How Access Works Together

You have several access controls, and they each answer a different question. They work together, in a clear order. Once you understand that order, setting them up is simple.

The order, in plain words

For any item, the system asks these questions in turn:

1. Is the learner eligible to see it? — Eligibility rules decide what's even visible. If a learner isn't eligible, the item doesn't appear at all.
2. Does the learner own it? — If you've set partial access, the learner sees only the parts they hold.
3. Is it open right now? — Drip scheduling and prerequisites decide what's open versus locked at this moment.
4. Is it done? — Completion rules mark work as finished — which can in turn open the next item in a sequence.

So eligibility and partial access decide what's there, scheduling and prerequisites decide what's open now, and completion marks things done (which can unlock the next step).

A quick example

Imagine a learning path with a fixed start date and a "finish each module before the next" sequence:

1. A learner who isn't in the right group never sees the path (eligibility).
2. A learner who bought only the first term sees only that term (partial access).
3. Module 2 stays locked until the start date and until Module 1 is finished (scheduling + prerequisites).
4. When the learner finishes Module 1 (completion rule), Module 2 opens.

The override rule that runs through all of it

Wherever a setting can be applied at more than one level, the most specific setting wins:

• A per-learner setting beats a per-item setting.
• A per-item setting beats the whole-offering default.

This is true for scheduling and for eligibility, so you can set a sensible default for everyone and then make targeted exceptions.

Reused content is independent

A course can stand alone and be reused inside a learning path. The access you set in each place is separate — settings inside the path never leak into the standalone course, and the standalone course's settings never leak into the path. If you set no rule for an item inside the path, that item is simply open there. That's intentional.

Quick reference