Certifications facilitate the creation of a pathway for learning by acting as a container for a set of courses. Certifications are only valid for a certain amount of time, after which they will prompt the learner to re-certify.
There may be times when there is an updated version of a course within a certification. This knowledge article outlines how to make the change and the impact when a course change is required. The steps to archive a certification are also covered in the article.
Updating courses in a certification
To update a course in a certification, go to the content tab for the certification -> add the replacement course -> delete the original course.
Repeat this step for the recertification path.
The impact of making a course change
Where a learner has completed the course and is certified, the learner, when recertifying, will be presented with the replacement course.
Where a learner is partway through the course, progress on the original course is retained on their record of learning. The learner is unenrolled from the original course and cannot complete the course. When entering the certification the learner will be presented with the replacement course to complete. Upon completion of the replacement course the learner will be certified.
The Record of Learning when a course in a certification is in progress and is replaced with a new version of the course:
The Record of Learning confirming the learner is certified on completion of the replacement course:
When there is more than one course within the certification set, if the certification is in progress, there will be a requirement to complete the replacement course even if the original course was completed.
For example, I have a certification with a course set containing 2 courses, course A and course B. Course A is replaced with a new version. The learner has already completed the original course A and is required to complete Course B to be certified. When the learner enters the certification they will see Course B but also the replacement course. The learner will have to complete the replacement course to complete the certification.
When entering the certification to complete the remaining course in the certification:
The record of learning shows that the original course has been completed along with the second course in the certification:
The certification however remains outstanding until the replacement course is completed.
Replacing certifications
Changing courses in a certification can be confusing for learners who are partway through the certification. To avoid this confusion a new certification can be created.
To remove visibility of the original certification, whilst retaining the information, the following steps should be taken:
Go to the Details tab and add an Available Until date, this will prevent learners accessing the certification.
Go to the Notifications tab and disable all notifications associated with the certification.
Please note, certifications were designed to remain open and will continue to work in the background. Learners will at some point fail to recertify and will report as expired. If you do not wish to report on this status for the certification, please ensure the certification is excluded from your reports.
Totara do have an improvement request on their public tracker to review the ability to close a certification down, reference TL-17449.