Payments made by credit card via the Learning Center now require the card CVV code and we have implemented the validation logic associated with that number.
Member admins can now view, process, and pay for discount codes used during the administration of their courses.
The new Admin–>Discounts menu shows discount codes in their various statues and Completed codes can be bundled together to create invoices.
Once an invoice is created, ACH payments can be made via the Admin–>Member Payments menu.
There are also methods for filtering codes by status, course, campaign, category, and more.
Discount codes campaigns beginning or after April of 2020 are available now to be processed / paid via the Learning Center. We will publish FAQ articles with more details on the features / functions of this tool in the coming days.
Inside course classrooms, candidates can now be assigned / re-assigned to instructors more effectively with the addition of a per-candidate “Assign” link. The assign link is available for any unassigned candidate and as a re-assign feature for any candidate who does not have a completed evaluation.
Member admins can now bulk update candidate statuses when they close courses. All candidates in the course who have not completed it when it is closed can be marked as either canceled or no-show automatically. If other statuses apply, those will still need to be managed on a candidate-by-candidate basis.
What’s Updated
Member admins will now see a total count of matching records on the Admin–>Licenses page. It is displayed above the filter block next to the Clear and Close buttons.
Users who create or update their profile will now have the zip code they enter validated against their country / state. Invalid codes will result in a message to the user to update it appropriately.
Referees
What’s New
The user profile now contains a “Download Certification History” link that will output a PDF list of all historical licenses with dates. The report lists
User Calendar – an all new calendar feature has been implemented for both the user and in courses. You’ll find it as a new tab in the course classroom and under the Profile menu. This calendar:
Automatically shows upcoming assignments, meetings, and course events
Automatically shows upcoming expiry or renewal dates for licenses (if applicable) and safety certifications
Allows course instructors to create course specific events and schedules from inside the classroom
Allows users to synchronize the calendar with their mobile device.
NOTE — mobile device synchronization is very specific to the user’s choice of platform and they will need to set that synchronization up themselves. It’s also common for updates to calendar events to have delays in synchronization — this is a function of the external calendar providers (Google, Apple, etc.) and not the Learning Center. We strongly recommend candidates refer to the course calendar as the most up to date information.
The Resources–>Schedule and Planning Tools calendars have been disabled.
User Email Control – on each user’s profile, in the notifications tab you are now able to selectively unsubscribe from emails generated by the Learning Center.
There are some emails that cannot be unsubscribed from because they are regulatory or transactional in nature
They are:
Receipts for any payment a user makes
Notifications regarding compliance requirements such as:
SafeSport training
Background screenings
Time-sensitive notifications such as:
Assignment deadlines
Status changes in a course
Notifications when your action is required
What’s Updated
New user sign up – a confirmation dialogue will now appear asking them to confirm their name, email(s), and date of birth. This should help eliminate any data entry errors and cut down on account duplication. The system also automatically checks for duplicate email(s) and will flag the user if a matching account is found.
User profile – a list of the allowed file types for profile pictures is now displayed to the user. They are: .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, and .tif
Course search – now includes an option to search by the language flag set when the course was created.
Groups tool – group admins who start a new conversation now have the option to make it “Announcements Only”. This means the conversation is one direction, and only group admins can post messages there. No replies are allowed.
Course editor – a warning is now shown if the course does not have a valid price package.
Referees
Whats Updated
License report – now includes an option to show suspended licenses only.
Assignment grading enhancements – instructors now have the option to “quick grade” an entire assignment or a specific candidate. This tool will loop through any assignment that does not have a final grade until it reaches the end of the list.
Assignment matrix view enhancements – instructors can hide candidates or assignments in the matrix to narrow their view and focus on specific items. An “Unide All” button appears in the top left corner to restore the default view after a row / column is hidden.
Evaluations view enhancements – instructors can now more easily filter and organize their evaluations; the system also categorizes evaluations by status making it easier for instructors to address those candidates who have outstanding work to be completed.
Users whose instructor role status is changed but are still assigned to courses will now show a dedicated data validation message in the classroom to indicate the change in their status — their candidates will need to be reassigned or their instructor status updated.
The menu bar now includes a link to the RecognizeToRecover site; the official home of U.S. Soccer’s player health and safety information.
What’s Updated
New users are now presented with a single, unified page with the ability to indicate the realm to which they’d like to initially enroll (coach or referee). Additional realms can be added at any time.
Users who’s “Intro to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments” training is about to expire will now receive reminder emails to complete that training. It is good for a year from the date it was taken last.
Referees
Whats Updated
Course descriptions have been reformatted and updated
Coaches
What’s Updated
Course descriptions have been reformatted and updated
Suspended licenses are now highlighted on the user profile along with the reason for the suspension.
Users are now shown more detailed information about missing pre-requisites that may make them ineligible to register for a course. Each course’s requirements are listed with visual indicators to show what the user needs to complete before they can register for the course in question.
Course meetings can now be marked as Virtual and include a field to list a meeting link. This information appears in the assignment overview for each candidate in the course, including links to virtual meeting spaces.
The course editor has been overhauled to be much more user friendly. Highlights include:
Step by step process to build courses
Updated staff / administrative search modals and assignments
Updated text editors for descriptions, disclaimers, and more
New delivery methods (Blended and Virtual) help your candidates understand how the course will be delivered. Both are instructor led, with blended including in-person meetings while Virtual courses are held completely via virtual meeting spaces.
Updated guides will be posted in our Knowledge Base.
What’s Updated
New users are now presented with a single, unified page with the ability to indicate the realm to which they’d like to initially enroll (coach or referee). Additional realms can be added at any time.
Users who’s “Intro to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments” training is about to expire will now receive reminder emails to complete that training. It is good for a year from the date it was taken last.
Referees
What’s New
Spanish language support for Background Check process – users can toggle between English and Spanish
Whats Updated
The “Year” filter in the available courses list has been renamed to “Calendar Year”
Coaches
What’s New
Grassroots Instructor License levels – we have implemented the Level 1 and Level 2 distinction
Grassroots Instructor License – Level 1 holders can teach Grassroots In Person license courses (4v4, 7v7, 9v9, 11v11)
Grassroots Instructor License – Level 2 holders can teach Grassroots In Person AND D license courses
Existing Grassroots Instructor License holders will be changed to the Grassroots Instructor License – Level 2 license
Existing instructors who do not hold a Grassroots Instructor License will not be affected
User managed data affiliations – relationships with members have always been handled automatically when a user took a course from your organization or listed a zip code in your state. Now, users can control who has access to see their profile data in the Learning Center from their profile. Data affiliations are still created automatically, but users can choose to share their information with other members or opt out of data sharing. Please note – everyone has a relationship with U.S. Soccer by default and that cannot be changed. See the LC Terms and Conditions for more details.
COVID-19 waiver – a new waiver and checkbox has been added to support in person courses and the protections needed for the COVID-19 pandemic. That full text of that release is available upon request. That checkbox will appear, and is required, during registration for any course not listed as “Remote” in the course builder.
Quizzes now include reporting around question success rates, available in the assignment editor.
Instructors are no longer able to pick a future date when finalizing an evaluation (other date); the default is today’s date and course end date can be used ONLY if it occurs in the past.
Member admins now have the ability to update a user’s DOB.
What’s Updated
Course information pages – each course information page now contains rich data around the duration, meetings, and other pertinent information related to that course.
Waiver texts have been adjusted from “I” to “I and/or my parent/guardian”.
Profile searches now allow dashes in the USSF ID field.
Better data validation for phone numbers entered on profiles. The default country is USA and more useful text is shown if the number is invalid.
Better data validation during course creation for missing price packages and more useful text is shown if one is missing.
New logic around the validation of SafeSport training and the Introduction to Safe and Health Playing environments module now more accurately reflects the user’s status during a course.
Referees
What’s New
Batch uploader – now includes a filter for payment status
New report – 2021 LOTG Update Course Completion Report
Whats Updated
Background check report – fixed the logic around the display of expiration dates and “Incomplete” is now included as a status.
Background check international addresses – fixed an issue around searching for countries in the pick list.
Previewing a member of a group now shows more complete / accurate information from their profile.
Coaches
What’s Updated
Some minor layout issues have been addressed in the planning tools when no results are found for a given item.
Course status change emails now reflect the correct contact for the course (from the course builder).
The look and feel of the Learning Center has been completely updated to a more modern, responsive design.
This update brings us closer in line with the other U.S. Soccer web properties, and we will continue to build in more functionality and usability changes throughout the course of this year.
Assignment overview
The individual candidate assignment overview has been completely overhauled to:
Surface the most relevant information first
Include a more chronological view of assignments and meetings
Make it easier for a candidate to understand the status of each assignment
In addition, multi-part assignments now include visual indicators / icons to help the candidate understand what they’ll do in that segment of their work.
Invitation only courses
Member admins are now able to create courses that are invitation only
Invitation only courses are designed to work independently of the waitlist, and they should not be used together
When an invitation only course is created:
The course registration dates are disabled
A new tab called “Invitations” will appear after the initial save – be sure your course has a title, curriculum, and price package!
When adding invitations –
Admins can search for users by name and email, then click the Invite link
Invited users are sent an email with information on signing up for the course
Eligibility rules still apply
Once invitations are created –
The invitations tab will always show them in the order in which they were sent
Users will have 72 hours to accept or revoke their invitation
Invitation windows can be extended or revoked by the course administrator
Invitation only courses will still honor the limit imposed by the course. The number of registrants + invited candidates will not be allowed to be greater than the limit.
Once the registered candidate limit is reached, the course status will be set to “Closed Registration” automatically
On the course details page in the search functions
Non-invited candidates will be shown a generic message stating the course is invite only
Invited candidates will be shown a link that will take them through registering
What’s Updated
The certifications API now appropriately handles users with who have had their USSF ID changed
End time is now available as a field in the course editor
The following reports have been updated to include a secondary email address, if applicable
Roster
Ongoing candidates
Licenses
Payments
Course and compliance reports
When a user’s profiles are merged, an automated email is generated with general updates
Coaches
What’s New
The 4v4 online course is now available in Spanish
Referees
What’s New
Course administrators are now able to grade assignments and complete evaluations
When signing up for a new Learning Center profile, ref users can now search for an existing profile by USSF ID.
What’s Updated
If a user requires multiple payments for their transaction (course, background check, etc.) a summary of all items will be shown at checkout and a single payment captured for all related charges
Report date picker controls now function appropriately
Instant, robust date of birth checks and information display when a new user signs up who is under 13 years of age. Data is validated and information shown as soon as a DOB is entered………
Improved data validation and feedback for users filling out background check forms. They are now shown specific fields with issues or reasons for errors when data is invalid.
Introduction to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments – this module, previously only available as an assignment, is now available as a free, stand alone course that can be taken at any point. The status of their completion of this course will be reflected in the assignments of any course for which they are a candidate automatically. This course also appears on the “Available Courses” tab under Supplemental Courses–>Intro to Safety.
Introduction to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments – this module is now available in Spanish and English. Users will see a language selection option when they launch the training module.
Compliance data – all license reports have been updated to include the status of a user’s compliance with various training modules or screenings:
Introduction to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments – None / Trained / Expired
What’s Updated
Compliance data display – on the user profile, the most recent compliance status is now shown even if it is expired (SafeSport, Background Checks, and Introduction to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments).
Assignment matrix display – instructors who had no candidates assigned to them would sometimes have trouble navigating the candidate list or viewing assignment details. This has been corrected.
Available courses meeting details – course meeting details (location, addresses, start times) are now shown on the Available Courses tab when a course is selected.
Course registrants status counts – member admins will now see the count of candidates in all statuses on their course overview list in the admin tools.
Meeting start time – this is now shown in the course details view
Coaching
What’s New
Assignment auto lock – course instructors now have the ability to set an assignment to auto lock:
The auto lock flag can be found on the “Set Due Dates” modal in the classroom assignment grid.
Each assignment can be set to auto-lock, the default is off.
Once the flag is set, assignments that are past due will show “Locked” in the grid. The candidate will see a message that says, “Your assignment is overdue, and has been locked. Please contact your instructor for information on getting it unlocked. You will not be able to make any changes to this assignment until you do so.”.
Locked assignments can be unlocked by any instructor on the course.
It is best practice to set the auto-lock flag when due dates are assigned. The auto lock feature will NOT work retroactively!
What’s Updated
Planning tool (Standard type) – we have made modifications to the planning tools that bring it more closely in line with the candidate’s course experience. These changes ONLY affect the standard session / exercise / graphic types:
Sessions – we have removed the inputs for key qualities and player actions; if you had data in those fields they will be copied to the Notes section.
Sessions – we have added a date field and distinct text inputs for the 5 Ws.
Exercises – we have removed the inputs for Key Qualities, Key Words, Guided Questions, and Answers; if you had data in those fields they will be copied to the Notes section.
Exercises – we have added a field called Exercise Rules and a Notes field
Exercises – There are now distinct fields for the following items for both the Focus and Opponent teams (one set of inputs for each team):
Team Function
Objective
Team Tactical Principles (with Add your own…)
Player Actions
Application process – we have added a confirmation modal (pop-up) before an application is submitted. This final check will ensure applicants have the chance to double-check their submission before sending it to us.
Referees
What’s New
Legacy de-duplication flag – when a new user creates a profile, the Learning Center attempts to match them to any legacy data we may have on file. If that is unsuccessful, but the user feels they have legacy data with us, there is now a button on their profile that will send a request to U.S. Soccer for help with matching up that legacy information to their new profile.
Bulk evaluations – instructors can now evaluate multiple candidates at a time:
All assignments tied to their evaluation MUST be green-lit
The Bulk Evaluate button can be found on the Evaluations tab for each course
A modal window will open with a checkbox next to each candidates name; checking the box will mark them for bulk evaluation
Clicking the finalize button will submit those evaluations and a final confirmation window will be shown
Chatbot – we have added our chatbot feature to the Available Courses and Help pages in the referee discipline. The chatbot is able to answer basic questions about courses and other FAQs while directing users to the most relevant information. We will continue to refine and add to the chatbot’s knowledge as we move ahead.
Groups – custom groups can now be added to the Learning Center referee discipline. Groups allow users to share information, communicate, and trade resources (videos and files) amongst the group. Contact referee@ussoccer.org for information on settting up custom groups for your organization.
What’s Updated
Legacy match criteria – previously, legacy data had to match first name, last name, and DOB exactly in order for the LC to automatically link older information to new profiles. We have removed the requirement for the first name to be an exact match which should result in more available matches to legacy data. Users will also now be prompted to confirm that they wish to match to any legacy data shown to them before that link is made.
SafeSport Stand Alone Course – anyone with a Learning Center profile is now able to take the SafeSport training; you’ll find it under Available Courses –> Supplemental Courses.
SafeSport Systems Integration – with the addition of the SafeSport course comes integration with the US Center for SafeSport. Users who take their training via the LC will see their results post to their SafeSport profile and vice versa IF:
The first and last name used on their SafeSport profile is the same as in the LC
The email address used on their SafeSport profile is the same as in the LC
Users have added U.S. Soccer as an organization with which they wish to share their data on their SafeSport profile. Sharing SafeSport data.
SafeSport Training Manual Update – If a user has previously completed SafeSport training, they can manually add their certification to their LC profile by clicking the “I’ve already done SafeSport” link in the Safety Certifications section. Entering the ID number found at the bottom of their SafeSport certificate will search for and help them link their profile with the appropriate SafeSport data.
What’s Updated
Payment
Screens – we’re proud to have Visa as our official partner and you’ll
find their logo has been added to payment screens throughout the system.
Receipts and Refunds – we have added some tooltips and help text for users viewing transactions via their LC profile.
What’s Fixed
SafeSport – our integration correctly processes the new refresher course
Coaching
What’s New
Spanish
Help – basic help on setting up a LC profile and navigating available
courses can now be downloaded as a PDF via the Help menu in the coaching
discipline.
Introduction to
Safe and Healthy Playing Environments – we are excited to announce that
this module is now a universal assignment. This means:
Completing this module will create an entry under “Safety Certifications” on the user profile
The
module will be valid for 365 days (one year) from the date it was
completed and an expiration date will also appear in the “Safety
Certifications” section on the user profile
Once
completed, any course taken while the module is not expired will show
the corresponding assignment automatically marked as completed and
graded as Satisfactory.
This
means Grassroots coaches will NO LONGER have to complete this module
multiple times as part of a two course weekend (e.g. – 7v7 and 11v11
In-Person courses being held consecutively)
Referees
What’s New
Background
Checks – we have added some text to clarify that payments for these
checks are non-refundable; you’ll find them on the initial page of the
wizard and the credit card payment screens
Referee
License report (member admins only) – now includes an option that shows
the licenses by who issued them for your member referees
Background Check report (member admins only) – shows the status and value of background checks for your member referees
Futsal
Courses – now appear as a category in the Supplemental section of the
available courses list and will filter courses to match
Official Uniform – there is now a direct link to our partners Official Sports in the main menu bar of the Learning Center
What’s Updated
Background
Checks – a new tooltip now appears in the Background Screening section
of the user profile when the status of a background check is “Pending
Verification” that will help the user understand who they need to
contact regarding their results
Background
Checks – a new help icon, link and matching pop up window now appear in
the Background Screening section of the user profile when the status of
a background check is “Flagged” that will explain the appeal process
per the Safe Soccer framework.
