Training Calendar is a type of App which allows you to create and manage courses of every kind, whether it's onboarding, Lunch and Learns, corporate training, or fun events.
In This Article
In order to get a course to the point where staff can register, there are multiple steps involved to allow for course management, notifications, and permissions. These are outlined below.
Create Training Calendar App
Before you can add training courses, you first need to add the Training Calendar App following the general process to add an App (available to intranet Admins):
- Click on the Admin icon in the Toolbar.
- Click the Assets tab. You'll now see all of the sites in your intranet - the Home or main site, plus all additional sites.
- Click on the card for the site where you want to add the App.
- Click the + icon next to the Apps button, as shown below.
- You'll now see all of the Apps available to be added to that site. Click the card for the Training App to add it.
- You'll land on a Create New App page showing the card for the Training App with the default name Training. (Note that each App is a template; when you create and rename you’re just changing the App you created, leaving the original App template untouched.)
- If you just want to give the App a name and/or description and come back to it later, click Create. You'll end up back on the Apps page and can navigate where you want to go.
- If you want to give the App a name and/or description and start making changes to the App settings straight away, click Build. You'll end up on the Summary page where you can change all of the App settings as noted below.
Keep in mind that when you add an App to your site it isn't automatically added to the Global or Site navigation. You'll need to add it to the navigation, as explained in the Create navigation article.
Depending on the volume of training your organization offers to staff, you may want to create a Site specifically for training which will function as a one-stop shop for employees, allowing staff to view all courses, register, access resources such as documents and tests, etc. Learn more about creating Sites.
Training Calendar Properties Options
When you're in the Training App, hover over the Admin icon, then click App Admin and click Properties. This area allows you to set various options, including:
- choose whether content in the Training App should be included in intranet site searches
- set the default view for the Training calendar
- allow users to remove themselves from courses and waitlists
- enable either application owners or course managers to view employee numbers /IDs (i.e. in case this is sensitive information)
- allow everyone to register external users
- various pagination and other display options
Be sure to click Save to retain your changes.
Manage Training Categories
All training courses must be placed in a Category; categories are useful groupings for organizing courses as well as assigning permissions, workflow, and advertising options. When it's created, the Training Calendar App starts with an Employee Training category by default. You can rename this Category, and add as many additional Categories as you like.
To access Categories, when you're in Training hover over the Admin icon in the Toolbar, select Manage Folders and you'll see all existing Categories in the App. Here you can:
- click either the Category name (1) to go to the Category page where you can rename, add or alter the description, and change the Category workflow, security, or advertise options
- click the red icon (2) to delete a Category - which will also delete all courses and permissions for that Category
When you hover over the Admin icon you can also select Add New Category, which allows you to name, describe, and Save a new category, then immediately apply security, workflow, and advertise options.
Security
As with all Apps, Categories (i.e. folders) can have security associated with them; App Owners can also be assigned. Learn more about assigning and managing App security.
Approval Workflow
Approval Workflow can be helpful when approvals or notifications are needed to create a course. Within the workflow, you can have Approval Stages or Send Notifications.
Approval Stage
The Approval Stage is used when action is required, this can be assigned to a group (only one group allowed per stage) or to a user (unlimited number of users can be added).
- Single Decision - you can list a single user, a number of individual users, or a group, but only one person will need to approve the stage.
- All Managers ANY ORDER - you can list a number of users or add a group to this list, and all users listed (including all members of the group) will be required to approve. Each manager will be notified and can approve at any time.
- All Managers IN ORDER - you can list a number of users, or add a group to this list and all users listed (including all members of the group) will be required to approve. Each manager will be notified once it's their turn to approve the course. Once they've approved the course, the next manager will receive a notification to approve.
Send Notifications
Send Notifications is used to send an email notification to alert a group or a user. You can use any number of these stages as part of your workflow.
Advertise Options
Advertising allows notification of a new course session to the intranet Home Page. Advertising is enabled on a Category basis, so you might choose to allow advertising for one type of event (e.g. company-wide events) but not another (e.g. departmental first aid).
Other options for advertising include:
- Default to "Advertise Now" - when a course session is added, it will automatically be advertised unless its creator deselects 'advertise'. Note that the default advertising will only apply for those Categories which are advertised.
- Default thumbnail graphic - when course sessions are advertised, a graphic can appear beside the advertising. You can upload a graphic which will automatically appear beside each advertised item. Even if you add a default graphic, you can permit users to add their own graphic - or choose not to.
- Archiving - choose the number of days that an item will remain in advertising before being archived.
Email Notifications
Within the calendar there are many different email notifications that can be sent out to notify the right people about registration, waitlisting, approval etc. Default emails are set up to be sent out, but these can be modified and customized as you like. This provides full control over what is sent to your users, supervisors, instructors, etc.
To view the notification emails and customize them:
- Hover over the Admin icon in the Toolbar.
- Click App Admin (this will show if you have Admin access).
- Click Email Notifications.
- You'll now see the names of all available Email Notifications, as well as a brief description and whether they've been disabled or are applicable.
- To customize a notification, click its title and alter the wording as needed. Note that you can automatically include course-specific information by including fields such as [course title].
Types of Email Notifications
There are many different email notifications available. You’ll need to enable at least one of the notifications if you want to have emails sent from this application.
All notifications and their purpose have been listed below:
- [ChangeSession] Important Notice: Date Change For ... All registered students will receive this when a session changes.
- [DeletedSession] Important Notice: Date Cancelled For ... All registered students will receive this when a session has been cancelled.
- [MaxWaitlist] Waitlist Max Reached For ... Course Manager for the course will receive this when the 'Waitlist Notify' limit has been reached.
- [NewSession] Register For ... All waitlisted students will receive this when a new session as has been created.
- [OpenSeat] Open Seat For ... All waitlisted students will receive this when a seat has opened up for one of the sessions for a particular course.
- [PendingNotice] Your Registration is Pending For ... Students will receive this when their registration is pending supervisor approval.
- [StudentApproval] Approval Required For ... Supervisors will receive this notification when a subordinate has registered for a course requiring supervisor approval.
- [StudentApproved] Registration Approved For ... Students will receive this when their registration request for a course has been approved by their supervisor.
- [StudentCancelled] Student Cancelled For ... Course instructors will receive this notification when a student has cancelled their registration for a course.
- [StudentConfirm] Student Has Registered For ... The student being registered and the course instructor will receive this notification.
- [StudentDeclined] Registration Declined For ... Students will receive this when their registration request for a course has been declined by their supervisor.
- [StudentMoved] Student Moved to Waitlist For ... Students in the waitlist and the course instructor will receive this notification.
- [StudentNotification] Student Registration For ... The course contact and Supervisor will receive this notification.
- [StudentRemoved] Student Removed For ... All registered/waitlisted students, course instructors, and managers will receive this notification when a student has been removed from a course.
- [SupervisorNotice] Supervisor Notification For ... Supervisors of subordinates registered for a course with 'Supervisor Notify' enabled will receive this email.
- [WaitlistConfirm] Employee Added to Waitlist For ... All waitlisted students and the course instructor will receive this notification when a student has been moved to the waitlist.
- [WaitlistRemoved] Employee Removed From Waitlist For ... Course instructor and the individual being removed will receive this notification when the waitlisted student has been removed.
Add a Course
Before an Admin can Add a Course, there must be at least one Category in the App, as noted at the beginning of this article. Once you have a Category, you can follow this process:
- Within the Training App, Add Course is listed on the right. Click on the Category name in which you want to create the course.
- Fill out the Course information as follows:
- Title - required field; ideally this should be descriptive and specific
- Short Description - will display in advertising and searches
- Description - full course description; can include text, headings, links, images, etc.
- Location - may be relevant to add the field here or when you create a session for this course
- Class Size - the number of seats available for the course (i.e. number of students who can register). Once the class size is reached, the course will be flagged as FULL. This a required field, but if you aren't yet ready to open up the class or to specify numbers, click the Disable Registrations box to disable the requirement.
- Waitlist Notify - Users can place themselves on a waitlist for the course if there are no course session dates scheduled, if the dates don't fit their schedule, or if the sessions are full. The Waitlist Notify number sets the number when the Course Manager is notified; if you want the Course Manager to be notified with every addition to the waitlist, set this field to "1". When more session dates are created for the course or if a student cancels a registration and frees up a seat, the waitlist will be notified via email (if notification emails are enabled). This is a required field, unless the Disable Waitlist box is checked.
- Course Cost - optional field. If there is an associated cost, users will need to enter an account number for the cost of the course.
- Supervisor Approval and Supervisor Notification - If the user's profile has a supervisor assigned, you can set Supervisor Approval where the supervisor will be notified via email to approve/decline the registration. Alternatively, you can select to only notify the supervisor of the registration (i.e. no approval required).
- Student Comments - details you'd like to provide directly to students when they register (e.g. required advance reading, supplies, how to unregister, etc.).
- Link and File - additional information you can provide to students.
- Instructor -
- Course Manager - same permissions and notifications as the Instructor, but this person would just be managing the course and not teaching it.
- All users can view registrants - checking this box allows students to see who else has registered for the course.
- Tags - completely optional, but may help your course to be found in search. You can adjust tag settings by hovering over the Admin icon, clicking App Admin and Tagging.
- Click Preview to review your settings.
- If all settings look correct, click Publish to post the course.
- You'll be provided with an option at this point to immediately create a Session Date for your course, as in the next section of this article. Select yes or no.
- Click Finish to complete the Course process.
Edit a Course
You can easily return to your course to edit information. Follow these steps:
- When you're in the Training Calendar, locate Categories on the right.
- Click the orange triangle beside Categories to expand it.
- Click the orange triangle beside the Category which has the Course you want to edit.
- Click on the course name.
- Click the edit pencil to the right of the course name.
- Make any changes as necessary.
- Click the Save button to finalize the edits.
Add Session Dates
After creating a Course, you'll need to add Session Dates so users can see when the course is available, pick a time slot that best suits their availability, and register to attend. Before creating a session, be clear on how the course and sessions will be structured. Some key questions are:
- Will the course be broken up into individual classes where different course material will be covered?
- Will you be offering the same classes at different times or on different days?
- Will the classes be offered in different locations?
You can either add Session Dates immediately after creating a Course, or if you have to return to do it later, access the course by following steps #1-4 above then clicking Session Dates > [ create new session ]. To build a Session, you'll need to add:
- Session Name - this name will appear when a user registers for the class.
- Date - specify the date with the start and end time of when the session will occur. Sessions can hold one date (i.e. users can choose between available session dates) or multiple dates (i.e. all users must attend all dates). If you need to add a multi-date session, you can add more dates after submission
- Label - the Label will be displayed on the calendar. If you want to specify a location for the class, or what the title of the class is for this particular session, use the Label field to show this.
- Advertise - choose whether you want the Session to be advertised on the Home Page (will appear in What's New or an App Feed for training if there is one in place).
Did You Know Videos
After clicking Publish to finish, your Session will display on the Course page. From here you can:
- click Change (1) to change the name of the Session
- click [add another date] (2) to add another date to the session - e.g. if you have a course that runs for two days
- click the edit pencil (3) if you want to alter the Session date, time, label, or advertising
- click the red delete icon (4) if you want to delete the Session
Note that if there were Session Dates that occurred in the past, when you're on the Session Dates screen you can view history (expired sessions) by clicking the link, top right.
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