Certificates with a QR check page, expiry and renewal
Give a certificate when a course is finished, with a QR code anyone can scan to check it. Set how long it is valid, warn people 30 days before it expires, and put them back on the course when it does.
PLANSEvery plan
Built and checked in code; not yet installed on a test system or used by a customer.
The problem it solves
- Certificates are made one by one in a word processor and are easy to fake.
- A client or auditor asks whether a certificate is real, and someone has to dig through files.
- Yearly safety or compliance certificates expire, and nobody notices until an audit.
How it works
- On the course, tab Certificate, tick Give a Certificate. Set the title, who signs it (name, title, signature image) and how many months it stays valid.
- Tick Renew on Expiry for refresher courses, such as yearly fire safety.
- When a learner finishes every needed lesson, the certificate is issued with its number and the learner is told.
- The learner presses Download Certificate on the course page, or opens it under My Certificates in the app.
- Anyone who scans the QR code sees a check page: valid, expired or withdrawn, with the name, course and dates.
- Thirty days before expiry the learner is warned. On expiry the certificate shows Expired and, with renewal on, the course comes back to them.
Everything it does
On the course
- Give a Certificate: off to start with
- Certificate Title: Certificate of Completion to start with
- Signed By, Signer's Title, Signature image; without a signer the course's author is named
- Valid for (months): 0 means it never expires
- Renew on Expiry: off to start with
The certificate
- Number from its own sequence, the learner's name, title, issue date and valid-until date
- The PDF shows the entity's name, the course, its length, the QR code with the number and the signature
- One valid certificate per enrolment; finishing again while it is valid does not make another
- Status: Valid, Expired or Withdrawn
The check page
- Public, no login, reached from the QR code; each certificate has its own long random secret in the link
- Shows the number, status, name, course, issue and valid-until dates and the issuing entity; nothing else
- A withdrawn certificate shows Withdrawn and can no longer be downloaded
Expiry and renewal
- Checked every day
- Certificate Expiring Soon: once, 30 days before
- Expired the day after the valid-until date
- With Renew on Expiry: the learner's progress on the course is cleared and they are enrolled again, due by the course's Days to Finish
Managing
- Learn > Manage Courses > Learning > Learners > Certificates: Print and Withdraw
- Withdraw needs a reason and is for Learn Managers only
- Learners see only their own certificates; course authors see those of their courses
Who uses it
Learn AuthorSets the certificate on their courses and sees the certificates given.
Learn ManagerPrints and withdraws certificates, with the reason.
LearnerDownloads the PDF and shares it.
Anyone checkingScans the QR code to see whether it is valid.
Where you use it
- Web: the course's Certificate tab; Learn > Manage Courses > Learning > Learners > Certificates
- Web: Download Certificate on the finished course in the player
- The SmartMy Learn app: My Certificates in the Menu (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Public: the check page from the QR code
What you control
Settings
- Give a Certificate: off; Valid for: 0 months (never expires); Renew on Expiry: off
- Warning before expiry: 30 days, fixed
Notifications
- Certificate Issued: to the learner, by email and in the app
- Certificate Expiring Soon: to the learner 30 days before, by email and in the app
- Certificate Expired: to the learner, by email and in the app
- Course Assigned: to the learner when renewal puts them back on the course
- Every Learn event is a work message, so nobody can switch it off for themselves
Works with
SmartMy HRMSFinishing can also make an HR training certificate and count the training hours.
Questions
How does a client check a certificate?
They scan the QR code on it. The check page says whether it is valid, expired or withdrawn, with the name, course and dates. No login is needed.Does the check page show personal details?
Only the name on the certificate, the course, the dates and your entity's name. The link carries a long random secret, so certificates cannot be listed or guessed.Can we cancel a certificate given by mistake?
Yes. A Learn Manager presses Withdraw and writes why. The check page then shows Withdrawn and the learner can no longer download it.How do yearly refreshers work?
Set Valid for to 12 months and tick Renew on Expiry. The learner is warned 30 days before, and on expiry the course comes back with a new due date.Related features
COURSES AND ENROLMENTCourses, sections and lessons from YouTube, Vimeo, PDF, slides, articles and filesBuild a course from sections and lessons: YouTube or Vimeo videos, PDFs, slides, articles, links and files to download. Authors build it, a Learn Manager publishes it, and learners follow it in order or in any order.APP, MESSAGES AND POLICIESMessages when a course is assigned, due soon, overdue or finishedLearners are told when a course is assigned to them, three days before it is due, when it is overdue and when they finish. With SmartMy HRMS the manager hears about overdue courses too.QUIZZES AND CERTIFICATESCourse versions: people mid-way finish on their versionChange a published course without breaking it for the people half-way through. New Version makes a draft copy. Once it is published, new people get it and everyone already learning finishes the one they started.QUIZZES AND CERTIFICATESQuestion bank and quizzes with a timer, attempts and negative marksKeep your questions in one bank, in ten kinds. Build quizzes from chosen or random questions with a timer, attempts, negative marks and a pass mark. Seven kinds are marked at once; written and file answers wait for a teacher.APP, MESSAGES AND POLICIESThe SmartMy Learn app, with lessons saved for offline and screenshots blockedLearners take their courses, lessons and live classes and keep their certificates on the phone; teachers see their learners and mark from it. PDFs and slides can be saved for offline, and screenshots are blocked during a lesson.
See your first course on it.
Tell us who learns (students, staff or both), how many people and what you teach today. We will set up one course with you and enrol a class or a department.