Versions and Refreshers
Courses change. Versioning is how they change without invalidating what people have already done.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → eLearning:
- Courses & Assignments — the course console — courses, units, assignments
- Learner Records — a learner’s registration against a package
- Course Attempts — each attempt at a package
- Course Sessions — individual launches
- Learning Objectives — objective-level results
How versioning works
Creating a new version copies the course and its units, increments the version number, and stamps the previous row as superseded. The old version keeps its records; the new one starts as a draft.
So last year’s completions still refer to last year’s course, which is exactly what an auditor wants.
Learners only see the current one
The catalogue shows published, enabled courses that have not been superseded. A learner is never offered last year’s version, and does not have to know versions exist.
Version when the content changes materially
Not for a typo. A new version is a statement that what people did before is not the same as what they will do now — which matters if you are asked whether somebody was trained on the current policy.
Fix a typo in place; version when the material, the assessment or the standard changes.
Decide what happens to people mid-course
Before publishing. Somebody part way through the old version either continues on it or starts again — and starting again is a real cost to them. Have an answer before you publish rather than after somebody complains.
Validity drives refreshers
A course valid for twelve months means a completion expires twelve months later, and the learner is due again. That is what makes "who is currently compliant" a question with an answer.
Set it to the period your policy or regulator actually requires, not to a round number that feels right.
Cycles keep the history
Each refresher is a new cycle of the enrolment rather than a reset. A learner’s completed enrolment stays visible until the next cycle opens, so their course page shows their result rather than going blank the moment it expires.
And every cycle is retained, so you can show a learner’s history year by year.
Retire rather than delete
A retired course leaves the catalogue and keeps its records. Deleting a course with completions against it destroys evidence you may be required to hold.
Plan the refresher wave
If everybody was assigned at once, everybody expires at once. That is a large wave of training in one month, every year. Consider staggering the initial assignment so the recurring load is even.
Worked example
An organisation versions its security course annually when the content is updated, publishes in January, and allows anyone mid-course thirty days to finish the old version. Validity is twelve months and the original assignment was staggered across a quarter, so refreshers spread rather than arriving all at once.
Recommendations
- Version for material change, edit for typos.
- Decide the mid-course rule before publishing.
- Retire, never delete, a course with completions.
- Stagger initial assignment so refreshers do not bunch.