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BrightCourse points and learning data

Written by Jonathan Marbutt

BrightCourse is an education integration. It is separate from the Olive and Chloe, LifeLead, HopeSync: Clara AI, and Options United scheduling connections.

BrightCourse learning information moves from BrightCourse into CoolFocus. CoolFocus does not calculate BrightCourse points or send point changes back to BrightCourse.


What imports into CoolFocus

The current integration imports three kinds of information:

  • Activities: activity notes and related BrightCourse learning activity.

  • Assignments: lesson assignment and progress details, including viewed status and available pre-test, post-test, worksheet, and homework progress.

  • Points: BrightCourse points entries, including the previous total, change amount, new total, category, lesson or section, and notes when provided.

These records are read-only in CoolFocus. Changes must be made in BrightCourse and then imported again.


How points work

A point record represents a points entry created by BrightCourse.

For each new entry, CoolFocus stores the BrightCourse entry identifier and the values BrightCourse sent, such as:

  • Previous point total.

  • Change amount.

  • New point total.

  • Point category.

  • Related lesson or section.

  • Notes.

CoolFocus does not reinterpret or recalculate these values. If a point total appears incorrect, first confirm the source entry in BrightCourse.

BrightCourse points also feed into a client's combined, cross-source points balance alongside legacy benefits and native points activity. See Points Activity: Unified Points Across Sources and day-to-day client steps in Points on Client Records.


When data updates

BrightCourse synchronization is scheduled once each day, currently beginning around 1:00 a.m. UTC. It is not a real-time connection.

Each organization must have an active connection to BrightCourse. CoolFocus then requests recent activities, assignments, and point entries from BrightCourse. New point entries are added by their BrightCourse entry id so the same entry is not imported twice.

Vendor availability, rate limits, an authentication failure, or a paused connection can delay an update.


How clients are matched

BrightCourse identifies each learner using the CoolFocus client's People_GUID (the internal identifier for the client's contact record), which is the identifier CoolFocus hands to BrightCourse when a client is linked. This is how the large majority of BrightCourse activity, assignment, and point records are matched to a client, and it is the identifier BrightCourse and CoolFocus Support should check first when activity seems to be missing.

A smaller number of legacy records may instead be keyed by the client's free-text Client ID (the human-entered client number shown on the contact record). This value is unrelated to the People_GUID and is not itself a BrightCourse identifier, but CoolFocus checks it as a fallback so older records are not lost. Do not expect setting or changing a client's Client ID field to affect BrightCourse matching, matching is driven by People_GUID.

Because matching follows the client record, BrightCourse activity and points also follow client merges: learning history recorded against a client that was later merged into another record still appears on the surviving (target) client.

A record may not appear when the organizations use different identifiers or when the BrightCourse account has not linked the learner to the expected CoolFocus client. Contact Support rather than creating duplicate clients to work around a missing match.


Where the information appears

Imported BrightCourse activities, assignments, and points belong to the client's care history in CoolFocus. The exact tab or panel can depend on the CoolFocus screen and permissions available to your organization.

  • When the Unified Points feature is enabled, BrightCourse points also appear in the client's Points tab. They contribute to the balance and show in the Points activity feed.

  • When Unified Points is not enabled, look for the BrightCourse Points section on the client record.

If you cannot find the BrightCourse section, confirm that:

  • Your organization has the BrightCourse integration enabled.

  • Your account can view the client's CPC or care information.

  • The client is linked to the expected BrightCourse learner.

  • A successful synchronization has occurred since the activity or point was added.


Using points in lists, filters, and reports

On the Clients list, CoolFocus shows two rollup fields for each client: Points Balance and Points Earned (90d). These totals combine BrightCourse point entries with in-app credits and eligible benefit credits for the client. They are read-only totals.

  • Filter clients by either field, for example Points Balance -> greater than or equal to -> 100 or Points Earned (90d) -> greater than or equal to -> 10.

  • Add these fields as columns and export the list.

  • Use them in CQL as pointsBalance and pointsEarnedLast90Days. See Advanced: Writing Queries with CQL.


Who can manage the connection

Only CoolFocus admins, or users with Integrations admin access, can view the BrightCourse connection status, enable or disable it, or generate a new API key. Anyone else who opens the integration settings page will see it as forbidden.


Setting up the connection: App ID and API Key

Go to Settings > Integrations > BrightCourse to connect BrightCourse. The credential on this page works in one direction only: CoolFocus issues it so BrightCourse can authenticate its calls into CoolFocus. There is nothing to paste in from BrightCourse.

1. Click Enable on the BrightCourse integration page. CoolFocus creates your API Key, a secret shown in full only once, immediately after you enable or regenerate it.

2. Copy the API Key right away and store it securely. Once you leave the page, the full API Key cannot be viewed again, only a masked version is shown.

3. Give the API Key to BrightCourse so it can connect to CoolFocus. BrightCourse already has the stable App ID for your organization's integration, so you do not need to send it separately. Do not paste a BrightCourse organization API key into this page, the field is not for a credential issued by BrightCourse.

4. If the API Key is lost or needs to be rotated, click Regenerate to issue a new one and share it with BrightCourse again.

Only staff with Integrations admin permission can enable, disable, or regenerate this integration.


Setup checklist

1. Confirm that your organization has an active BrightCourse account.

2. As a CoolFocus admin or Integrations admin, go to Settings → Integrations → BrightCourse and enable the integration, as described above, to generate your API Key.

3. Give BrightCourse the API Key immediately after enabling. CoolFocus shows the full API Key only once, so copy it before leaving the page.

4. If you lose the key before saving it in BrightCourse, use Regenerate on the BrightCourse integration page to issue a new one, then update BrightCourse with it. Regenerating immediately invalidates the previous key.

5. Confirm that the connection is not paused or circuit-broken.

6. Link or verify a test client in BrightCourse.

7. Create a test activity, assignment update, or point entry in BrightCourse.

8. Allow the next scheduled synchronization to run.

9. Confirm the imported read-only record on the expected CoolFocus client.

10. Ask BrightCourse and CoolFocus Support to confirm their respective sides before a wider launch.


Connection status

Enabling the integration means CoolFocus has issued a credential for BrightCourse to use. It does not prove that BrightCourse is sending valid data for every organization.

Use these terms when discussing status:

  • Configured means CoolFocus has an active API Key generated and saved for BrightCourse.

  • Authenticated means BrightCourse is successfully calling CoolFocus with that credential.

  • Syncing means recent activity, assignment, or point records have imported successfully.

  • Current means the most recent successful sync is recent enough for the organization's workflow.


Troubleshooting

No points appear

Confirm that BrightCourse has a points entry for the learner, not only a course enrollment or lesson view. Then confirm the learner is linked to the correct CoolFocus client and wait for the scheduled sync.

Activity or points show for one client but not a similar one

Matching is based on the client's People_GUID, not the free-text Client ID field. If one client shows BrightCourse activity and points while another does not, do not assume it is a data-entry difference on the Client ID field. Ask Support to confirm which identifier BrightCourse has on file for the affected client.

Some information imports, but points do not

Activities, assignments, and points are separate import streams. One can succeed while another is delayed or rejected. Support can check the most recent successful time for each stream.

Data stopped updating

The most common causes are BrightCourse still using an API Key that was since regenerated in CoolFocus, vendor availability or rate limiting, or a connection paused after repeated authentication failures. Regenerating the API Key in CoolFocus and updating it on the BrightCourse side resolves an outdated-credential issue.

I can't see the integration settings page anymore

Only CoolFocus admins and Integrations admins can open the BrightCourse integration page, view its status, or manage its API key. Ask an admin to grant Integrations admin access if you need to manage the connection.

"Failed to save changes" when setting up BrightCourse

This page does not accept a key pasted in from BrightCourse. If you are trying to enter a BrightCourse-issued organization key, stop, click Enable instead, and CoolFocus will generate the API Key that BrightCourse needs. If enabling or regenerating still fails, confirm you have Integrations admin permission, then try again or contact Support.

Can staff edit points in CoolFocus?

No. BrightCourse activities, assignments, and points are imported as read-only records. Correct the source information in BrightCourse.

Are certificates, enrollments, or every BrightCourse milestone imported?

The confirmed integration imports activities, assignments, and points entries. Do not assume that certificates, enrollments, or every vendor milestone are included unless BrightCourse and CoolFocus have specifically confirmed that field.


Getting help

Send CoolFocus Support the organization, CoolFocus client number, approximate BrightCourse activity date, the type of missing information, and the last time it appeared correctly. Do not send passwords, API keys, or protected health information in a normal support message.

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