About Due Dates

The assignment due date is the due date of a training item assigned to a learner. The assignment due date affects when training is considered overdue, when e-mail notifications are sent, and when the training is listed under the Training tab on the learner's Frontline desktop. The assignment due date is calculated automatically based on the Due Date rule that takes into account a number of configuration options.

Due Date Rule

The due date rule simplifies training administration as new training items can be assigned to people who have completed all training items in an existing skillsets. New training items should be added to skillsets with component due dates in the future (one month by default). Since these due dates are later than the curriculum due dates of the existing people, the new training items are assigned to these people with new component due dates. When the these same skillsets are assigned to new learners in the future, their curriculum due dates would be later (one month by default) than any of the component due dates, therefore, for new employees the curriculum due dates would be used.

Assignment due dates are calculated using the steps provided below:

The skillset component due date is compared with the curriculum due date and the later of the two dates is chosen.
If the period due from assignment has been entered on the skillset components details form, it is added to the date chose in step 1.

Note:

If a learner has a history record for the assignment that has a later expiration date than the date calculated above, expiration date is used as the assignment due date. The learner is always automatically given credit for any completed, unexpired training (unless the due date is enforced)
If a learner is assigned the same training item multiple times (either directly or via two or more different skillsets), the curriculum due date of the directly assigned training item and the component due dates are compared and the earlier due date becomes the assignment due date. If the earlier date is the component due date of a skillset that is part of a job, then the due date rule is followed, so future employees are not assigned training with past dates. This complex logic can make it difficult to troubleshoot the source of the assignment due date, therefore, it is recommended to avoid adding the same training item multiple times to a learner's curriculum.

Example of the Due Date Rule

Scenario:

An administrator assigns the "All Employees" skillset to all employees. Existing employees completed this skillset when they joined the company prior to 12/31/2017. On 1/1/2018, the administrator decides to train all employees, existing and future, on a new Ergonomics training course. The existing employees need to have a due date of 2/1/2018 while future employees will complete this training as they join the company.

Resolution:

The administrator will add the new Ergonomics training item to the existing "All Employees" skillset and accept the due date of one month. Employees who have completed this skillset based on past curriculum due dates will be assigned the new training with a due date of 2/1/2018.

When a new employee joins the company, after the Ergonomics training item has been added to the "All Employees skillset, they are assigned the same skillset and have the default curriculum due date of one month after it is assigned. Example: A new employee joins the company on 5/14/2018 and is assigned the "All Employees" skillset on the same day with a default due date of one month. The due date for the new employee will be 6/14/2018, since that is later than the component due date of 2/1/2018.

Note: The default due date of one month in the future can be changed to any future date if necessary. Only training items with due dates less than 60 days will be seen by learners under the training tab.

Where Due Dates are Entered

Due dates can ONLY be entered on two forms described below.

Form Name	Field	Default or Recommended Value
Skillset Components Details Form	(Skillset Component) Due Date	One month from the date the component is added.
Curriculum Form	(Curriculum) Due Date	One month from the date the curriculum item is added to a learner's curriculum.

Factors Impacting Assignment Due Dates

The assignment due date is calculated based on the learner's training history and entries in the fields on the forms described below.

Form Name	Path(s) from the Main Menu	Fields
Skillset Components Details Form	Curriculum > Skillsets > Components	(Skillset Component) Due date, Retest Period, Period Due from Assignment, Enforce box.
Curriculum Form	People > People Information > Curriculum OR Curriculum > Jobs > People Curriculum > Skillsets > People Curriculum > Training Items > People	(Curriculum) Due Date
Training Item Form	Curriculum > Training Items	Retest Period

Retest Period Rule

The Retest Period field is an optional field used to configure recurring training items. A retest period can ONLY be entered on the Training Item and Skillset Components forms. The LMS module treats them as if it is never complete. As soon as the training item with a retest period is completed, it is re-assigned with the next date. The next due date is calculated by adding the current retest period to the training taken date (unless the due date is enforced). When calculating the next due date, the retest period on the Skillset Components Form takes precedence.

If a retest period field is blank on both forms, training is assigned only once. It is best to enter the retest period on the skillset components form for all recurring training. The benefits of entering the retest period on the skillset components are described below.

The same training item can be assigned with different retest periods via different skillsets.

Administrators can view and control all factors that impact assignment due dates from the Skillset Components Form.

The Skillsets Components Form is useful for configuring refresher training, using either the initial training content or new training content.

Note:When assigning company library or public library training items to learners, their forms many not be visible (if outside access permissions). It this is the case, add the items as components of a skillset since the Skillset Components Form allows for administrators to search from the company and public libraries. Then enter the desired retest period in the Skillsets Components From.

Period Due from Assignment

The Period Due from Assignment is an optional field used to help administrators stagger training items in a skillset and can ONLY be entered on the Skillset Components Form. The period due from assignment is the number of months that are added to the skillset component due date or curriculum due date to calculate the assignment due date. The assignment due date for each training item is calculated by adding the period due from assignment to the due date derived from the due date rule.

Note: The period due from assignment is used only when the training item is initially assigned, it is not used when a training item is reassigned for recurring training. After a training item is completed one time, the retest period rule is used to calculate the next assignment due date.

Enforce Due Date

The Enforce checkbox is an optional setting used to enforce the due date and retest period exactly as entered for the training item component for a recurring training item, regardless of the learners training history. Due date and retest period are mandatory when Enforce is selected. The period due from assignment does not apply to an enforced component, therefore, the field becomes disabled. The learner's due date is exactly as shown on the Skillset Components Form.

Enforce allows the administrator to deliver recurring training on a specific date, regardless of the date training was completed previously. Any enforced training can be taken only when it appears under the Training tab on the learners Frontline desktop 60 days before the enforced due date. It cannot be taken any earlier from the Quick links or libraries. When enforcing a due date for the first time, the due date entered much be a future date.

The retest period on the training item form or for duplicate components (same training item assigned via other skillsets) is ignored when enforce is checked.

Modifying Due Dates

There are other situations where an administrator may need to modify due dates after they are initially assigned. Administrators can affect the assignment and the assignment due dates for large groups of people by changing the component due date on the Skillsets Component Form.

Usually a learner's curriculum will be built using a job such as the learner's primary job. The curriculum due date in this case will typically be set based on the date the learner joined the company or moved to the current job. The learner's training assignments will be made using the skillsets and training items that are components of the job. The initial assignments will be made using the curriculum due date since that would be the later date. If period due from assignment is used in the skillsets, it will be added to the curriculum due dates to stagger assignments. However, the learner's future assignments will inherit any new skillset components due dates.

Summary

Any learner's or group of learners' curriculum can be modified at any time by changing the people curriculum item's component forms.

Learner's assignments are updated immediately.

Special situation: When a skillset change impacts more than 10,000 records (the number of skillset components changed or added multiplied by the number of learners), a batch update job will be set up automatically. This situation occurs sometimes when updating from the Skillset Components Form which has been assigned to a large number of learners. The administrator will be notified that a batch update job has been set to run during the night and will receive an e-mail the next morning upon its completion.