Course Templates Overview

Search for a solution

Your accessplanit platform is set up to make training management easy and time effective. Rather than having to enter all of the information of a course every time you schedule a course date, you can set up Course Templates, which function as a blueprint for your courses. These contain all of the basic information you need for running every instance of a course. 

To learn how to use Course Templates, click here.



In this area, you can:

  • Add a name, Training Provider, and template type to a Course Template.

  • Enter information that need be kept the same across all instances of the course.

  • Leave spaces blank to be filled out at the course date level.

Bear in mind, it is not possible to create a course date instance without first having a Course Template set up.

Where to find Course Templates

Course Templates are available in the left-hand menu:




Setting up a Course Template

Before you can schedule a course, you'll first need to set up a Course Template. There are a few fields you'll need to fill in first though. Below is an overview of the most important fields:

Training Provider
This is the Account that runs the course. Be sure to pick the right one, as only this Course Template will only be able to run under this Account.

Label
This is the name of your Course Template, and will be the default name of any course that uses this Template.

Colour

This is where you can set a custom colour for your Course Template, which will separate the course from others in the Calendar view. 

Note

If you select custom colours for your Course Templates, the text will always show as black in the Calendar, so you shouldn't use the colour black as your custom colour.

Image

This is where you can assign an image unique to this Course Template - this will appear during the booking process for course dates with this template. This can be changed in the Details tab when editing the Course Template in question.

An example of this can be seen below.

Course Template Type
The Course Template Type dictates the kind of course this Template is. There are five options: Class, eLearning, Web, Module, and Knowledge Document.

Duration
These fields allow you to dictate how long courses with this Template run for.

Number of Places
Here, you can define the minimum or maximum number of Delegates this course can accommodate.

Cost
In these fields, you can add the cost of courses using this Template, as well as the Cost Type (e.g. by Delegate, Hour, or Session) and taxation details. To find out more about Cost Types, click here.

Training Points
Here, you can enter in the pass score for courses using this Template, as well as how many Training Points this course is worth.

Sessional Details
By ticking the 'Is Course Template Sessional By Default?' box, you can turn this Template into the head session of a Sessional Course series.

Surveys
Here, you can assign Surveys to the Course Template. These can be sent out to your Delegates or Trainers via Workflows.

There are three types of survey you can assign to a Course Template:

  • A Pre-course Survey

  • A Course Survey

  • A Trainer Survey

Promotion
If you would like to advertise the course via the Learner Portal and to make it available within your web feed, tick the Advertise option.

If you would like to set this Course Template to only be available from a certain date in the future, you would add this as the Publish Date.

Document Templates
The Document Templates fields allow you to assign Sign In Forms, Registers, and Certificates to this Course Template. These can then be generated for your Delegates and Trainers using the Document Generator, or sent out via Workflows.

The Sign-in Form Document Template is a document which lists the Delegates on the course, with a space for them to sign in. You can download an example of a sign-in form on our Document Templates page. (This is required if you want to use the workflow to fill a delegate list. The Document template used needs to match with the Workflow Document template used.)

The Register Document Template is similar to the sign-in form. However this document is intended for the Trainer, so rather than including a space to sign, personal or sensitive information about the Delegates may be included for the Trainer to reference.

The Certificate Document Template is typically a Certificate or a letter of completion. Assigning a Certificate to a course allows you to include a link to this Certificate within your Workflows.

Awards
Course Awards are awards that can be given out after the completion of a course. The Award associated to your Course Template here will be automatically assigned to each delegate that is marked as 'Completed' on the course, and can therefore be useful for reporting and defining pre-requisites for other courses.

You are also able to enter the lifetime of that Award in months at the Course Template level, so that when a Delegate completes receives the award, it will have an expiry date after which they will need to renew their award.


Other information stored against a Course Template

Attributes
Here, you can find information relating to the Course Template, such as the ID and the label. If you use Sage or Xero Financial Integration, you can enter your Product, Tax, and Nominal code here.

Text
The text stored within these text boxes is displayed within the Learner Portal for your customers. It can be pulled into your Workflow and Email Template communications, Document Templates, and your website if you use the API integration.

There are three text boxes available at the Course Template level where you can describe the course.

These boxes are commonly used for:

  • Entering a description of the course.

  • Adding course aims or objectives.

  • Describing the pre-requisites of the course.

Resources
Here, you can add Resources to the Course Template. These will be pulled through to every instance of the course.

Session Plan Items
If your Course Template is sessional, you can add the subsessions of the Template here. These will automatically be created alongside the head course whenever a new date is created.

Tasks 
Here, you can add Tasks which need to be completed for every instance of this course.

Notes and File Store
In these tabs, you can add Notes or File Store Files which need to be attached to every instance of the course date.

Override
In the Override tab, you can add an Override Alias per Account for this Course Template. This means that this course will appear under a different name for these Accounts.

Awards
Here, you can add a variety of Awards to your Template. There are several options when it comes to assigning Awards:

  • Unit Awards - these are generally used for Modular Courses. They allow you to create sub awards associated with the Course Template. Once a Delegate has achieved all of the Unit Awards associated with a Modular Course, they will be given an overall Award.

  • Associated Awarded Awards - these are Awards that are given upon completion of this course.

  • Preferred Awards - these are Awards that Delegates are advised to have before beginning the course.

  • Required Awards- these are Awards that Delegates must have before booking onto this course. Delegates who don't have these Awards will not be able to book onto the course.

Categories
In this tab, you can assign Categories to your Template. This can be useful for reporting purposes. Categories can be colour-coded, meaning that Course Templates with that Category will appear in that Category's colour within the Courses - Calendar view. Course Templates with more than one Category, however, will appear grey in the Courses - Calendar view.

Industries
Here, you can associate Industries with the Course Template.

Exclusivity
Setting exclusivity at the Course Template and course level restricts the course to a specific group of Delegates. This means that other Users cannot see or book onto those courses. Setting Account Group exclusivity will mean that any Account subsequently added to that Account Group will be automatically assigned exclusivity.

Price Schemes
Here, you can add Price Schemes to your Course Template, meaning that any Course Dates that you create using this Course Template will automatically add the Price Scheme to the Course Date.

Audit Logs
The Audit Logs allows you to see any changes made to the Course Template. The Audit Logs track who made the change, when it was made, as well as what was changed.


Course Template Types

Class

Class Courses are classes that are run in-person.

They can they can be onsite at one of your own Venues, a rented Venue, or held on your customer's premises. These courses typically require a Trainer, a specific date and time, and may also require other Resources, such as catering and equipment. When building a Course Template for Class Courses, there are a number of optional fields you can fill in, including the Delivery Method, Duration, and even the Colour that the course will appear in within the Courses - Calendar view.

The more information you input into the Course Template, the easier and quicker it will be when scheduling course dates. 

eLearning

An eLearning course is a type of course the Delegate will complete online through their Learner Portal. As such, there is no need for a Trainer, Venue, or specific start and end times for the course.

In an eLearning Course Template you are able to enter in a number of details about the course, including:

  • A minimum pass score.

  • The ability for the Delegate to quick-start the course (i.e. have access to it as soon as they are booked).

  • The course to be marked as complete as soon as the Delegate has finished if they meet the minimum pass mark.

Whilst eLearning courses are generally made available for people take part in at an un-scheduled time, you are able to select the date range for when this Course Template would be available for Delegates to take the course.

The eLearning package field is where you need to associate a pre-built and uploaded eLearning package within the Administration - eLearning area of the platform. Alternatively, if the course is online then you can enter the URL into the relevant field.

Please note, if you are using a URL to direct the Delegate to a web page rather than go through an eLearning package you will not receive any vital information such as Delegate results, and the Delegate will not be able to access the package through the Learner Portal. We therefore strongly recommend uploading packages.

There are more advanced eLearning package details within the Administration area that will allow you to choose whether it will open in a new window when launched, show a finish button, etc.

Web

A Web course is a course which is run by a Trainer via an internet-based webinar with the Delegates. Webinar software should be used to create access details for the Delegates and Trainers. Web courses work in a similar way to Class Courses in that they have a specific start and end time; therefore when you are creating a Webinar Course, you should provide a duration and duration type. 

Adding a Web Course Template gives you all the same fields as a Class Course.

Web courses often get confused with eLearning courses, as both are carried out via a computer or computing device. The difference is that eLearning courses are simply one person carrying out a course by themselves at a time of their choice, whereas a Web Course is a classroom-style session that is broadcast over the internet. A Web Course requires a live Trainer, a number of participants, and has the potential to be interactive.

Webinar courses are controlled by third party software. accessplanit does not provide any Web/Webinar courses or details, only a field to enter their details.

Knowledge Document

Knowledge Document Courses are very similar to eLearning Courses in that the Delegate needs to access their Learner Portal to view the course online. However instead of accessing an eLearning course, they access a document to read. This document could be a PDF, a PowerPoint, or a Word document.

The self- complete option at the Course Template level allows the the Delegate to let you know that they have viewed the document by ticking a box. 

As with eLearning, you can allow the Delegate to view the course information straight away by ticking the quick access box.  

If you do not enable 'quick access' then you will need to change the Delegate status to 'In Progress' to allow them to gain access to the documents package.


Using Partial Payments / Deposits

If you allow your customers to pay a deposit when they initially book a course, and process the remaining payment later, we can enable our 'Partial Payment' functionality. Please speak to your Customer Success Manager if you are interested in this.

Important information

Partial Payments are not currently supported within accessplanit’s new Checkout Basket. If your platform currently use Checkout, the Partial Payment will still be visible/accessible, but it will not work for bookings made through the Checkout Basket.

When enabled, you can define the minimum initial payment that should be made when the course is booked at the Course Template level. These options are displayed below the cost fields on the Course Template:

Any User booking onto the course will have the option to make a partial payment.

The partial payment can then be taken on the final stage of the Shopping Basket. The booking User will be able to either 'Pay in full'  or 'Pay another amount'. If they select to Pay another amount, they will be able to enter the amount they would like to pay initially, and checkout. A part-completed invoice will be generated after they checkout.