Certificates

Certificates

Overview

A certificate is a document that confirms a user has successfully completed a course or class, achieved a learning goal or reached a level of mastery. Certificates can be used in a wide variety of learning programs to motivate learners and students, recognize achievements and encourage course completion and advancement. 

The platform has many certificate features available to instructors, teacher and administrators:
  1. Create certificates: The platform has built-in functionality to create certificates.
  2. Award certificates: Award certificates to users when they complete learning activities. 
  3. Print certificates: Create certificates that can be printed.
  4. Create certificate reports: Create custom reports to track and monitor certificates.

This article will provide more details on each of the certificate features available on the platform.

Info
CYHPER for business defaults to learners. CYPER for academia defaults to students. The terms learners and students are interchangeable in this article.

Creating certificates

To create a certificate:
  1. Click Resources on the primary navigation menu.
  2. Click Add on the fly-out menu.
  3. Select Certificate.

Resources, Add resource pop-up with certificate highlighted

The Add certificate pop-up displays.
  1. Enter a certificate Name.
  2. Enter a certificate Description.
  3. The Number field is optional.
    1. This field is associated with the optional AwardNumber PDF field on the certificate. 
    2. If you leave the Number field blank, but embed the AwardNumber PDF field in your certificate, the PDF field is automatically filled in with a unique serial number for the Certificate that is guaranteed to be unique for each certificate. The certificate number increases in value for each certificate that's awarded, such as 1456, 1457, 1458, etc.
    3. If you enter a value in the Number field, it is displayed in the AwardNumber PDF field. If the pattern includes %d, then the %d is replaced with a unique serial number for the Certificate described above. For example, if the field is set to ABC%d, then the certificates might show ABC1456, ABC1457, ABC1458, etc., in the AwardNumber field.
  4. Select a Library to save the certificate.
  5. Click Save.
Resources, Add resource page, add certificate pop-up


The certificate has been created and is now in the Resources library.

Resources, certificate of completion in resources library

Awarding certificates 

Completion certificates

Certificates can be automatically awarded to learners and students when they complete a course or class.

To set up automatic certificate awards:
  1. Access the course or class for the certificate award.
  2. Click Admin from the course/class navigation menu.
  3. Click Completion from the fly-out menu.
  4. Click + Add under the Completion actions heading.
  5. The Add action pop-up displays. Click the Awards tab.
  6. Click Award certificate.

Course, Admin, Completion, Add action pop-up with Award certificate highlighted

The Award certificate pop-up displays.
  1. Select a certificate from the drop-down list.
  2. Determine an optional threshold percentage. If the learner or student does not reach the threshold score for the course, the certificate will not be awarded.
    1. For example, if you add a threshold of 85%, the learner or student must score an 85% or higher to receive the certificate.
  3. Select the type of notification: Dropdown or Popup.
  4. Select a default canned message, or create your own.
  5. Click + in the filter section to add an optional filter to the Award action. Filters can be used to further define the learners or students who are eligible for the award.
  6. Click Save.
Course, Admin, Completion, Award certificate pop-up

You have created an Award certificate completion action! The Award completion now displays on the Completion actions list.

  1. Click the pencil icon to edit the action.
  2. Click - to remove the action.

Course, Admin, Completion actions list updated with a Certificate of completion

When learners complete the course requirements, they will receive the certificate award.
  1. This is an example of a popup award notification for a learner/student:
Learner pop-up notification for Certificate of completion

  1. This is an example of a dropdown award notification for a learner/student:
Learner drop-down notification for Certificate of completion

InfoFor additional information on how to add rules, visit the Rules article.

Prerequisite certificates

You can also use certificates as a prerequisite to limit enrollment in a course or class.

To use certificates as a prerequisite:
  1. Access the course or class that requires a prerequisite.
  2. Click Admin from the course/class navigation menu.
  3. Click Enrollment from the fly-out menu.
  4. Click + Add below the Prerequisites heading.
Course, Admin, Enrollment, Prerequisites section
  1. Select a certificate from the list.
  2. Click Submit.
Course, Admin, Enrollment, Add Prerequisites, Certificate of completion selected

Awarding certificates manually

To manually award a certificate to learners or students:
  1. Access a course or class.
  2. Click Learners or Students from the course/class navigation menu.
  3. Select the learners or students who will receive the certificates.
  4. Click + Award.

Course, Learners page with learners selected and the Award button highlighted

The learners you selected appear at the top of the screen.
  1. Select the Certificate radio button.
  2. Select the certificate you want to award from the drop-down menu.
  3. Enter an optional expiration date.
  4. Add a note to the learner or student.
  5. Click Save.
    1. Each learner will get a notification of the award certificate. 
Course, Learners, Award page with Certificate radio button selected

To view the awards learners or students have received:

  1. Access a course or class.
  2. Click Learners or Students from the course/class navigation menu.
  3. The Awards column indicates each learners' awards.
  4. Click a learner's award number to view more details.
Course, Learners, Awards column highlighted


Learners and students can view their awards in a variety of ways.
  1. Awards are listed on the primary profile page.
    1. Learners click their profile picture.
    2. Awards are listed below the learner's About section.
Profile page with Awards section highlighted

  1. The Awards page:
    1. Learners click their profile picture.
    2. Learners click Awards from the profile navigation menu.

Profile, Awards, Certificate of completion highlighted
  1. Learners can also view awards on the Awards widget on the home page or on a course or class landing page.
Info
Awards widgets may or may not display based on the setup of your platform.

Awards widget, Certificate of completion highlighted

Printable certificates

The platform supports printable certificates with fields that update for the course/class name and learner/student's name.

To create a printable certificate: 

  1. Create a certificate of completion using the tool of your choice, such as PowerPoint.
    1. Leave blank space for placing variable fields such as the course name, the learner name and the completion date on the certificate.
    2. If you already have a certificate of completion template, remove the text from any variable fields (such as learner name and course), but leave the space  as you will need it to add the fields using a PDF Form Editor.
Example of Certificate of completion template in Adobe Illustrator
  1. Convert your document to a PDF.
    1. If you created your certificate in PowerPoint, you can export the certificate directly to PDF from PowerPoint.
    2. If you didn't create your certificate in PowerPoint and don't have a PDF conversion program, CutePDF is a free online PDF converter.
  1. Open your PDF in a PDF Form Editor.
    1. There are several tools that allow you to create PDF forms, including PDFEscape, PDFill and Acrobat Professional.
  1. Use the PDF Form Editor to add fields in the PDF.
    1. You can add fields for the course name, learner name, award date and more.
    2. Use the field names that are listed below in blue. Place the field names in the placeholder spaces in your PDF.
    3. Tip - Be sure to check the alignment settings of your fields if you want the values to show as centered, left aligned, etc.
  1. Save your project and export it as a PDF file.
The certificate can include any of the following fields. Any fields you include are automatically filled in with the appropriate information when the learner views or prints the certificate.

Common certificate fields

FirstName
Learner or student's first name.
LastName
Learner of student's last name.
FullName
Learner or student's full name.
AlphaName
Learner or student's full name; last name, first.
NickName
Learner or student's nickname.
ssn
Learner or student's social security number.
Street1
Learner or student's street address, line 1.
Street2
Learner or student's street address, line 2.
City
Learner or student's city.
State
Learner or student's state/province.
Country
Learner or student's country.
Zip
Learner or student's zip code.
Business
Business's name.
Organization
The name of the user's organization (if organizations are enabled).
Awarded
The date the certificate was awarded.
LmsID
LMS ID
LearnerID
Learner ID
StudentID
Student ID
Completed
The date the course/path was completed.
Birthdate
The birthdate of the user.

Fields just for courses or classes:
Instructor
Instructor full name.
Teacher
Teacher full name.
InstructorID
Instructor ID
TeacherID
Teacher ID
Course
Name of the course.
Class
Name of the class.
Credits
The number of credits associated with the course or class.
CourseCode
The course code.
ClassCode
The class code.
SectionCode
The section code.
Semester
The semester.
Percent
If grades are enabled, the percentage earned.
Grade
If grades are enabled, the grade earned.
Start
If the course is instructor-led or blended it displays the start date of the course/class.
Finish
If the course is instructor-led or blended it displays the finish date of the course/class.

Fields just for paths:
Path
Name of the path.
Administrator
Name of the path administrator.
Goal_X_
Where X represents the number of the goal. For example, if you have a path with 2 goals where the first goal is a course and the second goal is a certificate. The new fields would be called: Goal_1_Course, Goal_1_Credits, Goal_1_Semester, Goal_1_SectionCode, Goal_1_CourseCode, Goal_1_My Custom field 1, Goal_1_My Custom field 2, Goal_1_Instructor, Goal_1_Percent, Goal_1_Grade, Goal_1_Completed, etc. and Goal_2_Certificate, Goal_2_Awarded.

Here's an example of a certificate with fields added for FullName, Course, and Completed Date.

Example of Certificate of completion template in a PDF form editor with three fields added

You can also insert any custom field into a certificate. Administrators must first create the custom field by following these steps:
  1. Click Admin from the primary navigation menu
  2. Click Accounts from the fly-out menu.
  3. Click the Fields tab.
  4. Click + Add custom field.
Info
Note - The PDF certificate printer also supports many international characters such as umlauts and accents.

Admin, Accounts, Fields page with Add custom field highlighted


Once you have created the PDF with variable fields, you can upload the file to your certificate in the platform.

  1. Click Resources from the main navigation menu.
  2. Click Catalog from the fly-out menu.
  3. Use the Search filters to locate your certificate.
  4. Click the name of your certificate.
  5. Click Details.
  6. Click Upload Certificate under the Printable version heading.
  7. Click + Add PDF certificate.
  8. Upload your PDF file.
  9. Click Upload.

Resources, Catalog, Certificate of completion in resources library with Printable version highlighted


The certificate now has a printable version. To print a certificate, users can follow these steps:
  1. Click their profile picture.
  2. Click Awards from the profile navigation menu.
  3. Click the PDF icon next to the certificate.
Profile, Awards, PDF icon on Certificate of Completion highlighted

When users click the PDF icon, the certificate opens in a new window with the user's name and course/class information.

  1. Users can print the certificate using their browser's print feature.
  2. Users can also save the certificate by using their browser's download feature.

Certificate of Completion example with with user information populated

Bulk export certificates

The platform allows you to export certificates for a set of learners or students in a particular course or class.

  1. Access the course or class.
  2. Click Learners or Students from the course/class naviagation menu.
  3. Select the learners or students.
  4. Click Export certificates.
Course, Learners, learners selected with Export certificates button highlighted

You will receive a notification when the certificate export is complete.

  1. Click the link to download the .zip file.
Certificate of completion export notification with download link highlighted

Custom certificate reports

You can track and monitor certificates that are awarded to users.

To generate a custom report for certificates:
  1. Click Reports on the primary navigation menu
  2. Click Catalog on the fly-out menu.
  3. Click + Custom Report.

Reports, Catalog page with Custom report button highlighted

  1. Add a name and description for the report.
  2. Select a library for the report.
  3. Select Certificates from the Report on drop-down list.

Reports, Add custom report pop-up, Report on drop-down open with Certificates highlighted

To setup your report:

  1. Click the Columns tab.
  2. Select the fields you would like on the report. In this example, the Description, LMS ID and Name fields are selected.
  3. Click the User awards expandable menu.
  4. Select fields you would like included on the report. In this example, the first name, last name and awarded at fields are selected.
  5. After you have configured the report, click Run. 

Reports, Setup, Columns page with Run button highlighted

The Run report pop-up displays.

  1. Select an organization.
  2. Choose HTML, CSV or XLSX output.
  3. Determine if you would like to save the report in the catalog.
  4. Determine when you would like to run the report.
  5. Add an email address to have the report sent via email.
  6. Click Run.
Reports, run reports pop-up box options

When the report is ready, you will receive a notification.
  1. Click the link to view the report.

Custom certificates reports is complete notification

Your report will display all users who have earned a certificate in the organization you selected.

  1. Note that the report includes the fields you previously selected.
  2. If you would like to adjust your report settings:
    1. Click Reports on the main navigation menu
    2. Select My reports.
    3. Select your certificate report.
    4. Use the tabs and settings to adjust your report.
Reports, My reports, certificate reports results example

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