Answer Geek

Answer geeks (and we use that term with great respect): Where would we be without them? They help guide us through the challenges of online learning, the Internet, courseware development, and those other intersections of learning and technology.

QUESTION

For online courses, should we mail each learner a completion certificate or develop and send an electronic version?

ANSWER

Our Answer Geeks were split on this question. There's not one right answer here--just various ideas to consider and personal preference.

Parkin:

Traditional certificates are fine as long as your learner group is small. But if you’re running an e-business, it makes sense to be real-time and online from end to end. I've found that most e-learners enjoy the relative novelty of getting a printable certificate. If they need to submit proof of accomplishment to someone--for example, to get Professional Development Units (PDUs)--it’s a simple matter to forward the certificate by email.

For several years now, our company has provided electronic completion or pass certificates at the end of online courses, and we’ve found that having them auto-generated and auto-emailed works well for learners. We create them as printable PDFs, complete with the learner’s name, date, and a digitized signature of the appropriate authority. Our method gives them instant gratification and ties in well with the concept of e-learning. From an administrative point of view, our approach lets us avoid the high cost of printing, signing, mailing, and tracking traditional certificates. Plus, we can easily make completion of learner feedback questionnaires a course requirement--no feedback, no certificate.

Voci:

I agree with Godfrey. I like making online certificates because they’re consistent with the way in which the student took the course. In a former job, we offered online certificates that learners could print out. When people displayed them in their cubicle, the certificates increased visibility for the e-learning program, stimulated discussion among workers, and increased the learner’s pride in achievement. In addition, the certificates were symbolic representations of the growing body of organizational knowledge and competency.

Yakimovicz:

We do something a little different. For an online course completed at the learner's desk, we provide a "claim check" to print at the end. The printed claim check is turned in to the supervisor for a certificate and a job aid, if relevant.

This strategy allows the supervisor to follow up with questions about what was learned and encourage application of the learning on the job. It also makes sure the supervisor recognizes that the employee has spent time working through the e-learning model, and the manager can put a record into the employee’s file for the end-of-year review. (No, we don't have an LMS.)

Job aids, which help workers with advanced skills beyond what the module presented, are used as part of our incentives for completion. The employee doesn’t get the job aid until he or she has completed the e-learning module; the supervisor hands it out with the completion certificates.

Murphy:

I've chosen to prepare printed certificates, laminate them, and postal mail them to participants because I've found that it's important to learners to feel good about their new knowledge and to retain confidence in the presentation of the material. A formal certificate should reflect the trainer's self-respect as well as the learner's accomplishments.

Published: November 2002