Learning plan components: Troubleshooting guide

This guide covers structural and behavioural issues within the learning plan, including component status, mapping, dates and progress calculations.

For issues related to uploading or marking evidence, see: Learning plan evidence - troubleshooting guide.

Contents

1. Access & visibility
   1. Why is a learner unable to access their learning plan?
   2. Why is it that our learners cannot see their learning plan and only see the "All good, you're up to date" screen?
   3. Why is the learning plan showing as up to date, when it is still in progress?
   4. Why can't I see my learner's English and maths diagnostic assessment results in the Learning support section of the learner profile?
   5. There is no option to log an activity in a learner's learning plan via the new Aptem console like there is in Aptem Classic. Why is this?
   6. Why are overdue tasks from the learning plan not showing in the Task Tracker?
2. Activity status & completion
   1. How do I record a Meeting component as not attended?
   2. Why is the component still not showing as complete?
   3. Why has a digital learning component been marked as completed without the learner uploading any work?
   4. Why is it that a learning plan activity has had evidence submitted to it, but the activity is still showing as not started?
   5. My learner has completed their learning plan but the expected progress is not 100%
   6. There are activities in a learner's learning plan which are before their start date. Why is this?
   7. Why is an Assignment task still showing as "Not started" when evidence has been submitted by the learner?
3. Mapping & configuration
   1. Mapping appears to be working and tracking progress for some learners but not for others on the same programme. Why is this?
   2. Why is there a discrepancy in the component criteria mapping between the programme build and a learner's learning plan for certain learners?
   3. There appears to be criteria missing when viewing a learner's learning plan, compared to the criteria in the programme. Why is this?
   4. Scheduled Online components showing "Number of Evidence 0/1" despite being configured to not require evidence. Why is this, and how do we change it?
4. Progress & percentage calculations
   1. A learner's expected progress percentage for their qualification or standard criteria is showing as less than their actual progress. Why is this?
   2. Why is the criteria for a certain section of a standard or qualification not showing as 100% complete, despite uploaded evidence on a learning plan component mapped to this criteria?
   3. A learner's progress is not being pulled through to the progress card on the dashboard, even though work is mapped to criteria and has been marked. Why is this?
   4. Why, when a learner has completed a digital asset component, is one of the questions in the course report blank?
   5. Why does the percentage completion for criteria on the learning plan and evidence tab not match?
   6. Why is mapped and accepted evidence not populating the progress for learners, even when the component is set to "Require evidence"?
5. Other issues
   1. For delivery programmes, which day of the week should the "Complete by week" option end on?
   2. How should I track learners who have uploaded case studies linking associated evidence for their end-point assessments?
   3. How do learners add components to their learning plans, and can they be prevented from doing this?
   4. Why is the tutor unable to mark a Scheduled Online Event learning component as complete?
   5. Is it possible to put half figures into the "Planned hours" and "Complete by" fields?
   6. Why is a deleted component from the programme build still showing in a learner's learning plan?
   7. Why do components in the learning plan have "Complete by" dates beyond the programme end date?
   8. When a new component is added to a delivery programme, how are learners already on the programme affected?
   9. Why do some components not have the "Edit" option?
   10. Why are some Assignment (Task) learning plan components showing under an incorrect month?
   11. Changing the case owner for a learner does not change the component owner of the learning plan components. Why?
   12. Can the evidence for a learner's previous learning plan be transferred across to their new learning plan?
   13. The start date for my learner's programme has been updated, but this does not reflect in the dates of their learning plan components. Why?
   14. How do you transfer learning plan component ownership if the case owner has changed?
   15. Why is text in an Asset Report PDF displaying with overlapping or unreadable content?
   16. Are the learning plan components (actual/expected) time related?
   17. Why are the learning plan filters persisting even after logging out of Aptem?

Access & visibility

Why is a learner unable to access their learning plan?

This can happen if the learner is directed to their onboarding when they log in, or sees a screen like the one below advising "All good. You're up to date".

In this case, check the following:

1. Onboarding has been completed and all compliance documents have been signed by the learner.
2. It is on or after the start date of the programme.

Why is it that our learners cannot see their learning plan and only see the "All good, you're up to date" screen?

Some learners trying to access their learning plan via Aptem console may be presented with the following informational page.

This happens if:

• The learner's current programme has the "Do not create compliance documents at end of onboarding wizard (console only)" option enabled in the Onboarding Wizard token,

and

• any of the following compliance document types are configured in the programme:
  • Commitment Statement
  • Apprenticeship Agreement
  • Onboarding
  • Training plan

and

• none of the compliance documents mentioned above are created on the learner side, so an administrator needs to create them.

Once any of the above compliance documents are created by an administrator, the learner receives a signature required notification, and is able to sign the documents. Once this is done, the learning plan is unlocked in Aptem console.

This process is implemented in Aptem console only, as this is where most customers' learners complete their programmes.

Why is the learning plan showing as up to date, when it is still in progress?

In some cases, a learner's learning plan states that it is up to date, but there is still further progress to be made.

This may be caused by compliance documents being added to the learner's programme after they have already completed their onboarding. This means the system treats the learner as up to date, even though they still need to sign these documents.

Compliance documents are only generated automatically the first time a learner is enrolled on a programme. If compliance documents are added after the learner has completed their onboarding, their tutor needs to manually create them via the Compliance documents section in the learner profile in Aptem Classic, using the Create option available against the documents.

Why can't I see my learner's English and maths diagnostic assessment results in the Learning support section of the learner profile?

This question is about additional integrations and add-ons that aren't part of any Aptem Apprentice package. If you want to use this functionality, contact your Customer Success Manager. See Aptem Apprentice pricing and packages for information about the packages.

For diagnostic results to pull through, there must be a Functional Skills (FS) diagnostic component in the learning plan with the type specified as Skills Forward/bksb, as this activity type is generally used to indicate the result of the Functional Skills Diagnostic Assessment.

Where integration with either bksb or Skills Forward is used, this acts as a placeholder for the results to be automatically populated once the diagnostic assessment is completed.

For the results to populate automatically, the learner must access bksb or Skills Forward through the learning plan activity link. If integration isn't used, the results can be manually uploaded as evidence.

If the activity type is specified as Manual, the outcome doesn't appear in the Learning support section of the learner profile.

There is no option to log an activity in a learner's learning plan via the new Aptem console like there is in Aptem Classic. Why is this?

This is because the "Job Finder" option has been enabled in the Jobs token for the programme the learner is currently enrolled on.

Once this option is disabled, learners have access to the Log Activity functionality.

Why are overdue tasks from the learning plan not showing in the Task Tracker?

The Task Tracker shows reminders that have been set for activities.

Not all activity types can have reminders set for them. If there's no reminder for the activity, it won't show in the Task Tracker when overdue.

Activity status & completion

How do I record a Meeting component as not attended?

Meetings aren't suitable for this, as attendance can't be updated once the date has passed, which may lead to inaccurate records.

We recommend using Workshop meeting components in Aptem, as they let you record attendance and non-attendance more flexibly and reliably. For more detail on using workshops, see Getting started with placements and workshops.

Why is the component still not showing as complete?

1. "I have uploaded evidence and assessed it."

   Some component types need more than just uploaded evidence. For example, a Digital Learning component uses SCORM assets, which may contain sections such as questionnaires. You can upload evidence to a digital component, but the content of the digital learning must also be finished for Aptem to recognise the component as complete. Check the component progress percentage to confirm whether the learner has completed the content in full.

   Also check that the evidence uploaded to the component has been accepted against the criteria mapped to it.
   

   If the evidence doesn't meet all the mapped criteria, the component remains incomplete until all criteria are adequately evidenced and that evidence has been accepted.

2. "I have uploaded evidence and the learner has completed the component content."
   Check whether the component is set to "Tutor decides". If it is, assessing the evidence and completing the content isn't enough: the administrator or tutor must select "Complete" to close the component.
3. "My component is a Workshop. I have assessed the evidence. Why won't it complete?"
   A Workshop component has an extra stage for completion: verifying the attendance hours. Make sure you verify that the learners attended. You can do this from the Unverified Hours tile.
4. "I have an Assignment task. Why won't it complete?"
   A task-style component creates a calendar entry for the learner. They must mark this as complete, as well as the component in their learning plan.
5. "The component has been completed and all submitted evidence has been assessed and accepted. Why hasn't the progress percentage increased?"
   Use the edit option to edit the component build, and confirm whether "Require evidence" has been ticked. If not, tick this option and update the component. This option allows Aptem to calculate progress percentage using the criteria the submitted evidence has been assessed against. If this hasn't been ticked on the learning plan template, you'll also need to amend this, and use the synchronise component function to make sure the change is synchronised to all learners on the programme.

6. The component continues to display "Evidence required" even after submitting and assessing the evidence.

   Check whether the component has been uploaded with the minimum required pieces of evidence, as specified in the component configuration under the "Minimum No. of Evidence" field. For instance, in the example below, the component requires 25 pieces of evidence to be uploaded. Until the specified 25 pieces of evidence are uploaded, the component status remains "Evidence required". Once 25 pieces of evidence are uploaded, the component status changes to "Evidence submitted".
   

Why has a digital learning component been marked as completed without the learner uploading any work?

This happens when the asset linked to the component is a video asset type and the component's completion mode is set to All evidence is accepted.

With that configuration, the component is marked as completed once the learner has watched the video and selected Finish. The asset report is generated at the same point, even though the learner hasn't uploaded any work or evidence.

If you need learners to submit something before the component completes, change the completion mode on the component.

Why is it that a learning plan activity has had evidence submitted to it, but the activity is still showing as not started?

Check which activity type you're using.

If the activity requires a task to be created, this could be the cause of the problem. If a task isn't created for the activity, the status changes to "Evidence submitted" once a document is uploaded, but reverts to "Not started" when the evidence is assessed.

Make sure the task is created (if required) and marked as complete for the activity status to update correctly.

Our guide to learning plan activities can be found here: A how-to guide to learning plan activities.

My learner has completed their learning plan but the expected progress is not 100%

Expected progress is calculated against the due dates set within the learning plan, not against whether all components have been completed.

If a learner completes one or more components before their due dates, expected progress reflects what they're scheduled to have completed at that point in time. Expected progress doesn't show 100% until all due dates have passed, even when the learner has already completed every component.

In short, expected progress shows what should have been completed by now based on due dates, not the learner's actual completion status.

There are activities in a learner's learning plan which are before their start date. Why is this?

This is most likely because the learner's start date has been changed to a later date. In this case, any learning plan activities from before their start date remain unchanged and still show in the learning plan. The ILR history can be checked to see when the start date was changed.

You can check the <LearnStartDate> field in the ILR:

Why is an Assignment task still showing as "Not started" when evidence has been submitted by the learner?

The status of an Assignment (Task) component is controlled by the task. If the task hasn't been started, the component shows as "Not started", regardless of any evidence uploaded.

If the "Don't create a task" box is ticked:

If this box has been ticked, the component doesn't create a task automatically. However, as the component is an Assignment (Task), it still requires a task to be completed. This means the component status still shows as "Not started" even if progress has been made on the evidence. This includes the following circumstances:

• when evidence has been submitted and referred by the tutor
• when evidence has been accepted, and the module has been set to "Tutor decides".

To resolve this, do the following (in Aptem Classic):

1. Select "Create" within the component.
2. Create the task, choosing the appropriate type and due date.
3. Select "Start" on the component. The status should then update.
4. You should then be able to select "Mark as Complete" to complete the component.

Mapping & configuration

Mapping appears to be working and tracking progress for some learners but not for others on the same programme. Why is this?

Check whether you've correctly configured the mapping in the learning plan template at programme level to the relevant learning plan activities.

Updating the mapping both at programme level and individually should resolve this.

After all relevant components have been mapped correctly, all submitted evidence needs to be re-assessed against the newly mapped criteria, which triggers the progress percentage to be calculated correctly.

Why is there a discrepancy in the component criteria mapping between the programme build and a learner's learning plan for certain learners?

This discrepancy happens because the criteria mapping for the component was changed at programme level after the learners were enrolled on the programme. Such changes don't apply retrospectively to learners who were already enrolled on the programme.

This behaviour is intentional. Any updates or amendments to the component configuration only take effect for learners who enrol after the changes have been made. Learners already enrolled keep the criteria mapping that was in place at the time of their enrolment.

If you need to align the criteria mapping for any component in the programme build with the learning plans of existing learners, you can do this either by manually updating each learner's plan individually, or by using the learning plan synchronisation functionality to apply the changes across multiple learners. For more detail, see the Learning plan synchronisation guide.

There appears to be criteria missing when viewing a learner's learning plan, compared to the criteria in the programme. Why is this?

The criteria isn't showing because it hasn't been mapped to any components in the learning plan.

Check the learning plan components for this learner, and any others affected, to see whether any are mapped to the missing criteria. Once a component is mapped to this criteria, it shows in their learning plan.

Aptem console

Aptem Classic

Scheduled Online components showing "Number of Evidence 0/1" despite being configured to not require evidence. Why is this, and how do we change it?

This is likely because these components were configured to require evidence at programme level while the learners were being enrolled on the programme. So even if the components are now edited at learner level to not require evidence, this change isn't reflected on the components.

To remove "Number of Evidence 0/1" from these components, first make sure the components are configured to not require evidence at programme level. You'll also need to remove the learners from the programme and re-apply them; we recommend doing this in Aptem Classic to avoid updating the learners' ILR unintentionally.

Follow these steps to remove "Number of Evidence 0/1" from the components:

1. Edit the programme.
2. Within the learning plan token of the programme, copy the components and delete the original components.
3. Set the copied components to "Tutor decides" and make sure the "Require evidence" box isn't ticked.
4. Save the programme.
5. Remove learners from the programme in Aptem Classic.
6. Re-apply learners back onto the programme in Aptem Classic.
7. The components should no longer show "Number of Evidence 0/1".

You need to delete the components from the programme because Aptem remembers the component configuration from when the learners were initially enrolled on the programme. If you simply edit the existing components and re-apply the learners to the programme, the changes to the components don't apply, and will look as they did when the learner was initially enrolled.

Progress & percentage calculations

A learner's expected progress percentage for their qualification or standard criteria is showing as less than their actual progress. Why is this?

The expected qualification or standard criteria progress can show as less than the learner's actual progress if any components mapped to the qualification or standard criteria don't have a "Complete by" date value set.

To resolve this, check the learner's learning plan to make sure all mapped components have a "Complete by" date value set.

Why is the criteria for a certain section of a standard or qualification not showing as 100% complete, despite uploaded evidence on a learning plan component mapped to this criteria?

The figure only changes to 100% once all components have been completed.

A learner's progress is not being pulled through to the progress card on the dashboard, even though work is mapped to criteria and has been marked. Why is this?

Make sure that for the components where you've marked evidence against criteria, the "Evidence required" box has been ticked. Ticking this box makes sure evidence marked against criteria counts towards the progress.

Tick this option on any component where you want the progress to be calculated towards the progress card on the dashboard.

Why, when a learner has completed a digital asset component, is one of the questions in the course report blank?

This can be caused by the learner copying and pasting from another source that has line breaks.

Check any copied and pasted text for hidden line breaks. One way to do this is by pasting the text into Notepad, where hidden items can be identified and removed before pasting the cleaned text into the asset text box.

Why does the percentage completion for criteria on the learning plan and evidence tab not match?

Check all completed components: these should be set to "Require evidence" for their completion to count towards the percentage. If they aren't, edit the component and tick the "Require evidence" box.

See also: My learner has completed their learning plan but the expected progress is not 100%.

Why is mapped and accepted evidence not populating the progress for learners, even when the component is set to "Require evidence"?

Check the learning plan at programme level. If the weighting on the criteria for this standard is set to 0, it won't contribute to the learning plan progress.

Other issues

For delivery programmes, which day of the week should the "Complete by week" option end on?

When determining the end date, bear in mind that the "Complete by week" configuration covers seven days (not just working days), so it includes weekends.

How should I track learners who have uploaded case studies linking associated evidence for their end-point assessments?

We suggest creating a miscellaneous component for each case study, mapping each one holistically as required. This then pulls through to the learner's ePortfolio. When generating the ePortfolio, the learner or assessor can choose which evidence to include.

You could grant access to the learner record for the assessor, or provide a zip file to send to the assessor.

How do learners add components to their learning plans, and can they be prevented from doing this?

Learners can add components using the Thunderbolt icon > Log Activity.

There's no way to stop learners adding components to their learning plans using this method. This is to allow learners to log extracurricular activities.

Why is the tutor unable to mark a Scheduled Online Event learning component as complete?

If a tutor can't mark a Scheduled Online Event learning component as complete, this may be because multiple event dates have been set up for the component, so it remains in progress until all the events have been completed. Check this by selecting the edit option for the learning component. A list of all the event dates also appears against the dates tab for the component.

If the learner is required to complete all these dates, the component can be left as it is, and changes to completed once the final date has passed.

Alternatively, individual components can be set up for each event instead. These components change to completed once the learner has attended the event, had their hours verified, and uploaded any required evidence.

Is it possible to put half figures into the "Planned hours" and "Complete by" fields?

Partial hours can't be entered. Only whole numbers are accepted in the "Planned hours" and "Complete by" fields.

Why is a deleted component from the programme build still showing in a learner's learning plan?

This is expected behaviour. If a learner was already enrolled in the programme when the original component was added, deleting it from the programme build doesn't remove it from their learning plan. Such changes only apply to learners who enrol after the component has been deleted. New components are pushed to existing learners, but deleted components aren't automatically removed.

To remove a component from existing learners' learning plans, it must be either manually removed by following the instructions in the "Deleting an activity" section of this guide, Editing an activity, or by using the Learning plan synchronisation feature.

Note: avoid deleting components that learners have already started or completed, as this may result in the loss of evidence and progress.

Why do components in the learning plan have "Complete by" dates beyond the programme end date?

This can happen when components are configured with "Complete by" dates based on a specific number of months, weeks, or days. The completion date is calculated by adding the specified time frame to the programme start date.

Example: if a programme starts on 23/02/2022 and a component is set to be completed within 204 weeks, the calculated completion date is 21/01/2026. As a result, such components appear in sections corresponding to their calculated completion date, in this case, January 2026.

To make sure components have an end date within the programme period, or before the programme end date, adjust the "Complete by" settings accordingly.

When a new component is added to a delivery programme, how are learners already on the programme affected?

When a new component is added to a delivery programme, it auto-populates to the learning plans of all learners enrolled on that programme.

Why do some components not have the "Edit" option?

If a component is of type "Online Training" and has no associated course, it won't have an edit option. However, the component can be edited in Aptem Classic for existing learners.

The "Online Training" functionality is outdated, and it's best to avoid using this component type if you're not using courses. Instead, consider "Online - external activity" as a more suitable alternative.

Why are some Assignment (Task) learning plan components showing under an incorrect month?

This can happen if the tasks associated with the components are set to repeat, which results in the task date differing from the component's completion date.

To resolve this, remove the recurring tasks from the components. This can only be done using Aptem Classic. Select the "Edit" button for the component task.

Set the Repeat option to "Never" and select "Update".

Changing the case owner for a learner does not change the component owner of the learning plan components. Why?

For the component owner to update with the new case owner, the following conditions must be met:

• The component is assigned to the learner's current episode programme.
• The component is not deleted.
• The previous case owner is set as the component owner.

If the component owner isn't updated for any of the components in the learning plan, it's likely because the case owner was changed after the learner was stopped on the current programme, meaning the first condition above isn't met.

To resolve this, follow these steps:

1. Re-apply the learner back to the same programme.
2. Assign the same case owner that was assigned before the learner was stopped on the programme. You can check the learner's audit trail for changes to case owner.
3. Then change the case owner to the one you want.

Sub-programme components aren't affected, as component ownership for those is handled through the programme application form.

Can the evidence for a learner's previous learning plan be transferred across to their new learning plan?

If a learner needs to transfer their evidence to a new learning plan, do this by downloading and saving each piece of evidence from their original learning plan, then uploading it again to the required components in their new learning plan.

The start date for my learner's programme has been updated, but this does not reflect in the dates of their learning plan components. Why?

A change to a learner's start date doesn't automatically update their learning plan.

If you want the dates in their learning plan to also update, you'll need to stop their programme and re-apply it, using the "Stop" and "Apply" options on their profile. Once this step is complete, the new start date is applied to the learning plan components.

How do you transfer learning plan component ownership if the case owner has changed?

If the case owner has changed, you'll need to manually update the case owner for the learner, and the learning plan component ownership then updates automatically.

Why is text in an Asset Report PDF displaying with overlapping or unreadable content?

This typically happens when text has been copied from an external source, such as a website, email, or Word document, and pasted directly into the asset. External sources can carry hidden formatting that conflicts with the PDF's font and layout structure, causing text to display incorrectly.

To prevent this, paste any copied text into a plain text editor such as Notepad first. This strips hidden formatting. Copy the text again from Notepad and paste it into the asset text box.

If the evidence has already been submitted, refer it back so the learner can resubmit with the corrected text.

Are the learning plan components (actual/expected) time related?

Learning plan progress is calculated as the number of components completed out of the number of components due to be completed by the current date.

In the example below, 55 actual components have been completed out of the 69 expected at this point in time.

Why are the learning plan filters persisting even after logging out of Aptem?

Filters set in the learning plan are retained as long as users remain logged in. Logging out should remove these filters, and they shouldn't be present when the user next logs in.

If filters persist after log-in or log-out, this indicates a browser caching issue. To resolve this, clear your browser cache.

Clearing the browser cache should resolve any lingering filter issues.