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Pinnacle Series Content Management

Articles about managing library content in Pinnacle Series

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What Settings Affect Certificate Availability for Learners?

Applies To:

  • Pinnacle admins
  • Content admins
     

Common Causes/Issues:

As a content creator, you have control over whether a certificate is awarded upon completion of a course. 

 

Solution Overview:

This guide explains the course settings that impact certificate availability and how to configure them intentionally for your audience.

 

Certificate Availability Overview

A certificate will only be generated for a course when the user status is set to Completed. This status depends on specific course settings that you, as the content creator, define.

  • Certificates are not automatic - they require completion criteria to be met.
  • The completion logic can vary depending on the type of course content and your settings.

 

Completion Settings You Can Configure

To control when a course is marked complete (and therefore when a certificate becomes available), consider enabling one or more of the following options during course creation or editing:

  • Require users to view content in order
    Ensures that learners progress sequentially through modules or videos before the system recognizes course completion.

     

  • Require 100% of each video to be watched
    If enabled, learners must watch every second of video content. Skipping or fast-forwarding may prevent completion.

     

  • Specify maximum quiz attempts
    Controls how many tries learners get to pass. Failing to meet the required score in the allowed attempts will block completion and the certificate.

     

  • Require quizzes to be passed before completing course
    This setting enforces knowledge checks as a condition of course completion. If the quiz is skipped or failed, the course won't be marked complete.

 


 

Best Practice Tip

If issuing certificates is important for compliance, CE credits, or internal tracking, always test your course settings with a sample user before publishing broadly. Make sure the “Completed” status is triggered correctly under your selected settings.

 

How Do Users Know a Certificate Is Available?

  • Learners will see the View Certificate option once the course is marked as completed.
  • They can access certificates through their Enrollment History or My Account > Transcripts section.

If they don’t see the option, it typically means one or more completion settings haven’t been fulfilled.

 

Summary

  • Certificates are only available when a course is officially marked as complete.
  • You control completion via course settings during setup.
  • Be deliberate with settings if issuing a certificate is important to the course outcome.

 

Still Need Help?

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