October 2024 release notes

The Virtual Assistant is now available for all Enterprise customers. The Virtual Assistant will be enabled for all current Enterprise customers as part of the October release. This allows these customers to configure the assistant at their leisure without needing to request access via CSMs/ Support teams. Learners will NOT be able to interact with the assistant until the customer has completed their configuration setup via tenant settings.

For more information about the Virtual Assistant, see:

• Virtual assistant: Overview
• Enabling the Virtual Assistant

The following updates have been made to the Virtual Assistant functionality as part of the October release. 

A read-only chat history for the tutor

Based on client feedback, we have added a feature where tutors can access a read-only view of their learners' conversations with the virtual assistant. This can be found in the learner’s Learner Profile on a new Virtual Assistant History tab. This will show when the learner is on a programme with a live assistant.

To aid the tutor in identifying recent conversations, we have also included time stamps on each message.
This will allow tutors to review the conversation and pick out areas they should reinforce with their learners during their contact time. We also clearly indicate when the learner has yet to access the virtual assistant so the tutor can encourage them to start using it.

A more engaging welcome

We have updated the Virtual Assistant welcome message for new users. The new message includes some text to welcome the user along with some text on what standard the assistant can help with. In addition, a few topics that are covered in the standard are mentioned. These changes were made to ensure the first interaction with the virtual assistant is friendly and engaging whilst making it clear how the virtual assistant can help learners.

Enable the Virtual Assistant for all programmes or for specific programmes

Administrators can now configure Virtual Assistant settings for all programmes or specific programmes from the Tenant Settings page.

Checkpoint Permissions - Ability to turn on for all on a programme

Administrators can now manage Checkpoint permissions at the programme level using a new token.

When enabled, permissions are automatically applied to all existing and new learners. Disabling it will revoke permissions for all learners, except those with manually assigned permissions. These changes affect only the programme’s specific delivery type.

Other updates to Aptem Checkpoint

• Previously, administrators couldn’t create periodic triggers for the same programme with varying cadences, limiting flexibility in scheduling and automation. This update now allows administrators to set up triggers with customised cadences — whether weekly, monthly, or at other intervals —based on specific needs. This flexibility streamlines workflows, aligns with different course structures or compliance deadlines, and improves learner engagement by ensuring timely, relevant interactions.
  
  
• Tutors can now export data from the Checkpoint History screen in CSV format for in-depth analysis and reporting. An "Export" button has been added to the screen, enabling tutors to convert the visible table data into CSV format. After exporting, a confirmation message, "Data exported successfully," appears to confirm that the process was completed correctly.
  
  

The October release concludes the development work required to integrate with CENTURY. This release sees learners' results visible within Aptem. This update gives customers all currently available functionality from CENTURY. CENTURY is part of the Integrations add-ons, please follow the standard BAU processes to enable and support adoption via your CSM.

Century IA results are returned and reported in Aptem

When tutors review learners' CENTURY initial assessments in the Learning Plan, the results are reported directly within Aptem. After learners complete their CENTURY initial assessments, the results are attached to the Initial Assessment (IA) component via a timed job.

The report, provided as PDF evidence, contains user details and assessment results similar to BKSB and Skills Forward reports. Once the report is attached, the IA component is marked as ‘Complete.’

Century IAs can be accessed from the Learning Plan

Learners can now access Century Initial Assessments directly from their learning plan. The system will automatically register the learner, and the status will update as the assessment is in progress.

Century IAs are configurable on the Learning Plan in Programme Builder

We have enhanced the programme configuration process for Curriculum Managers by adding the ability to include CENTURY Initial Assessments (IA) in learners' learning plans.

Key Updates:

CENTURY IA Selection: When the CENTURY integration is enabled, CENTURY will now be available as an option in the "Functional Skills Initial Assessment" component under Type.
Applicability: This applies both in the programme builder and when adding a learning plan component to a specific learner's learning plan.

Century Type in Programme Builder

Century in Learning Plan Component

Subject Selection: Curriculum Managers can choose from Digital Skills, Maths, or English in the Subject dropdown to configure the appropriate CENTURY IA.

This update provides greater flexibility in designing learning plans, allowing Curriculum Managers to seamlessly integrate CENTURY Initial Assessments into learners' educational journeys. 

Initial Assessment results are displayed in Aptem

We have updated the system to allow Compliance Managers to view the results of learners' initial assessments from CENTURY, enabling more informed decisions regarding Functional Skills enrolment.

Key Updates:

Results Retrieval: Results from CENTURY are retrieved when learners complete the Functional Skills step in the onboarding wizard and are displayed in both the classic and console Functional Skills pages.
Review Display: The results are also visible in the Functional Skills step in a review.
Accurate Presentation: The results are shown exactly as they appear in CENTURY, ensuring consistency and clarity.
Conditional Display: CENTURY level descriptors will only appear when CENTURY is enabled. They will not appear in the manual level selector when CENTURY module is disabled.

The results retrieved from CENTURY include the following levels:

• E1 (Lower, Middle, Higher).
• E2 (Lower, Middle, Higher).
• E3 (Lower, Middle, Higher).
• L1 (Lower, Middle, Higher).
• L2 (Lower, Middle, Higher).

• When an MIS manager is using the Funding dashboard, and they want to be able to split and view the funding data by the UKPRN’s that they control, they can now do this by using the new UKPRN filter on each page. The default is that no UKPRNs are selected, which shows the total amounts, selecting a UKPRN or multiple ones will show the value for just the chosen UKPRNs.
  For a UKPRN to appear within the filter on the Headline page, funding must be generated, whereas the filter on all the other pages only needs a Learner against them.
• When an administrator is using the Caseload dashboard and they want to see their learner data by the age bands defined by the UK Government, they can now do this through the updated Age Band column. This column is available in the data tables in the Caseload by Assessor and Occupancy Report pages of the dashboard. Previously, the age banding on the Caseload dashboard differed to the Government’s categories, potentially causing confusion or misalignment in reporting and analysis. However, with this update, the Age Band column in the data tables available in the Caseload by Assessor and Occupancy Report pages of the dashboard have been adjusted to match the official UK Government age ranges. This alignment ensures consistency in how data is categorized and analysed, providing administrators with more accurate and relevant insights.
  
  

Aptem Data/ Integrations

• Customers who use our API to manage the creation of employers can now take advantage of a new end point to invite their employer users. Using the 'Send Invitation Employer Login' endpoint the invitation email can be triggered for the selected employers. To avoid confusion, we have made it clear on the 'Update Employer Login' endpoint that send invitation is no longer mandatory and the new 'Send Invitation Employer Login' endpoint should be used to accomplish this task.

"Meet Online" checkbox enabled for all customers

As a tutor, you can now flag Meetings and Reviews as Online Events by checking the “Meet Online” checkbox on the individual Review or Meeting component. This means you can accurately report on whether these meetings happened online or face to face. Previously, the checkbox was only displayed for customers using the Communications Connector, and the method of review or meeting would default to “face to face” in this case.

• Meet online option in Meeting Component:
  
  
  
• Meet online option in Review:
  
  

Update to the NLM Funding and Monitoring Field

When managing the NLM Funding and Monitoring field, users can now ensure NLM code 21 is only applied to records with start dates before 01/08/2024. This update ensures compliance with the 24/25 funding rules, as NLM code 21 will no longer be shown or reported for records after this date.

• In the Help and Support section, hyperlinks created by highlighting text and using the "Insert" option would previously revert to match the displayed text. This issue has been resolved, and hyperlinks now correctly retain their intended URLs.

• As a Tutor, when I have scheduled a meeting via Aptem in Teams, I will now see the correct time zone on the edit form within Teams. The time zone in Teams now defaults to the UK time zone (GMT/BST), instead of using the UTC time zone. This will remove confusion and inconsistent time zones between Aptem and Teams.

We are continuing to work toward general availability for Checkpoints: Applied KSBs. All customers with Checkpoint enabled will gain access to the Applied KSBs functionality by default after the November release. Only the Checkpoint: Applied KSBs beta trial customers currently have access to the scenario-based questions and functionality. 

Customers who are on or moving to the Enterprise package who would like access to the Checkpoint functionality should still request this via their CSM. 

The virtual assistant for learners is being integrated with Aptem's Checkpoint functionality. This means that upon completion of a Checkpoint progress check, the learner will be invited by the virtual assistant to explore the topic further. This timely intervention will provide the learner with new opportunities to enhance their learning by engaging in conversation at the point at which they were checking their knowledge. 

We are continuing to improve the user experience and value of data provided within the Funding Dashboard Report. As part of these changes, we will extend the reporting period filters.

Where date filters exist on a Funding Dashboard reporting tab, we will update these options to provide customers with the ability to report on the funding data within those reporting tabs by historical, current, and future academic years.

Users will be able to select one option at a time from the following:

• Current academic year
• The past 5 academic years (if data exists within Aptem)
• Future academic years (if data exists within Aptem)

We are continuing to improve the ability to report on UKPRNs. We will be adding the ability to filter by UKPRN into the Quality Power BI dashboard enabling customers to refine their insights. This is aimed to be available from November 4th dependent on the completion of development tasks.

We have formalised our existing technical approach to have tenant-specific APIs as part of our best practices. The legacy method to process requests via api.aptem.co.uk will be disabled as of January 2025. Please ensure your API calls are updated to use the revised {tenant}.aptem.co.uk URL in time. Note that this will not cause any change in functionality. The API documentation at https://aptem.co.uk/api.html has been updated to reflect this change.