November 2023 release 2

To improve the accessibility of the MFA system for learners and employers who are unable to use the authenticator app, Aptem now allows users to choose between two authentication methods: the authenticator app or email as their preferred authentication method.

Additional option under Settings >Security

A new toggle “Enable email authentication” has been added to the Security page under MFA. If enabled, this will enable your users to select email as an authentication method alongside the Authenticator App option. Administrators with the Manage Tenant Settings permission can configure this setting for their tenant.

Users can choose their authentication method

When the 'MFA' and 'Enable email authentication' toggles are enabled, all Aptem user types (admins, employer-logins, users, and referrers) are provided with the facility to choose between Authentication app and Email in the Console login screen. Please note that this is available only for the Console login page.

If a user selects the Email option, the authentication code will be sent to their account email.

Added fields to specify SAML details using UI

While creating Learners and Admins via UI, administrators can now specify Authentication type, SAML Identity provider, and SAML unique id in the ‘Create user’ and ‘Create Admin’ form pages in Aptem Classic. This option is also available in the Learner details section in Console. This allows the users to authenticate to simple SAML and Azure AD accounts.

Added fields to specify SAML details using API

While creating users/admins via API, in order to authenticate via SAML, three new fields are added to payload:

"authType": "SAML", \(Aptem or SAML\)
"idP": "Azure AD/Simple SAML"
"samlUserId": "student\*\*",

Created migration from old AuthType to new workflow fields

For SAML users, two new fields are introduced in table MWS\_Saml\_UserSamlPartRecord to identify Authentication type and SAML identity provider used.

We have updated the Accountability Framework within the Quality Power BI reporting dashboard to allow users to filter on the current year and previous year.

A new filter has been added to the Accountability page to enable users to see what the position was at the end of the previous year end. 

The options are: “Current year” (which is today) and “Previous year” (31st July that is prior to today)

When using the “Previous year” option in the filter:

• All learners that have started after the year end have been excluded.
• Actual end dates that are after the year end have been ignored.
  • The ‘outcome and status’ has been assumed to be “in learning” prior to that.
• Learners that have returned from a break since the year end are counted as still on a break.

With this change, the 'Planned end date' in 'Programme details' will not affect the minimum off-the-job hours calculation. The calculation will only use data from the ILR to calculate the minimum OtJ. 

This change will apply to the minimum off-the-job hours calculation regardless of the start date (before 01/08/2022 and from 01/08/2022)

This change will not affect the minimum off-the-job hours calculation in the programme details.

The reporting year calculation within the QAR calculation has been updated to include those learners who have had the “Force include in batch” completed on one of their learning aims. 

• Using “Force include in batch” pushes the reporting year to the value that has been entered against that record.
• The hybrid end year then uses this reporting year to determine the maximum of the 4 years; Planned end year, Actual end year, Achievement year and Reporting year.
• Hybrid year examples. 
  
  • Planned end year = 2025/26, Actual end year 2023/24, Achievement year 2023/24, Reporting year (force include) 2024/25: Hybrid year = 2025/26
  • Planned end year = 2022/23, Actual end year 2023/24, Achievement year 2023/24, Reporting year (force include) 2024/25: Hybrid year = 2024/25

• SAML users of Aptem can now end their session in Aptem and Simple SAML or Azure AD with no errors using IdP-initiated logout or AzureID logout.
• The error experienced by Admins when trying to assess submitted evidence has been fixed. The fix now works for logo resolution up to 2048 x 2048, by reducing the size to the recommended resolution of 500 x 500.
• On the QAR summary table, the 'Learner count' column has been renamed to 'Leavers count', to better reflect that this count represents learners that are leavers in that year. Also, the 'Leavers count' calculation has been updated to exclude learners that are on a break in learning and are not overdue. Overdue breaks are still counted in this value.

In order to give customers greater reporting and forecasting abilities with regards to the Reviews functionality, we will surface the following sections, including their responses via a new OData feed:

• Custom sections in reviews
• Core Topics
• EPA Gateway
• Individual Support Needs/ Requirements
• Short and Long Term Goals
• Comments
• RAG

This will ensure parity with the Classic review export functionality.

Where configured at the programme level, administrators will be able to add logos to the header. You will be able to add up to three logos to the header - right, centre, and left aligned.

We are further developing Aptem Assess, to:

• Allow cognitive assessments to be assigned to learners at any point in their learning journey. This enables customers to use Aptem Assess more flexibly. Learners can also be reassessed as the need arises.
• Provide richer depth of reporting against near-threshold learners who may need further review to determine exact ALS needs.
• Enable quality scoring of assessments, allowing those analysing results to identify misuse, disengagement or unusual behaviour that could have resulted in an inaccurate score. 
• Allow all data associated with this assessment to be extracted via OData.
• Provide additional learning support resources, accessible via the resource centre, that can be used to modify a learner’s learning plan.