Manage Publishing Approvers

The content approval process lets you require a review and approval before anyone publishes custom content to your Skillsoft platform. When you turn it on, content creators must request approval before they can publish. A designated approver then reviews the content and either approves it or requests changes. Content can only be published after it's approved.

You can use the approval process for these types of content:

  • Custom hosted content (SCORM or AICC packages)
  • LX Design Studio content Skillsoft wave logo This feature is not part of the foundational platform. Your contract with Skillsoft determines if you have access to this feature. Reach out to your Skillsoft account team for more information.

Why use content approvals?

Many organizations need to have someone sign off on content before learners see it. This might be for compliance, accuracy, branding, or legal reasons. With the content approval process turned on, you can:

  • Apply the same governance to custom SCORM or AICC files or LX Design Studio content, so nothing is published without review.
  • Let subject matter experts check content for accuracy without giving them permission to publish.
  • Keep a record of every approval decision. Approval history is saved with each content item, so you can show evidence of review during an audit.
  • Manage one list of approvers for both hosted content and LX Design Studio content, instead of setting up approvals separately in each place.

How it works

The following is the process for content publishing with approval turned on:

  1. A content creator finishes a content item and requests approval.
  2. Approvers get an email and an in-app notification about the request.
  3. An approver reviews the content and approves it or requests changes. For hosted content, approvers review from the Content Item page. For LX Design Studio content, they review the item in LX Design Studio.
  4. The requester is notified of the decision. Once the content is approved, the requester can publish it.

Important Notes

Keep the following in mind when using approvals:

  • You only need one person to approve content before it can be published.
  • You can't approve your own content.
  • If the content changes after it's approved, it needs a new approval before it can be republished.
  • Site admins can't bypass approval requirements. If a site admin adds content, and the approval process is enabled, they must also seek approval.
  • Any admin role can be an approver provided they have the role permission for Manage Content selected.

Turn the content approval process on or off

The approval process is optional and off by default. To enable the content approval process, you need to have a platform role of site administrator.

Turn on approvals

To turn on the content approval process:

  1. From the admin navigation, go to Content > Manage Publishing Approvers.
  2. Select Approval settings.
  3. In the dialog box that displays, turn on the switch for: Approvals are required for publishing.
  4. Select Save.
  5. Add at least one approver.

After you enable approvals, creators must request approval before they can publish content. All previously published content remains published.

Turn off approvals

To turn off the content approval process:

  1. From the admin navigation, go to Content > Manage Publishing Approvers.
  2. Select Approval Settings.
  3. In the dialog box that displays, turn off the switch for: Approvals are required for publishing.
  4. Select Save. Creators can now publish content without approval. Past approval history stays with each content item.

Add and Remove Approvers

Approvers are the people who review content and approve it or request changes. Approvers can review both hosted content and LX Design Studio content, provided they have permissions to Manage content and privileges to access LX Design Studio.

To add or remove an approver, you need to have a platform role of site admin. Approvers must have an admin role with the Manage Content permission.

Add an approver

To add an approver:

  1. Go to Content > Manage Publishing Approvers.
  2. Select Add approver.
  3. Start typing the user's name. Matching entries display. Select the user by name or email.
  4. Add as many approvers as you need.
  5. Select Save to save your changes. The approvers now show in the approver list. Creators can select them when they request approval, and they get notified of new requests.

Remove an approver

To remove an approver:

  1. Go to Content > Manage Publishing Approvers.
  2. Find the approver in the list and from the Actions menu, select Remove.
  3. Select Remove approver to confirm your choice.

The removed user no longer displays in the list to get approval requests. Approval decisions they already made stay in the approval history.