Certification Programs: Completion, Maintenance, and Ownership
The settings in this section define the default values that apply when a new Certification Path is created in this program. You can customize these settings for each path individually from the path’s General Details tab. Settings configured at the individual path level will override the program-level defaults.
If you update the default settings, existing paths will not be affected — the changes will only apply to paths created after the update.
The following settings are available:
Default Completion Days
The number entered here indicates the number of days the learner has to complete the Certification Program after registering for it, before it expires. You must select the radio button next to this option in order for it to apply to the Certification Program.
This is not selected by default. Once the learner enrolls in the Certification Program, this number of days will be applied to the date of enrollment, the learner’s enrollment will expire after that number of days, and the learner will have to enroll in the Certification Program again in order to complete it.
Default Completion Date
The date entered here indicates the date the learner has to complete the Certification Program by before it expires. If the learner does not complete the Certification Program by this date, it will expire and they will have to enroll in the Certification Program again in order to complete it. You must select the radio button next to this option in order for it to apply to the Certification Program. This is selected by default.
Maintenance to Commence From
The maintenance cycle for a Certification Program refers to the period of time that the Certification Program certification lasts for before the learner has to re-certify.
WarningSome settings can result in the next maintenance cycle starting before your current certification is completed. For example, Year of Attainment with January 15 set, certify on March 3, 2025. The next cycle starts January 15, 2025 (before certification completion).
| Selection | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Date of Attainment | The next cycle starts on the exact date you complete your current certification. | You certify on September 10, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts September 10, 2025. |
| Year of Attainment | The next cycle starts on a fixed day in the same calendar year you completed your certification. The day and month are set by the admin. | Admin sets October 10. You certify on September 10, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts October 10, 2025. |
| Year Following Attainment | The next cycle starts on a fixed day in the year after you completed your certification. Day and month are set by the admin. | Admin sets October 10. You certify on September 10, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts October 10, 2026. |
| End of Month of Attainment | The next cycle starts on the last day of the month you complete your certification. | Certify on September 10, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts September 30, 2025. |
| Start of Month of Attainment | The next cycle starts on the first day of the month you complete your certification. | Certify on September 10, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts September 1, 2025. |
| Specific Day in Month of Attainment | The next cycle starts on a specific day of the month you complete your certification. The admin sets the day. | Admin sets day 25. You certify on September 10, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts September 25, 2025. |
| Day After Completion Due Date | The next cycle starts the day after your current certification’s due date. This can only be used if your certification path has a default completion date or days set. | Certification due by December 31, 2025. The next maintenance cycle starts January 1, 2026. |
Maintenance Period in Days
The number entered here will be the number of days the maintenance period lasts for. After this number of days the learner’s certification will expire and they will have to re-certify for the Certification Program. This involves enrolling in a re-certification path and completing the requirements.
Automatically Begin Maintenance Cycle
If there is only one valid certification path on the Certification Program you can choose for the user’s maintenance cycle to begin automatically by checking this check box.
Grace Period in Days
The number entered here will be the number of extra days the learner has to complete the Certification Program after the default complete date/days.
Grace Period Type
- Record Credits – If this is selected it means that user is able to earn credits after the expiry date. In other words, the learner can enter external training and complete activities after the expiry date up until the grace period ends.
- Claim Credits – If this is selected it means that the use is only able to enter credits which were attained before the expiry date, i.e. external training records where the completion date is prior to the expiry date.
Include Previously Achieved Items
If you want learners to be able to include courses/activities attained prior to registering for the Certification Program so that they count towards their Certification Program then this box must be ticked. This will mean that when you register for the certification path, if you have already completed any of the activities within the time period specified, this will automatically roll up as completed.
Include Previously Achievement Period in Days
This field is to specify how many days in the past you want to include course attainments in the rollup of the Certification Program and will only appear if the Include Previously Achieved Items check box has been selected.
Use Equivalent Courses
Owner
Click Select to open up a popup list of TopClass users, from which you can select the appropriate user. By default, the user who creates the Certification Program will be the owner. To remove a user as owner of the Certification Program, click Remove.