Certification tool in Sakai

What you need to know before adding the Certification tool in Sakai

The "Certification" tool in Sakai is a way to create certificates for criteria that are met within the Sakai page. The criteria are connected to Gradebook items and the tool uses extensive use of Gradebook. One of the key elements to have prepared before enabling the Certification tool is a fillable or editable .pdf as the certificate document, which is most often designed by the instructor or administrator. The ability to award certificates is limited to what can be entered into Gradebook, therefore the tool is limited in its ability to be responsive to expansion, updates or other requests for flexibility.

Certificates can be awarded for:

• Completion of a Gradebook item
• Achieving a final course grade above a specific, indicated score
• Achieving a specific score on a specific Gradebook item

Create a fillable or editable pdf

Most often created in Adobe Acrobat Pro. Design is entirely up to the instructor.

For more instructions on how to create fillable PDF forms see this article.

This is an example of a basic, fillable certificate.

Add the Certification tool to Sakai

To access this tool, select Certification from the Tool Menu in your site.

• Note that the Gradebook tool must also be enabled in your site in order for the Certification tool to operate as expected.

Add related tools in Sakai

In addition to the Gradebook tool you might also consider adding the Tests and Quizzes tool and/or the Assignments tool if completion of either a test/quiz or an assignment is going to be associated with receiving a certificate.

For example, students must receive a score of 80% or above on the First Aid test to receive the Certification in First Aid. In this case you would need to add the Tests and Quizzes tool to your Sakai site in order to create the First Aid test and connect it with both the Gradebook and the Certification tool.

Create an assessment in Tests and Quizzes

Add an Assignment

It is strongly recommended that the option is selected in the quiz settings under "Grading and Feedback" to "Send Assessment score to Gradebook, regardless of the options below":

Once the set up of the pdf, assessment option (test or assignment) and Gradebook is complete then a certificate can be added.

Add a new certificate

Click on the Add tab in the top left hand corner.

Provide a Name (required) for your certificate and a Description (optional). Use the Choose File button to upload your fillable PDF file, then click Continue.

Start building the Certification requirements

The certification requirement options are:

• This certificate cannot be awarded until after a specified gradebook item's due date has passed
• Certificate will expire after a specified number of months
• Must earn a specified score on a specified grade item
• Final course grade must be greater than or equal to a specified score

Multiple certification requirements can be added for one certificate.

This certificate cannot be awarded until after a specified gradebook item's due date has passed

From the Gradebook Item dropdown menu select the gradebook item you want student's to complete for this requirement then click on the Add button.

Certificate will expire after a specified number of months

In the Months until expiration text box enter the number of months you want this certificate to be active for and then click on the Add button.

Must earn a specified score on a specified grade item

From the Gradebook item dropdown menu select the item that you want student's to complete for this requirement, in the Score text box enter the specific score you want students to achieve in order to receive this certification, then click on the Add button.

Final course grade must be greater than or equal to a specified score

In the Score text box enter the minimum final course grade that student's must achieve in order to receive this certification, then click on the Add button.

Current Award Requirements

As you add certification requirements you will see them listed under the Current Award Requirements heading. To remove a certification requirement click on the trash can icon.

Additional setting

If you want students to be able to view the requirements that they have to meet in order to receive the certificate check the box for Show requirements to site members (depending on the selected requirements, this may reveal grades). Revealing grades will be specific to the student.

Modify Certification

Once you've set the certification requirements select the Continue button to modify the fillable certificate. On the Modify Certification screen the number of Fields in the PDF and the dropdown menus for the Values to be substituted correspond with the number of fillable fields in the certificate PDF you uploaded in Step 4 above.

Select the corresponding Values to be Substituted

Fields in the PDF will be automatically generated by the Certification tool to match the fillable fields in the certificate you uploaded in Step 4 above.

Note: If any of these fields are incorrect you will have to go back to the fillable PDF document to make edits and re-upload it to the Certification tool on Sakai.

The Value to be substituted column provides the options for what the Certification tool can populate into these fillable fields in the PDF. The options are:

• Expiration date
• Last name of the recipient
• Date of award
• Name of this certificate
• Full name of the recipient
• First name of the recipient

Confirm the Field in the PDF and the Value to be substituted columns align

Make sure you've selected the correct Value to be substituted from the dropdown menu that you want to appear on the certificate and then select the Continue button.

Review and Activate Certificate

Review the certificate name, description, fillable PDF attachment, certification requirements, requirement visibility, and template field values before selecting the Activate Certificate button.

Certification List

Active certificates can be viewed in the Certification List tab in the Certification tool on Sakai. Each certificate within this tab has an Actions dropdown menu where you can Edit, View Report, or Remove the certificate.

• Edit takes you back to Step 4 in the process above with the option to edit any of the content previously entered for this certificate
• View Report (both from within the Actions dropdown menu and under the Status Report column) allows you to see each user's name, user ID, and role within your course, as well as when the certificate was issued to them, when it expires (if it does), what score they received on the associated gradebook item, and whether or not the certificate has been awarded to them. This information can also be exported to a CSV file using the tab on the top of the page called Export as CSV.
• Remove allows you to delete the certificate

FAQs

1. Can Sakai lock pdfs?

• No it cannot.

2. Can people access their certificate if they don't have a Brock login, or their Brock login has expired?

• People can only access their certificate from within Sakai if they have access to Sakai via the Brock authentication system or they have been authenticated through an alternative authentication process. Certifying people external to the Brock authentication system is likely best done with an alternate method. *Additional note: the person must be a member of the Sakai site and the site must be published for them to access the certificate.

3. Can people print the certificates?

• Yes, they can. *Note above about Sakai cannot lock pdfs.

4. Can instructors see or download the actual pdf certificate that the students receive?

• No, only a confirmation that they have received it can be seen the View Report area.