Setting up Required Notifications
Each notification type shares some common features.
Reply To: All required course notifications may be sent from the LMS System (the general address or mailbox that all notifications in your system “appear” to come from), or from a specific administrator. If a user chooses to reply to this e-mail, their replies will be sent to the person selected in the list. Click the "Reply To" drop-down arrow and select to whom reply emails will be sent:
Total Size of Required Audience: Click the hyperlink to generate the number of users in the required audience who may receive this notification.
Enable Notification: Check the box to activate the notification. This box must be checked in order for the notification to be sent.
Effective Date: Click the calendar icon and select a date from the calendar to tell the system when this notification can be sent for the first time.
Email Threshold: To use this, enter the maximum number of email messages that the system should deliver. If the actual number of messages to be delivered exceeds the expected count, a notification will be generated to the administrator and the messages will be held. An administrator may then choose to remove or release these held messages through the View Email Queue screen.
If the expected count number is left at 0, the LMS will ignore this box and all generated notifications will be sent.
Carbon Copy Manager: Check to send a copy of the message to the learner’s manager.
If the learner has a blank e-mail address, and the manager does not, the “to” on the e-mail will automatically change to the manager. The LMS will also automatically add the preface, “You were cc’d on this message intended for [learner’s name]’ to the manager’s email.
Email Notification Text: There must be text in both the notification subject and notification text. If either of these fields are blank an email will not be sent.
Time Span Options
The Time Span options vary by notification type and can often be the most confusing part when initially setting up required course notifications. Listed below are the precise rules that the LMS follows when determining when each notification type should be sent based on time span options.
Important
The LMS will never send two types of Required Course notifications to the same user for the same course on the same day. If two types of notifications are scheduled to go out on the same day, the LMS will use the following order to determine which notification should be sent. For best practice tips on how to avoid this duplication when scheduling the notifications, see the Tips and Tricks section.
Managers can receive multiple required notifications on the same day since the suppression of duplicate notifications is tied to the learner. A manager could receive multiple manager reminders about different learners and can also be cc’ed on other notification types, as long as each notification is tied to a unique learner.
Required Notification Hierarchy: (notifications are processed in the order listed below)
- Expired/Expiring
- Past Due
- New Required Learning
- No Enrollment
- No Completion
- Manager
Notification of Required Learning
If a “time span” of 0 (the default) is used, a user will receive this notification on the effective date for this requirement or on the day that they enter the required audience for the course, whichever is later.
When a time span greater than 0 is entered, the LMS will add that many days to the effective date or to the day that the user entered the required audience (aka “membership date”), and the notification will be sent on that date.
The date of membership into the required audience is computed by the following:
If the required audience is defined by domains – the system will look at the latest membership date on the person’s domain record for those domains used to define the requirement.
Example
The required course audience is defined as everyone in the “Technology/ Development” level of the Department domain. Since the sample user, shown below, entered this level of the domain on 3/8/2012, that would be their membership date into this required audience. This domain information can be viewed on the Maintain People and Security screen.
If the user is in the audience through “by person” and not “by domain,” the date the person was added to the “by person” list is used .
If entrance into the required audience is defined by the completion of another resource, then the resource date of completion is the required audience membership date. Examples of this are:
- Membership is “days after pre-requisite completed.”
- Membership is “days after completion.”
Important: A user will receive this notification when the following criteria is met:
- The Resource is Active.
- The Required Audience is active (effective date has been reached).
- The effective date (plus time span) of the notification has been reached.
- The notification has been enabled.
This means that even if the Required Notification is enabled after a user is a member of the Required audience, the user will still receive this notification when it is enabled, even if it is enabled months after a user joined the required audience.
No Enrollment Notification
This reminder has two time span options:
Days after Last Reminder
To calculate when to send this reminder, the system will look at the last time it sent any type of required notification to a select user for the selected resource. The system will then add the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list to the sent date of the last reminder.
Example: “7” is entered into the “Days” drop down list. The Initial Notification of Required Learning was sent on April 5. If the user still has a status of ‘not enrolled’, the user will receive this notification on April 12. If the user still does not select a class date, they will receive this notification again on April 19, and so on until a class date is selected.
The system will continue to periodically send this notification (based on the number of days selected) until the user enrolls in a class date.
Setting the Days value to “one” is equivalent to sending it daily.
Days Prior to Due Date
When this option is selected, the “subsequent reminder” box will automatically appear. To use these two options:
For the First Reminder: the system will look at the completion deadline for each user for this course (as seen on the user’s training plan, and the “completion deadline” column in the manage credit and enrollment screens). The system then takes the completion deadline and subtracts the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list. The notification will be sent on this date.
For Subsequent Reminders: the system will look at the number entered into the Subsequent Reminders field. The system will then send this reminder that many days after the First Reminder was sent. The subsequent reminders will continue to be sent out until a class date is selected.
Example: The learner has a completion deadline of April 30 for the selected resource. The Days Prior to Due Date is set at 15 days, and the Subsequent Reminders is set at Every 4 days.
- The first reminder will be sent on April 15 (15 days prior to due date)
- The subsequent reminders will be sent out on April 19, April 23 and April 27 (assuming the learner does not complete the assignment).
- If the “subsequent reminder” is left at “0” (the default), the user will not receive any subsequent reminders. This essentially inactivates the subsequent reminder feature.
No Completion Notification
This reminder has two time span options:
Days after Last Reminder
To calculate when to send this reminder, the system will look at the last time it sent any type of required notification to a select user for the selected resource. The system will then add the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list to the sent date of the last reminder.
Example: “7” is entered into the “Days” drop down list. The Notification of No Completion was sent on April 5. The user will receive this notification on April 12. If the user still does not complete the course, they will receive this notification again on April 19, and so on until the course is completed.
The system will continue to periodically send this notification (based on the number of days selected) until the user completes the course.
Setting the Days value to “one” is equivalent to sending it daily.
Days Prior to Due Date
When this option is selected, the “subsequent reminder” box will automatically appear. To use these two options:
- For the First Reminder: the system will look at the completion deadline for each user for this course (as seen on the user’s training plan, and the “completion deadline” column in the manage credit and enrollment screens). The system then takes the completion deadline and subtracts the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list. The notification will be sent on this date.
- For Subsequent Reminders: the system will look at the number entered into the Subsequent Reminders field. The system will then send this reminder that many days after the First Reminder was sent. The subsequent reminders will continue to be sent out until the course is completed.
- If the “subsequent reminder” is left at “0” (the default), the user will not receive any subsequent reminders. This essentially inactivates the subsequent reminder feature.
Manager Reminder Notification
This reminder has two time span options:
Days after Last Reminder
To calculate when to send this reminder, the system will look at the last time it sent any type of required notification to a select user for the selected resource. The system will then add the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list to the sent date of the last reminder.
Example: “10” is entered into the “Days” drop down list. If the No Completion reminder was sent on April 15, the manager will receive this notification on April 25.
The system will continue to periodically send this notification (based on the number of days selected) until the user completes the course or the completion deadline is reached.
Setting the Days value to “one” is equivalent to sending it daily.
Days Prior to Due Date
When this option is selected, the “subsequent reminder” box will automatically appear. To use these two options:
- For the First Reminder: the system will look at the completion deadline for each user for this course (as seen on the user’s training plan, and the “completion deadline” column in the manage credit and enrollment screens). The system then takes the completion deadline and subtracts the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list. The notification will be sent on this date.
- For Subsequent Reminders: the system will look at the number entered into the Subsequent Reminders field. The system will then send this reminder that many days after the First Reminder was sent. The subsequent reminders will continue to be sent out until the course is completed or the completion deadline is reached.
- If the “subsequent reminder” is left at “0” (the default), the user will not receive any subsequent reminders. This essentially inactivates the subsequent reminder feature.
Past Due Notification
This reminder is generated after the Completion Deadline has passed.
Days after Due Date is the only time span option. To calculate the send date:
oFor the First Reminder: The system will look at the completion deadline date for each user for this course (as seen on the user’s training plan, and the “completion deadline” column in the manage credit and enrollment screens). The system takes the due date, and then adds the number of days defined in the “days” drop down list. The result is the date on which the notification will be sent.
Important: If the Past Due Notifications are enabled after a learner’s first past due reminder was scheduled to go out, no past due notifications will be sent to that learner. There is no way to have the system “catch up” on missed past due notifications.
Example: The first reminder is set at 1 Day after the Due Date. Learner’s completion deadline was March 31. Past Due Notification was enabled on April 2. Even though the learner is still Past Due, they will never receive a past due notification because the notification was not enabled until after April 1.
oFor Subsequent Reminders: the system will look at the number entered into the Subsequent Reminders field. The system will then send this reminder that many days after the First Reminder was sent. The subsequent reminders will continue to be sent out until the course is completed
oIf the “subsequent reminder” is left at “0” (the default), the user will not receive any subsequent reminders. This essentially inactivates the subsequent reminder feature.
Expired Course Notification
This reminder has two options for the timing of the notification.
Upon Expiration
oThe system will look at the expiration date for each user for this course (as seen in the “completion deadline” column on the manage credit and enrollment screens). The notification will be sent on the expiration (completion deadline) date or on the effective date of the notification, whichever date is lateroThis message can repeat based on the expiration period. In other words, if the course expires every 365 days, this notification can repeat once every 365 days.
Visibility on Development Plan
The system will look at the user’s training plan, and determine if the course is visible (as defined in the “Expiration Appearance” policy for the course). The notification will be sent on the day that the course becomes visible or on the effective date of the notification, whichever date is later.
This message can repeat based on the expiration period. In other words, if the course expires every 365 days, this notification can repeat once every 365 days.
Once the Expired Course Notification has been sent, the other notification types (except for the initial Required Learning Notification) can be used as follow up reminders for the expired course.
Important: If this notification is enabled after a learner was scheduled to receive it, the notification will not be sent to that learner. There is no way to have the system “catch up” on missed expiration notifications.