Scheduled Enrollment Deep Dive

This article gets way out into the weeds. You may wish to start with the Schedule Enrollment Overview.

A significant upgrade to the existing enrollment functionality in July 2021; Schedule Enrollments covers two key focus areas:

• Automating enrollment activation capabilities – Simply put, allowing users to “set it and forget it” to both activate and deactivate your enrollment on desired dates.
• Recurring enrollments – The expanded ability to allow an enrollment to repeat on a defined cadence. Further removing the need to re-create the same enrollment over again for given recurring time frames.

Why is it?

Schedule Enrollments is a direct response to our customer continued feedback to further simplify and expand upon the existing enrollment functionality in the LMS.

Schedule Enrollments will simplify the launch of new training requirements by allowing admin users to automate the deployment and withdrawal of compliance training requirements for specific learner audience members.

Wisetail aims to facilitate mandated compliance learning by ensuring that organizations have full control on scheduling these compliance trainings once and letting our system handle future recurring calendarization of these trainings based on your compliance schedule.

The fundamental requests from our customer base boiled down to:

• Simplify the admins ability to set an enrollment once for activation/deactivation and not require manual intervention by them again (unless desired).
• Provide the flexibility to schedule out the recurring nature of certain training enrollments that need to occur on a defined cadence.
• Maintain the existing Wisetail LMS flexibility to allow changes to be made to the enrollment audience and content.

How does it work?

Enrollment Status

Before you start to create the enrollment, on the main Enrollments page, you will notice an extra status called Closed. This status has now been made available for the user to search on.

This new status can be used by the user use to determine when a recurring enrollment has been closed in that it has been deactivated either manually (by the admin) or in an automated fashion by the system. Below is a simple table indicating the enrollment statuses and their respective descriptions and conditions.

 

Status Name	Status Description	Conditions leading to Status
Inactive	The initial state of every newly created enrollment. This state represents the pre-launch phase of the enrollment where the admin is still configuring the details on the enrollment prior to activating it.	New enrollment has been user created.
Active	This state is only achieved once the admin chooses to activate the enrollment OR if the system has activated the inactive enrollment at the set activation date. Placing the enrollment in this state assumes that the admin has made all necessary configurations to the enrollment and are ready to roll it out to the enrollment audience.	New inactive enrollment has been user or system activated.
Closed	The is a final state. This state is only achieved either if the admin has decided to deactivate an active enrollment OR if the system has deactivated the active enrollment due to the deactivation date having elapsed.	Active enrollment has been user or system deactivated.

Below is a diagram that explains the actions that navigate a user from status to status.

 

Learner User Reset/Not Reset for Enrollments

One of the key changes that we now allow admins users to do is determine if they wish to reset or maintain the module completions for learner users. When the admin users now arrives on the enrollment creation details page, they will see the following option that they can choose from in the right hand pane settings menu:

 

 

Reset Existing Module Completions On Enrollment: No

• Selecting this toggle option will ensure that any learner user that is part of the enrollment audience AND has previously completed the enrollment module (prior to being part of the enrollment audience) will maintain their completion status for the enrollment.
• The second enrollment occurrence (for a recurring enrollment) will then reset the learner user as per enrollment frequency defined.
• This case will benefit admin users who wish to ensure that their learner users do not have to re-complete content that they have already completed outside of an enrollment or will assist admin users with porting over learner users from already existing enrollments into a new enrollment and maintaining that learner users’ status when they are ported over.

Reset Existing Module Completions On Enrollment:Yes

• Selecting this toggle option will ensure that any learner user that is part of the enrollment audience AND has previously completed the enrollment module (prior to being part of the enrollment audience) will have their completion status for the enrollment cleared when they are added to the enrollment audience OR when the enrollment has been activated.
• This case will benefit admin users who strictly wish to follow compliance monitoring on their learner users completion status during a specific time frame and do not wish to have previous completions of content to drive whether the learner user has completed the content within the compliance defined period of the enrollment.

Note: Once an enrollment reset option has been set and the enrollment has been activated, the setting can no longer be edited and will apply to all users that meet the audience criteria. It is strongly recommended that the admin user ensure that all configuration settings for the enrollment are accurate prior to setting the Activation and Deactivation Dates.

Standard Enrollment Creation

The admin user can start by choosing to Create Enrollment and once they arrive on the Enrollment details page, they can start to configure their new enrollment.

Starting with what is the same:

• Title has remained the same but will now show a count for the maximum allowable characters (255).
• Description has remained the same but will now show a count for the maximum allowable characters (500).
• Users Enrolled has remained the same and will continue to work with the inherited role of the admin user to associate an audience.

The enhancements introduced:

• There is a Settings panel on the right-hand pane that now allows you to choose from two types of enrollments; Standard or Recurring.

For Standard Enrollments, the options remain the same; however, the UI flow has been streamlined to provide a more efficient experience.

• The admin user can start by selecting Add Modules.

• The admin user can then proceed to choose as many modules as they wish to add to the enrollment.

• Once the modules have been added to the enrollment, the admin user can now select from the same two options of Countdown or Due Date. The selection here will apply to all the modules that were added.

• The admin user can change the completion settings per individual module by choosing the Edit

button on the single module in case they wish to have different completion dates for each module.

 

Recurring Enrollment Creation

The new available option for enrollments now includes Recurring enrollments. With this new enrollment type, there are further configurations that can be made.

Note: It is important to note that for Recurring enrollment types, the configurations apply to all modules in the enrollment and cannot be set individually per module.

• On the Settings panel on the right hand pane choose Recurring.

• The admin user will now be presented with the Recurring Enrollment Settings modal where they can make the following configurations for an enrollment:
• Repeat From:
  
  • Enrollment Activation (fixed) > This indicates that recurring enrollments will renew based on when the new recurring enrollment is activated and will apply the same dates for all learner users. This will be driven by the Enrollment Frequency that will be calculated from the activation date of the enrollment.
  • Module Completion (rolling) > This indicates that recurring enrollments will renew based on when the user has completed the module in the previous recurring enrollment occurrence. Each learner user can have a different date to complete based on their previous completion.

• With Enrollment Activation selected as the Repeat From option, the learner user has a fixed period of time and the enrollment completion is based on the enrollment completion/end date. In other words, all learner users in the enrollment will be reset at the same time which is the date when the enrollment is supposed to end. The admin user can configure the following options:
• How long they wish to give the learner users to complete the modules within an enrollment. This is known as the Enrollment Length, AND
  • How often they wish to have the enrollment repeat for the learner user to re-complete. This is known as the Enrollment Frequency.
• Please note that the Completion Periods add an extra day automatically. This is to take into account users in time zones other than the specified LMS Timezone selection.  Enrollment occurrences are processed at midnight in the Timezone chosen in System Settings of the Admin Tools. 

Note: It is important to note that the Enrollment Length cannot be longer than the Enrollment Frequency.

In other words, a learner user cannot have more time to complete the modules in an enrollment than how long the enrollment is valid for.

Below is a diagram that demonstrates how the recurring enrollment of Enrollment Activation (fixed) is calculated per learner user.

• With Module Completion Date selected as the Repeat From option, the learner user has a fixed period of time and the enrollment completion is based on the when the learner user completed their previous enrollment. In other words, all learner users in the enrollment will be reset at different times which will be dependent on when the learner user last completed the enrollment content. The admin user can configure the following options:

• How long they wish to give the learner users to complete the modules within an enrollment but still be compliant during this period. This is known as the Enrollment Length, AND

• How long the learner user is considered as completed before they need to be reset for the next enrollment but still be compliant during this period. This is known as the Completion Period. Once reset, the learner user will have the Enrollment Length as the time period to complete the enrollment for all enrollments except the very first one.

Note: When an enrollment is activated for the first time OR when a learner user is added to the audience of an already active enrollment, the learner user will have only the Enrollment Length period to complete their very first enrollment.

Each enrollment thereafter will have the Completion Period where the learner user will appear as Completed for the content. After which the learner user will then have the Enrollment Length period to complete the content.

Should the learner user not complete the content in an enrollment prior to the Enrollment Length elapsing, the learner user will be marked as Overdue and will remain Overdue until they decide to complete the content that makes them Overdue. The Completion Period will be ignored since the learner user was Overdue and will only come back into effect once the learner user has completed the content.

Below is a diagram that demonstrates how the recurring enrollment of Module Completion Date (rolling) is calculated per learner user.

 

Enrollment Settings

The enrollment settings will now be displayed in the Settings on the right-hand pane and can be edited via Edit Settings only while the enrollment has not been activated.

• Once the admin user has added the modules for the Recurring enrollment, they will note that there is no option to Edit like there was in the Standard enrollment. Instead, the admin user can simply Remove the module(s).

 

Enrollment Activation/Deactivation

The admin user can now proceed to adjust the Activation and Deactivation Date via the Schedule Enrollment options in the right-hand pane. By default, all newly created enrollments are Inactive.

• The only mandatory field for the Schedule Enrollment section will be the Activation Date. If the admin user wishes to activate the enrollment right away, they simply need to choose the date of the current day and they will be prompted, by an informational message, that by placing the current date, the enrollment will activate immediately and ask them if they wish to continue.

• Once the admin user has entered an Activation Date, the enrollment will remain Inactive until the Activation Date arrives. At which point, the enrollment will be placed in Active state and the Activation Date will no longer be editable. The Deactivation Date can still be adjusted or added even after the enrollment is Active.

• The Settings in the right-hand pane will also become locked down and will no longer allow to Edit Settings for the Enrollment Type, Enrollment Length nor Enrollment Frequency.

Note: It is strongly recommended that the admin user ensure that all configuration settings for the enrollment are accurate prior to setting the Activation and Deactivation Dates.

The system will perform checks on due dates for modules and compare them to the Activation/Deactivation Dates of the enrollment to ensure that the admin user is not creating an enrollment where the modules cannot be completed within the Activation/Deactivation time frame or vice versa. This will be communicated to the admin user either via warning prompts or via calendar date selection limitations. Below are a few of the sample warning messages.

Once an enrollment is active, the changes by the admin user are limited to the Users Enrolled and Modules & Courses.

• When the enrollment has been activated, the learner users that are part of the audience of the enrollment, will see a visual indicator on the specific modules that are required to be completed by them.

• If the learner user has more than 24 hours left before the completion date/time of the module OR
• If the completion date/time has passed AND the completion date/time are no longer on the same date/time as today’s date/time, then the learner user will see Due Date displayed in “m/d/yyyy” format.

• If the learner user has less than 24 hours left before the completion date/time of the module OR
• If the completion date/time has passed AND the completion date/time are still on the same date/time as today’s date/time, then the learner user will see Due Time displayed in “hh:mm am/pm” format.

• The admin user can choose to manually deactivate the enrollment by entering the current date. At which point, the admin user will be prompted by an informational message that by placing the current date, the enrollment will deactivate and save the completion status for the learner users at the time of deactivation and ask them if they wish to continue.

• Once the admin user has entered a Deactivation Date and the enrollment is Active, the enrollment will remain Active until the Deactivation Date arrives. At which point, the enrollment will be placed in Closed state and the Activation and Deactivation Dates will no longer be editable.

Note: The Closed state is a final/terminal state. Meaning that once an enrollment arrives in this state, there is no going back to Active. A new enrollment will need to be created.

 

Enrollment Editing (Content within Module)

The admin user can continue to edit the content contained within a module that is part of an enrollment. This will function as it has previously with no changes.

• Required content addition or editing in a module

• For any learner user(s) that have completed the module already, they will not have to complete the required content that was added or edited to retain their completion status.

• For any learner user(s) that have not yet started or are in progress of completing the module, they will have to complete the required content that was added or edited to obtain their completion status.

• Optional content addition or editing in a module

• For any learner user(s) that have completed the module already, they will not have to complete the optional content that was added or edited to retain their completion status.

• For any learner user(s) that have not yet started or are in progress of completing the module, they will also not have to complete the optional content that was added or edited to obtain their completion status.

• Required/Optional content removal from a module

• For any learner user(s) that have completed the module already, there will be no changes to their completion status after the removal of the required/optional content.
• For any learner user(s) that have not completed the module already, there will be no changes to their completion status after the removal of the required/optional content.

Enrollment Editing (Module Addition/Removal from Enrollment)

The admin user can choose to add or remove a module to the enrollment once the enrollment is active. Doing so will have the following effect on an enrollment:

• Adding a module to the enrollment audience of an active enrollment.
• The module will be added immediately for audience members of the enrollment.
• Depending on whether the enrollment has the Reset Existing Module Completions On Enrollment toggle set to Yes or No;
  • No:
    • Any module that is being added to be part of the enrollment AND was previously completed by the enrollment audience member, will cause the learner user to have their module completion status maintained for the enrollment.
    • The second enrollment occurrence (for a recurring enrollment) will then reset the learner user completion as per enrollment frequency defined.
  • Yes:
    
    • Any module that is being added to be part of the enrollment AND was previously completed by the enrollment audience member, will cause the learner user to have their module completion status cleared for the enrollment.
    • The learner user will have the time remaining in the enrollment to complete the newly added content.
    • Removing a module from the enrollment audience of an active enrollment.
    • The module will be removed immediately as a module to complete for the enrollment and their learner user completion will be maintained.

Enrollment Editing (Audience of an Enrollment)

The admin user can continue to edit the audience of an enrollment. This will function as follows:

• Adding learner user(s) to enrollment audience.
• The learner user(s) will be added immediately as audience members for the enrollment.
• Depending on whether the enrollment has the Reset Existing Module Completions On Enrollment toggle set to Yes or No;
• No:
  • Any learner user that is being added to be part of the enrollment audience AND has previously completed the enrollment module (prior to being part of the enrollment audience) will maintain their completion status for the enrollment.
  • The second enrollment occurrence (for a recurring enrollment) will then reset the learner user completion as per enrollment frequency defined.
• Yes:
  • Any learner user that is part of the enrollment audience AND has previously completed the enrollment module (prior to being part of the enrollment audience) will have their completion status for the enrollment cleared when they are added to the enrollment audience.
  • The learner user will have the time remaining in the enrollment to complete the associated content.
  • Removing learner user(s) from enrollment audience.
  • The learner user(s) will be removed immediately as audience members for the enrollment and their completion will be maintained.

Recurring Enrollment Module Content Enhancements

The table below outlines how the various content items will function within the scope of recurring enrollment. These will be very similar to how they function for standard enrollments and may have some variations for specific content items.

 

Content Reset	Status
	Previous Enrollment Occurrence	New Enrollment Occurrence	Other Considerations
Badges	Badges awarded remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	Badge can be re-awarded when the new completion is attained.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the badges attained will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module still being true.

 

Content Reset	Status
	Previous Enrollment Occurrence	New Enrollment Occurrence	Other Considerations
Certifications	Certifications awarded remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	Certifications can be re- awarded when the new completion is attained.	For the Rolling Recurrence cases, there is a high potential to need overlapping dates where certificates are valid for two different child enrollments. Hence, certificate dates will need to be adjusted to support multiple active completion dates. Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the certifications attained will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module still being true.
Points	Points awarded remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	Points can be re-awarded when the new completion is attained. Re-awarded points are added on top of any existing points total	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the points accumulated will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module still being true.
Time Credits	Time credits awarded remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	Time credits can be re- awarded when the new completion is attained. Re- awarded time credits are added on top of any existing time credit totals	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the time credits accumulated will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module still being true. If the Time Credit value is edited, all past and new Time Credits will now be calculated using the new Time Credit value.

 

Content Reset	Status
	Previous Enrollment Occurrence	New Enrollment Occurrence	Other Considerations
Tests	Tests awarded remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	The new module enrollment occurrence will simply allow the user to take the same test again with the same number of test attempts that the user had in the previous occurrence. Test attempts do not get carried over from occurrence to occurrence.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the tests and/or test attempts failed/pass will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module still being true.
Observation Checklists	Observation Checklists that were completed will remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	The new module enrollment occurrence will simply allow the user to be observed again for the same observation checklist. Observation Checklist attempts do not get carried over from occurrence to occurrence.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the observation checklist will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module and observation still being true. Multiple observation checklist attempts and outcomes for one module will be supported due to the recurring nature of enrollments.

 

Content Reset	Status
	Previous Enrollment Occurrence	New Enrollment Occurrence	Other Considerations
Homeworks	Homeworks that were completed will remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	The new module enrollment occurrence will simply allow the user to complete the homework again and have the responses save against the specific module enrollment occurrence. Homework responses do not get carried over from occurrence to occurrence.	The homework responses of other team members will be displayed when the homework is accessed but will be reset for all users when the enrollment occurrence is reset and thus will only display the new occurrences homework responses if/when they are completed by the team members. Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the homework and homework responses will remain associated to their profile due to the completion of the module occurrence. Furthermore, the homework responses for the removed user will continue to appear under the "Responses" section for the Homework in the learner tool.
SCORM	SCORM that were completed will remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	The new module enrollment occurrence will simply allow the SCORM file to be completed again.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the SCORM completion will remain associated to their profile. There will be a need to support multiple SCORM file completions for the same SCORM file over different enrollment occurrences.

 

Content Reset	Status
	Previous Enrollment Occurrence	New Enrollment Occurrence	Other Considerations
Videos	Video that were completed will remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	New instances of the module enrollment occurrence will simply allow the Video file to be completed again.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the Video file completion will remain associated to their profile. There will be a need to support multiple Video file completions over different enrollment occurrences.
Documents	Document files that were completed will remain valid even after enrollment has closed.	New instances of the module enrollment occurrence will simply allow the Document file to be completed again.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the Document file completion will remain associated to their profile. There will be a need to support multiple Document file completions over different enrollment occurrences.
Gates	Gates that were opened as a result of completing the right pre-requisites for the previous module occurence will NOT be carried over to the new module occurrence	A new enrollment occurrence will reset all the content contained within a module and force the user to complete the content again for the new enrollment occurrence. Hence, any associated Gates that had been "opened" as a result of a user completing previous content, will now revert back to being closed until the user yet again completes the appropriate content in order to gain further gate access.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the Gates completion will remain associated to their profile.

 

Content Reset	Status
	Previous Enrollment Occurrence	New Enrollment Occurrence	Other Considerations
Events	Events that were Attended by the learner user will be marked as completed for the module. Events in Required or Pending state will be marked as Incomplete for the module.	A new enrollment occurrence will reset all the completed events for a user to Required and will allow them re-register for future event sessions. For Required and Pending events, the learner user will remain in these states for the new enrollment occurrence if the event session is still in the future. Else, it will allow the learner user to register for new future event sessions.	Should the user be removed from the enrollment, the Events completion will remain associated to their profile.

Note: It is strongly recommended that the admin user avoid placing any content types that require admin approval into modules that will be included as part of enrollments. This will alleviate the need for the admin user to intervene in order to approve content completions for learner user.

The content types that should be avoided would be:

• Observation Checklists
• Homeworks (where admin approval is required)
• Events