This guide is for course providers who award continuing professional development (CPD) points or hours. It shows how to turn on CPD, add points or hours to a course, show them on course pages and listings, and find, export or revoke a learner’s CPD award. A System Admin manages the account-wide CPD settings. A Course Owner or System Admin with access to the course sets up the course.
CPD award: The points or hours a participant earns for completing one Registration on a course. A Registration is one participant’s own place on a course or course date.
Availability: The account needs the CPD Points & Hours feature. The Pro, Teams and Enterprise plans include it; the Free and Starter plans do not. To check your plan, see What Each Cademy Plan Includes and Costs.
How CPD Points, Awards and Certificates Work in Cademy
CPD in Cademy has three parts:
Course values: you give a course a number of CPD points, CPD hours or both. They show on the public course page and, if you choose, on course cards on your website.
Awards: when a participant’s Registration on that course becomes Completed, Cademy saves a CPD award with the course’s values and the award date. Completion comes from attendance, online lesson progress or both, depending on the course type.
Records: you see each award on the Registration and in the participant’s Contact activity, and you can export the values. A certificate can print them.
CPD and certificates are separate settings on the same course page, Certificates & CPD. A course can award CPD without issuing a certificate, issue a certificate without awarding CPD, use both, or use neither. Awarding CPD sends no email of its own. For certificates, see Set Up Automatic Certificates for a Course.
Turn On CPD for Your Account (Settings > CPD)
Log in to https://admin.cademy.io as a System Admin.
Select Settings in the main menu, then CPD.
Turn on Enable CPD.
Keep Points Label and Hours Label, or enter the names your organisation uses, such as CE credits or Course hours. Each label needs text and can be up to 30 characters. The labels name the units; they do not set an amount.
Select Save and wait for CPD settings saved.
Account CPD settings: a System Admin turns on CPD, names both units and selects Save.
Your labels are used wherever CPD appears: course settings, public course pages, listing filters and badges, Registrations, Contact activity, exports and certificate variables. Turning on CPD does not award CPD for courses that learners completed before. If the CPD settings are greyed out with a message to upgrade, the account’s plan does not include CPD. If CPD is not listed under Settings at all, ask a System Admin to check your role.
Add CPD Points or Hours to a Course
Changes in the course editor can save when you switch sections, so check that you have the right course open before changing anything.
Select Courses, open the course and select Edit Course.
Open Settings → Certificates & CPD, then turn on Award CPD. This switch shows only when CPD is turned on for the account.
Enter points, hours or both, in the fields named by your account’s labels. Each value must be greater than 0 with no more than one decimal place, such as 2 or 2.5. Leave a unit you do not use empty; 0 is not accepted. At least one value is needed.
Correct any error shown under a field. While a field shows an error, the last valid value stays in place, so do not assume the number you typed was saved.
Select Save. Reopen Certificates & CPD and check Award CPD and the saved values. For a published course, go to its course dashboard and use Open in new tab beside Share to check its public Highlights.
Course CPD controls sit beside the certificate settings but work separately.
Set the Certificate Dynamic Value on the Certificates & CPD Page
The Dynamic Value field on the same Certificates & CPD page is a certificate setting, not a CPD value. It adds course-specific wording to the course’s certificates, such as a result, credit value or qualification. Enter the text in Dynamic Value and select Save.
The text appears where the certificate has a course dynamic value. The Cademy default certificate includes one. In a custom template, add the Course Dynamic Value block, or insert Course specific value in a Text block. If the field is empty, that part of the certificate is blank. Dynamic Value does not award CPD or change a CPD award. For template design, see Design a Custom Certificate Template.
Show CPD Points on Course Pages, Listings and Your Website
CPD Points in the Highlights on a Public Course Page
Example of CPD values in public course Highlights. This shows what the course offers, not an award a participant has earned.
A course’s CPD values appear in the Highlights section of its public course page, with both automatic and manually written Highlights.
Example of the description editor’s Highlights preview. The Highlights gear does not set CPD values; use Settings → Certificates & CPD.
With automatic Highlights, the CPD chip appears with the other course information.
With manual Highlights, your own chips come first and the CPD chip is added after them.
There is no CPD control in the Highlights editor. Turning off Award CPD removes the chip and also stops new CPD awards for that course. It does not revoke existing awards.
Add a CPD Badge to Course Cards on Your Website
A CPD badge can be added to course cards in a Standard Website Embed or a Cademy for WordPress course listing. It is off by default, so existing listings do not change until you choose it. Minisite course cards do not show the badge.
For a Standard Website Embed:
Example of Card Details → CPD in Embeds. The badge text is shortened in this preview.
In the Admin Dashboard, select Apps, then open Cademy Embeds.
Choose Multiple Courses, then Grid, Rows, Dates List or Date Cards.
Open Options, then Card Details, and select CPD.
Check the preview, select Get Code and replace the embed code on your website with the new version. Changing the preview alone does not update an embed already on your website.
For a Cademy for WordPress course listing:
Example of the CPD checkbox in the WordPress block settings.
In WordPress, open Pages, edit the page with the Cademy Courses block and select the block.
In the Block settings in the right sidebar, open Card Details and select CPD.
Select Save, then open the public page and check a course that awards CPD.
A CPD course card shows the points, hours or both, such as 6 CPD points · 4 CPD hours. Courses without CPD do not show an empty badge. For the other card choices, see Embed Courses or Forms on Your Website or Add Your Courses to WordPress With the Cademy Plugin.
Let Visitors Filter Courses That Award CPD
Visitors can filter for courses that award CPD on your Cademy minisite, a Standard Website Embed and a Cademy for WordPress course listing. In a Standard Website Embed, the CPD filter is selected by default. To hide or show it, choose Multiple Courses and any layout except Calendar, open Options → Search & Filters, select or clear CPD, then use Get Code and update the embed on your website.
Example of the visitor CPD filter using the default unit names. Custom labels change the filter wording.
How a visitor uses the filter, with the default unit names:
Open the CPD filter above the course list.
Select Awards CPD to hide courses that do not award CPD.
Optionally enter Minimum CPD points, Minimum CPD hours or both. Decimal values such as 0.5 work.
Select Apply. Clear inside the filter, or Clear Filters above the list, removes it.
The page address records the filter, so you can copy it to share the filtered list. On a WordPress listing the address includes cpd=awarded.
Filter shows no courses: The CPD filter can appear even when none of your published courses award CPD, and Awards CPD then shows an empty list. Check that at least one published course has Award CPD on with a points or hours value, or clear the filter.
Custom CPD Labels in Filters, Badges and Highlights
Course-page Highlights, card badges and the minimum fields in the filter use the labels saved under Settings > CPD. With custom labels, the filter checkbox reads Awards followed by the scheme name.
If both labels start with the same scheme name, the filter button uses that name. For example, RCN points and RCN hours give an RCN filter. The shared name must be only part of each label; two identical labels do not count. Otherwise the button stays CPD.
When Learners Get CPD Points or Hours (CPD Awards on Completion)
Cademy awards CPD when it evaluates a Registration as Completed and CPD is on for the account and the course. Completion uses the attendance and online lesson evidence for that Registration:
A course with sessions needs the participant marked Attended for every required session.
An on-demand course needs 100% lesson progress.
A blended course needs both.
Submitting a request for an on-request course does not award CPD. The participant needs a Registration for the arranged course and must meet its attendance requirements.
For the full status rules, see Check Whether a Learner Has Completed a Course. To mark attendance, see Mark Attendance for a Course Date or Session. Staff can also correct an on-demand or blended learner’s lesson status from the Registration; if that makes the Registration Completed, it can award CPD. See Reset or Correct a Learner's Lesson Progress.
Registrations from Orders, added manually or imported can all receive awards automatically. Older booking records and historical or imported completions can follow different rules. Ask Cademy Support about an unexpected result instead of changing accurate attendance or progress.
Only correct evidence that is genuinely wrong. The same completion change can also issue a certificate, email the participant or the Order’s primary contact (the Order Contact), or send a feedback request.
One Registration per participant: Every participant needs their own Registration to receive CPD, including every other person on the same Order. The Order’s primary contact, or anyone else without their own Registration, cannot receive an award.
One Registration can hold one active CPD award. If the participant takes the course again with a new Registration, that Registration can earn another award.
The awarded values are saved at the time of the award. Changing the course’s CPD points or hours later does not change awards already given. If a revoked award is awarded again, the same award record gets the current course values and a new award date, and its revoked marker is cleared.
Correcting completion evidence: Changing attendance or lesson progress after completion can move the Registration out of Completed, but it does not revoke CPD already awarded. Revoke the award separately if it should no longer stand.
See a Learner’s CPD Awards
CPD Awards on a Registration
Open the course’s Registrants tab and the participant’s Registration, or use the main Registrations page as a System Admin. Check the learner, course and date, then expand Certificate & CPD. It shows the active CPD award’s values and award date. A revoked award is hidden here; check Contact activity for its revoked marker.
Example of an active CPD award on a Registration. Issue Another is a certificate action, not a way to add CPD.
CPD Awards in a Contact’s Activity (CPD Tab)
As a System Admin, open Contacts, select the participant and select the CPD activity tab. Check the course, values, award date and any REVOKED marker. Select an entry to open its Registration.
Contact CPD activity lists individual awards, not a total.
Cademy does not add up a participant’s CPD into a total, and learners do not have a CPD record of their own. For Contact records, see Manage Customer and Learner Records (Contacts).
Export Learners’ CPD Points and Hours (Registrations Export)
CPD points and hours are in the Registrations export, from the Registrations page or a course’s Registrants tab. In the export window, choose:
All Columns: includes the CPD points and hours columns when CPD is available and turned on.
Choose Columns: lets you select the points and hours columns from the CPD group.
Example of Choose Columns in the export window, with both columns in the CPD group selected.
The column names use your CPD labels. Each row shows that Registration’s active award. A value is blank when the Registration has no active award, its award was revoked, or that unit was not awarded. Contact exports do not include CPD. For the export steps, see Print or Download a Class List (Register).
Show CPD Points on a Certificate (Certificate Template Variables)
When CPD is available and turned on, a Text block in a custom certificate template can use these options under Insert variable (x):
CPD points
CPD hours
CPD points label
CPD hours label
Example of Insert variable (x) in a certificate Text block. Custom templates also need the account’s Custom Certificates feature.
CPD points and CPD hours use the active award’s saved values, even if the course values change later. Only when there is no award do they use the current course values, with the course’s CPD turned on. A unit that was not set is blank, and a revoked award leaves both values blank. The labels use the current account settings. While CPD is turned off or not on the account’s plan, the CPD variables are blank. To build a template, see Design a Custom Certificate Template.
Revoke CPD Points Given by Mistake (Revoke a CPD Award)
First check why the award should go. Correct attendance or lesson progress only if that evidence is wrong. If the award should stay revoked although the Registration is still Completed, ask Cademy Support first, because it can be awarded again automatically.
Open the participant’s Registration and check the learner, course, date and current awards.
Open the three-dot Registration actions menu. It offers one revoke action: Revoke CPD…, or Revoke Certificate & CPD… when this Registration also shows an active certificate.
Read the confirmation: it names the learner, the course and what will be taken back. If it shows This certificate is shared, revoking also takes the certificate back from the learner’s other Registration on that Order. If the same learner has more than one Registration for this course on the same Order, for example two dates booked together, Revoke CPD… can also revoke a certificate shown only on the other Registration, without a warning. In that case, or if several active certificates are listed, select Cancel and contact Cademy Support first. The combined action revokes the CPD award and only the latest active certificate.
Select Revoke only when the scope shown is intended. A message names what was revoked, such as CPD revoked or Certificate and CPD revoked. Check that the award has gone from Certificate & CPD, and check any remaining certificates.
If Failed to revoke appears or the result is unclear, refresh and check the CPD award and each certificate before trying again. A combined action can leave CPD revoked even if the certificate step fails.
Example of the combined Revoke Certificate & CPD… menu item. Cancel Registration is a different action.
Example of the confirmation for the combined action.
What Revoking a CPD Award Changes
The CPD award: it no longer shows on the Registration. It stays in the Contact’s CPD activity with a REVOKED marker, and its values are blank in Registration exports and certificate CPD variables. If it is awarded again later, that same record is updated and the marker cleared.
The certificate: the combined action also revokes the latest active certificate, and that certificate’s link stops working. Downloaded certificates and messages already sent are not recalled. For revoking or reissuing certificates, see Issue a Certificate Manually or in Bulk.
Completion: revoking does not change the Registration’s Completion, attendance or lesson progress.
Emails: Cademy sends no email about a revoked CPD award.
Moving the Registration: revoking does not make Move Registration… available. That action stays hidden for a Registration that has completed before. See Move or Transfer a Participant to Another Date or Course.
While CPD is turned off for the account, the menu names only the certificate (Revoke Certificate…), but confirming it also revokes that Registration’s CPD award.
Automatic re-award: If the evidence still meets Completed, a later completion evaluation can award CPD again. Correct wrong evidence first, and contact Cademy Support if accurate Completion must stay and the award should not return.
Turn Off CPD for Your Account
A System Admin should make this account-wide change.
Go to Settings > CPD.
Turn off Enable CPD.
Select Save, then reopen the page and check the switch is off.
Turning CPD off stops new awards and hides the CPD course controls, public Highlights, listing filters, card badges, the Contact CPD tab, export columns and certificate variables. Course settings and award records are kept and come back if CPD is turned on again.
If the account loses the CPD feature, for example after a plan change, CPD is hidden and new awards stop in the same way. Saved award records are not deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can I not see the CPD page or the Award CPD switch?
Ask a System Admin to check the account’s CPD Points & Hours feature and Settings > CPD. On a plan without CPD, the CPD page shows its settings greyed out and names the plans that include it. Saving account-wide CPD settings needs a System Admin. Award CPD shows only when CPD is turned on for the account. Course settings need Course Owner or System Admin access to the course. Reload the page after an access change.
Will past course completions get CPD points automatically?
Not when you turn on CPD: past completions are not awarded at that point. A later completion evaluation of a Registration can award a missing one using the current course values. Ask Cademy Support about a missing award instead of changing accurate attendance or lesson progress.
Can I add a CPD award manually?
No. There is no control to enter a CPD award or record one earned elsewhere. Awards come from a Registration becoming Completed.
Can someone earn CPD again for repeating the course?
Yes, when the repeat has a new Registration. One Registration cannot hold two active awards.
Can I see a learner’s total CPD hours or points?
No. Cademy shows each award in Admin, but it does not add them up into a total or give learners a CPD record. You can export the values per Registration and add them up in a spreadsheet.
Why is CPD missing from a course card on my website?
In the embed or WordPress block, open Card Details and select CPD, and check that the course has Award CPD on with a points or hours value. Minisite course cards do not show the badge.
Why is CPD missing from the public course page?
Check that CPD is turned on for the account and that the course has Award CPD on with at least one points or hours value.