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Certificate Configuration Guide - Genius CE & Enterprise

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Overview

Genius CE & Enterprise supports certificates — learner-facing documents awarded upon course, section, or program completion. Certificates use uploaded PDF templates that the system populates with learner and enrollment data at generation time.

Creating a certificate involves three steps: designing the visual layout (the background), adding form fields for the data that changes per learner (using PDF editing software such as Adobe Acrobat), and uploading the finished template to Genius. This article walks through the full process.

⚠ Warning: Certificates can only be generated for enrollments with a COMPLETED status. If a learner’s enrollment is not marked as completed, no certificate will be generated — even if a certificate template is assigned to the course or section. This is the most common reason certificates fail to appear for learners.
Note: For transcript configuration (the learner enrollment history document), see the "Transcript Configuration" article in the Knowledge Base.

 

Certificate Types

Each certificate template has a type that determines where it can be assigned:

Type Description Assigned On
Course Certificate for a specific course. All sections in the course inherit this certificate unless a section-level certificate is also assigned. Course settings (Certificate dropdown)
Section Certificate for a specific section/class. Overrides the course-level certificate for that section. Section settings (Certificate dropdown)
Program Certificate for completing a learning path or program. Program settings (Certificate dropdown)
Affiliation Certificate associated with an organizational unit (affiliation). Used for affiliation-specific branding or requirements. Affiliation settings (Certificate dropdown)
Global Enrollment Certificate System-wide default certificate for enrollment completions. Cannot be deleted or have its type changed. Applied automatically when no other certificate is assigned
Global Program Certificate System-wide default certificate for program completions. Cannot be deleted or have its type changed. Applied automatically when no program-specific certificate is assigned

⚠ Warning: The Global Enrollment Certificate and Global Program Certificate are system defaults. You can edit their template files and names, but you cannot delete them or change their type.

 

 

Certificate Merge Fields

Certificate templates are PDF forms with named fields. When the system generates a certificate, it replaces each field with actual data. Field names in the PDF template are wrapped in brackets, e.g., [Name].

Standard Fields:

Field Name Value
[Name] Learner’s full name
[Section] Section/class name (or program name for program certificates)
[Credits] Credits earned for the enrollment
[EnrollmentID] Enrollment index number. Populated for enrollment certificates; blank for program certificates.
[Date] Completion date. For enrollment certificates, this displays the date as stored in the system without regional formatting. For program and external-course certificates, regional date formatting (MM/dd/yyyy or dd/MM/yyyy) is applied based on your settings.
[Date_MMDDYYYY] Completion date always in MM/dd/yyyy format
[Date_DDMMYYYY] Completion date always in dd/MM/yyyy format

 

Dynamic Variables:

Beyond the standard fields, you can use any variable from the enrollment data model. These follow a namespace pattern:

Namespace Examples
ENROLLMENT.* ENROLLMENT.CREDITS_EARNED, ENROLLMENT.START_DATE, ENROLLMENT.END_DATE, ENROLLMENT.CURRENT_GRADE, ENROLLMENT.TOTAL_ASSIGNMENTS, ENROLLMENT.COMMENTS
LEARNER.* LEARNER.FULL_NAME, LEARNER.FIRST_NAME, LEARNER.LAST_NAME, LEARNER.EMAIL, LEARNER.PHONE, LEARNER.GUARDIAN1_EMAIL, LEARNER.GUARDIAN2_EMAIL
SECTION.* SECTION.NAME, SECTION.DELIVERY, SECTION.LOCATION, SECTION.PRICE, SECTION.INSTRUCTORS, SECTION.INSTRUCTOR_EMAILS
COURSE.* COURSE.NAME and any other course field
Dates COMPLETION_DATE, COMPLETION_DATE_FULL (e.g., "December 4th, 2018" — always in English regardless of tenant locale), COMPLETION_DATE_MMDDYYYY, COMPLETION_DATE_DDMMYYYY
Custom Fields LEARNER.cf_fieldname, SECTION.cf_fieldname, COURSE.cf_fieldname — for custom fields, add the object prefix followed by cf_ and the field name

 

Note: To use a dynamic variable in your PDF template, create a form field with the variable name in brackets, e.g., [LEARNER.FIRST_NAME] or [SECTION.INSTRUCTORS]. The system will replace it with the actual value at generation time.
Note: External course certificates have a more limited set of available merge fields. The ENROLLMENT.* namespace variables are not available for external course certificates — only the standard fields ([Name], [Section], [Credits], [Date]) and LEARNER.* variables are populated.
⚠ Warning: Merge field variables are added in your PDF editor (such as Adobe Acrobat), not in PowerPoint or other design software. The design tool is only for the visual background.

 

 

Creating Certificates with PDF Editing Software

Building a certificate template is a two-step process: first, design the visual background (layout, logos, borders, static text), then add form fields for the merge variables in a PDF editor.

 

Designing the Background

You can design the certificate background in any application that exports to PDF. PowerPoint and Publisher work well if you do not have graphic design software — they let you place images, logos, and static text and then save the result as a PDF.

Tips for the background design:

  1. Add all static elements first: logos, background images, watermarks, borders, and any text that appears on every certificate (e.g., "Certificate of Completion", organization name, signatures).
  2. Leave space for merge fields: the learner’s name, course title, and date will be inserted by the system. Leave enough room — some values (like course titles) can be long and may need multiple lines.
  3. Remove placeholder text boxes: if you start from a PowerPoint template, delete any text boxes in the areas where you plan to add form fields. The form fields will be added in the PDF editor, not in PowerPoint.
  4. Save as PDF: once the design is ready, export or save as a PDF document.

The example below shows a PowerPoint template with the areas marked where form fields will be added:

Example of a Certificate

 

After removing the placeholder text boxes, the cleaned-up PDF is ready for form fields:

 

Example of a Blank Certificate

 

Creating the PDF Form in Adobe Acrobat

Open the exported PDF in Adobe Acrobat to add the form fields that the system will populate with learner data.

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat. Go to Tools → Prepare Form.
  2. Select your PDF file. Click Start — Acrobat converts the file to an interactive form and opens the form editor.
  3. Use the Text Field tool in the toolbar to add a field for each merge variable (learner name, course name, date, etc.).
Adobe Header Fields

4. Double-click a field to open its Properties window:

  • General tab: set the field name to the merge variable (e.g., [Name], [Section], [LEARNER.FIRST_NAME]). The name must match exactly, including brackets.
  • Appearance tab: set the font, size, and color to match your certificate design.
  • Options tab: set the alignment (left, center, or right) and enable Multi-line if the field may contain long values.

5. Click the Preview button in the toolbar to see the form as learners will see it. Click Edit to return to the editor.

6. Save the form.

Note: If Acrobat auto-detects fields when you click Start, review them carefully — they may not match the merge variable names Genius expects. Rename or delete auto-detected fields as needed.

 

 

Uploading and Managing Certificate Templates

Navigation: Administration → Operations → Certificates

The Certificates page displays all certificate templates in the system.

Screenshot of Uploading Certificates

 

The grid shows the following columns:

Column Description
Edit Opens the certificate template for editing.
Download Downloads the uploaded PDF template file. Only appears if a template file has been uploaded.
Preview Generates a preview certificate using data from a real completed enrollment (selected at random). The preview contains actual learner information — it is not synthetic test data.
Certificate Name The name of the certificate template.
Exists Template Shows Yes or No indicating whether a PDF template file has been uploaded.
Type The certificate type (Course, Section, Program, Affiliation, or Global).
Status The template status (Active or Inactive).

 

To upload a new certificate template:

  1. Click Add new certificate on the Certificates page.
  2. Fill in the Name field with a descriptive name for the certificate.
  3. Upload the PDF template File — this is the form you created in Adobe Acrobat with the merge field variables.
  4. Select the Type — this determines where the certificate can be assigned (see "Certificate Types" above).
  5. Set Show Download Certificate to Yes if you want learners to be able to download this certificate from their portal. Set to No to generate certificates for administrative purposes only.
  6. Set the Status to Active.
  7. Click Save.

To test the template, use the Preview button on the Certificates page. The system will generate a sample certificate using data from a real completed enrollment so you can verify that the merge fields populate correctly.

 

 

Assigning Certificates to Courses, Sections, and Programs

After uploading a certificate template, assign it to the appropriate course, section, program, or affiliation:

  1. Course: Open the course settings and select the certificate from the Certificate dropdown. All sections in the course will use this certificate unless overridden at the section level.
  2. Section: Open the section settings and select a certificate. This overrides any course-level certificate for this specific section.
  3. Program: Open the program/learning path settings and select a certificate.
  4. Affiliation: Open the affiliation settings and select a certificate. This is used for affiliation-specific branding (see "Certificate Selection Hierarchy" below).

 

 

Certificate Selection Hierarchy

When a learner completes an enrollment and the system needs to generate a certificate, it checks multiple levels and uses the first certificate it finds in this priority order:

  1. Learner’s main affiliation certificate — If the learner’s primary affiliation has an Affiliation-type certificate assigned, that certificate is used first.
  2. Section certificate — If the specific section the learner completed has a Section-type certificate assigned.
  3. Course certificate — If the parent course has a Course-type certificate assigned.
  4. Parent affiliation certificate — If the learner’s affiliation has parent affiliations in the hierarchy, the system checks each parent affiliation for an assigned certificate, starting with the most specific (closest) parent.
  5. Global Enrollment Certificate — The system-wide default, used when no other certificate matches.

Note: For program completions, the hierarchy is simpler: the system uses the program’s assigned certificate if one exists, otherwise it falls back to the Global Program Certificate.

 

 

Issuing Certificates in Bulk

You can generate certificates for multiple learners at once from either the course or section level:

From a Course:

Navigation: Courses → [select course] → Sections and Pacing → Bulk Certificates

From a Section:

Navigation: Sections → [select section] → Enrollments → Bulk Certificates

The Bulk Certificates page lets you select learners and generate certificates for all of them in a single operation.

 

 

Controlling Learner Access to Certificates

The Show Download Certificate setting on each certificate template controls whether learners can download their certificate from the learner portal. When set to Yes, a download option appears on the learner’s completed enrollment. When set to No, the certificate can still be generated by administrators but is not visible to the learner.

Note: Generated certificate PDFs are automatically flattened — the form fields are merged into the document and cannot be edited after download. Learners and administrators cannot modify a downloaded certificate.

 

 

Troubleshooting

Issue Possible Cause Resolution
Certificate merge fields showing as blank The field name in the PDF template does not match a recognized variable name, or the underlying data is empty. Verify the field name in the PDF form matches exactly (including brackets and case). Check that the learner, enrollment, or section has data for that field. Use the Preview button on the Certificates page to test with sample data.
Learner cannot download their certificate The "Show Download Certificate" setting on the certificate template is set to No. Go to Administration → Operations → Certificates, edit the template, and change "Show Download Certificate" to Yes.
Wrong certificate generated for a learner The certificate selection hierarchy picked a different certificate than expected (e.g., an affiliation certificate overriding the course certificate). Review the selection hierarchy: affiliation certificate takes priority over section, which takes priority over course. Check the learner’s main affiliation and any ancestor affiliations for assigned certificates.
Cannot delete a certificate template The certificate is assigned to one or more courses, sections, programs, or is a Global type. Remove the certificate assignment from all courses, sections, and programs before deleting. Global certificates (Global Enrollment Certificate and Global Program Certificate) cannot be deleted.
Certificate not generated for a learner The learner’s enrollment does not have a COMPLETED status. Verify the enrollment status. Certificates are only generated for COMPLETED enrollments. If the learner has finished the course but the enrollment is not marked as completed, update the enrollment status.
Form fields not appearing in the generated certificate The PDF was saved from PowerPoint or another design tool without adding form fields in a PDF editor. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat (or another PDF editor that supports form fields), add text fields with the correct merge variable names, and re-upload the template.

 

 

Best Practices

  1. Use the Preview button to test certificates: Before assigning a certificate template, use Preview on the Certificates page to verify that merge fields populate correctly. Note that Preview uses data from a real completed enrollment (not synthetic data), so the preview will contain actual learner PII. Use caution when sharing previews.
  2. Start with the Global templates: Customize the Global Enrollment Certificate and Global Program Certificate first — these serve as the fallback for any enrollment or program that doesn’t have a specific certificate assigned.
  3. Use affiliation certificates for multi-brand organizations: If different branches or departments need different certificate branding, assign Affiliation-type certificates. The system automatically selects the right one based on the learner’s affiliation.
  4. Name templates descriptively: Use names that include the type and context, e.g., "Course Completion — Nursing Program". This makes it easier to manage multiple templates.
  5. Document your merge field mappings: Keep a reference of which PDF form fields map to which variables for each certificate template. This is essential when updating templates or creating new ones.
  6. Enable Multi-line for long values: In the Adobe field properties, enable the Multi-line option for fields that may contain long text (like course titles). This prevents text from being cut off on the certificate.

 

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