Frequently asked questions about the School's learning platform

A1: The Canada School of Public Service is committed to ensuring that public servants have the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. The School has invested in building a modern, user-friendly, accessible, secure, reliable, cloud-based, infinitely scalable and mobile-friendly learning platform.

A2: Following consultations with and feedback from users across the public service, the School has developed a new modern learning platform to improve the registration and learning experience for all public service learners.

A3: The benefits of the new learning platform include:

• an easier login—learners can sign in using their GC email address
• a modern, user-friendly, accessible, secure, reliable, cloud-based, infinitely scalable and mobile-friendly learning experience
• an integrated learning catalogue with enhanced search and filter functionalities
• a simplified registration process
• access to a personalized learning space where learners can update their user profile, identify their language preferences and quickly view their completed and in-progress learning activities

A4: The new learning catalogue offers integrated access to the School's learning products from a single public-facing interface. The catalogue includes entries for all of the School's learning products, including job aids, videos, blogs, courses, programs, podcasts and events. The catalogue will allow learners to search by topic, type, delivery method, duration and more.

A5: Yes. Each learner's GCcampus transcript of completed courses has been transferred to the new learning platform.

A6: Yes. Learners will need to create a new account to access the new learning platform. Once they set up their new account, users can sign in using their Government of Canada email address and the 12-character password they created for this new account.

A7: Learners are invited to browse the School's new integrated learning catalogue for courses, events or other types of learning products. To access learning products, learners should select the Sign-in button at the top right on the School's website.

A8: Yes. The new learning platform is web based and can be accessed through a personal computer or mobile device such as an iPhone or tablet with access to the Internet. The learning platform is optimized for newer browsers such as Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge. Some features may not work when using Internet Explorer.

A9: Government of Canada security officials now recommend the use of 12-character passphrases to keep accounts secure. A passphrase can be a phrase of at least 4 or 5 random words that meet the minimum 12-character length requirement. Special characters, capitals and numbers are still accepted, but not required.

A10: New offerings for the 2022–23 fiscal year will begin to appear in the catalogue following the launch of the new learning platform.

A11: Yes. WebEx, among other technologies, will continue to be used for the delivery of instructor-led virtual classroom courses.

A12: No. Existing registrations, waitlists and other learning requests will not be affected. Instructor-led classroom courses will continue to be delivered as scheduled until they are transitioned to the new learning platform after its launch. The School's Registrar's Office will track all current waitlists and learning requests and will invite learners to register on the new platform once the new offerings are added.

A13: Virtual classroom courses will continue to be searchable through the new learning catalogue. Learners can simply select the course they are interested in and they will be taken to the course description page that lists upcoming offerings.

A14: All questions related to the new learning platform can be submitted through the School's online general inquiries form.

A15: Employees will not be able to create an account without a government ID; however, the Client Contact Centre will be able to assist these learners in specific situations.

A16: Yes. Learners will be able to update their profile themselves in the new learning platform. Learners will be able to personalize their learning space, update their profile, select their language preferences and view a list of their completed and in-progress learning activities.

A17: Learners should direct their accommodation requests to the Client Contact Centre

A18: The School is committed to client service excellence and welcomes learners' comments and feedback.

A19: The School is committed to ensuring the new learning platform provides a user-friendly learning experience to all learners and meets, or exceeds, the applicable Government of Canada accessibility requirements, as outlined in the current Standard on Web Accessibility. As part of this commitment, the School's platform will undergo regular audits against this accessibility standard. Any gaps identified will be remediated as quickly as is possible.

A20: The learning platform was reviewed and tested by Fable, a company that offers accessibility testing services with a diverse community of people with disabilities who use various assistive technologies. Accessibility issues identified by Fable have either been remediated or are in the process of remediation. The School's public-facing platforms have been scanned by Siteimprove, which provides automated accessibility testing that strictly adheres to WCAG standards and allows the School to spot issues and errors across all conformance levels. All new course content developed in the learning platform underwent an automated accessibility check that identified issues before the courses were published.

A21: The School strives to provide a modern, user-friendly learning experience and to exceed existing Government of Canada accessibility standards wherever possible. The School's new learning platform ecosystem allows for continuous improvement and future changes in response to regular testing and user feedback. The School will continue to design and test new features with a diverse group of learners, including those living with disabilities and those who use assistive technologies to navigate the web.

A22: The School is committed to client service excellence and welcomes comments from learners. We are actively working to address accessibility issues, as they are identified, in collaboration with the vendors who supply the various technology components of the platform. Your feedback helps us understand your learning needs and improve the delivery of our programs and services.

If you experience any difficulties with the new learning platform, please contact our Client Contact Centre. We want to hear from you.

A23: Yes. The learning platform is optimized for newer browsers and learners must enable cookies and allow pop-ups in order to properly access certain features on the learning platform. Please visit the Help menu on the learning platform and select Supported browsers and settings to learn more about how to optimize your learning experience.

A24: Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a robust security measure designed to add an extra layer of protection to your account. It requires two distinct forms of verification before granting access.

For the learning platform, these two factors are your regular password and a one-time password sent to your work email address.

A25: The Canada School of Public Service is implementing 2FA to strengthen the security of our learning platform.

2FA protects sensitive personal information and ensures the integrity of our platform by reducing the risk of unauthorized access or breaches.

A26: On our learning platform, 2FA operates as follows:

• When you log in, first you enter your password.
• A unique one-time password is then sent to your work email address.
• You will be prompted to input the one-time password sent to your email.

Even if your regular password is compromised, no one can access your account without the one-time password sent to your work email address.

A27: The benefits of using 2FA for the School’s learning platform include:

• Enhanced security: 2FA adds an additional security layer to protect your account from unauthorized access and potential threats.
• Data protection: 2FA safeguards your personal information and learning records from cyber threats and data breaches.
• Compliance: Using 2FA aligns with industry best practices and regulatory requirements for secure online operations, ensuring adherence to modern security standards.

A28: The impact of 2FA on your use of the learning platform includes:

• Login process: You will have an extra login step, as you will need to enter a one-time password. This minor adjustment significantly strengthens the security of your account.
• Device management: You will need to have access to your work email during the login process to receive the one-time password.

A29: If you need help setting up and using 2FA, if you did not receive an email with the one-time password when you entered your regular password, or if you would like more information about 2FA, the Client Contact Centre is available to assist you.