Reach 360: How to Calculate Active Learners

Rather than charging for the total number of registered learners, Reach 360 annual plans are based on the number of users who actively view content in your system over a 30-day period. Your Articulate 360 Teams subscription includes Reach 360 Starter, which provides 300 active learners annually at no additional charge. However, if you exceed that active learner allowance, you'll need to upgrade to a paid Reach 360 plan. Keep reading to find out what that means—and how to determine what you’ll need to best serve your learners.

How Reach 360 Counts Active Learners

So what's an "active learner?" After your annual term starts, each unique user with training activity in a 30-day period counts as an active learner, with any additional days included in the final period. 

Just viewing a course or learning path summary without starting it doesn't count as a training activity. A learner becomes an active learner only when they begin the first lesson of a course or take a microlearning (since microlearning doesn't have a summary, it counts immediately). Users don't have to complete the training to be counted as an active learner. If they resume training they started in a previous 30-day period, they're considered active learners for the current 30-day period.

The Reach 360 Starter includes 300 active learners over your annual term. That covers 25 learners engaging with your training content monthly for the entire annual period. 

But how many active learners do you actually need? Examining a couple of scenarios can help you decide. 

300 Learners, Limited Engagement

Let's say your annual term starts in March. You have 300 learners in your organization with access to Reach 360. You anticipate that about 8% of those learners will engage with Reach 360 content during each 30-day period. If 24 users start or complete training content each month—it can be the same 24 users, totally different users, or a mix of old and new users—your active learner report would reflect that you've used 48 of your active learner credits after two months, as shown below. 

Assuming the same pattern continues for the rest of the year, you'll have used 288 active learners, close to your included allotment, by the end of your annual term.

300 Learners, High Engagement

But what if you have 300 users who may be very active, but only during a specific timeframe? For example, let’s say you start a training initiative and expect all 300 learners to use Reach 360 to take training over the course of 60 days. Most of your users take the training in the first 30-day period, and only the users who haven't yet taken the training start the course in the second 30-day period. Your active learner report would show that you've used all 300 of your active learner spots by the end of those two months, as shown below. 

Both scenarios could potentially work, so when should you upgrade to a plan that includes more active learners?

In the first scenario, you’d exceed your annual free allotment if your training engagement increased by just 1%—an extra learner or two in over a handful of months. In the second scenario, if any user who started their training in the first 30-day period returned to complete it in the second 30-day period, you'd also go over your active learner allowance.

For both scenarios, if you exceed 300 active learners, you'll have to upgrade your Reach 360 subscription. Our learning experts at sales@articulate.com can help you find the plan that makes the most sense for your organization.

FAQ

Will I be charged if I exceed 300 free active learners? Will my service be limited?

If you exceed the allotment of 300 free active learners in Reach 360 Starter, we'll reach out to help you upgrade to a Reach 360 plan with the right amount of active learner credits for your organization. You can continue to use Reach 360. 

How do I keep track of how many active learners I've used?

Reach 360 admins can view the Active Learner Usage Report, which provides a tally of active learners used in each 30-day period and per term. The report also lists the number of active learners for the entire subscription period and the cumulative total of all active learners used for the current annual period. A reminder banner appears as you get closer to using all 300 of your included active learners, and Reach 360 admins receive email notifications as the limit approaches.

You can also check your current Reach 360 active learner count on the Manage Subscription tab of the Account Management Console.

Do active learners have to be part of my subscription?

Yes, for a user's activity to count against your active learner allowance, you must invite them to or they must self-register for your Reach 360 subscription.

Does removing a learner give me back the active learner credit if that learner has already started/completed content?

No, once the credit is used, it only replenishes at the end of your annual contract.

Do active learners have to be assigned to the learner role?

No! In fact any Reach 360 user who engages with content in a 30-day period is considered an active learner. This includes Reach 360 admins, managers, and reporters. 

Do Articulate 360 seat holders count against my active learner count?

Members of your Articulate 360 team only count against your active learner allotment if they engage with content in Reach 360 in a 30-day period.

Can users view content without being counted as active learners?

Users become active learners only when they take an action that could lead to the completion of training content—opening a microlearning or starting a course/learning path. Viewing the outline page of a course or learning path without starting the content does not make them an active learner.

Can an active learner take more than one training?

Once a learner has started a course or opened a microlearning and has been counted as an active learner, they can interact with as much training content as they have access to in a 30-day period. That means they can take multiple courses, learning paths, and microlearning content throughout that timeframe.