Learning Paths in POK

A Learning Path in POK Proof of Knowledge is a structured training journey where a person earns steps (badges or certificates) and automatically receives a final credential once they meet the path's requirements. You build the path out of modules with mandatory and optional steps, issue the steps to recipients, and POK tracks progress and awards the final credential for you.

What is a Learning Path?

A Learning Path lets you define a sequence of steps a person must complete to earn a final credential. Paths are flexible: each module can combine mandatory steps with optional steps, and you can set a minimum number of optional steps that must be completed.

Example

A Business Administration program organized by quarter:

• Quarter 1: all courses are mandatory
• Quarter 2: 4 mandatory courses, plus at least 1 of 3 electives
• Quarter 3: only elective courses, but at least 2 of 5 must be completed
• Quarter 4: elective courses with no minimum requirement

Create a Learning Path

Step 1: Open the Paths section

1. Log in to your POK dashboard through the region selector.
2. Open the Paths section
3. Click New Path

A dialog opens where you enter the name of your path.

Step 2: Create modules and steps

After you confirm the name, you land on the creation screen, where you organize your path into modules. Each module contains two subgroups: mandatory steps and optional steps.

Key concepts on this screen:

• Modules: containers that organize your steps (for example, Quarter 1, Quarter 2)
• Mandatory steps: must be completed to earn the final credential
• Optional steps: the recipient chooses which ones to complete, with or without a minimum requirement
• Module name: the first module has no name by default. From the second module on, modules are named "Module A", "Module B", and so on. You can rename them at any time

Add mandatory steps

1. In the current module, click + Add under "Mandatory"

2. A dialog opens asking for the step name

3. Enter the name (for example, "Introduction to Economics")

4. Confirm

The step appears in the mandatory list. Repeat this process to add all the mandatory steps in the module.

Add optional steps

1. In the same module, click + Add under "Optional"
2. Enter the step name
3. Confirm

If a module has optional steps, you can set a minimum requirement:

• Once you add 2 or more optional steps, a field appears where you choose the minimum number required
• Select how many of the optional steps must be completed (for example, 2 out of 5)
• If you leave the value at 0, the steps are purely optional and the person can earn the final credential without completing any of them

Actions per step

For each step you can:

• Edit: change the name
• Delete: remove the step from the path
• Move: switch a step between mandatory and optional

Add more modules

1. Click + Add module
2. A new module (Module A, Module B, and so on) is created, which you can rename
3. Repeat the process of adding mandatory and optional steps

Requirements to continue

To move on to the next screen, the path must have at least 2 required steps in total. For example:

• 2 mandatory steps in the same module
• 1 mandatory step plus 1 required optional step
• 1 mandatory step in Module A plus 1 mandatory step in Module B

Once you meet this requirement, click Continue.

Important: after you save the path, you cannot delete steps or modules, or move steps between mandatory and optional. Review your structure carefully before continuing.

Step 3: Configure the final credential

On this screen you define the credential that is awarded automatically when all requirements are met.

1. Credential Type: choose Certificate or Badge
2. Design Type: select one of:
   • Certificate only
   • Badge only
3. Template: select a template you previously created in the "Designs" section
4. Custom Page: (optional) assign a credential page for the recipient's view

Credential details

Fill in the fields required by the selected template:

• Credential title
• Institution
• Dynamic attributes (if applicable)

Choose how the final credential is issued

Right below the credential details there is a switch, Complete parameters via API, that decides who fills in the final credential's dynamic attributes. You pick this when you create the path, and you can change it later from the final credential's configuration.

Switch off (default): POK issues it automatically. As soon as the person meets the path's requirements, POK issues the final credential with the values you typed into the dynamic attribute fields. Nothing else is needed on your side.

Switch on: your systems complete it via API. Use this when the final credential's dynamic attributes hold values only your systems know, such as a final grade or a class rank:

• The final credential waits, unissued, until you call the complete final credential endpoint with the recipient's email and the values for the dynamic attributes
• The dynamic attribute fields on this screen are disabled, because their values now arrive on that call

The learning path completed webhook has nothing to do with this switch. It notifies every path completion, in either mode, and it does not say whether the path is waiting for you. What tells you that is the path itself: you configured it, and you can also read it back from the API, where the list and the details endpoints report a completeParamsViaApi flag per path.

Use the final credential as a step in another path

If this final credential should also count as a step inside another path:

1. Check the box "Is part of another learning path"
2. New dropdowns appear:
   • If the destination path has only 1 module: select the step directly
   • If the destination path has multiple modules: choose the module first, then the step

Email configuration

• Email Language: choose the language for the credential emails

Save the path

Click Save Path. The path is ready to use.

Issue the learning path steps

After creating the path, you issue the steps individually to recipients.

1. Go to the Issue section (you can issue manually or in bulk)

2. Select the recipients and the type of issuance

3. In the "Learning Paths" section, check the box "Is part of a learning path"

4. New fields appear:

   • Learning Path: select the path you created
   • If the path has only 1 module: choose the Step directly
   • If the path has multiple modules: select the Module first, then the Step

5. To include more steps from the same path or from other paths, click + Add Step

6. Complete the rest of the issuance settings (design, recipient details, and so on)

7. Proceed with the issuance

Automatic progress tracking

When a person receives a step:

• POK automatically records which step they completed
• If they have completed all mandatory steps plus the minimum optional requirements, they automatically receive the final credential, unless the path is set to complete its parameters via API, in which case the credential waits for your call
• If steps are still missing, their progress is updated so they can see what remains

Edit a saved path

Once a path is saved, editing is limited to protect the integrity of your data.

What you can edit:

• All the data of the final credential

What you cannot do:

• Delete steps
• Delete modules
• Move steps between mandatory and optional
• Edit a step that is the final credential of another path

If you need broader changes, contact the POK team.

Learning path metrics and analytics

From the Paths section you can monitor how your paths are performing.

Key metrics per path:

• Total participants: how many people started the path
• Completed the path: how many earned the final credential
• View steps: opens a dialog with the breakdown by step
• Retention: percentage of recipients who completed the path

Breakdown by step

Click View steps to see the details.

• If the path has only 1 module: all steps are listed with the number of credentials awarded
• If the path has multiple modules: each module appears as a dropdown showing:
  • The total steps awarded in that module
  • When expanded, the detail of each step in the module

With these metrics you can identify which steps perform best, see where people get stuck, measure the efficiency of your training design, and evaluate retention and engagement.

Recipient view: progress in a Learning Path

When a person receives a step that belongs to a path, they see a progress accordion in their credential view.

General information

• Path name
• Total required steps (mandatory steps plus required optional steps)

Structure by module

• If the path has multiple modules, each module title is shown with two subgroups: "Mandatory" and "Optional"
• If the path has only 1 module, no module title is displayed

Mandatory subgroup

Each mandatory step is listed:

• If already completed, it appears as earned
• If not, it appears as a pending step

Optional subgroup with a minimum requirement

The subgroup is labeled "Optional - Required X/Y", where:

• X is the minimum number required
• Y is the total number of optional steps available

For example, "Optional - Required 2/5" means the person must complete at least 2 of the 5 optional steps. If they have not completed any yet, only the required quantity to earn is displayed, labeled "Step not earned".

Optional subgroup without a minimum requirement

If there is no minimum requirement, the subgroup only appears once the person has earned at least one optional step from it.

Progress toward the final credential

The accordion clearly shows the steps already completed and exactly how many remain. When all requirements are met, the final credential is awarded automatically.

Learning Paths via API

POK provides a public API to automate learning path workflows.

Issue steps via API

First, get the identifiers you need:

• Learning Path ID
• Step ID

Use the List learning routes endpoint.

The response includes the existing learning paths, all the steps associated with each path, and the identifiers to use in issuances.

Then issue a step assigned to a learning path following the official documentation for the Emit credential endpoint.

Include in the request:

• Path ID
• Step ID
• Recipient data
• Credential data

Monitor progress via API

To check a person's progress in a learning path programmatically, use the Get progress endpoint.

The response tells you:

• Whether the path has been completed
• Which steps have already been earned
• The person's current progress status

Complete the final credential via API

The learning path completed webhook arrives whenever someone completes a path, whatever that path's configuration is, so the event alone does not tell you whether there is anything to do. Decide from the path: the Learning path details endpoint and the List learning paths endpoint report a completeParamsViaApi flag per path.

With the flag off, the completion is informational and the final credential was already issued. With it on, the credential stays unissued until you answer with the Complete final credential endpoint.

Include in the request:

• The recipient's email
• The value for every dynamic attribute the final credential's template expects

POK validates the parameters against the template before resuming the emission. Emission is asynchronous: the response returns the credential's id and its current state, so poll Credential details for the outcome.

Responses to expect

• 200: the credential's id and current state. The emission continues in the background
• 400: the parameters do not match the ones the final credential's template expects. The body names the offending field and what is wrong with it
• 404: either the path id does not belong to your organization, or that recipient has no final credential waiting. A successful call clears the wait, so a second call for a recipient you already completed lands here, and so does a path that does not hold its final credential for the API
• 409: a final credential for that path and that recipient already exists. POK keys the emission by path plus recipient email and refuses a second one. This is what two simultaneous calls look like, and also a retry of a call that got as far as creating the credential. Read the credential's state before calling again instead of repeating the POST

A 404 and a 409 both mean there is nothing left for you to send. To tell which credential the path ended up awarding, call the progress endpoint: a completed path reports its achievedCredential with the id you can then follow.

View learning path issuances

From the Awards section you can monitor all the activity on your paths.

The Awards section includes cascading filters:

1. Path Name: filter by a specific path
2. Module: choose the module within the path
3. Step: select the specific step within the module

With these filters you can view all the credentials issued within a specific path, track each person's progress through the steps, and identify which steps have already been awarded.

Questions?

If you have any questions or run into issues, contact us at contact@pok.tech.

Learn more

Learn how learning paths help you structure multi-step credentialing programs on the learning paths feature page.