Understanding Appearance and Deadline Dates in Program Segments: An Overview
Every segment in a program contains an appearance- and (optional) a deadline date. What is meant by 'appearance' and 'deadline', and how do they work?
First, what do we mean by 'segment'? A segment is a collection of role plays with an appearance date. In the example below, we see two segments. The first one contains one role play, the second one contains two role plays.
The appearance date of a segment is the exact date and time upon which the segment and its roleplays become available to the trainees of the program.
The date of a deadline specifies the final date on which the trainee is able to finish a segment.
Relative data
The appearance- and deadline dates can be modified by clicking on the "Settings" button below a segment.
After opening the settings of that segment you will see a new window. Here you can click "Schedule", where you can modify the appearance and deadline dates. If you are finished modifying the dates, make sure to click on 'Apply' to save your changes.
The appearance dates and deadlines that are shown next to the segments are relative to the enrollment date of the trainee. The date on which the trainee is enrolled is equal to week 1, day 1. This means that the appearance dates and deadlines are not fixed dates, but rather relative to the registry date of each trainee.
Below you will see an example to give you an idea of how the appearance dates and deadlines would work in practice:
The program is set up with the appearance and deadline dates of the example image at the top of the page.
If the trainee is registered on the 10th of January then his appearance and deadline dates will be the following:
Appearance segment 1 = 10 January, 0:00
Deadline segment 1 = 17 January, 10:00
Appearance segment 2 = 10 January, 0:00
Deadline segment 2 = 13 January, 17:00
There is also the added feature of setting an 'example start date', simulating a starting date and consequently showing the corresponding appearance dates and deadlines of that starting date.
Absolute data
Another option is to give a programan absolute start date. This can be done by navigating to the program settings, and selecting a date under "Program start date". This option ensures that all trainees have the same starting dates. This means the appearance dates and deadlines of the role plays are the same for all trainees. If a date is entered in the input field, the segment settings will now allow you to select an absolute date for the appearance date or the deadline.
Disabling all deadlines
In some cases, trainees will have to pick their own moments and their own tempo. For example a program wherein a trainee trains for a specific event like a job interview or a presentation.
What you can do in these cases, is placing all the Role Plays in the first week of the program, by setting every segment deadline to week 1, day 1. Then all the Role Plays will be available immediately and the trainee can choose when they want to complete the Role Plays.
Disabling deadlines for a trainee
If there are deadlines enabled within the program, it is possible to turn these off for a subset of trainees. You might want to do this, for example, if a trainee has received an extension on their deadline for a segment. You can disable deadlines in the following way:
1. Select the relevant trainee(s)
2. Click More -> Disable deadlines
Now, all deadlines for this trainee have been disabled. They remain visible, however.
To re-enable the deadlines, simply press "Deadlines disables, click to recover".
You have now re-enabled the deadlines for this trainee!