---
title: "Courses: External"
slug: "courses-external"
tags: ["external courses"]
updated: 2024-05-07T19:44:07Z
published: 2024-05-07T19:44:07Z
canonical: "support.smarteru.com/courses-external"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.smarteru.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Courses: External

In order to use this feature, be sure to enable [**external course submissions**](https://support.smarteru.com/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#enable-external-course-submission) for your account.

External courses are courses or training outside of SmarterU. When the [External Course Submission feature is enabled](/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#enable-external-course-submission), [learners can record their external courses](/v1/docs/learner-interface-external-course-submissions), including the course's name, start date, end date, and duration (in hours and minutes). There are also account settings for [specifying the group where the enrollment occurs](/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#enable-home-group-enrollment), [controlling the allowable date range](/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#restrict-enrollments-in-the-past), and [collecting additional information](/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#prompt-for-additional-information).

![Account Profile - External Course Submission 20210830](https://cdn.document360.io/7efaadab-fef6-4186-806a-2ca14c9ce9ea/Images/Documentation/Account%20Profile%20-%20External%20Course%20Submission%2020210830.png)![](https://dzf8vqv24eqhg.cloudfront.net/userfiles/187/238/ckfinder/images/accounts/Learner%20UI%20-%20External%20Course%20Submission%2020210830.png)

If your account uses the [Points and Rewards feature](/v1/docs/points-and-rewards), you can specify the [point tracker that learners will earn points toward](/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#point-tracker). You'll also have the [option to award points based on the course's duration](/v1/docs/account-external-course-submission#enable-fixed-increment) (i.e., in minutes), or by allowing learners to enter the points earned. If the learner enters an incorrect number of points, you'll be able to [edit the learner's points](/v1/docs/editing-a-point-redemption-entry) from the [Points and Rewards Dashboard](/v1/docs/points-and-rewards-dashboard).

When a learner submits an external course, the course will be added to the learner's enrollments as a completed, self-enrolled course. The external course is included in the learner interface's [learner summary](/v1/docs/learner-summary), [course](/v1/docs/courses-1), and [timeline pages](/v1/docs/timeline).

Each external course submission creates a new course in SmarterU. If multiple learners submit an external course with the exact same name, each submission will create a new course.

External courses submitted by learners are included in the User Profile workscreen's [Course Enrollments](/v1/docs/user-course-enrollments) and [Activity Log](/v1/docs/user-activity-log) accordions. They're also included in the [Enrollment Report](/v1/docs/enrollment-report) and in the [enrollment status summary](/v1/docs/enrollment-status-summary) that's displayed on numerous dashboards.

You can also use the Enrollment Report to [edit a learner's enrollment in an external course](/v1/docs/enrollment-report-editing-an-enrollment), or [unenroll the learner from the course](/v1/docs/enrollment-report-unenrolling-learners).

- Because external submissions could potentially create a large number of courses, external courses are NOT included in the [Enrollment Report's Course filter](/v1/docs/default-enrollment-report#course). If you need to filter the Enrollment Report for external courses, use the [Course Type filter](/v1/docs/default-enrollment-report#course-type), then [filter the results in the grid](/v1/docs/smarteru-basics-data-grids#filtering).
- External courses are NOT included in the [Courses Dashboard](/v1/docs/courses-dashboard).
- External courses are included in the [enrollment status summary](/v1/docs/enrollment-status-summary) on the [Groups Dashboard](/v1/docs/groups-dashboard). However, they cannot be assigned to the group like instructor-led, online, and SCORM courses.

For details on setting up external course submissions, refer to the [Setting Up External Course Submissions page](/v1/docs/setting-up-external-course-submissions).

## Related

- [Account: External Course Submission](/account-external-course-submission.md)
- [Adding an External Course Submission Page](/adding-an-external-course-submission-page.md)
- [Learner Interface: External Course Submissions](/learner-interface-external-course-submissions.md)
- [Page: Configuration for External Course Submission Pages](/page-configuration-for-external-course-submission-pages.md)
- [Points and Rewards](/points-and-rewards.md)
- [Setting Up External Course Submissions](/setting-up-external-course-submissions.md)
- [Track Learners’ External Training in SmarterU LMS](/track-learners-external-training-in-smarteru-lms.md)