Common problems: academies

This article lists the symptoms specific to academies. For each one, it gives the check to run and the page that owns the setting. When content fails to reach a learner and no academy is involved, see Common problems: distribution.

”The learner has no universe selector”

The selector sits at the top of the app home page. It appears only when the learner belongs to at least one academy through one of their groups; otherwise that spot shows the account logo. Run these checks in order:

1. Is the department in academy mode? The This department is an academy switch sits in the Edit department window, on the Authorizations page.
2. Is the learner in a group of that department? A group lives in a single department, so a group of the root account attaches to no academy.
3. Is that group active? A deactivated group no longer attaches its learners to the department.

The selector does not depend on content: an academy that is still empty appears in the list of every learner who belongs to it. See Switching between universes as a learner.

”The learner is in the academy and sees nothing”

Academy mode distributes nothing by itself. The usual chain still applies: the capsule is online, it belongs to a track, and that track is distributed to a group the learner belongs to.

Academy mode adds one constraint: the group receiving the track must belong to the academy’s department. Inside an academy’s universe, groups from other perimeters do not count, and a track distributed to a group of the root account does not appear there.

Check the displayed universe as well. The app remembers the last universe chosen, including after a restart, so the learner may still be looking at another one.

”Academy content is also visible from the root account”

This is the expected behaviour. The department filter only applies while the learner is inside an academy. On the root account there is no filter: the learner finds everything their groups give them, academy content included.

An academy separates browsing universes; it takes nothing away from the root account. To keep a piece of content to one population, distribution to its groups is what decides. See Who can distribute what.

”I cannot find the setting that turns a department into an academy”

The setting sits in the add or edit department window, on the Authorizations page, as the This department is an academy switch. Reaching it requires two things: the department hierarchy option on the account, and the Edit / add departments right. Without that right, the menu that opens those windows does not appear at all.

You can set the mode when creating the department as well as on an existing one, and remove it the same way, with no confirmation. See Creating an academy.

”A track from another department does not appear in the academy”

A common base is pinned from its owning department, and the owner is who allows it. If the track does not appear in the receiving library, the setting to correct is Track access from other departments, on the owner’s side. See Sharing a track across departments.

”Deleting an academy deleted users”

⚠️ Deleting a department deletes all its users, including those of its sub-departments. The confirmation window states it before anything happens: “This action will delete all users in this department, including those in sub-departments, if any exist.”

To stop an academy without touching people, turn the switch off instead of deleting the department. The department stays in place with its groups and its users, its universe leaves the selector, and its content stops being filtered on the learner side.

”The visual identity is not the expected one”

The customisation screen is the same for the parent account and for an academy; only the selected perimeter changes. Check which perimeter you filled Department brand name and Department logo in. See Visual identity.

”The numbers do not add up”

A learner present in two academies counts in both. Adding up the completion rates of several academies therefore does not give the network’s rate. See Academies, analytics and engagement.

Going further

• Switching between universes as a learner: where the selector sits and what switching changes for the learner
• Creating an academy: turning the mode on for a department, and what to check before opening
• Modelling your organisation: creating, editing and deleting departments, and what deletion takes with it
• Common problems: distribution: the capsule, track, group chain when no academy is involved