Home > System Admin Role > Page Builder > Students > Credential Requests
Credential Requests
Page Location: Admin > Page Builder > Students > Credential Requests
The credential requests feature allows students and/or users (depending on the company process) to enter credentials into the system to track and report on as needed. Credentials could be anything from registrations, certifications, licenses, etc... Basically anything that has to be renewed.
User View:
- Student File > Activity Page > Credentials Tab
Student/Manager View:
- My Record > Credentials
- Manager> Credentials
The summary grid gives some general information about the tabs on this page for the credential request feature.
Summary View
| Field |
Purpose |
| Company Selected |
This drop-down field is populated with Companies codes. The default on this field is the first company in the list and the list is ordered alphabetically. Select another company from the list as needed, the page refreshes and populates the tabs with the information that is particular for that company. |
| General Tab |
This tab sets training admin and statuses for different phases of the request process. The 'Training Admin' field pull those Users who have the 'Training Admin' radio button set to YES. The 'Statuses' here are pulled from the Credential Statuses codes. |
| Request Instructions Tab |
This is the information that displays to the students when entering the credential request. Typically this text box contains the instructions and policies for the student to use as needed when entering a request. |
| Approvers Tab |
This tab is where the approvers or those who should be notified are entered so that when a student enters a credential request, these people are either made aware of that or need to approve/decline the request. |
| Miscellaneous Tab |
This tab allows for user-defined fields as needed. If there is additional information needed to be captured and it is not currently in the default for this feature, here is where additional fields of information can be created and used in the process of requesting and/or recording the credential. |
General Tab
This tab is where you set up the 'Training Admin' and 'Statuses for the different stages of the credential request process. So before you can setup the process here, it is important to think about how your current process is and what you want that to look like in Cyber Train. Currently, if a student enters a credential request, that student has only that one shot to enter the information because there will not be the ability to edit or add or revise that credential request. To help get started in this area, look below the table here to see several different scenarios and setup processes.
| Field |
Purpose |
| Training Admin |
This field is not currently in use, thus it is not required to have information in it. |
| Initial Status |
Select a status from the drop-down list to indicate the initial status of the credential request.
- Statuses are pulled from Admin > Codes > Credential Statuses.
- This field is ONLY necessary if students are given the ability to add their own credentials via the Home Page. The status is given the request when they click ‘Add new record’. The field is visible but is grayed out so they cannot change it. Whether there is an approval process or not, this is status given to the credential.
- Users who have the ability to add credentials to the student file, can choose any status needed whereas student's cannot, so this field is not important when adding a credential directly to the file.
Examples:
- With an approval process, use the 'Initial Status' of 'Pending Review'
- With no approval process, use the 'Initial Status' of 'Complete' because no one is going to be approving or denying it to change the status. |
| Final Status |
Select a status from the drop-down list to indicate the final status of the credential request.
- Statuses are pulled from Admin > Codes > Credential Statuses.
- This field is ONLY necessary if students are given the ability to add their own credentials via the Home Page AND there is an approval process. The status is given when the credential request has been approved and accepted. The student will see the status change from 'Initial Status' to this 'Final Status' when looking at the credential section and will get an email indicating the approver's decision.
- Users who have the ability to add credentials to the student file, can choose any status needed whereas student's cannot, so this field is not important when adding a credential directly to the file.
Examples:
- With an approval process, use the 'Final Status' of 'Complete''
- With no approval process, use the 'Final Status' of Complete because even though this field is not being utilized in this situation, it is just consistent to have the same conclusion status here. |
| Decline Status |
Select a status from the drop-down list to indicate the decline status of the credential request.
- Statuses are pulled from Admin > Codes > Credential Statuses.
- This field is ONLY necessary if students are given the ability to add their own credentials via the Home Page AND there is an approval process. The status is given when the credential request has been denied. The student will see the status change from 'Initial Status' to this 'Decline Status' when looking at the credential section and will get an email indicating the approver's decision.
- Users who have the ability to update and change the status as needed per security permissions.
Examples:
- With an approval process, use the 'Decline Status' of 'More Details Needed'
- With no approval process, use the 'Decline Status' of 'More Details Needed' because even though this field is not being utilized in this situation, it is just consistent to have the same conclusion status here. |
Exercises
Scenario #1 (Typical Option)
Students enter completed credentials for approval.
The instructions for the request page should read that ONLY completed credentials should be entered and specify what information is needed. The appropriate approvers and notification persons need to be setup. There has to be at least one (1) person as a true approver as that is the only way to transition the credential from the 'Initial Status' to either the 'Final Status' or 'Decline Status'. If the 'Decline Status' is selected by the approver, the student will need to provide that approver (and/or the necessary persons) the additional information for the user to add to the credential. Once the student enters the request, there will not be a way for the student to update or change the request. Thus someone with security permissions to do so, will need to update the status to the 'Final Status' and add the additional information along with any necessary notes.
Suggested Status Setup:
Initial Status = 'Pending Review'
Final Status = 'Complete'
Decline Status = 'More Details Needed'
Admin > Security > Home Page > Students Tab - Credentials = Add Only
Scenario #2
Students enter credential requests that they want to start or have completed for approval.
The instructions for the request page should provide instruction for completed credentials as well as credentials that the student wants to start perhaps with aid from the company. The appropriate approvers and notification persons need to be setup as well because there has to be at least one (1) person as a true approver to transition the credential from the 'Initial Status' to either the 'Final Status' or 'Decline Status'.
Both the 'Final Status' (approved by the approver) and the 'Decline Status' (declined by the approver) will not be the overall last status of the credential. This is because in this setup, completed and non-completed credential requests are being accepted. This is more to finalize the process and notify the student that the process was concluded. Additionally, it should be part of the process for the approver to write a note so that it the credential is 'Declined, the student understands that it will not be moving forward verse 'Need More Details' as to what those details are. If the student will need to provide that approver (and/or the necessary persons) the additional information for the user to add to the credential. Once the student enters the request, there will not be a way for the student to update or change the request.
Suggested Status Setup:
Initial Status = 'Pending Review'
Final Status = 'Approved'
Decline Status = 'More Details Needed/Declined'
Admin > Security > Home Page > Students Tab - Credentials = Add Only
Additional Steps
1.) If 'Approved,' someone with security permissions needs to either update the status to "In Progress' if the student is working toward the Credential OR 'Complete' if the student entered a completed credential.
2.) If 'More Details Needed/Declined,' someone with security permissions needs to either update the status to 'Declined' if the student was asking to start this credential OR 'More Details Needed' and then eventually 'Complete'.
Scenario #3
Students don't enter credentials, rather they give them to a User who enters them into the student file.
With this type of process, it is up the company whether students/managers should see their credential information. They both will get messages when credentials are about to expire in the Home Page > Messages section regardless of whether they can see the credential details in the My Record or Manager section. With this setup, the User enters the information in the Student File > Activity Page > Credentials Tab. Click the 'Add new record' link and enter the information as known.
Even though the status setup is not important when the students cannot request the credentials, having them setup per the scenario #1, will make it easy should it ever be turned on for the students.
Suggested Status Setup:
Initial Status = 'Pending Review'
Final Status = 'Complete'
Decline Status = 'More Details Needed'
Admin > Security > Home Page > Students Tab - Credentials = View or Not View
Request Information Tab
This tab is where the company policy and request instructions are entered for the student to read while entering the credential request.
Approvers Tab
The summary view of this approver's table.
| Field |
Purpose |
 |
The pencil icon allows the user to edit the approval level. |
| Approvers |
The name of the user who is the approver/notification person for credential requests. |
| Order |
Indicates the order in which the approver will get his/her approval email and where they are in the chain. You can have approvers at the same order number. In setups like that, all persons at that number will be emailed and all persons at that level will need to approve the request before it can go to the next level. |
| Notify Only |
This field indicates if the person is a true approver or just someone who is getting a notification. 'YES' in this field marks the person as a person who only gets a notification email whereas 'NO' in this field marks the person as a true approver. |
 |
The X icon allows the user to remove the approver from this process. |
If a new approver needs to be added, click the 'Add new record' link above the summary grid. If an approver needs to be edited, click the icon to access the details.
| Field |
Purpose |
| Approver |
If you are editing the approval level, this field will display as a 'Read Only' field. You can only change the details about the approval level but not the approver. If that needs to change, delete the approver and click the 'Add new record' to start over.
If you are adding an approval level, this drop-down list pulls all users in the system as well as a system role of either 'Manager' or 'Secondary Approver'. When the role is selected, the system looks to that student's record to see who was named as the 'Manager or 'Secondary Approver' to fill that approval level. |
| Order |
Indicates the order of the approval level. |
| Notification Only |
When checked, this approval level acts as a notification person only meaning that this person will receive a notification email at the point their order number comes up and will not be required to approve anything. When it is NOT checked, the approver is a true approve and the email sent requires action. |
Miscellaneous Tab
This tab is where you can enter user-defined fields as needed.
| Field |
Purpose |
| Screen Name |
This is where and how you make a new field to track additional information. What you enter here is the name of the field as it will display in the Credential Request feature. |
| Field Type |
This field determines the type of answer desired for the field. There are two (2) options:
(1) Text-Box - This allows for a short open text field looking for a one to two word answer.
(2) Drop-down - This allows for a drop-down selection looking for one of the options to be selected. **
** With the drop-down option selected, upon saving the page, an 'Edit Values' link become available. Here is where the options for the drop-down list are created and the information is listed below. |
Edit Values Hyperlink
To create the drop down answer types, you click on the 'Edit Values' hyperlink and it takes you to a place to enter the codes needed.
Important Considerations: Cyber Train codes cannot contain certain symbols such as commas, quotes, periods, apostrophes or ampersands and the user will get an error message when trying to enter or import codes containing them. There are also certain character combinations that must be avoided because Cyber Train is programmed to strip them (even if they are in the middle of a code or description) as they can be used by others to reference potentially dangerous procedures or scripts that could cause harm to your Cyber Train system. These combinations include: SP_ or sp_ and XP_ or xp_. Also a double dash will be converted to a single dash. There are a few other combinations not listed here that could be stripped, but it is extremely unlikely that they would be used in codes or descriptions.
| Field |
Purpose |
| Company Selected |
This drop-down field is populated with Companies codes. The field defaults the company that you are you currently setting up. If another company is needed, click on the drop-down list to select another company. |
| Options |
This radio button determines how to populate the codes in the table after the 'Company Selected' field is determine.
'Use the code table below' option - allows the user to enter the codes specific to this company like the other code tables that are not company specific.
'Use another company's code table' option - updates the page to create a drop-down list that is populated with the 'Companies' code table allowing the user to borrow the codes built for another company to use in this list. Additionally, when this option is selected, the code table become 'Read Only' because you cannot add or delete codes from another company's list. If you want to make changes, you need to make changes to the other company's list and that will update this list of codes too. |
If the 'Option' field equals 'Use the code table below' then the User can click "Add new record" to start building the list and create a new code.
After clicking "Add new record." enter in the necessary information to create a new code.
| Field |
Purpose |
| Code |
This is the unique identifier for the drop-down option. This code is written in the raw data and is referenced to determine the description to show on the screen. If the code is removed from the Admin > Codes section, this value will still be in the Student File for reporting purposes unless the file is edited and saved after the code was deleted. |
| Description |
This is what is displayed on the screens and for students/users when in the system. |
Import Code Key: CERTM1, CERTM2... CERTM10
.csv file should contain Code & Description & Company Code. The fields must appear in this order and the last column must be the Company Code.
Inactivating Codes:
These codes cannot be inactivated.
NOTE: If a code cannot be inactivated, it is not recommended to delete the code as this could cause "holes" in your data. Instead, consider adding a "z" to the beginning of the Description field as this will move the code to the bottom of the list.
|