Accreditations - Admin Guide
Section 1: Accreditations - Overview
Who Should Use This Guide
This guide is for - Learning Management System (LMS) Client Super Administrators and Administrators to enable them to utilize and train others in the use of the Accreditation Functionality as both creators and users.
Learning Object Accreditations - Overview
In the Learnsoft LMS, Accreditations are a feature that allows a single course to provide attributes to different users groups.
For example, a single compliance course can be offered to all new employees, but the number of credit hours, associated tests, passing grades, requirements for evaluations, etc., can be different for Physicians, Nurses, Administrators, etc., based upon the specific Accreditation options offered and selected.
There are four basic steps to the Accreditation Process: 1) Add a Vendor; 2) Create an Accreditation; 3) Add an Accreditation to a Course; 4) Select an Accreditation.
The first three steps are performed by those with sufficient rights to perform these actions; the fourth step is performed by the user
Add a Vendor
Accreditations are associated with vendors. These can be external, for example a governing body, such as the AMA (American Medical Association) or internal, for example, a specific Client, hospital, division, etc. Vendors are added in the Advanced View > User Management Drop Down menu (& selecting Vendors). For details on how to add a vendor, To Access the Vendors How To Guide click here).
Create an Accreditation
Each specific Accreditation is created using the Advanced View > Learning Object Drop Down menu (and selecting "Accreditations"). Each Accreditation will require a name and an association with a previously created vendor. Optional information can store descriptions and an Accreditation Logo.
Add an Accreditation to a Course
After creating a course, when viewing Course Details, there is a section "'Available Learning Object Accreditations". If there are Accreditations associated with this course, they will be visible and editable in this section. To associate a new Accreditation with this course, click on the New Learning Object Accreditation button. This will launch the New Learning Object Accreditation Details screen, which will allow you to associate an already created Accreditation and enter, edit and save specific detailed attributes associated with this specific course / accreditation combination (e.g. credit hours, test, evaluation, passing grade, etc.).
Select an Accreditation
When enrolling in a course, the user will be able to see the Accreditation drop-down box below the Course Name in their Course List (My Courses). The user simply uses the drop-down to select the specific Accreditation that will apply to them and confirms via a pop-up confirmation. Once confirmed all predefined attributes for the specific selected Accreditation section will be applied.
Objectives
Upon completion, you will be able to:
- Add a Vendor (see link to separate How To Guide)
- Create an Accreditation
- Associate an Accreditation to a Course
- Select an Accreditation from the Course List
Section 2: Accreditations - How to Guide==
2.1 Add a Vendor
Accreditations are associated with vendors. These can be external, for example a governing body, such as the AMA (American Medical Association) or internal, for example, a specific Client, hospital, division, etc. Vendors are added in the Advanced View > User Management Drop Down menu (& selecting Vendors). For details on how to add a vendor, To Access the Vendors How To Guide click here).
Set up all needed vendor accounts prior to creating Accreditation.
2.2 Create an Accreditation
Each specific Accreditation is created using the Advanced View > Learning Object Drop Down menu (and selecting Accreditations). Each Accreditation will require a name and an association with a previously created vendor. Optional information can store descriptions and an Accreditation Logo.
To Create an Accreditation in the LMS system, follow these steps (Note, if desired Accreditations have previously been created, this step can be skipped):
- 1 - Hover over the Learning Objects Dropdown Menu
- 2 - Click Accreditations
- 3 - This will bring up the Accreditation List screen which displays Accreditations that have previously been added to the system
.
- 4 - Click on the New button near the top right portion of the screen.\
- 5 - This will launch the Accreditation Details screen. The level of detailed entry will vary based on your organizational needs (See Explanation of fields on the next page for next steps.)
Explanation of Fields: Accreditation Details
- Accreditation Name* - The name of the accreditation
- Vendor* - The vendor associated with this accreditation.
- Comments - Any comments about the accreditation.
- Vendor Logo - If desired, a logo can be associated with the Accreditation. Select the browse button to locate a picture format file (e.g. .jpg) from your internal directory system
* Required Fields
- 6 - Enter the required information of Accreditation Name and Vendor.
- 7 - Enter any desired optional information.
- 8 - Click the Save button located near the top right of the screen.
The Accreditation has now been created and will be available in the Accreditation List. Repeat this step as necessary for all Accreditations required.
2.3 Add an Accreditation to a Course
After creating a course, when viewing Course details, there is a section named Available Learning Object Accreditations. If there are Accreditations associated with this course, they will be visible and editable in this section. To associate a new Accreditation with this course, click on the New Learning Object Accreditation button. This will launch the New Learning Object Accreditation Details screen, which will allow you to associate an already created Accreditation and enter, edit and save specific attributes associated with this specific course / accreditation combination (e.g. credit hours).
Note: this guide will assume you have already been trained on how to add and edit courses and create course instances. Accordingly, to add an Accreditation to an existing course in the LMS system, follow these steps:
- 1 - Select the specific Learning Object / Course to which you wish to associate an Accreditation and open the (Course) Learning Object Details Page
- Note: Do NOT select Edit Mode (Do not click on the EDIT button which allows you to edit Course details,but makes Accreditation info read only.
- 2 - Scroll down to the Available Learning Object Accreditations section (in the lower portion of the page).
- 3 - Click on the NewLearning Object Accreditation button on the right side of the Available Learning Object Accreditations section.
- 4 - This will bring up the Add Learning Object Accreditation Details page in a separate (pop-up) browser window. It is here where you specify attributes for this specific Accreditation / Course association. (The level of detailed entry will vary based on your organizational needs. (See Explanation of fields on the next page for next steps.)
Screenshot 09
Explanation of Fields: Add Learning Object Accreditation Details
- Accreditation* - The name of the Accreditation selected from a dropdown list of previously created accreditations.
- Show Comments - A check box which if enabled (Selected) will show comments
- Expiration Date - The date at which the accreditation expires
- Test - If a specific test is required for this particular course / accreditation, it can be selected from the drop-down menu.
- Enforce Retake Logic - if checked if will associate a period of rest between retakes of the test
- Days before Test - If Enforce retake logic is checked, this is the number of days required between test retakes
- Evaluation - If an evaluation is required for this particular course / accreditation, it can be selected from the drop-down menu
- Accreditation #* - The number associated with this particular course / accreditation (If no relevant number, please enter 0)
- Credit units - The credit units for this particular course / accreditation
- Credit Hours - The credit hours for this particular course / accreditation
- Credit Others - Other credits for this particular course / accreditation
- Release Date - The release date
- Passing Score - The score required to be considered passing for this particular course / accreditation
- Retake Attempts - The number of times a user may retake the test. If the maximum is reached and the student does not receive a passing score; that student will be considered to not have passed the course/ accreditation
- Paper Certificate - A certificate that has been previously designed and upon completion can be printed by the user
- * Required Fields
- 5 - Enter the required information of Accreditation and Accreditation #.
- 6 - Enter any desired optional attribute information.
- 7 - Click the Save button located near the top right of the screen to save the attribute association between this particular Course and Accreditation.
- Click the Save and new button if wishing to immediately add another accreditation.
The Learning Object Accreditation has now been added to this course. It will now show in the bottom portion of the Courses Learning Object Details Screen. Repeat this step as necessary for all Accreditations to be applied to each particular course.
2.4 Select an Accreditation
When enrolling in a course, the user will be able to see the Accreditation drop-down box below the Course Name in their Course List (My Courses).Courses). The user simply uses the drop-down to select the specific Accreditation that will apply to them and confirms via a pop-up confirmation. Once confirmed all predefined attributes for the specific selected Accreditation section will be applied.
How to View Accreditation Information Associated with a Course
This manual assumes that users do know how to select and enroll in courses. When accreditations are utilized, however, there will be an additional way to search for course instances associated with accreditations when using the course Advanced Search function. That is, there will be a drop-down box enabling the search to specify an Accreditation one of the search criteria.
In the below screen show, the Accreditations drop-down box is second from the bottom.
- 1 - When a specific course is identified and the Enroll link is selected, the Course info screen will display.
- 2 - About 2/3 of the way down, the associated accreditations will be listed in a scrollable text-box.
- A subset of attributes (e.g. course units, expiration, etc.) will also be visible.
How to Select the User Specific Accreditation for a Course
Once a user enrolled in the course. The new course and course options will appear in their own personal (MyUser Courses)Dashboar / My Task - Course list with a drop-down box asking them to Select Accreditation. This Accreditation drop-down box is just below the Course Name for each course offering Accreditation.
- 1 - The student uses the Accreditation drop-down box to select the Accreditation appropriate to them.
Screenshot 15
- 2 - A separate Message window will pop-up asking the user to confirm the application of the chosen accreditation.
- 3 - If the wrong accreditation was selected, they can click on the Cancel button. Assuming the correct choice was made, the user clicks OK.
When the user takes the course all testing, grading, credits, retake, evaluation and other selected attributes will be those specific to the Accreditation option they chose.
Note: Though more rarely used, Accreditations can be added to ILT courses. The Instructor or Admin can select the Accreditation in the Roster.