is currently not expected to automatically change states from complete to any other incomplete status (unless the window for certifications reopens).
The Totara Academy has a whole course dedicated to using Programs and certifications in Totara Learn. Here you can learn more on how to use programs and certifications, see best practice, and give it a go yourself.
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