Troubleshooting Due Dates

Troubleshooting due dates is an important task for LMS administrators to master. This allows admins to understand why training items are getting assigned on certain dates, why certain items are or are not appearing on learners' desktops, and how to correct possible issues in their curriculum.

Below are the guidelines for troubleshooting Due Dates

• Training Items will not appear until 60 days before the due date by default.
• You are able to change this per training item by adding days to the Days Displayed Before Due Date in Curriculum > Training Items.
• Assignment due dates are 30days from today's date (date of assignment).
• For recurring training items, the system will automatically assign a new date due date based on the last date completed.

• A training item that is recurring must be completed each year it is assigned. 

• When a training item is assigned via a skillset (or job) there will be a component due date and a people due date. Unless the component due date is enforced, the system will look to use the later of the two due dates.

• The People Information > Curriculum tab will show how trainings are getting assigned to that learner (via a job, skillset or direct)
• The People Information > Assignments tab will display all trainings assigned to that learner, even ones in a job and/or skillset.
• The Curriculum > Training Items > People tab will show all direct assignments.
• The Curriculum > Training Items > Assignments tab will show all users assigned to that training item, even ones assigned via a job or skillset.

Data Gathering

Follow the steps below to gather data for troubleshooting the source of the due date.

1. Select People > People Information > find the learner whose assignment due date you are troubleshooting.
2. Select the Curriculum tab.
   1. The assignment must be listed here, either as a training item assigned directly, or as a component of one of the jobs or skillsets. 
   2. If you do not see the training item in this list, it must be part of a skillset or a job. Skip to step 6.
3. Click on the training item and write down the curriculum due date.
4. Click the Assignments tab. Using the search box, find the training item and click on it. Write down the assignment due date and retest period (if any) from the right side.
5. Select the Curriculum tab again.
   1. If you do not see any skillsets or jobs in the curriculum list, go to step 8.
6. Select one of jobs and/or skillsets in the curriculum list, and select components next to the item title.
7. Check if the training item is one of the components in the table displayed. If yes, write down the skillset component due date, skillset component retest period, Period Due from Assignment, and Enforce (Yes/No) for this component.
8. Close the components details window.
9. For the skillset or the job for which you collected information in step 7, write down the curriculum due date.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 until you have viewed all the components of all the jobs and skillsets in the learner's curriculum.
11. Select the Records tab.
12. Is there a learner record for the training item assignment you are troubleshooting?
    1. You may see multiple records for the same training item, especially if this is a recurring assignment. The record must be a credited or a PASS record.
13. If Yes, write down the most recent Date Completed of the credited record, and go to Analysis - Learner Record.
14. If No, go to Analysis - No Learner Record.

Analysis - No Learner Record
Review these questions if the learner does not have a credited training record for this training:

1. Does the learner have training items assigned directly only?
   1. If Yes, then curriculum due date becomes the assignment due date. Please exit this analysis.
2. Does the learner have trainings assigned via skillset or job? If Yes, continue to next step.
3. If Enforce is checked (Yes) the skillset component due date becomes the assignment due date.
4. If Enforce is not checked (No), compare the skillset component due date with the curriculum due date and circle the later date (Due Date rule). Continue to next step.
5. Is there a Period Due From Assignment?
   1. If Yes, add the period (in months) to the later of the dates to calculate the assignment due date, please exit this analysis.
   2. If No, the later of the dates is the assignment due date, please exit this analysis.

Findings:

• If the curriculum tab displays your training item either directly, via skillset or job, the same training item has been assigned multiple times.
  • If a training occurs more than once in the learner's curriculum and Enforce is checked (Yes) on any of the occurrences, the assignment due date is the skillset component due date where Enforce is checked. Any Period Due From Assignments and curriculum due dates are ignored.
• If the checklist has entries in more than one column and Enforce is not checked on any of the occurrences, the assignment due date is the soonest skillset component due date plus the largest Period Due From Assignment (if any).
• This date is then compared with all of the curriculum due dates and if a later value is found, it becomes the assignment due date (per the due date rule). Because of the complexity in troubleshooting the assignment due date in such situations, it is recommended that you adjust learner's curriculum and eliminate or minimize the duplicate assignments. In some situations, you may have to reconfigure skillset and job components to avoid duplications.

Analysis - Learner Record
Review these questions if the learner has a credited training record for this training. Key point to note here is that the learner is assigned the training again with a new assignment due date only if it is recurring training. Otherwise, the learner gets credit for the training, and the assignment due date field is cleared.

1. Does the learner have the training item assigned directly only?
   1. If Yes, and if the training does not have training item retest period, then this is a one-time assignment that the learner has completed, and the assignment due date field will be blank. Please exit this analysis.
   2. If No, and if this column has training item retest period, then add the retest period (in months) to the date completed. This becomes the assignment due date. Please exit this analysis.
2. Does curriculum tab have the training assigned via skillset or job? 
3. If Enforce is not checked in this column, the recurring skillset component due date is enforced for each occurrence of skillset component retest period. Add the skillset component retest period(s) to the skillset component due date to come up with the assignment due date for the retest period of interest (must be greater than the date completed). 
4. Please exit this analysis if the curriculum tab is the only column with entries; otherwise, go to step 6.
5. Is there a skillset component retest period?
   1. If Yes, add the skillset component retest period to the date completed. This is the assignment due date. Please exit this analysis if column 2 is the only column with entries; otherwise, go to step 6.
   2. If No, and if the training item does not have a retest period (you may check it by going to Curriculum > Training Items from system menu if within your access level), then this is a one time assignment and the assignment due date field will be blank.
6. If the training item has a retest period, add this to the date completed to calculate the next assignment due date. Please exit this analysis if column 2 is the only column with entries; otherwise, continue to the next step.

Findings:

• If the checklist has entries in columns 1 and 2, and if Enforce is checked, the assignment due date will follow same rules as step 3.
• If Enforce is not checked, assignment due date will follow same rules as step 4 (training item retest period should be listed in column 1).
• If there are entries in additional columns of the checklist and if Enforce is not checked anywhere, add the smallest retest period to the date completed to calculate the next assignment due date.