Recertification Date and Due Date -what's the difference?
Updated
by Lyndsay
These two dates can be a bit confusing, so let's demystify their meaning and purpose!
Due Date is the date by which you are asking a Learner to complete a currently assigned course. Only courses that have not been completed have a Due Date. When you assign a course, the Due Date is determined by your Default Due Date setting under Settings > Organization> Training Settings
Due dates let your employee know when their course should be completed, and also determine the frequency of automated reminders.
More about this, including how to turn reminders on/off and how frequently they are sent, can be found here: Due Dates and Reminders FAQ
Recertification Date represents the next time the employee is due to retake a course. These are assigned to both complete and incomplete courses. The Recertification Date visible from the Learners listview represents the closest recertification date for all courses that have been assigned.
When a course is assigned, a placeholder recertification date is also assigned based on how often the course needs to be renewed, based on your Training Frequency settings, found under Settings > Training Frequency
More about Recertification Frequency can be found here: Training Recertification Frequency - How do I change how often a course is assigned?
If a Learner completes the course on the day that it was assigned, the Recertification date will stay the same. However, as we all know, this is seldom the case! That's why the placeholder date will update when the Learner completes the course, so they will recertify based on when they completed it, not when the course was assigned.
Example Case
My employee, Alex Ames, needs to take the Harassment Prevention: CA Supervisor course. Since this course is mandated every other year, the Training Frequency is set to 24 Months. Since I want my Learners to complete their course no later than a month from when it is assigned, my Default Due Date Setting is 2 Months.
- I assigned the course on July 21, 2023.
- The Due Date is September 19, 2023, based on my Default Due Date Setting of 2 months.
- The placeholder Recertification Date is July 21, 2025.
- If Alex completes the course today, the Recertification Date will remain the same - 24 months from today, July 21, 2025.
- If Alex completes the course on August 2nd, 2023, the Recertification Date will update to August 2nd, 2025.
- If Alex completes the course on January 3, 2024, the Recertification Date will update to January 3, 2026.
