Cohorts Overview

In Smooth LMS, a cohort is an LMS Batch—a scheduled training group with start/end dates, optional seat limits, linked courses, instructors, live classes, assessments, and certifications. Cohorts complement self-paced LMS Course libraries by adding timetable discipline, facilitator interaction, and batch-level analytics.

Help URL: smoothhiring.com/help/lms/cohorts/overview

Table of Contents

1. Cohort vs self-paced course
2. LMS Batch structure
3. Enrollment and seats
4. Live classes and conferencing
5. Assessments and certification
6. Portal and desk access
7. Desk paths
8. Step-by-step lifecycle
9. Tips
10. Troubleshooting
11. Related guides
12. HRMS integration

Cohort vs self-paced course

APIs and Vue copy use "cohort" while desk record remains LMS Batch.

LMS Batch structure

Key sections on /app/lms-batch:

• Schedule: start/end date, start/end time, timezone
• Seat Count and Allow Self Enrollment
• Courses child table (Batch Course) linking published LMS courses
• Instructors (same pattern as course trainers)
• Timetable for live class series
• Assessment tab for batch-level evaluations
• Certification flags and evaluation end date
• Conferencing provider (Zoom / Google Meet) accounts
• Category for portal discovery

Published batches appear on portal batch list when sidebar enabled.

Enrollment and seats

LMS Batch Enrollment links Member (User) to Batch. APIs block enrollment when:

• Cohort already started (configurable messaging)
• Seat count exceeded ("cohort is full")
• Duplicate enrollment

Payment fields exist for paid batches (LMS Payment)—optional for internal HR.

Confirmation emails use Batch Confirmation Email Template from LMS Settings.

Live classes and conferencing

LMS Live Class rows schedule sessions with provider integration. Show Live Class on batch enables timetable views. Participants tracked in LMS Live Class Participant.

Ensure Zoom/Google Meet accounts configured under respective settings records before go-live.

Assessments and certification

Batch Assessment section defines cohort-wide evaluations. Batch Evaluator role grades submissions. Certification checkbox issues certificates after evaluation window (evaluation_end_date).

Distinct from course-level quizzes—use both when cohort wraps multiple online modules plus in-person evaluation.

Portal and desk access

• Learners: /lms/batches and cohort detail dashboards (discussions, announcements, timetable).
• Moderators: create/edit batches, view employee tab, charts.
• Desk: /app/lms-batch for imports and support.

Permission hooks (lms_batch.has_permission) restrict batch visibility to members, instructors, evaluators, moderators.

Desk paths

Step-by-step lifecycle

1. Publish prerequisite LMS courses.
2. Create LMS Batch with schedule and courses table.
3. Assign instructors and evaluators.
4. Configure timetable and live classes.
5. Publish batch; open self-enrollment or admin enroll.
6. Deliver sessions; monitor progress charts.
7. Run evaluations; issue certificates.
8. Close batch after end date; archive materials.

Tips

• Start with pilot cohort size < 30 for first live run.
• Disable self enrollment for invite-only leadership programs.
• Mirror cohort category with course categories for reporting.
• Use announcements API for schedule changes.

Troubleshooting

Related guides

• Create a cohort
• Enroll employees
• Courses overview

HRMS integration

Cohorts often deliver Employee Onboarding kickoff weeks—enroll new hires via batch after HR creates Employee records. For licensed skills, store exam results in Employee Compliance in addition to LMS certificates.

Blended learning patterns

Combine self-paced prerequisites (assigned mandatory courses) with cohort kickoff week. Example: complete "Safety 101" online before attending "Safety Lab" cohort with live demo. Track prerequisites via enrollment progress before allowing batch enrollment (manual check or custom validation).

Cohort announcements and discussions increase engagement—assign Moderator to post weekly reminders in batch feed.

Governance, auditing, and data retention

Training data in Smooth LMS is standard Frappe JSON in MariaDB plus files in public/files and public/scorm. HR audits typically require evidence of who completed what by when. Export desk lists (LMS Enrollment, LMS Quiz Submission, LMS Training Assignment, LMS Certificate) to CSV for sampling. Quiz submission print formats provide question-level detail suitable for safety investigations or harassment prevention audits.

Retention policy should align with HR document retention: keep LMS submissions at least as long as related Employee Compliance records. When employees depart, disable User accounts but retain enrollment history unless legal counsel approves purging. Version course content via amended records or annual duplicated courses so historical completions still reference the correct curriculum year.

System Managers should restrict Moderator role membership and enable login activity review on sensitive cohorts (executive leadership programs). Pair LMS reports with HR onboarding status from Employee Onboarding overview to prove training preceded start date when required.

Frequently asked questions

Do employees need desk access? No. LMS Student is portal-only by default; send {site}/lms/courses links.

Can one user be both Course Creator and Moderator? Yes on small teams; larger orgs should separate author vs publish duties.

How do we handle contractors? Create User + optional HR employee record; assign training like employees via Employee records linkage or direct enrollment.

What breaks if HRMS is down? LMS continues serving published content; new hire auto-enrollment pauses until Employee/Onboarding APIs succeed.

Are certificates legally equivalent to HR compliance rows? Not automatically—store PDFs on compliance or document types when statute requires.

Performance and scale notes

Large enrollments (5,000+ users) should batch assign overnight via assign_mandatory_training rather than manual enrollment rows. Rebuild website cache after bulk publish. Monitor background workers if email notifications queue heavily. SCORM packages should be optimized zip exports to reduce disk usage during large uploads.

Additional troubleshooting

Operations calendar (recommended)

Integration smoke tests with HRMS

1. Create test Employee with user — confirm LMS Student role.
2. Submit test Employee Onboarding — confirm enrollments when courses mandatory.
3. Complete course — attach quiz PDF to test Employee Compliance row.
4. Archive evidence in document compliance SOP.

Support runbook (L1)

Collect: user email, course/cohort name, screenshot of error, timestamp. Check enrollment exists, course published, role present. Escalate to System Manager if SCORM extract failed or permission hooks deny batch access. Reference Employee records to fix missing user_id before reassigning training.

Document history and change control

When updating this process, record the Smooth LMS app version, platform update date, and whether HRMS onboarding templates changed. Authors should note breaking changes in course release notes (quiz question changes may require reattempts). For regulated customers, maintain a binder linking LMS course ID to compliance control ID in Employee Compliance.

Desk administrators use /desk/learning for cross-course metrics; portal users rely on /lms/courses for consumption—both URLs should appear in internal SOP PDFs so auditors can reproduce learner steps without admin credentials.

Quick reference card

Keep this table in your L&D onboarding packet for new coordinators.

Closing notes for administrators

Schedule annual review of this guide with HR compliance and L&D. Confirm your organization's backups include public/scorm and file attachments for quiz uploads. After major HR reorgs, rebuild cohort rosters from Employee records exports rather than stale distribution lists.

Last updated: May 2026

Smooth HR (HRMS)