Managing Supplemental Learning

This chapter provides an overview of supplemental learning and discusses how to:

Set up supplemental learning types.
Report supplemental learning.

Understanding Supplemental Learning

Learners might complete learning opportunities beyond the cataloged activities and programs, for which you need to keep a record. For example, they might attend a seminar or conference, take an academic course, have equivalent external work experience, or acquire some form of on-the-job training. The supplemental learning feature enables learners to receive credit within your learning system for completing these other forms of learning. Your organization defines the types of supplemental learning available, and learners, managers, and administrators can then add supplemental learning achievements to a learner's record based on these types.

Mapping Options

When defining a supplemental learning type, you can enable mapping of the supplemental learning to an equivalent catalog item or program that already exists in the catalog, or to an existing objective. The user selects the relevant catalog item, program, or objective when reporting the supplemental learning.

If you enable mapping to equivalent programs, users can select only those programs that are set up to allow waivers. To enable complete program waivers, select the corresponding check box on the Maintain Programs - Details page.

Approvals

You can require approval of supplemental learning. When approval is required, and the user selects a Submit for Approval status on the Supplemental Learning submission page, the system sets the status of the supplemental learning to Pending Approval. During this time, the user can edit the supplemental learning submission or drop it. If approved, the system updates the status to Completed. When approval is not required and the user selects Submit for Approval, the system automatically approves the request and sets the status to Completed.

The following rules also apply:

When a learner who has no manager submits a request that requires manager approval, the system sets the status to Completed when the learner selects Submit for Approval.
When a manager who is required to approve a learner's supplemental learning submits a request for the learner, the learning is considered approved when the manager selects the Submit for Approval status.

If the user has mapped the supplemental learning to an equivalent catalog item or program, upon completing the supplemental learning, the system sets the status of each catalog item or program to waived. When a catalog item or program is waived, the system automatically assigns learning objectives that are associated with the catalog item or program to the learner in met status, provided the objectives were previously assigned to the learner with a status of needed.

Setting Up Supplemental Learning Types

This section provides an overview of supplemental learning types and discusses how to:

Define supplemental learning type details.
Define supplemental learning type security.

Understanding Supplemental Learning Types

Use the Define Supplemental Learning component (LM_ADHC_SETUP) to define different types of ad hoc learning, including required and optional fields, approval requirements, equivalency mapping, and security. Learners, managers, and administrators can then use these supplemental learning types to add supplemental learning accomplishments for a learner.

Enterprise Learning Management delivers several supplemental learning types: conference, equivalent experience, external learning, on-the-job training, and seminar. You can modify these delivered types and define new ones as required.

Important! To enable learners to view supplemental learning on the self-service All Learning page, and managers to view supplemental learning through the Team Learning page, use the Learning Filters (LM_FILTER) component to specify which supplemental learning types to make visible to users.

Pages Used to Set Up Supplemental Learning Types

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Supplemental Learning - Details	LM_ADHC_SETUP_PG	Enterprise Learning, Catalog, Define Supplemental Learning, Details	Create or modify supplemental learning types.
Supplemental Learning - Security	LM_ADHC_LE_PG	Enterprise Learning, Catalog, Define Supplemental Learning, Security	Identify the learning environment and learner groups that can access this supplemental learning type.

Defining Supplemental Learning Type Details

Access the Supplemental Learning - Details page.

Details

Type	The name of the ad hoc learning type. The system displays this value in the Type field from which users can select when reporting supplemental learning.
Effective Date and Status	Select the effective date and status for the supplemental learning type. The effective date controls when the system makes this supplemental learning type available to use for adding supplemental learning.

Display Fields

Use this group box to select the fields that you want to display on the Supplemental Learning submission form and indicate whether completion of each selected field is required.

In the Free Field One through Free Field Four fields, you can enter field labels for additional data that you want to track with this supplemental learning type. The data that users subsequently enter in free fields on the Supplemental Learning submission form is for information purposes only.

Equivalencies

You can set up a supplemental learning type to enable learners to map supplemental learning to catalog items, programs, and objectives. Selecting the following check boxes, causes an Add Activity button, Add Objectives button, or Add Program button to appear on the Supplemental Learning submission page, as applicable. The user can click the button to search for the equivalent learning or objective. When learners complete a supplemental learning to which they've mapped an activity, program, or objective, the system records the item as waived for the learner.

Map To Equivalent Activities	Select to enable the user to map this supplemental learning type to equivalent catalog items in the learning catalog. (From the learner's perspective, catalog items are referred to as activities because the learner does not distinguish between a catalog item and an activity.)
Map To Objectives	Select to enable the user to map this supplemental learning type to objectives.
Map To Equivalent Programs	Select to enable the user to map this supplemental learning type to equivalent curricula or certification programs.

Administrations and Approvals

Use this group box to specify administration and approval information.

Approval Type

If the supplemental learning requires approval prior to an internal learner receiving credit for it, select the approval process definition here.

You can select from the approval process definitions defined for your organization.

See Approval Process Definition Setup.

Special Approver

If the approval process definition selected in the Approval Type field calls for a special approver, select that person here. If the approval process definition does not require a special approver, the system ignores the name entered here.

Owner

As reference, enter the name of the person responsible for constructing or managing this supplemental learning type.

Note. Administrators and special approvers use the approvals page to approve requests. Managers use the self-service Team Members page to approve requests.

Instructions

Enter the instructions that will appear at the top of the page when a learner or manager adds a supplemental learning.

Defining Supplemental Learning Type Security

Access the Supplemental Learning - Security page.

Learning Environment

Use these fields to specify the learning environments for which this catalog item is valid.

Learning Environment

The system displays the learning administrator's environment as the default. By adding other learning environments, you enable administrators of those environments to update this supplemental learning type.

Important! Be sure that your learning environment is listed here. If it's not, you will lose the ability to access this item after you leave this component.

Primary Learning Environment

This object must be associated with at least one learning environment. In this field, select the primary environment with which this object is associated. You cannot remove the primary learning environment from this page without first selecting another environment as the primary. You can change the primary learning environment on this page at any time.

Learner Group Description

Identify which learner groups can access this supplemental learning type. The administrator can select from the learner groups that have been defined for any of the learning environments associated with the supplemental learning type. To access this supplemental learning type, a learner must belong to a learner group that is listed here.

Reporting Supplemental Learning

This section lists the pages administrators can use to add and edit supplemental learning.

Managers and learners can use self-service pages to add and edit supplemental learning. The self-service pages are similar to the administrator pages that are listed here.

Pages Used to Report Supplemental Learning

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Add Supplemental Learning	LM_ADM_FND_LRNR	Enterprise Learning, Learner Tasks, Add Supplemental Learning, Supplemental Learning - Find Learners	Find and select the learner for whom to report supplemental learning.
Supplemental Learning (select type)	LM_SEL_ADHC_TYPE	Click the Add button for a learner on the Supplemental Learning - Find Learners page.	Select the type of supplemental learning to add for the learner.
Supplemental Learning (add)	LM_ADHC_LRN_PG	Select a supplemental learning type on the Supplemental Learning (select type) page and click the Continue button.	Add supplemental learning for a learner.
Add Program To Get Credit For	LM_ADHC_PRG_LKP	Click the Add Program button on the Supplemental Learning (add) page.	Search for and select the equivalent program to which this supplemental learning maps. Only the programs that allow waivers are available for selection.
Add Activity To Get Credit For	LM_ADHC_CI_PG	Click the Add Activity button on the Supplemental Learning (add) page.	Search for and select the equivalent catalog items to which this supplemental learning maps. From the learner's perspective, catalog items are referred to as activities because the learner does not distinguish between a catalog item and an activity.
Add Objective To Get Credit For	LM_ADHC_OBJ_PG	Click the Add Objectives button on the Supplemental Learning (add) page.	Search for and select the objectives to which this supplemental learning maps.
Supplemental Learning (edit)	LM_ADHC_LRN_PG	Enterprise Learning, Learner Tasks, View All Learning, Find Learners Search for and select a learner. On the Learner View page click the title of the supplemental learning.	Edit the supplemental learning request. You cannot edit supplemental learning after it has been approved.

Adding Supplemental Learning

Access the Supplemental Learning (add) page.

The fields that appear on this page depend on the settings defined for the supplemental learning type through the Supplemental Learning setup component (LM_ADHC_SETUP).

Status

Select from the following values: Completed, Denied, Dropped, In Progress, Pending approval, or Planned.