Assigning learning paths with automatic assignments

The automatic assignments feature will enable you to use audience groups to assign training with a deadline for existing users and new joiners. If you are using dynamic audience group this is a great way to make sure new starters get their training on their first day. 

This article will explain how to use the automatic assignment options, You can use a variation of options depending on your requirements. You will need to configure the options in the Basic Automatic Assignments part of this article as a minimum. The fields in the Advanced Automatic Assignments section are optional but really useful for things like reassignment or hiding assignments. Scroll to the bottom of this article to watch the tutorial video for examples.

1. Basic Automatic assignments
2. Advanced Automatic Assignments

To assign a learning path using automatic assignments for existing staff and new joiners you first you need to locate the learning path via content management.

Click on Management console and then the Content Management option from the right hand menu.

You can then use the search form to search for an existing learning path using a keyword or you choose a domain and hit search to find all learning paths in that domain.

Click on the learning path code you are looking for and click on the Audience option from the right hand menu.

You can then use Automatic Assignments form to choose your assignment options. 

Basic Automatic Assignment

Active and Current Users

If the learning path has been assigned manually you will be able to see if there are current and active assignments. If you choose to set up Automatic Assignments for learning path that has already been manually assigned you will need to make sure that any that any audience groups you use include these existing users. Adding an audience group without these users will delete the manual assignment, if these users are included then they will be included in any reassignment schedule but will retain their existing deadline dates.

Audience groups

Click to scroll or begin typing to search for an audience group that you want to use to assign the learning path. You can pick multiple audience groups by holding control and clicking to select.

Category 

Click to scroll or begin typing to search for a category you want to assign your learning path to - this will be in the tile or banner the learning path will appear behind.

Initial release date

Day of launch or roll out of the learning path. Click on and use the date picker to select the date. This will be used as a basis for the system to figure out the auto assignment start date**.

Initial deadline period

Click to select or use your keyboard to type number of days for the days for the deadline period for existing users.

New joiner deadline period

Click to select or use your keyboard to type number of days for the days for the deadline period for any future new  joiners.

The behaviour for setting the deadline date will follow the below:

• If the initial release date  is greater than today and the user start date is less than the auto assignment start date, then deadline = auto assignment start date plus initial deadline days

At this point You can now click the button to Set Automatic Assignment Rules  to assign the learning path or continue to the use the additional options. A pop up box will appear that will show you a summary of your changes and any delete assignments or added assignments. Click OK if you wish to continue. 

Additional Options
Activation

If ticked assignments will become active immediately, if its unticked you can specify how many days before the deadline the assignments should become active (before an assignment becomes active it will not appear on the user's portal, will not get picked up by invite emails and will not show in management reports based on assignments)

Link assignments to the completion of a previous activity

If you want to only assign the learning path once another learning path has been assigned click to scroll or search and select the learning path. You will then see some other options.

• if you select an activity, the deadline for these assignments will be set to the completion date of the previous activity plus the deadline period you specify
• if completion required is set to yes, the learning path will only be assigned to users who have completed the previous activity - if they haven't already completed it, but complete it in future the learning path will get assigned at that time
• If completion required is set to no, the learning path will be assigned to everyone in the selected audience groups and the deadline for those who have not completed the previous activity will be based on the standard initial/new joiner deadline periods (once an assignment is created the deadline will not change, so if someone completes the previous activity after the assignment is made there deadline will not update)
  
  

Reassignment

The default will be no reassignment but you can use the drop down to choose to reassign every year up to every 5 years. The reassignment can be based on the previous deadline date or the previous completion. You will then have the option to choose a reassignment deadline period in days.