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Foundry
Assignments are how learners are connected with content. One assignment can go out to any number of learners and can include any number of learning activities. On Foundry, there are two different types of assignments administrators can create for learners: Quick Assignments and Automated Assignments.
There are benefits to both types of assignments and knowing how you want to administer your training is crucial for selecting the right type for your organization. This article will lay out the functionality of creating and monitoring assignments and example use cases to optimize Foundry for your training plan. For more information on timing of when learners receive the assignments, see the FAQ section of Communications.
Before creating any assignment, it is recommended to have all the components already set up so you can apply them to this assignment. That includes having learners correctly categorized and platform communications drafted.
Which Version of Assignments Are You Using?
In 2020, we made several improvements to how Foundry manages and categorizes assignments giving administrators more control over who receives what content. The following article outlines the new assignment logic and features. Our goal is to have all customers using this newer functionality. To determine which version of assignments you are using, follow the steps below:
- Log into the Foundry Administrator Dashboard
- Look for “Settings” in the left navigation towards the bottom
- If there is no “Settings,” then follow the instructions below.
- If there is “Settings” but there is not “Training Periods,” then follow the instructions below.
- If there is “Settings” and there is “Training Periods,” then go to this Assignment Creation article.
If steps 3 or 4 apply to you, but you are interested in using the newer functionality, please contact Customer Support with this request.
Part 2 Follow-Up Surveys
When making course assignments, you may notice that many EVERFI courses have two parts. This is mostly for our Higher Education student courses, but there are some employee courses that have this feature as well. Read our best practice suggestions on how to set these up and why EVERFI courses are built this way: Assigning Part 2 Learning Activities.
Creating Assignments
With Quick Assignments, an administrator needs to select a specific list of learners, the learning activity/activities, and a specific due date. This is best used for one-time training and if you want all learners to have the same due date. Some examples include annual employee compliance training or new student orientation.
Create a Quick Assignment
- Click Assignments in the left navigation to see the Manage Assignments page
- If there is more than one department or user type in your Foundry account, make sure to first select the appropriate audience tab
- Click Create Assignment in the top right corner of the screen
- Complete the following fields
Assignment Name | This is internal only and learners will not see this. Be specific and clear so you and other administrators know what the assignment is used for. You can include the time frame, the courses, or learner group this assignment is for. This cannot be adjusted after the Invite Start date. |
Training Period | Training Periods help you manage assignments to more easily track who receive content when. We recommend naming each Training Period to represent a meaningful timeframe so you can easily use them when reporting on training progress. Contact Customer Support to create new Training Periods. This cannot be adjusted after the Invite Start date.
Examples: Academic Year 2020-2021, New Hire Training Q1 2020, Annual Training 2020 |
Learning Activities | Select the courses to include in this assignment. This option is multi-select, but we do not recommend assigning more than 3 learning activities per assignments. This cannot be adjusted after the Invite Start date.
Note: If you see a learning activity includes “Part 2,” then do not include it in the same assignment as the Part 1 of the topic. Part 2 is a post-course survey only and is intended to be taken 4-6 weeks after completing Part 1. See here for instructions to assign Part 2. |
Learners* | Select the learners to receive the assignment. You can search for individuals to add or use any of the filters that are seen throughout Foundry.
Filters are:
If you use a filter, you also need to check the boxes to the left of the names (or the select-all box to the left of “First Name”) to complete the action and select learners. |
Invite Template | This is the email that will be sent to learners on the Assignment Start Date and how they will access Foundry to complete their assignment. This cannot be adjusted after the Invite Start date. |
Invites Start* | The date when learners will be invited to start the assignment and can be as soon as today. Invitation emails from Foundry can be turned off which cannot be adjusted after the Invites Start date. This date also cannot be adjusted after it has already passed. |
Due Date* | The date when the assignment is due for learners. On this date, the assignment will change to “Closed” meaning no new learners can be invited but existing learners will be able to continue to make progress. This can be adjusted after the Invites Start date, but not after the Due Date has passed. |
Reminder Template | This is the email that will be sent to learners who have not completed the full assignment. This can be turned off completely and can be adjusted after the Invites Start date. |
Reminder Schedule | The next four options allow you to determine if and when reminders go out before and after the due date. This can be turned off completely and can be adjusted after the Invites Start date. |
Advanced Settings | Prevent Duplicate Assignments can be set in this section. See the section called “Learner Selection Filter Logic” below for more details.
Surveys and supplemental question sets (which are dependent on the learning activity) can be disabled in this section. If a survey is disabled, learners will still be directed to take the in-course quizzes and assessments. Administrators will not receive an Impact Report if surveys are disabled. Administrators can also force Close or Archive the assignment. |
* = Different for Automated Assignments
Automated Assignments offer more flexibility since the way learners are added to the assignment is based off learner criteria, such as Custom Categories and Labels, Locations, and previously completed learning activities. Every night, Foundry will search through the users in your account and pull in all learners who fit the set criteria.
Note: Invitations are sent based on a queue and may not all be sent instantly when the assignment is created. We recommend checking back the next day after the system has fully processed all learners. If learners were not assigned due to an error, they will appear in the Assignment Settings with the status “Error.”
This is best used for assignments need to be completed on a rolling basis without a specific due date. Some examples include courses for sanctions, ongoing new hire training, and assigning post-course surveys (Part 2).
Create an Automated Assignment
- Click Assignments in the left navigation to see the Manage Assignments page
- If there is more than one department or user type in your Foundry account, make sure to first select the appropriate audience tab
- Click Create Assignment in the top right corner of the screen
- Click Create Automated Assignment and confirm
- Complete the following fields
Assignment Name | This is internal only and learners will not see this. Be specific and clear so you and other administrators know what the assignment is used for. You can include the time frame, the courses, or learner group this assignment is for. This cannot be adjusted after the Automation Begins date. |
Training Period | Training Periods help you manage assignments to more easily track who receive content when. We recommend naming each Training Period to represent a meaningful timeframe so you can easily use them when reporting on training progress. Contact Customer Support to create new Training Periods. This cannot be adjusted after the Invite Start date.
Examples: Academic Year 2020-2021, New Hire Training Q1 2020, Annual Training 2020 |
Learning Activities | Select the courses to include in this assignment. This option is multi-select, but we do not recommend assigning more than 3 learning activities per assignments. This cannot be adjusted after the Automation Begins date.
Note: If you see a learning activity includes “Part 2,” then do not include it in the same assignment as the Part 1 of the topic. Part 2 is a post-course survey only and is intended to be taken 4-6 weeks after completing Part 1. Automated Assignments is the recommend way to assign Part 2 separately to create an intersession. See here for instructions to assign Part 2. |
Selection Criteria* | Instead of picking a set roster of names to add to the assignment, Automated assignments require you to select the criteria for learners. The system will check for eligible learners and assign them daily. If nothing is selected here, all learners will receive this assignment.
This cannot be adjusted after the Automation Begins date. Filters are:
For the Custom Labels filter, there is some logic to be aware of to ensure you are actually including all learners you want. See the “Learner Selection Filter Logic” section below. For courses with a Part 2 survey, we recommend using this filter to set the same intersession for all users. |
Invite Template | This is the email that will be sent to learners on the Assignment Start Date and how they will access Foundry to complete their assignment. Invitation emails from Foundry can be turned off per assignment, but we recommend having an alternative alert to learners that something has been assigned.
The invite template cannot be adjusted after the Automation Begins date. The option to turn/off invitation emails can be adjusted after the Automated Begins date. |
Automation Begins* | The date when Foundry begins looking through your learner list to find those who match the criteria and will send invitations. This cannot be adjusted after the initial date has passed. |
Automation Stops* | The date when Foundry stops sending invitations to new learners who meet the criteria to the assignment. On this date, the assignment will close and no new learners can be invited to train. Those who were already assigned can continue progress. This can be adjusted after the Automation Begins date up until the day the Automation Stops. |
Due Duration* | The number of days after a learner receives the assignment invitation before it is due. Because invitations are sent out on a rolling basis, the due date can vary per learner. This can be adjusted after the Automation Begins date. |
Reminder Template | This is the email that will be sent to learners who have not completed the full assignment. This can be turned off completely and can be adjusted after the Automation Begins date. |
Reminder Schedule | The next four options allow you to determine if and when reminders go out before and after the due date. This can be turned off completely and can be adjusted after the Automation Begins date. |
Advanced Settings | Surveys and supplemental question sets (which are dependent on the learning activity) can be disabled in this section. If a survey is disabled, learners will still be directed to take the in-course quizzes and assessments. Administrators will not receive an Impact Report if surveys are disabled.
Administrators can also force Close or Archive the assignment. |
* = Different for Quick Assignments
When creating assignments, using Custom Categories and Labels is a great tool to help organize learners and ensure the right populations are receiving the right content. There are some nuances and considerations to understand when using these and other filters when creating assignments which are outlined below.
And vs. Or Logic
If you are using any of the filters, understanding the logic behind the scenes is crucial to know who will receive an assignment or not.
- If 2 Labels are selected within the same Category, then OR logic applies.
- If 2 Labels are selected across 2 Categories, Locations, and Roles, then AND logic applies.
- For example, in this case learners who have both Gryffindor and Gryffindor Captain Labels will receive this assignment. Additionally, learners who have both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Captain Labels will receive this assignment.
“Must have already complete all of…”
This filter looks at the historical records of users and excludes those who have completed the selected learning activity at any point in the past. If you decide to use the intersession, then you can specify the number of days after completion when the new assignment goes out.
In the example below, learners who completed AlcoholEdu for College: Primary will receive this assignment 45 days later. This is how we suggest creating Part 2 Assignments.
“Must have never before been assigned any of…”
Foundry looks at previous assignments and whether or not the selected learning activity is currently assigned to a learner. The system will exclude any learner that has an active assignment with the selected learning activity, regardless of the learner’s participation status. If the selected course in this filter was previously “Deactivated” or “Closed” for a learner, that learner will be eligible to receive this course again.
For example, when Bridges | Taking Action is selected for this filter, Foundry will search for all users who do not have an active assignment with that course.
- If a user has never been assigned Bridges | Taking Action, then they are eligible for this assignment.
- If a user was assigned Bridges | Taking Action in the past and the assignment was deactivated or closed, then they are eligible for this assignment.
- If a user was assigned Bridges | Taking Action in the past and the assignment is still active, then the learner will not be eligible for this assignment. An active assignment has the status
- This will happen regardless of the learner’s progress (can be Not Started, In Progress, Complete, or Past Due).
Prevent Duplicate Assignments
There are times when learners may need to take the same course more than once during their tenure at your organization. The purpose of this section is to explain a few training situations and the recommended steps to set up an assignment correctly.
In 2020, we made several improvements to how Foundry manages and categorizes assignments giving administrators more control over who receives what content. These new features are particularly relevant when it comes to retraining learners on the same content.
If you are interested in learning more about the new assignment logic, you can reach out to Customer Support to turn it on for your account.
Using Quick Assignments to Retrain
If you want to use a Quick Assignment to retrain learners, then we recommend de-selecting the box for “Prevent Duplicate Assignments” in the Advanced Settings menu. This will ensure all learners you picked to receive the training will be included in the assignment.
Using Automated Assignments to Retrain
If you want to retrain learners using Automated Assignments, we first recommend ensuring you understand what each of the filters do and that your Custom Labels are up to date (see above). This way, when you set the “Auto-Selection Criteria” you can understand who is receiving the invitations.
To avoid any confusion or the chance that learners may be excluded from an assignment, we also strongly recommend deactivating any old assignments that are now past due. Not only does this clean up your Foundry account, but it also allows the Foundry filters to operate as expected. In particular, pay attention to any assignments with the same learning activities and the same learners as the new assignment you want to create.
Deactivating Assignments
This process will completely close down an assignment meaning learners can no longer make progress in the course and no new learners can be added.
- Go to Assignments and search for the assignment you want to deactivate
- Click into the assignment tile
- Go to the Assignment Settings tab
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Show Advanced Settings
- Click Deactivate Assignment
- Confirm by clicking Update Assignment
For Automated Assignments, there are 2 options to close down an assignment which is dependent on what you want learners to have access to.
- Deactivate Assignment will completely close down an assignment meaning learners can no longer make progress in the course and no new learners can be added.
- Stop Automation will only prevent new learners from being pulled into the assignment. Any learner already assigned the course will be able to continue progress until completion or until the assignment is deactivated.
Both of these options can be found and adjusted in the same place in the Assignment Settings.
- Go to Assignments and search for the assignment you want to adjust
- Click into the assignment tile
- Go to the Assignment Settings tab
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Show Advanced Settings
- Click either Deactivate Assignment or Stop Automation depending on which option you want (descriptions above)
- Confirm by clicking Update Assignment
Quick Assignment Statuses
Status | Scheduled | Started | Ended | Deactivated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Why use this? | I want to set up my assignment ahead of time so I am not rushing on the planned start date. | On and after the Start Date, this is how I know invitations went out to learners. | The assignment is still Active but it is now past the due date. | I need to manually end an assignment so learners cannot make new progress. |
Can I edit the assignment? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Can I add learners? | Yes | Yes, before the due date. | No | No |
Invitations | No invites | Invites go out to scheduled learners on the Start Date. Anyone added later on will receive the invite when assigned. | No invites | No invites |
Reminders | No reminders | Reminders go out as scheduled. | No reminders | No reminders |
Learner Dashboard | No card visible | Visible on Open tab until completed. | Visible on Closed tab. Learners can review completed courses only. | Visible on Closed tab |
Training Progress Report | Learner Status = "Not Started, Selected" | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status at time of Close (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) | Learner Status = Closed |
Can I unassign learners? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Can learners be reassigned this content in the future? | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. |
Can I delete or deactivate? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Status | Why use this? |
---|---|
Scheduled | I want to set up my assignment ahead of time so I am not rushing on the planned start date. |
Started | On and after the Start Date, this is how I know invitations went out to learners. |
Ended | The assignment is still Active but it is now past the due date. |
Deactivated | I need to manually end an assignment so learners cannot make new progress. |
Status | Can I edit the assignment? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Can I add learners? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes, before the due date. |
Ended | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Invitations |
Scheduled | No invites |
Started | Invites go out to scheduled learners on the Start Date. Anyone added later on will receive the invite when assigned. |
Ended | No invites |
Deactivated | No invites |
Status | Reminders |
Scheduled | No reminders |
Started | Reminders go out as scheduled. |
Ended | No reminders |
Deactivated | No reminders |
Status | Learner Dashboard |
Scheduled | No card visible |
Started | Visible on Open tab until completed. |
Ended | Visible on Closed tab. Learners can review completed courses only. |
Deactivated | Visible on Closed tab |
Status | Training Progress Report |
Scheduled | Learner Status = "Not Started, Selected" |
Started | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) |
Ended | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status at time of Close (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) |
Deactivated | Learner Status = Closed |
Status | Can I unassign learners? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Can learners be reassigned this content in the future? |
Scheduled | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. |
Started | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. |
Ended | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. |
Deactivated | Yes. In the "Advanced Settings" section of creating the new assignment, "Prevent Duplicate Assignments" must be de-selected. |
Status | Can I delete or deactivate? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | Yes |
Deactivated | Yes |
Automated Assignment Statuses
Status | Scheduled | Started | Ended | Automation Ended by Administrator | Deactivated |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Why use this? | I want to set up my assignment ahead of time so I am not rushing on the planned start date. | On and after the Start Date, this is how I know invitations went out to learners. | The assignment is still Active but it is now past the due date. | I want to prevent new learners from being added while letting current learners continue to make progress. | I need to manually end an assignment so learners cannot make new progress. |
Can I edit the assignment? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Can I add learners? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Invitations | No | Invites go out to scheduled learners on the Start Date. Anyone added later on will receive the invite when assigned. | No | No | No |
Reminders | No | Reminders go out as scheduled. | No | No | No |
Learner Dashboard | No card visible | Visible on Open tab until completed. | Visible on Closed tab. Learners can review completed courses only. | Visible on Open tab until completed. | Visible on Closed tab |
Training Progress Report | Assignment is listed as "Scheduled." User progress is not created yet. | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status at time of Ended (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) | Learner Status = Closed |
Can I unassign learners? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Can learners be reassigned this content in the future? | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. | Yes. |
Can I delete or deactivate? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Status | Why use this? |
---|---|
Scheduled | I want to set up my assignment ahead of time so I am not rushing on the planned start date. |
Started | On and after the Start Date, this is how I know invitations went out to learners. |
Ended | The assignment is still Active but it is now past the due date. |
Automation Ended by Administrator | I want to prevent new learners from being added while letting current learners continue to make progress. |
Deactivated | I need to manually end an assignment so learners cannot make new progress. |
Status | Can I edit the assignment? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | No |
Automation Ended by Administrator | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Can I add learners? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | No |
Automation Ended by Administrator | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Invitations |
Scheduled | No |
Started | Invites go out to scheduled learners on the Start Date. Anyone added later on will receive the invite when assigned. |
Ended | No |
Automation Ended by Administrator | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Reminders |
Scheduled | No |
Started | Reminders go out as scheduled. |
Ended | No |
Automation Ended by Administrator | No |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Learner Dashboard |
Scheduled | No card visible |
Started | Visible on Open tab until completed. |
Ended | Visible on Closed tab. Learners can review completed courses only. |
Automation Ended by Administrator | Visible on Open tab until completed. |
Deactivated | Visible on Closed tab |
Status | Training Progress Report |
Scheduled | Assignment is listed as "Scheduled." User progress is not created yet. |
Started | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) |
Ended | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status at time of Ended (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) |
Automation Ended by Administrator | Learner Status = individual progress/participation status (Not Started, In Progress, Complete, Past Due) |
Deactivated | Learner Status = Closed |
Status | Can I unassign learners? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | No |
Automation Ended by Administrator | Yes |
Deactivated | No |
Status | Can learners be reassigned this content in the future? |
Scheduled | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. |
Started | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. |
Ended | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. |
Automation Ended by Administrator | Yes, but the old Automated Assignment needs to be Deactivated. |
Deactivated | Yes. |
Status | Can I delete or deactivate? |
Scheduled | Yes |
Started | Yes |
Ended | Yes |
Automation Ended by Administrator | Yes |
Deactivated | No |