Creating Checklists containing Flexible Items

Previously, Checklists only supported one rigid method of enforcing line/total count requirements: sum of line item requirements, where all line items are always required.

However, some schools have reported more complex use cases where, while a total checklist count requirement must still be enforced, there exists some degree of flexibility as far as which line items students can choose to complete in their journey towards completing their overall program requirements.

With the ability to specify flexible line items in Checklists, admins can pick and choose which line items are required versus not, configure total checklist count requirements correspondingly, and convey their requirements to both students and instructors directly through the interface/app.

Notes:

• Schools that wish to leverage this feature ensure students have at least version 4.19.0 for iOS or Android) of the mobile app before publishing any checklists containing flexible items
• There is no need to retroactively adjust any checklists created in the past to accommodate this change

Admins can leverage the following new Checklist features to configure checklists containing flexible items:

Adding optional (“flexible”) line items to Checklists

1. While building out checklists, admins can now specify when line items are required or flexible within the Edit Item modal
   
   
   Admin adding flexible item “Category 2” to their Checklist
   
   
2. When line items are marked flexible:
   
   
   1. line-level count requirements will not be enforced for the line item
   2. any approved submissions towards the flexible line item will count towards the Checklist “Flexible Item Count Minimum” requirement, if any (see Section 2 below)
   3. they will be labeled “flexible” in all applicable areas of the Checklists interface, so that all users understand which items are required (versus not) and track towards total checklist count requirements
      1. some line item fields will be null by design, e.g. required count, progress bar, % complete calculation
      2. note: the Web App for Admins, Instructors, Students, and Mobile App for Students have all been updated to display flexible items
   4. the “Allow students to go over required count” setting will be enabled on the Checklist by default, which means students will be able to fulfill the Checklist total count with any combination of optional and required line items of their choosing, where the required count minimums are enforced
      
      
      Accompanying progress view for flexible item “Category 2”

We recommend admins continue leveraging the Item Description field to call out more granular, school/program-specific requirements where applicable.

Enforcing Total Counts when Checklists contain flexible line items

Checklists will always default to enforcing the sum of required line items, unless an admin specifies a non-0 value in the “Flexible Item Count Minimum” field within the Create/Edit Checklist modal. In other words,

Checklist Total Count = “SUM(required line item counts) + Flexible Item Count Min”

In order to specify this number correctly, admins will need to understand the delta between the following concepts when their use case allows students to self-select specific skills: 

1. 1. 1. the total count of skills required for the program
      2. the sum of their required line items

Admin specifying flexible item count minimum of “10”, which will calculate/enforce a Checklist Total Count of “SUM(required line item counts) + 10”

Sample Flexible Item Use Cases

Below are a few sample use cases that benefit from Flexible Items, and how an admin might choose to set them up via Checklists:

Mixing required and flexible line Items

1. Students must complete a minimum of 30 items to complete the Checklist, where
2. 20 items must be completed in the Category 1
3. The remaining 10 items may be completed in either Category 1 OR Category 2, based on student preference

Total Count 30, where
Category 1: Required 20
Category 2: Flexible
Flexible Item Count Minimum: 10

Students can self-select the skills they wish to practice out of a broader list

1. A minimum of ten items in four different categories must be completed (40 cases total)

Total Count 40, where
All line items flexible
Flexible Item Count Minimum: 40

Optional supplemental practice

1.  Any additional practice must be documented, but are not counted towards any checklist requirements

Total Count 0, where
All line items flexible
Flexible Item Count Minimum: 0