Offer concepts
What is an offer?
Once courses and other learning content have been created in OpenOlat, it must be determined which users should have access to them and when. Access can be granted (approved) in two ways:
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Private: By entering them in the member management section of the course administration, registered OpenOlat users become members of the course or learning resource and can then access it.
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Bookable and open offers: An offer is added to a course by the owner (author). Users can then find this offer in the catalog and initiate membership themselves by booking the offer.
Several different offers for different target groups can also be created for the same course.
For example, a course can be offered free of charge to internal users, while a second offer provides the same course to external users for a fee. Offers can also be displayed in the catalog for specific organizational units only. However, they can also be displayed for everyone; membership is not even required.
Example of courses offered in the catalog:
What can be shown in offers?
The visible part of the offer is displayed as a card in the catalog (or in the list view). (The invisible part of an offer includes the rules: When and where is the offer displayed?)
What is displayed on a card in the catalog can be specified (uniformly for all cards) by administrators in the system administration under
Administration > Modules > Catalog > Tab Layout > Section Launchers
- Implementation format
- Certificate
- Credit points
- Reference
- Type
- Title
- Teaser
- Authors
- Time required
- Main language
- Execution period
- Place of implementation
- Subjects / Catalog
Where can offers be displayed?
OpenOlat has an internal and an external catalog. You can specify whether an offer is displayed in only one or in both catalogs.
Within the catalog, there are sections called launchers. As the owner of a course or implementation, you can determine in which launcher your offer should appear. The offers are then dynamically compiled by the catalog (V2) and assigned to the various launchers. Taxonomy launchers can also display folders that correspond to specific taxonomy levels. This allows courses and learning resources to be displayed sorted by taxonomy terms.
An offer can also appear in several different launchers of the catalog (V2). For example, in a launcher called "Popular courses" and a launcher that compiles courses thematically based on a specific taxonomy.
Offers can also be displayed in catalog areas (launchers) that are visible only to members of certain organizational units. (This requires that the "Organisations" module is activated.)
You configure the release settings directly in the offer:
Course: Course > Administration > Settings > Share > Section "Offer" > Link "Edit offer"
Implementation: Course Planner > Implementations > "your implementation" > Tab Catalog > Button Offers > Link "Edit offer"
Important
Offers can be booked in the catalog as soon as their status has been set to "Published". (Or "provisional" or "confirmed" for implementations.)
Tip
Sorting can also be performed within a launcher. Find out more >
Where can offers be created?
Offers are created
- in a course
or - in an implementation (within the Course Planner)
Create offers in courses
To offer a course in the catalog, select the relevant course and then
Course > Administration > Settings > Share > Section "Offer"
Tip
Once offers have been created, they can also be viewed under:
Course > Administration > Offer types
The entry appears as soon as a bookable offer has been configured for the course. Offers are configured under Course > Administration > Settings > Share > Section "Offer" (see above).
Details on the offer configuration >
Create offers in the Course Planner
To offer an implementation in the catalog, select the relevant implementation in the Course Planner:
Course Planner > Implementations > "your implementation" > Tab Catalog > Button Offers
Offer types
The following offer types can be created:
| Member status | available in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Without booking | without | With this offer, the resource is accessible to users without a membership. | Single course |
| Freely available | Membership | This offer allows the resource to be booked. Users receive a corresponding membership that gives them access to the resource. | Single course and implementation |
| Access code | Membership | With this offer, the resource can be booked with an access code. Users receive a corresponding membership that allows them to access the resource. | Single course and implementation |
| PayPal Checkout | Membership | With this offer, the resource can be booked for a fee using PayPal. Users receive a corresponding membership that gives them access to the resource. | Single course and implementation |
| Invoice | Membership | With this offer, the resource can be booked for a fee via invoice. Users receive a corresponding membership that gives them access to the resource. | Implementation |
When creating an offer, you select the offer type via the "Add offer" button.
What can be offered?
The catalog can include offers for
- Courses
- Implementations
- other learning resources
Offer courses
Offers for a course are created under
Course > Administration > Settings > Share > Section "Offer"
Please note that the option "Bookable and open offers" must be selected beforehand under "Access for participants".
Detailed information about offering courses in the catalog can be found here >
Offer implementations
If the same course is to be offered several times on different dates, this can be done in the Course Planner using implementations.
Implementations can also be advertised in the catalog if it is still unclear whether they will actually take place (e.g., because they depend on the number of registrations/bookings). An offer for an implementation must therefore always be created in the Course Planner in the respective implementation and not in a course that is intended for this implementation. Courses can be specifically designated for use in implementations and then do not have their own member management.
Users can book these implementations by logging in from the catalog (if they are already OpenOlat users) or by registering as new users (if they have found a suitable course implementation in the external catalog, which they can view without registering).
If an offer has been made in the catalog from within the Course Planner that can be booked with an invoice, interested parties are guided through the registration process to enter their billing address, etc. A booking number is also generated. (This is only possible with the Course Planner.)
The booking order can then be confirmed.
Offers for implementations are created in the Course Planner under:
Course Planner > Implementations > "your implementation" > Tab Catalog > Button Offers
More about offering implementations in the catalog >
Offer other learning resources
If individual videos or documents are to be offered in the catalog, courses with only one course element can be set up for each (e.g., course element Video or course element Document). Please note that when the course is called up, it automatically switches to the first course element.
The procedure for creating an offer is then identical to the offers for other independent courses.
The metadata and descriptions of such a "course" can only be adapted to the learning resource it contains, so that, for example, "Video xy" appears as an offer in the catalog.
Offers with payment
PayPal
The PayPal payment module allows authors to unlock learning content in exchange for money. It must be set up and activated in advance in the system administration.
After the PayPal module has been configured successfully, the offer type "PayPal Checkout" is available when creating an offer: for courses under Course > Administration > Settings > Share > Section "Offer", for implementations in the Course Planner and for groups in the group administration.
Setting up the PayPal payment module (Administration) >
Invoice
Payment by invoice is only possible for implementations in the Course Planner.
For an offer with invoice,
- the membership is active immediately or
- the membership is initially pending until an administrative role confirms the reservation.
Tip
The booking orders are collected per implementation:
Course Planner > Implementations > "your implementation" > Tab Catalog > Button Booking orders
The tabs of an implementation only appear once you have opened it in the table. There, the booking orders can be exported as an Excel file and used in another program (e.g., for invoicing).
Setting up the invoice payment module (Administration) >
Cancellation policy for invoice offers
When creating or editing an invoice offer, you define whether and under which conditions a booking can be cancelled. This way, users know the cancellation rules before they book.
- Cost center: Above the cancellation options, you can assign a cost center to the offer if required.
- Cancelable: This toggle determines whether bookings of this offer can be cancelled. The option is enabled by default.
- Cancellation Policy: If the offer is cancelable, choose between "Free of charge" (default) and "With fee".
- Cancellation fee: If "With fee" is selected, you enter the amount of the fee. With "Cancellable free of charge until \<number> days before start" you additionally define a period during which cancellation is free of charge. In order for the deadline to be taken into account, a start date must be specified in the execution period.
The cancellation information is displayed to users with the offer.
Credit points
Credit point systems can be set up in OpenOlat. A credit point system allows credit points to be collected across different learning opportunities. Using the "Credit points" module, you can define your own credit point systems globally. These enable participants to collect educational points/credits, such as ECTS or LearnCoins, for passing courses.
These points can also be used in certification programs for recertification, for example. Participants can earn credit points for each course they successfully complete. They can then use these credit points to purchase another course.
Organisations can define and name their own credit point systems and restrict them as needed, for example, by role or organisational area. After successfully completing a learning program, credit points can be assigned in a targeted manner to support long-term use for recertification.
Activate credit points system-wide (Administration) >
Awarding credit points in courses >
Credit points in the personal menu >
Further conditions for offers
Additional conditions can be set for offers. Most configuration options are entered directly when creating a new offer.
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Available if: Implementation status "Provisional" and "Confirmed":
An implementation does not have to be fully planned in order to publish an offer. For courses, the default condition is Course status "Published". -
Available if: Custom condition:
The offer is only available in the selected statuses and additionally limited to a period, with fixed dates or relative to the execution period. Details on availability > -
Membership Standard:
The membership is active immediately after booking the offer. -
Membership with confirmation:
The membership is initially pending. The reservation must be confirmed by an administrative role. -
Booking receipt:
With the option "Send e-mail to participant", the booking person receives the booking receipt by e-mail after booking. -
Automatic booking:
The membership is automatically created when the course is opened. With automatic booking, the offer description is not displayed and users are only offered the "Open" action. This option should not be used in conjunction with other offers. -
Even with immediately active membership (implementations, offer with invoice), acceptance of the privacy policy and other terms of use is usually required first. Additional terms and conditions may be specified in the terms of use.
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A tender/offer for an implementation can be made even if it is still unclear whether the implementation will take place. A course does not even have to exist at the time the offer is created. If, on the other hand, an independent course is offered, the offer must be created in the course and only appears in the catalog once the course has been published.
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With an offer of the type "Access code", the resource can be booked with an access code. Users receive a corresponding membership that allows them to access the resource.
Further information
Mentioned on this page
Catalog 2.0: Overview >
Catalog 2.0 - Sorting/order >
Access configuration >
Catalog 2.0 - Offers >
Course Planner: Implementations >
Group Administration >
PayPal Configuration (Administration) >
Payment modules: Invoice (Administration) >
e-Assessment Administration: Credit points >
Course Settings - Tab Assessment >
Personal achievements/successes: Credit points >
Further reading
How do I present my courses in the OpenOlat catalog? >