UNC CPHP Training Web Site Now Integrated with TRAIN Learning Management Systems
UNC PERLC recently completed an integration of the UNC CPHP Training Web Site (TWS) with the Training Real-time Affiliate Integrated Network (TRAIN) learning management system, resulting in easier access and a better overall snapshot of training progress for TRAIN users.
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In Virginia--and many other states--workforce development staff rely heavily on TRAIN as a means of tracking employee training activity. The Virginia Department of Health uses the state affiliate system, TRAINVirginia, to provide trainings for all public health employees across the state.
While training modules on the UNC CPHP TWS have been accessible to TRAINVirginia users for some time, the systems existed as entirely separate entities. This separation required different user login information to access each system and did not allow users to track completions from the TWS in TRAIN learning records.
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In early 2011, UNC PERLC set out to improve integration between the TWS and TRAINVirginia. Working with the TRAIN administrator at the Virginia Department of Health's Emergency Preparedness and Response Program, UNC PERLC technical staff devised an external integration between the two sites. After several months of development and testing, the integration successfully launched in September 2011.
During the development process, technical staff realized that the external integration would work not just for TRAINVirginia but for national TRAIN and all TRAIN affiliate sites. Now, public health professionals using the national TRAIN learning management system (or any TRAIN affiliate sites) can seamlessly access any of the trainings on the UNC CPHP TWS without the need for separate login credentials. When a user completes a training, his or her information is instantly passed back to TRAIN, where it becomes available as part of the user’s learning record.
In addition to providing a more complete training record for the individual, this integration also allows TRAIN administrators to better track aggregate completion data for their employees, fulfilling the expressed need of the Virginia Department of Health and presumably meeting similar needs of other TRAIN affiliate sites, as well.
