Cohort - Create/Edit - Step 3 - Structure

When creating a cohort, the Structure step enables the administrator to configure the curriculum structure and settings for the cohort.

To create a cohort, go to Admin > Tools > Learning > Catalog Management > Programs and Cohorts. Then, click the View Cohorts icon in the Options column for the appropriate program. Then, click the Create New Cohort link.

The cohort structure is pre-populated with the program structure, but can be edited if necessary.

Update Sequence

Click the Update Sequence icon to the right of the cohort title to update any changes made to the sequence value of items added to the cohort structure. See the Item Sequence section below for more information about configuring the sequence value of an item.

Add Section to Structure

Click the Add Section icon to add a section to the structure. A section can be used to differentiate or organize groups of training.

Enter a name and instructions for the section and click Save to add the section to the structure.

Add Training to Section

To add a training item to the section:

  1. Click the Add Training icon .
  2. Use the search criteria to select the desired training. You can search by training type, title, description. Note: Only postings in Old Connect can be added to a curriculum as a learning object. New Connect postings cannot be added.
  3. You can also add free form training. To add free form training, enter a training title and click the Add button. This acts as an external training item in the user's transcript.
  4. After selecting the training, click Done.

Add Note to Section

Click the Add Note icon in the section heading to add a note to the section. Enter a title, note text, instruction text, and a due date for the note.

Edit Item Details

Click the Edit icon to edit the Title and Instructions. For sections, you can also set the number of items that are required for the section (i.e., the number of items the user must complete to complete the section).

For LOs, you can also edit the due date options for the LO. Within programs and cohorts, only fixed due dates for LOs may be applied. Relative due dates are excluded.

  • Do not allow next step until due date - When a due date is set for the item, this option is enabled. When this option is selected, a user does not have the option to launch the next item in the cohort until the due date of the previous item has passed.
    • When a due date is set for the item, this option can be enabled.
    • This functionality should only be used if items within a section each have a unique sequence value.
    • Auto-Register should be turned off.

Remove Item

Click the Remove icon to remove the item or section from the structure.

Item Sequence

Next to each section and LO, there is a sequence value. This sequence value determines the order in which a user must complete the items in the structure. Items with a sequence number of 1 are completed first. In addition, the system always displays items in their sequence order.

  • Entering sequential numbers mandates that the sections or LOs be completed in a set order.
  • Entering the same number for multiple sections or LOs allows users to take the items in any order.

Item and Section Display Order

Drag and drop the items and sections to define the display order of the sections, LOs, and other items such as notes.

The system always displays items in their sequence order. Because of this, the display order can only be changed for items that have the same sequence values within a section. For example, if all items in a section have a sequence value of 1, then the display order can be modified because the user can complete them in any sequence. If all items have different sequence values (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4), then the display order cannot be modified for these items.

Options

Next to each item, the following options may be available:

  • Pre-Approve - Select this option to exempt users from requiring approvals to register for training within this cohort once the cohort is approved. If this option is selected, it overrides the approval settings for the course. Note: This option is not available for notes because there is no approval process associated with these items.
  • Auto-Register - Select this option to allow the LO to be automatically approved and registered so that the user can launch it immediately without having to activate it. The Pre-Approve option must be selected for this option to be available. Note: If the Auto-Register option is selected for at least one LO within a cohort and a user is assigned to the cohort via learning assignment, then the user's cohort status is immediately set to In Progress. This is because the user is automatically registered for at least one LO within the cohort.
  • Auto-Launch - Selecting this option automatically launches that LO following the completion of the previous item. This feature does not function if two LOs in a section have the same sequence number. The Auto-Register option must be selected for this option to be available. This option is not available for the following LO types:
    • Quick Course
    • Event
    • Curriculum
    • Posting - Note: Only postings in Old Connect can be added to a curriculum as a learning object. New Connect postings cannot be added.
    • Material

Next or Cancel

Editing Considerations

When the structure of a cohort is modified after the cohort is saved, the following occurs:

  • When a learning object (LO) that has not been versioned is removed from a cohort, the following occurs on a user's transcript:
    • If the user has not started the LO, then the LO is removed from the user's transcript.
    • If the user has started or completed the LO, then the LO remains on the user's transcript as a standalone item.
    • The user's progress and status within the cohort is updated to reflect the removal of the LO.
  • When a LO that has been versioned is removed from a cohort, the following occurs on a user's transcript:
    • If the user has not started the LO, then the LO is removed from the user's transcript.
    • If the user has started or completed the LO, then the new version of the LO remains on the user's transcript as a standalone item.
    • The user's progress and status within the cohort is updated to reflect the removal of the LO.
  • When a LO is added to a cohort, the LO is added to the user's cohort. The user's progress and status within the cohort is updated to reflect the addition of the LO.
  • If the Due Date for a LO is modified, the email triggers that are associated with this date are updated to fire at the appropriate time.
  • When an administrator edits the structure of an existing cohort, the changes are briefly queued and then processed. If an administrator attempts to edit the Structure page of a cohort that has unprocessed structure changes, a warning message is displayed at the top of the page. A cohort's structure can only be modified and saved if there are no unprocessed structure changes for that cohort.