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What happens if I change the deadline for a learning plan?

A new deadline can only be applied to users who have not yet missed the deadline for a learning plan. This is regardless of how the user is assigned to the learning plan or the type of deadline used. If the user’s deadline for a learning plan has not yet passed, a new deadline can be applied to them.

Deadline status

Deadline can be extended

Deadline can be shortened

Deadline not passed

Deadline met

Deadline missed

If you assign users to a learning plan at different times, and you are using the When learning plan becomes accessible, the user has [#] days to complete or Upon the user clicking "Start" on the learning plan, the user has [#] days to complete settings, a situation can occur in which you have multiple different users, each with different deadline statuses. This means changing the deadline will affects each user differently, depending on their current deadline status. This is shown in the table above.

Example scenarios:

The deadline is set by selecting a specific date

The admin sets the deadline for a learning plan to be 25th of November. Then, on 10th November, the admin changes the deadline so that it occurs on 1st December instead. This extends the deadline, giving users an extra 6 days to complete the learning plan. This is because the current status for those users is Deadline not passed.

If the current deadline is 25th of November and the deadline is updated on 26th November to be 1st December, all assigned users will have already missed the original 25th December deadline (because the admin changed the deadline after the original deadline date has passed). In this case, the status for all users will be Deadline missed and a new deadline is not applied to those users.

However, if a new user is assigned to this learning plan after the deadline extension, the 1st of December deadline will apply to them.

To ensure the deadline is updated for all assigned users, if you have selected the All users need to complete this learning plan by [Date] option, the deadline date needs to be extended before the date the learning plan is currently due.

The deadline is set using the ‘When learning plan becomes accessible, the user has [#] days to complete’ setting

A learning plan is due 5 days after it is first made available to users. On the 12th of December, the admin extends the deadline from 5 days to 8 days. 
There are 3 users:

  • User A: is assigned to the learning plan on 1st of December. This means that on the 12th December, User A has already missed the deadline, so their deadline status will remain as Deadline missed.

  • User B: is assigned on 10th of December. This means that on 12th December, User B still has 3 more days to complete the learning plan (based on the original deadline), so their deadline status at the time the deadline is changed is Deadline not passed. User B’s deadline will be extended for another 3 days, giving them a total of 6 days to complete the learning plan before the newly extended deadline elapses.

  • User C: is assigned to the learning plan in January, after the deadline has been extended. This means User C has the full 8 days to complete the learning plan.

Users who have missed their deadline will still be able to access and complete the learning plan. The deadline status for those users will be Deadline missed.


The deadline is set using the ‘Upon the user clicking "Start" on the learning plan, the user has [#] days to complete’ setting

A learning plan deadline has been set using the Upon the user clicking "Start" on the learning plan, the user has [#] days to complete setting. The admin gives users have 5 days to complete the learning plan, from the moment they click Start. Then, on the 12th of November, the admin extends this period from 5 days to 20 days.

There are three users:

  • User A: started the learning plan on 10th November, which means their deadline is 15th November and their deadline status is Deadline not passed. When the admin extends the deadline period from 5 to 20 days, User A (who on the 12th November had 3 days left to complete the learning plan), now has 18 days to complete it, as the deadline has been extended by an extra 15 days.

  • User B: starts the learning plan on March 1st meaning their original deadline is March 6th. User B does not complete the learning plan and therefore misses their deadline. When the deadline is extended on the 12th of November, User B’s deadline status remains unaffected, as their deadline status was already Deadline missed

  • User C: Starts the learning plan on 4th December. This gives them the full 20 days to complete the learning plan, making User C’s deadline for this learning plan 24th December.

If you are using the When learning plan becomes accessible, the user has [#] days to complete or Upon the user clicking "Start" on the learning plan, the user has [#] days to complete settings, the deadline is specific to each individual user. The only way to extend a deadline for all users including those who have already missed the deadline, is to create a new learning plan.

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