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Adding Policies

Create and manage organisational policies

Overview

Policies in the LMS are a special type of course used for:

  • Company policies requiring acknowledgment
  • Regulatory documents that need to be read and accepted
  • Annual policy refreshers
  • Document sign-off tracking

Understanding Policies vs Courses

FeatureRegular CoursePolicy
ContentInteractive learning, quizzes, videosDocuments for reading
CompletionPass score, assessmentsAcknowledgment/agreement
PurposeSkill buildingCompliance evidence
Typical durationVariableShort (read time only)

Creating a Policy

Policies are created as courses with specific settings.

1

Access Course Management

  1. Log in as an Admin
  2. Go to Admin → Course Management
  3. Click Add Course
2

Configure as a Policy

Basic Information

FieldValue
TitleClear policy name (e.g., "Data Protection Policy 2024")
DescriptionBrief summary of what the policy covers
CategoryCreate or select a "Policies" category
TypeSelect "Policy" if available, or use standard course

Policy-Specific Settings

  • Is Policy: Enable if there's a toggle
  • Content Type: Document/PDF rather than SCORM
  • Duration: Estimated read time
  • Requires Acknowledgment: Enable
3

Upload the Policy Document

  1. Prepare your policy as a PDF
  2. Upload the file
  3. Users will view and acknowledge this document
4

Configure Acknowledgment

If your LMS has acknowledgment features:

  • Enable Requires Acknowledgment
  • Set acknowledgment text (e.g., "I have read and understood this policy")
  • Configure as mandatory checkbox
5

Set Assignment

Policies typically apply to everyone:

  • Make Mandatory: Assign to all users
  • Or assign to specific groups
  • Set due date if there's a compliance deadline
6

Configure Expiry (If Needed)

For annual policy refreshers:

  • Enable Expiry
  • Set expiry period (e.g., 12 months)
  • Users must re-acknowledge when expired
7

Save the Policy

Click Save Course to create the policy.

Policy Content Options

Option 1: PDF Upload

The simplest approach:

  1. Create policy as a PDF
  2. Upload to the LMS
  3. Users view and acknowledge

Option 2: SCORM Package

For more tracking:

  1. Create a simple SCORM package
  2. Include the policy document
  3. Add acknowledgment at the end
  4. Completion tracked through SCORM

Option 3: Course Builder

Using the built-in course builder:

  1. Create content pages with policy text
  2. No quiz required
  3. Completion on final page

See Course Builder for details.

Tracking Policy Acknowledgment

Viewing Completion Status

To see who has acknowledged a policy:

  1. Go to Admin → Course Management
  2. Find the policy
  3. View completion/progress reports

What You'll See

StatusMeaning
CompletedUser has acknowledged
Not StartedUser hasn't opened the policy
In ProgressUser opened but hasn't acknowledged
ExpiredPrevious acknowledgment has expired

Exporting Acknowledgment Records

For audits:

  1. Go to Admin → Reports
  2. Filter by the policy
  3. Export completion data
  4. Shows who acknowledged and when

Policy Expiry and Renewal

Annual Policies

For policies that need yearly acknowledgment:

  1. Enable expiry on the policy
  2. Set to 12 months
  3. Users automatically need to re-acknowledge after expiry

What Users Experience

  • Policy shows as "Expired" on their dashboard
  • Appears in overdue training
  • Must open and acknowledge again

Tracking Renewals

Reports show:

  • Original acknowledgment date
  • Expiry date
  • Renewal acknowledgment date
  • Complete history

Common Policy Types

PolicyTypical ExpiryScope
Information Security12 monthsAll users
Health and Safety12 monthsAll users
Data Protection/GDPR12 monthsAll users
Code of Conduct12 monthsAll users
Acceptable Use12 monthsAll users
Anti-Bribery12 monthsAll users
Safeguarding12 monthsRelevant roles
Financial Controls12 monthsFinance team

Best Practices

Clear Naming

Use descriptive titles:

  • ✅ "Information Security Policy - January 2024"
  • ✅ "Health and Safety Policy v3.2"
  • ❌ "Policy 1" or "Document"

Version Control

When policies update:

  1. Create a new policy version
  2. Archive or deactivate old version
  3. Assign new version to everyone
  4. Set completion deadline

Category Organisation

Create a "Policies" category:

  • All policies in one place
  • Easy to find in reports
  • Clear for users

Reasonable Deadlines

Give users time to complete:

  • 2 weeks for new policies
  • 1 month for annual refreshers
  • Account for holidays/busy periods

Troubleshooting

Users can't complete the policy

  • Check the acknowledgment is working
  • Verify the document loads
  • Test the policy yourself

Completion not being recorded

  • Check SCORM package if used
  • Verify acknowledgment settings
  • Have user try again after clearing cache

Need to reset someone's acknowledgment

  • Find user in User Management
  • View their progress
  • Look for option to reset course progress

Policy not appearing for users

  • Check it's set to Active
  • Verify assignment (mandatory or group)
  • Check visibility rules

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