February 2023

SCORM validation

Note: This is not an auto-enabled feature. Customers must request this feature for it to be enabled.

Where this feature has been enabled, learners will only able to open the SCORM player in one browser tab at a time, so that upon submitting their input, there are no errors or empty answers recorded. If a learner attempts to open a second one, the player will be displayed with an overlay, with a message that indicates that the asset is already open, and they will not be able to access the SCORM asset on a second browser tab. This includes if they attempt to open it in a different browser.  

Note that tutors who open the SCORM asset in multiple tabs are NOT expected to see this error message since they access the SCORM player in a read-only mode. Only learners will see this error.  

Timeout setting

Where the feature is enabled, an additional timeout setting must be set per tenant, the default for this is 1 minute. The time specified in the timeout setting means that the SCORM asset will be timed out after that specific length of inactivity. An asset is any piece of learning – like a video, or a webpage. 

Suppose the timeout is set at 1 minute. After one minute of inactivity, the asset will be timed out. And a new session can be started to access the same asset from another tab or browser. Sessions where a video is being played, or a page is being scrolled through, or items are being selected – are all considered ‘active’ sessions. So as long as there is ‘activity’, the timeout is not triggered. 

Rollout information 

Customers must request this feature for it to be enabled. The Support team will enable this on a per-tenant basis. Where the feature is enabled, the timeout settings can also be set per tenant by the Support team. 

Updated UVAC Training Plan

Based on the published UVAC template, a new 'UVAC - Components Plan v3' Compliance Document has been created and placed in the new 'Training Plan' section. 

Following are the high-level changes: 

• Updates to the text in specific places 
• Updates to various sections including how RPL is recorded 
• Updates to Annex A and Annex B 
• Addition of the Apprenticeship Delivery Summary 

Rollout information 

The UVAC - Components Plan v3 is enabled automatically for all tenants who have UVAC v2 enabled. The new v3 version is present in the Account Programme, where the previous version existed. So, this new version is selectable on any programs that the customers want to build. It is not automatically added/generated, it does nothing until you choose to add it to a programme.

For more information, see: Updates relating to the UVAC Training Plan.

Updated Apprenticeship Agreement

After the funding rule changes, the terminology in the guidance notes has been updated to better inform the apprentice and employer.  Here is a summary of changes: 

• Logos, formatting and note text have been updated to the latest ESFA Apprenticeship Agreement template.
• The Place of Work has been updated to include location underneath Employer name.
• In cases where apprentices have one or more breaks in learning, a history of episodes of learning is added to the agreement. 
  
  
• Existing compliance document functionality including limiting access to the learning plan and regeneration of documents upon the processing of certain trackers has been maintained. 

Rollout information 

The new Apprenticeship Agreement v3 is enabled automatically for all tenants who have Apprenticeship Agreement v2 enabled. The new v3 version is present in the Account Programme, where the previous version existed. So, this new version is selectable on any programs that the customers want to build. It is not automatically added/generated, it does nothing until you choose to add it to a programme.

For more information, see: Updates relating to the Apprenticeship Agreement.

OData improvements

Reviews re-architecture additions

The following fields have been added to the OData Reviews Entity Set:

• Status:
  • Not Scheduled
  • Scheduled
  • In Progress
  • Awaiting Signature
  • Completed
  • Archived
  • Not Completed
• Name (This will be the same as the Learning Plan Component Name)
• OwnerId
• OwnerName
• TaskId
• PlannedEndDateTime
• Method:
  • Zoom
  • Face-to-face

Please note that this change is with regard to the OData only. No changes have been made to the UGR.

Other OData updates

The episodes table now indicates the main programme id to which a sub-programme is attached.

Rollout information

The OData updates are being rolled out to all tenants.

Tracker enhancements

The Qualification reference number is now displayed along with the Completed Component Aim under the ‘Type’ column on the Trackers grid. This means that administrators do not have to click into each tracker to understand which aim it relates to.

Completion of Aims

In the Completion of Aims tracker, we have added the ability for administrators to choose the completion status and outcome. Previously, the tracker automatically assigned completed - achieved as the completion/ outcome status for every aim.

The new ‘Completion Status and Outcome’ dropdown field is a mandatory field and has the following options:

• Achieved (Completion Status 2, Outcome 1)
• Not Achieved (Completion Status 2, Outcome 3)

This has a default of Achieved to ensure backwards compatibility. Once the tracker is processed, the completion status and outcome in the ILR is updated as per the selection in this field.

Completion of Programme

Administrators can automatically complete the generic aim in their apprentices’ ILR and can use the Completion of programme tracker without needing to manually edit the ILR in each case. This change will complete the Generic Aim in the ILR with the same Actual End date that is entered into the Completion of Programme Tracker in Option 1 and 3.

UI improvements

Accessibility-related improvements

UI improvements have been made to ensure that all page elements are visible, actionable, and accessible. Navigation improvements have been made across different pages in Console to ensure that when a user clicks the 'Filter' button using the keyboard and the side menu with filters is displayed, the focus is on the 'Close' button. When the user closes the side menu using the 'Close' or 'Done' buttons, the focus returns to the 'Filter' button.

These improvements are part of an ongoing exercise to ensure that our system is accessible.

Tooltip on the PLR section of Reviews

The ‘question mark’ tool tip on the PLR section of Reviews has been replaced with a ‘Help bulb’. When this bulb is clicked, a sidebar with some guidance is displayed.

Minor updates / Bug fixes

• In some cases, if a learner on the account programme had overdue tasks, the dashboard did not reflect the overdue tasks under the Requires Attention card. This has now been fixed.
• In one case, due to a bug, when an administrator typed the date 03/10/22 in the Assessment table, the system read the year as 0022 instead of 2022. This issue has now been resolved.
• In some cases, administrators without the Assessor permission were unable to access the full range of filter options in Console. This has now been fixed.
• A recent change in behaviour was reported where clicking on 'View Message' in email alerts does not highlight the new messages in the Messages/Collaboration Centre. This issue has been resolved, and clicking on the 'View Message' link in the email alert will take the user to the new message in Messages/Collaboration Centre in both Classic and Console.
• 'Programme Owner' and 'Parent ProgrammeId' properties have been added to the Episodes entity set as a result of an internal request, so that API users can identify the owner of sub-programmes within an episode.
• An intermittent issue was reported in cases where learners were using Zoom for scheduled online events, the hours spent were not being verified, and the component was not being automatically marked as complete. This issue has now been resolved. The correct behaviour is that when learners join Zoom through their learning plan, the component should be automatically marked as complete and return the exact time the learners spent on the Zoom call.
• An intermittent issue was reported where Zoom meetings that were started from Aptem Console were ending abruptly before the scheduled end time. This issue has now been fixed.
• Due to an error in calculation, the system displayed an incorrect 'Suggested residual training price' (TNP3) in the Change of employer tracker. This error has been rectified.
• In one case, the Planned end date was not populating for some learners, when learners were imported via CSV in Aptem Classic. This issue has now been resolved, and such learners now have their Planned end date populated.
• Due to a bug, an API import with the 'Manager' field being left empty was causing the 'Manager' field to be overwritten with a null value. As a result, learners were no longer linked to their managers. This has now been resolved.
• A customer reported that the system was not applying new numbers in cases where tutors were attempting to update the OTJ time for a piece of evidence when it is being marked. This has now been corrected, and the numbers will now be updated as soon as they are added.
• There were access issues reported on the Aptem login page. The issue was identified, and the bug was fixed.
• A 'lost in space' message was displayed when a learner attempted to access their Onboarding Wizard. The underlying issue was identified, and the bug was fixed.
• Documents created in the documents section in the onboarding template were still visible in Console, even after the 'Document' step has been disabled. This has now been fixed.
• Customers reported seeing hidden fields in the Review document. This has now been fixed and is now based upon the Review Type Visibility of the section.
• The Date field on a Review displayed an incorrect date on Console, but displayed the correct date on the PDF file. This has now been fixed.
• There was an issue with the chronological order of the Units and modules in cases where the number of modules went to double digits (Unit 2 Module 10 for example). This bug has now been fixed.
• The PDF files relating to Reviews containing boolean with caseblock questions were showing an answer of 'No' where the question had not been answered. This issue has been resolved and only answered questions are now included in the Review and the Review PDF file.
• Minor fixes were made in the following cases:
  • There was a spelling error in the User/ Housing Situation section of the ILR. 
  • In the review notification message, the word 'days' was repeated. 
  • The learner's name was appearing twice in the Scheduling Assistant in Console.
  • In one instance, archived reviews could not be deleted. This issue has now been resolved.
  • The ILR learning declaration had a few minor errors in the text. This has been fixed.

• A recent patch update caused some issues where Compliance documents were duplicated for learners. This has now been fixed.
• Due to a system issue, learners and employers were unable to edit the Skills Radar. This issue has now been fixed.
• A Customer reported seeing an 'Access Denied' message when using the 'print mandate' button and was unable to print mandates for specific users in Classic. This has now been fixed.
• In the ILR section, for the question - "How long have you been at this address (years)?", the field accepted any value with a decimal point, but did not save it, and removed the value entirely when the user progressed to the next page/step. This was seen in the Onboarding step for ILR and on the administrator view, while editing the ILR User tab. This issue has now been resolved. The form no longer accepts decimal values or the value '0'. It only accepts integers greater than 0.
• Sub-programmes have been arranged in alphabetical order, and you will be able to type in the name of the Sub-programme and search for them. This makes it easier for administrators to enrol learners onto Sub-programmes in Console.
• In one instance, a learner who had access to only Console was unable to export his/her portfolio. This issue has now been resolved.
• In Console, when trying to update a URL for an online training external component with a task, a customer was able to update the URL in the task without any problems, but when the customer tried to add the same URL to the component itself, the system did not accept this. This behaviour has now been fixed.
• In one case, administrators were unable to save information under the "How long have you been at this address" and "Household situation" ILR sections during onboarding. This issue has now been resolved.
• In one instance, an error was displayed when opening any ILR history files for a particular learner. This has been investigated and fixed.
• A customer reported seeing tags in their Resource Centre, even when these tags had been removed from all of their SCORM assets. This issue has now been resolved.
• In one instance, administrators were unable to apply learners on to the ‘Skills Bootcamp in Construction and Rail Engineering’ programme and reported seeing an error message. This issue has been resolved, and administrators can now apply learners to this programme.
• In some cases, an incorrect calculation led to the wrong minimum off the job hours value being populated on the Training Plan and on the learner dashboard in Aptem Console. This was causing compliance issues as OTJ was being calculated incorrectly. This has now been fixed. For reference, the OTJ calculation definition for apprenticeships that start after 1 August 2022 is as follows: Minimum OtJ = (Planned duration in weeks - ((Planned duration in weeks / 52) * 5.6 weeks statutory leave)) * (6 hours * ((minimum of 30 or working hours) / 30))