How to set up and manage certifications in Open edX?

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Setting up and managing certifications in Open edX allows you to award certificates to learners who successfully complete your course. Open edX provides built-in support for generating and managing certificates. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up and managing certifications:

1. Enable Certificates in Your Course

Before you can issue certificates, you need to enable the certificate feature in your course:

  1. Access Studio:
  • Log in to Open edX Studio.
  • Navigate to the course where you want to enable certificates.

2. Enable Certificates:

  • Go to Settings > Advanced Settings.
  • Locate the Certificate Configuration field.
  • Add the following JSON configuration to enable certificates:
    json { "enabled": true, "certificates_display_behavior": "end", "certificate_available_date": null, "certificates_show_before_end": false }
  • Save your changes.

2. Configure Certificate Settings

Customize the certificate settings to suit your course requirements:

  1. Access Certificate Settings:
  • In Studio, go to Settings > Schedule & Details.

2. Set Certificate Availability:

  • Specify when certificates should be available (e.g., after the course end date or immediately upon completion).

3. Configure Certificate Display Behavior:

  • Choose whether certificates should be displayed at the end of the course or after a specific date.

3. Design the Certificate Template

Open edX allows you to customize the design of the certificates:

  1. Access the Certificate Template:
  • Log in to the LMS as an administrator.
  • Navigate to Admin > Certificates > Certificate Templates.

2. Create or Edit a Template:

  • Click Add Certificate Template or edit an existing one.
  • Configure the following fields:
    • Template Name: Provide a name for the template.
    • Organization: Specify the organization issuing the certificate.
    • Course Key: Enter the course key for which the certificate is issued.
    • Certificate HTML: Customize the HTML template for the certificate.
    • Certificate CSS: Add custom CSS for styling the certificate.

3. Save the Template:

  • Save your changes and ensure the template is associated with the correct course.

4. Set Up Certificate Generation

Certificates can be generated automatically or manually:

  1. Automatic Generation:
  • Certificates are automatically generated for learners who meet the course completion criteria.
  • Ensure the course grading policy is properly configured to determine who qualifies for a certificate.

2. Manual Generation:

  • Log in to the LMS as an administrator.
  • Navigate to Instructor Dashboard > Certificates.
  • Use the Generate Certificates option to manually generate certificates for specific learners.

5. Manage Certificates

Once certificates are generated, you can manage them through the LMS:

  1. View Certificates:
  • Go to Instructor Dashboard > Certificates.
  • View a list of learners who have been issued certificates.

2. Regenerate Certificates:

  • If needed, you can regenerate certificates for learners (e.g., if there was an error in the original certificate).

    3. Revoke Certificates:

    • In rare cases, you may need to revoke a certificate. Use the Revoke Certificates option in the Instructor Dashboard.

    6. Notify Learners About Certificates

    Learners are typically notified via email when their certificate is ready. Ensure email notifications are enabled:

    1. Check Email Settings:
    • Go to Admin > Email and ensure email notifications are configured.

    2. Customize Email Content:

    • Customize the certificate email template if needed.

    7. Verify Certificates

    Learners and third parties can verify the authenticity of certificates:

    1. Certificate Verification Page:
    • Open edX provides a certificate verification page where anyone can verify a certificate by entering the certificate ID.

    2. Share Verification Link:

    • Include the verification link in your course materials or communications.

    8. Best Practices for Managing Certificates

    • Test Certificates: Before launching the course, test the certificate generation process to ensure everything works as expected.
    • Monitor Compliance: Ensure certificates are issued only to learners who meet the course requirements.
    • Update Templates: Periodically review and update certificate templates to reflect any changes in branding or course details.