Recurrent / Repeat Training
ABOUT RECURRENT TRAINING EXPIRY, DUE, and VALID DATES:
EXPIRY DATE: When the old training expires.
ASSIGNMENT DATE: When the new/recurrent training is assigned.
COMPLETION DATE: When a student finishes a training module or course.
DUE DATE: Then the new/recurrent training has be completed by.
VALIDITY PERIOD: The period between when the old training Expires and the new training is Due, IF a 'grace period' for doing so is allowed.
Recurrent Training relates exclusive to training courses that EXPIRE and must be repeated or re-done for an employee to remain 'current' or 'valid' for their job.
When employee takes a course, it EXPIRES after a certain amount of time. That Expiry Date does not change. For online modules, you can set the expiry date for a specific date, or a set amount of time. The set amount of time (typically one or two years) is measured AFTER the student COMPLETES the course.
For recurrent training, you need to Assign the student a NEW training module or Re-Assign the same one. But just like in non-computer world, think of it like a workbook. When the student takes a course, they fill in blanks and such in a paper workbook. Next year, when they have to take the course again, you don't just give them back their old workbook and tell them to write more in it, you give them a NEW workbook. Same online: you assign them a NEW Module, whether it's a different updated module (recommended) or you Re-Assign the same module, which then the computer gives them a fresh NEW copy of that same old module.
So, for example, let's say that module Expires in one year. You need to assign them new training within a certain time period and they need to complete it within a certain time period for them to remain 'current' or for their training to remain 'valid'.
EXAMPLE: You assign John "Winter Operations", which expires in 1 year. You assigned it to John on March 1 2021. John signs in and starts it on March 5, and then he completes it on March 15. This module will Expire on March 15 2022. The regulations say that the Recurrent training can be done up to 60 days before the old training expires, which is Jan 15 2022. So you can assign John a new "Winter Operations" module any time AFTER Jan 15, 2022. The regulations also say that the recurrent training has to be completed by the end of the calendar month in which the old training Expires, so in this case, the new module is DUE (has a Due Date) by end of day on March 31, 2022.
[OK, here's the note on Transport Canada's CARs: The poorly written language in this case says the training has to be done "by the first day of the following month", which is confusing and awkward. We won't get into a debate on this here, but instead we will use 'by the end of the calendar month', and we STRONGLY recommend you use this too. Or EARLIER, actually]
So, back to our example, you assign Jon the "Winter Operations" manual some time after January 15, 2022 (probably more like after March 1, 2022), with the DUE DATE for this new module being not later than March 31, 2022. The old module still EXPIRES on March 15, 2022, BUT John's training is still 'Valid' as long as he completes the new module by March 31, 2022. The time between March 15 and March 31 is simply a 'grace period' you have to get the new training completed by, or also called a period where the training remains VALID. If John does not complete the new training by end of the day on March 31, technically his Winter Operations training expired on March 15.
There is an option to 'Retain Same Expiry Date'. When this is used, then the Module Expiry date can be the same each year as long as the recurrent training is completed within the allowable time, or the 'Validity Period'. In our example, as long as John completes his new Winter Operations module any time between Jan 15 and March 31, 2022, then the NEW module can be set to Expire on March 15 2023.
MANUAL RECURRENT TRAINING ASSIGNMENT:
To Re-Assign a module so a student completes it for a second or more time, and keep the previous record of doing that module, use the RE-ASSIGN button.
In Registrar role, or Manager role if assigning training is enabled for Manager in your system:
1. Click People tab 2. Click Students 3. Find the Student you want to re-assign the training to, pull down their ‘Actions’ menu, and select ‘Manage Training’ 4. A new page opens up. There are two main tabs: Assigned and Available. Click on ‘Assigned’ tab 5. Find the module(s) you want to re-assign, and click the Re-Assign button (at left) for the module(s), then click the ‘Next’ button at the bottom 6. Carry on with the steps of setting up Due Date and such for the module(s)
AUTO RECURRENT TRAINING ASSIGNMENT
You can have the system automatically assign training modules when the previously completed ones are about to expire, thus enabling recurrent online training automatically.
In Registrar role (or Manager role if the Actions menu is enabled for Manager in Registrar/Settings):
1. Click on Content tab at left 2. Click Modules tab 3. Find the Module you want to set up and click on its calendar icon to open ‘Module Schedule'
Automated Recurrent training settings are only applicable to modules which have an expiry date (commonly 1 or 2 years). So the first step is to set up the Expiry date for the first module. Turn ON ‘Expiring Module’, then set the expiry time period. This is measured from the moment the student successfully completes and submits the module. For example, you can set it to expire in 1 year (there are other options too, like the first day of the month following, etc.), so if the student starts the module on Feb 10 2015 and finishes it on Feb 25 2015, then it will expire on Feb 25, 2016.
Now you can turn on the Auto Recurrent feature and set it up in these steps:
1. Select which module to assign for the recurrent training (from list of published modules) or you can choose to assign the same module again* (please read the warning notice about this*) 2. Set when the recurrent module is to be assigned. This is based from the expiry date of the current module. Example: The current module expires February 25, 2016, so here you would set the Recurrent module to be assigned 60 days before the current module expires. 3. Set the Due Date for the new module. To make sure the employee stays current with their training, you would obviously want them to complete the New recurrent module before the current one expires. However, sometimes there is a grace period you can take into account. Typically, the Due Date is set about 2 weeks prior to the current module’s expiry. 4. Set up the Email Notification of when the Recurrent module is assigned to the student. 5. Click the ‘Save’ button at bottom.
IMPORTANT: As this is not ‘mission critical’ business operations software, you must have an alternate process (independent from this system) to track and ensure your staff remain current with their training.
NOTE: We do not recommend re-assigning the same module for recurrent training. Instead, we recommend making a copy of the old module, updating it, and then assigning that to fulfill your recurrent training. Re-assigning the same training may not be considered as adequate recurrent training in some instances or jurisdictions.
**We strongly advise you to use Auto Recurrent feature on a new, separate module that will be used exclusively as Auto Recurrent. If you have existing module you wish to make Auto Recurrent, we recommend a 'Save-As' to make a copy which you then make the Auto Recurrent version of the module.**