Learning initiatives on the BizLibrary LMS are structured programs designed to address specific organizational learning and development needs. They can leverage BizLibrary's comprehensive content library and an organizations proprietary custom content. Learning initiatives can be customized to align with company goals, improve employee performance, and ensure compliance with industry standards. Within each Learning Initiative, an administrator can create multiple stages (or phases) which contain a set of courses that can be set with varying activation dates and timeframes to pace learners through a program.     

What are the different types of LIs?  

There are three main types of Learning Initiatives that can be created, including: 

• One-Time Learning Initiatives
• Annual Learning Initiatives
• Learning Initiatives Resulting in Qualifications 

To determine which Learning Initiative type is best for your use-case, please review Understanding Learning Initiative Use-Cases before proceeding.

To Create a Learning Initiative base:

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning and then Learning Initiatives from the sidebar menu
3. Click Actions, and then Add Learning Initiative
4. Enter Required Details
   • Title: The name of the program
   • Start date represents the day learners should begin engaging with the assignment.
     • By leaving the start date at the current date, assignments made manually or via rules will be available to learners immediately
     • By changing the start date to a future date, any assignments made prior to that date will not appear on the learners’ homepage until the chosen date
5. Click Save

After the Learning Initiative base has been saved, proceed to "Customizing the Learning Initiative Profile". 

Customizing the Learning Initiative Profile:

• One-Time Learning Initiatives: Proceed to "Managing Stages and Content"
• Annual Learning Initiatives: Proceed to "Recurring Learning Initiatives"
• Learning Initiatives Resulting in Qualifications: Proceed to "Learning Initiatives and Qualifications"

Recurring Learning Initiatives

Recurring Learning Initiatives (LIs) are learning programs that reassign to learners on a recurring basis. Administrators only need to create the Learning Initiative one time. After creation, the assignment and reassignment will happen automatically each year.  

First, you will need to determine if the Learning Initiative will reset and reassign to learners on the same day each year for all learners or if the reset and reassignment should be unique to each learners previous completion date.

If recurring at varying times for unique learners, proceed to "Learning Initiatives and Qualifications".

If recurring on the same day for all learners, we will leverage the Recurring feature built into Learning Initiatives.  

To modify the Recurrence Schedule:

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning and then Learning Initiatives from the sidebar menu 
3. Select the appropriate Learning Initiative title to open the profile
4. Select Actions and Edit Profile
5. Modify the recurrence date
6. Save Changes

Ensure the following information is added:

• Check the box to set the Initiative to Recurring
  • If Checked: The Learning Initiative will reset and reassign on a specific day and month for all learners, allowing them to engage in annual training. 
  • If Unchecked: A new Learning Initiative for annual training would need to be created and assigned on a regular basis.
• Ensure start date is filled out (Start date represents the day learners should begin engaging with the assignment. 
• Choose the day and month the annual LI will expire 
  • This will determine when the LI resets every year 
• Choose an assignment interval 
  • This will determine how long learners have to complete the LI assignment 

1. Click Save 

Once adjustments have been made to the Learning Initiative profile, proceed to "Managing Stages and Content".

Learning Initiatives and Qualifications

If your organization requires learners to acquire certifications for their job roles, a recurring Learning Initiative (LI) tied to a Qualification may be the best option for your learning program. When an administrator ties a LI to a Qualification, learners are assigned learning programs that, upon completion, award a learner with a Qualification. These qualifications can last any duration and give administrators lots of flexibility to manage certifications.  

First, you will need to determine which Qualification pathway best fits your program.

• One-time Qualification
• Recurring Qualification looping back to the same Learning Initiative
• Recurring Qualification looping into different Learning Initiatives

Creating a Qualification  

Before you begin managing your Learning Initiative, you will need to create your Qualification. Please review the following steps to create a Qualification:  

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning and then Qualifications from the sidebar menu
3. Click Add Qualification 
4. Ensure the following information is filled out: 
   • Choose a team you would like to apply the Qualification to 
   • Give the Qualification a name
   • Click Add Qualification  

After the Qualification has been created, we will add the Qualification to the Learning Initiative Profile. 

Modifying the Learning Initiative Profile:

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning and then Learning Initiatives from the sidebar menu 
3. Select the appropriate Learning Initiative title to open the profile
4. Select Actions and Edit Profile
5. Check the box to turn the Learning Initiative into a Qualification
6. Search for and select the applicable Qualification name
7. Save Changes

Next, we will create Qualification Rules to set a recurrence pattern for learners.

Creating Qualification Rules 

Qualification rules allow administrators to reassign a Learning Initiative year after year by defining reassignment criteria that can be applied to learners year after year. Qualifications can reassign a LI to learners after a set number of days, weeks, or years, as defined by an administrator.  

Please review the following steps to learn how to create rules for your Qualification: 

1. Go to Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning and then Qualifications from the sidebar menu
3. Search for and open your newly created Qualification
4. Open the Rules tab and click Create Rule
5. Within Rule Criteria, ensure the following information is filled out:
   • Select an event that will trigger the Learning Initiative to assign 
     • After Qualification will assign a Learning Initiative to a learner based on a specified time frame after a learner has been qualified 
     • Prior to Qualification Expiring will assign a Learning Initiative to a learner based on a specified time frame before a learner’s Qualification expires 
   • Select an interval and duration to determine the time offset for your event trigger 
   • For select an action, ensure Assign Learning Initiative is chosen 
   • Select a due date type
     • Interval due dates give learners a specific number of days, weeks, or years to complete their LI assignment 
     • Specific due dates require all learners to complete the LI by a specific date 
   • Select the LI you would like to assign 
     • Please note, this can be the same Learning Initiative each reset or a new Learning Initiative.
   • Reset status upon assignment (recommended) is checked  
     • If Checked, the content included will be moved from its previously completed status back to available so that learners can reengage in content again as a refresher.
     • If Unchecked, the completed status of content will carry over to the new assignment. The assignment will not show as available to learners because the minimum requirements have already been met. 
   • Click Next  and within Attributes, pick and choose the criteria a learner must meet in order for the Qualification rule to apply to assign to them
   • Click Save  

Once adjustments have been made to the Learning Initiative profile, proceed to "Managing Stages and Content".

Managing Stages & Content

LIs are created using various stages that can include any combination of content from your own custom library and off-the-shelf libraries. Administrators can control when each stage activates so that your learning program is paced perfectly for your learners.

Within each stage are activities. Activities allow you to select how much content is required to be completed. Not all stages require multiple activities, but if your learner is only required to watch one lesson out of a group of content, you can allow the learner to pick and choose what content they want to complete in order to fulfil the completion requirements.

A good example would be if a lesson is available in multiple languages. An administrator can create a stage and activity within that requires only one piece of content. Within that activity, you might add a lesson in English and Spanish. Doing this allows your learners to watch either lesson and get completion credit for it, regardless of which option they go with.

Please review the following steps to learn how to create stages within your one-time LI assignment:

1. Within the LI profile page, select the Stages tab
2. Click Add Stage
3. Give your stage a title, and add a description if you would like
4. Click Create
5. Select Add Activity and enter the number of courses required to complete the stage
   1. Please note, if you would like to require a learner to complete all content, leave this number as 0
6. Click Add Content to begin adding content to your one-time LI assignment
   1. Note, you can easily move content between different activities and stages by dragging and dropping the lessons
7. Click Save
8. Continue adding stages and activities until your assignment is complete
9. Once all your stages are complete, you can choose to set up activation dates for each stage, which will make the stage and content within unavailable to learners until certain criteria is met
10. Click the Edit button (pencil and paper icon) for a stage
    1. Note, you cannot set up an Activation Stage Date for the first stage of a LI
11. Under Activation Date Type, you can choose any of the following options:
    1. None: The stage and content are available to the learner at the time of assignment
    2. Completion: The following stage will be released to learners when the proceeding stage is complete
    3. Specific Date: The stage will be released to learners on a specific date
    4. Interval: The stage will be released on a predetermined time frame (Days, Weeks, or Months) after the initial assignment is made
12. Once the Activation Date Type is set, click Update to save your changes

Once you have created all your stages, added all your content, and set up any activation dates, you can move on to assigning your one-time learning initiative.

If you would like to modify your one-time LI, please note that changes made after an assignment has been made will not update for existing assignments. Changes made to LI configuration, stages, activities, and content will only be updated for future assignments. If you need to update the initiative for active assignments, you will need to unassign the initiative and reassign for changes to take effect.

Helpful Tip: Content within your one-time LI set for retirement? Select swap (two arrows icon). This will open the check usage modal, allowing you to see all assignments and playlists that include the retired content. From here, you can swap out the old content for a replacement.

Once the stages have been step, proceed to "Assigning Initiatives".

Assigning Initiatives

Administrators can manage and assign learning initiatives from a learner profile as well as from the learning initiative profile. You can also view and sort all learning initiatives a learner is assigned, what their status is, and who assigned it to them.

To assign a learning initiative via a learner's profile:

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select People from the sidebar menu then Learners
3. Search and select the appropriate learner then click View Profile
4. Select the Assignments tab then the Learning Initiative sub tab
5. Click Assign Learning Initiative

To assign a learning initiative from the a learning initiative's profile page:

1. Select Administration from the main menu,
2. Select Learning then Learning Initiatives from the sidebar menu
3. Under View by select Learning Initiative
4. Search for and select the desired learning initiative
5. Select the Assignments tab 
6. Click Add Assignment
7. Search and select desired team or learner(s)

Administrators can avoid the manual process of assigning Learning Initiatives through use of learning initiative rules. These allow administrators to easily assign learning initiatives based upon their learners' join date (to a team) or their attributes such as job title, department, or supervisor.

Learning Initiative rules run overnight, unless triggered by an import or when Apply Rule is selected. When learners are added to a team via an import, the learning initiative assignment rules will run hourly. When Apply Rule is selected, all learners that meet the attribute requirements will receive the assignment immediately.

Administrators may assign a learning initiative through use of rules by following these steps:

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning and then Learning Initiatives from the sidebar menu
3. Under the View by drop-down, change the option to Learning Initiative
4. Search for and select the desired learning initiative
5. Select the Assignments tab 
6. Select the Add Rule button. If there is already a rule in place, you can select Edit (pencil and paper icon) 
7. Select whether you would like the rule to be a specific date or an interval. Continue by entering the specific amount of time for the interval or the specific date. If the learning initiative is only meant for learners with certain learner attributes (i.e. only learners listed as supervisors will inherit the Learning Initiative), you can use the Attributes section to specify. Note, both direct and indirect members of a team will receive the assignment. 
8. Once you are finished, select Save Rule

When you are ready to report on the initiative, proceed to "Reporting on Initiatives".

Reporting on Initiatives 

Reporting on learning initiatives helps administrators gain insights into learner engagement, course completions, and overall program effectiveness. By analyzing this data, you can identify trends, recognize top-performing individuals or teams, and uncover opportunities for improvement. 

To pull a Learning Initiative Status report from within the Learning Initiative Profile: 

1. Select Administration from the main menu
2. Select Learning then Learning Initiatives from the sidebar menu
3. Under View by select Learning Initiative  
4. Search for and select the desired Learning Initiative
5. Select the Status tab to begin Reporting 

This report will display each learner that has been assigned to the initiative and their current status of Not Started, In-Progress, and Complete. 

There are two views available on this report that can be changed by using the ‘View’ dropdown. 

• Learner: Displays the overall Learning Initiative status results for each individual learner in either complete or incomplete.
• Detail: Displays the status for each individual course included within the Learning Initiative for each individual learner. 

Filters include: 

• Learners: Active, Inactive, and All Learners
  • By using this filter, you can look for currently active or inactive learners that receive this initiative.
• Learning Initiatives: Active, Inactive, and All Learning Initiative status
  • By using this filter, you can look for currently active or inactive learning initiative assignments.
• Learning Initiative Status: Available, Expired, In-progress, and completed
• People: Filter for a specific user
• Teams: Filter for a specific team