Creating Curricula

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Explore curriculum characteristics and benefits
  • Create a curriculum
  • Add content to curricula

Creating Curricula

Curriculum Main Concepts

A curriculum is a collection of items that are grouped together for the purpose of assigning and tracking them as a single unit. Curricula allow for the automatic recalculation of due dates for items that have been completed but need to be repeated regularly.

Each curriculum is assigned a unique identifier called the Curriculum ID in the SAP SuccessFactors Learning database. While the ID can be anything, it is highly recommended to establish an enterprise-wide naming convention for curricula. This standardized approach facilitates the search, assignment, and reporting processes for Administrators. Some examples of curriculum IDs include:

  • LDR-BASICS
  • SAFETY-ELECTRICIANS
  • MGMT-REMOT

A Curriculum can have two possible statuses: Complete and Incomplete. Even though optional items may be part of a curriculum, the curriculum is considered complete when all required items have been successfully completed and recorded.

An Assignment Type MUST be selected for each item in a curriculum. Failure to do so will mark the curriculum as Complete on the user side when assigned.

Watch this video to explore curricula as a user:

Video Summary

This video guides you on how to access, manage, and self-assign curricula on the learning plan.

Curriculum Benefits

By leveraging curricula, organizations can streamline their learning management processes and ensure that learners stay on track with their required training and development activities. The following are key advantages of implementing curricula:

  • Completion Tracking: Curricula enable easy monitoring of a user's progress by indicating whether all the necessary requirements have been fulfilled. This simplifies the process of tracking completion status.

  • Dynamic Due Date Management: Curricula can automatically update due dates for items that need to be repeated periodically. This ensures that such items are consistently scheduled appropriately, eliminating the risk of missed deadlines.

Characteristics of Curricula

In addition to their practical benefits, curricula possess certain characteristics that make them versatile and effective tools for organizing and tracking learning materials. These characteristics contribute to the flexibility and efficiency of curricula, allowing for easy customization and seamless integration into various educational and professional contexts. Some key characteristics of curricula are:

1. Multiple Usage: Items within a curriculum can be utilized in one or multiple curricula, each with its own set of dates and requirement settings. This flexibility enables educators and administrators to tailor curricula to specific learning objectives or individual needs.

2. Real-Time Updates: Modifications made to a curriculum have an immediate impact on all users who are currently assigned to that curriculum. This real-time updating ensures that learners always have access to the most up-to-date curriculum content and requirements.

3. Automated Assignment: Curricula can be associated with job positions or assignment profiles, allowing for automatic assignment to users who are given those positions or meet the established rules. This streamlines the process of curriculum allocation and ensures that relevant learning materials are readily available to individuals in specific roles.

4. Prerequisite Integration: Curricula can be included in prerequisite groups, serving as prerequisites to certain items. To meet the prerequisite, a user must have a curriculum status of complete. This integration enhances the structure and coherence of learning pathways, ensuring that learners have the necessary foundational knowledge before progressing to more advanced materials.

5. Priority Levels: Curricula can be assigned priority levels, which are numeric and globally configurable. This feature empowers end users to prioritize their curriculum assignments based on their individual learning needs and time constraints.

6. Curriculum Requirements: Curricula can contain specific curriculum requirements that learners must fulfill to complete the curriculum. These requirements can include completing certain courses or modules, achieving a minimum score on assessments, or demonstrating proficiency in specific skills. By including curriculum requirements, curricula provide a clear roadmap for learners and ensure that they acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to meet their learning objectives.

Curriculum Creation Overview

The process of curriculum creation involves several steps.

First, you need to create the curriculum entity by providing a name, description, and other necessary logistical information. Once the curriculum entity is created, you can add the desired items, requirements, or sub-curricula to the curriculum by searching for them and selecting the appropriate options. To create a logical learning path, arrange the courses in the desired order. This sequencing ensures that learners progress through the curriculum in a structured and meaningful way.

You can also establish period-based settings to determine when each course is initially assigned and whether they recur. Additionally, associate the curriculum with categories and place them in libraries. By placing the curriculum in libraries, it becomes available to learners. Categorizing the curriculum helps to organize and classify it, making it easier for learners to find and access the materials they need.

Creating a Curriculum Entity

These steps provide an overview of how to create a curriculum entity:

  1. Navigate to Learning Administration.

  2. From the left menu, select Learning Activities → Curricula.

  3. Select Add New to start creating a new curriculum.

  4. Provide Curriculum ID, Title, Security Domain, Description and any other relevant fields for the curriculum. This information will help learners understand the purpose and content of the curriculum.

  5. The Curriculum Type picklist provides a predefined list of options that categorize the curriculum based on its purpose or structure.

  6. Selecting a priority helps to ensure that learners progress through the training in a logical and structured manner.

  7. Make a decision on Subsequent Failures Reset Curriculum Status by checking or unchecking the box for this field. Checking this box means the users will keep the status of their last attempt at completing the curriculum, regardless of due date.

  8. Select Add to create the curriculum entity.

    The Add New Curricula screen is open.

Create a Curriculum

Business Example

In this exercise, you will create a Human Resources curriculum entity.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Steps

  1. Navigate to Learning Activities → Curricula.

  2. To avoid creating a duplicate curriculum, use the search criteria to search for it by title or ID. If you are sure that the curriculum does not already exist, continue with these steps.

  3. Choose Add New.

  4. Enter a curriculum ID, for example: [Your initials]-CURR1.

  5. Enter a title for the curriculum. For example: WL-Human Resources.

  6. Enter a description of the curriculum, if desired.

  7. Leave the creation date set to the default of today’s date.

  8. Select a Security Domain. For example: ACME-CORP.

  9. Select a Curriculum Type from the drop-down menu. For example: Human Resources – General (HR).

  10. Confirm that all of the fields have been entered correctly.

    Caution

    You will not be able to change the Curriculum ID once the Curriculum has been created.

  11. Choose Add.

Curriculum Content Management

The Contents tab allows users to view, add, and edit curriculum content. Using the Manage Content button, you can easily add and manage content.

The Contents Tab and Manage Content Button Tab are highlighted.

When you select Manage Content, the Content window opens. From this window, content can be added using the green plus button.

The Add Content dropdown is highlighted.

  • Items: Items of any classification can be added to a curriculum. There is no limit to the number of items that can be added to a curriculum.

  • Curriculum Requirements: These requirements allow users to choose their preferred courses from a pool of available options to meet the curriculum's requirements. These requirements provide users with the flexibility to choose how they want to fulfill their training.

  • Subcurricula: Subcurricula create a hierarchical structure between multiple curricula. All items in the parent curriculum and subcurricula are added to the user’s Learning Plan. The main curriculum is Incomplete until all required items in the curriculum and subcurricula are completed. Each subcurricula status can be tracked and reported on individually.

An example of the Main Curriculum and Subcurriculum are shown,

Added content will appear at the bottom of the list in the Content window. However, you can change the order by selecting the Move Up or Move Down buttons in the Display Order column.

The Expand buttons and Display Order buttons of the Manage Content screen are highlighted.

Changing the order affects how the information is displayed to users in the curriculum details. It doesn't change the due dates or the sequence of due dates. This visual sequencing can help users know which content to complete first when there are multiple pieces due on the same day.

To view the assignment settings or curriculum associated with each piece of content, select the Expand button (red plus icon).

Watch this video to learn how to add content to curricula:

Video Summary

The Contents tab is used to view and edit the content associated with a curriculum. By selecting the Manage Content button, you can easily add new content or edit existing content for the curriculum. Various types of content, such as items, requirements, and sub-curricula can be added. The display order of items can be adjusted to provide a suggested order of completion. Period-based settings can be established for each item to determine assignment and due dates. If content needs to be removed, it can be easily done through the Contents tab. The Contents tab streamlines the process of managing curriculum content.

Add Content to a Curriculum

Business Example

In this exercise, you will add two Human Resources courses to a curriculum entity.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Steps

  1. Select the Contents tab and choose the Manage Content button.

  2. Choose the Add Content button and select Items from the drop-down menu.

  3. Enter criteria in the keyword field to search for the items to include in the curriculum and select Search. For example: search for items with a keyword of HR.

  4. Select the Add checkbox next to each item to add it to the curriculum.

  5. Choose the Add button. The item(s) are now listed on the Contents tab.

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