New features, improvements and bug fixes released on Riipen from June 21-28

Improvements

• The main category selection dropdown in the project wizard and experience wizard is now searchable.

• As an educator, I can now edit experience dates and the date controller via the experience settings, rather than going via the wizard.

• As an employer who's not yet a member of a company, I now get a warning at the beginning of the project wizard that I will not be able to publish my project until I create or join a company. The user can still create a draft.

• As an educator, I should see a Teams tab on the experience showing the progress of all teams. Under the Learners tab of an experience, the educator has a "Teams" tab where they can see the progress of all teams.

• A draft project or experience should have a clear call to action for the viewer to edit & publish their content.

• Project wizard fields now have minimum lengths

• Department name capitalization should be preserved in portal nametag

Bug fixes

• Project template owner type filter resets back to All when selecting an option

New features, improvements and bug fixes released on Riipen from June 14-21.

Improvements

• Feedback display update: feedback cards have been updated to have more visual appeal and provide more relevant information about what the user was giving feedback on. These updates cards can be seen on user, company and portal profiles.
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• Company size is now asked on the project wizard "company" step
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• Company size is now editable in the company profile
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• Company size is now a dropdown of pre-selected ranges so it's easier for employers to provide
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• As an employer, I now receive a single email with feedback reminders per match, instead of being reminded individually for each team.
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• Experience settings > Team creation section has had a text update for clarity
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• Marketplace links have been renamed for clarity. Marketplaces are now named more specifically as "Open experiences," "Open projects", "Portal experiences" or "Portal projects."
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• The progress cell of the Teams table is now a link to the team page.

Bug fixes

• A user would sometimes see their own sent message in the "unread message" email notification, although they were being notified about an unread message from the other party. This is now fixed.

New features, improvements and bug fixes released on Riipen from June 7-14.

Features

• As an educator, you can create a custom project template and link it to your experience. This option is accessible through the settings tab. Employers viewing your experience will be able to submit a project using your pre-approved template, to ensure a higher quality of project submission. Learn more.

Improvements

• The star rating component has been updated everywhere so that it's always used consistently with 5 stars shown and then the number of ratings included in that average.

• The appearance of categories and industries on the user and company profile has been updated to look better and be more consistent with how they're displayed elsewhere.

• The image upload modal closes automatically on completion rather than requiring the user to click Confirm.

• If a user adds more than 10 options to a multiple choice question, these will now appear in a dropdown menu to the respondent.

• Category dropdown menus are now ordered alphabetically

• Portal > Learners now has a feedback column that is sortable

• A learner can't complete milestones or the submission until the project is started.

Bug fixes

• Issue where match request questions would give "Question has already been taken" error has been resolved.

• Certain teams could not be deleted as they showed as having a self reflection, which was incorrectly associated with that team. The underlying data issue has been fixed so that all teams without submissions or feedback can now be deleted.

In the last week, we rolled out several improvements and bug fixes. A major new feature is coming very soon, and will have a separate release post when it is live: educators will be able to link project templates to their experience for employers to apply with.

Improvements

• The mobile dropdown menu is no longer cut off on devices with screen widths smaller than 384px

• A separate column has been added for feedback in the Portal > Learners table

• Any user can now unsubscribe from member request emails

• The member detail view for educators to view learners now shows the user's primary email address and its confirmation status

• The customizable logo that portal admins can add to the nav bar on their portal's subdomain is now 40px high (up from 30px) and has a variable width up to 161px to make it easier to accommodate different logos.

• The landing page for app.riipen.com (log out to view) has an updated UI with new "cards" describing each section

• As a company admin, I now receive a dedicated email when an educator proposes a project to my company.

• Recommendations are now ordered by recommendation score and then by the date at which they were updated, in order to surface more recent content to users.

Bug fixes

• Selecting a search project filter and refreshing page makes search filters disappear on mobile view

• User unable to proceed in match request wizard due to missing data that wasn't shown to user

• Unable to accept match request due to missing data that wasn't shown to user

In the last week, we rolled out one very exciting new feature, and several small improvements.

Features

• Employers can now create projects with an assist from AI. When creating a project, employers can now choose to create from scratch, use a template, or use AI. After writing a prompt, the artificial intelligence engine will take into account the company information on Riipen and Riipen's project best practices to produce project content based on that prompt. The employer will review and edit the auto-generated project before publishing. Learn more
  

Improvements

• The learner view of the experiences table is now sorted more intuitively, with later-starting experiences shown at the top of the table.

• The Teams table for learners now has only the team name hyperlinked, to address some comments made by learners in feedback sessions that it was confusing to have 3 options within the table
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• The Portal > Learners table is now sorted by most recently created to least recently

• The text on the milestone submission page has been customized to be distinct from the final submission page to add more clarity for learners.

• The email an employer receives alerting them of a new match request now includes the experience name.
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Bug fix
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• Issue where team could not be deleted has been resolved

• The email reminding employers who sign up and don't create or join a company was not sending; this is now fixed.

• The application due date was appearing erroneously in the match request wizard; this is now fixed and displays only when the match sets the dates and applications are required.

In the last week, here are the main user-facing improvements and issues addressed in the Riipen platform. Stay tuned for some bigger news to come soon: the team is working on three larger features (linked project templates, saved searches, and one surprise feature) to be released in the coming weeks.
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Improvements

• Experience meta information "general" section now includes team size and student years

• The progress bar and the dates in the "Teams" table progress column now reflect the actual dates and progress of the team, not the scheduled dates, when progress exists.

• When filters are applied in an advanced filters modal, the filter icon displays the number of filters that are applied but currently hidden

• The email an employer receives alerting them of a new match request now includes the experience name.
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Bug fix
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• Uploads could time out for submissions with too many files. To address this we have for now put on a maximum of 10 images per project, 10 resource files per project, and 10 files per milestone or final submission, which addresses 95% of use cases. We are exploring other options to increase these limits in the future.
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• For users of our Zapier app, The match request created trigger was missing information about the request sender and recipient. This is now updated.

Since the launch of Riipen 2.0 on April 20, we've been busy working on early user feedback, plus some planned enhancements. Below are some of the highlight items implemented in Riipen since April 20.
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Improvements

• As an educator, I can now invite a learner directly to a team without needing to first invite them to the experience. This is available through the Team > Members tab.

• Adding an educator as a member to an experience adds them to the portal as a guest (view-only) member.

• Adding an employer as a member to a project adds them to the company as a guest (view-only) member.

• An experience now shows the number of matched project spots remaining in the header of the page if that number is <5

• The experience page meta information shows the number of matches made out of the total matches wanted.

• A user can change their primary email address linked to their account. This is available in User Settings.

• The Portal > Educators page now has keyword search to easily find educators by name.

• The member request page shows the requester's primary email address to help administrator's assess whether to accept the request.

• The feedback button on the team page has been made more prominent to employers, displaying on the submission itself.

• A user invited to a new portal/company is on that portal/company when they accept the invitation.
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Features
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• As an educator, when creating teams in the learner invite wizard, I can select learners from a dropdown menu if they are already in the experience.

• As an educator and employer, I can negotiate compensation in the match request process if the experience requires compensation.
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Bug fix
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• The "send" button on messages was not displaying when the user had an adblocker enabled. This has been resolved.

We are thrilled to announce that Riipen 2.0 is launching April 20, 2023, and we can't wait for you to experience it. After listening to your feedback and conducting dozens of user interviews, we have updated and improved the platform to better serve your needs.

Riipen 2.0 maintains the features that you love from the current platform within a new and more intuitive interface. We have reevaluated and enhanced every area of the platform and added new features based on your feedback to make your experience even better.

What to expect

During the launch on April 20 there will be minimal, scheduled downtime, and once it's completed, you will be able to access the platform at the same URL you always have. All of your existing data will be updated to the new format, ensuring that your access remains unchanged and all of your content and projects in progress are unaffected.

Post-launch, our top priority will be actively gathering feedback to make continuous ongoing improvements to Riipen 2.0. As you navigate the new site, automated tours and pointers will help all users find new features and identify how existing ones have changed.

What's new

Improved navigation and usability

The new left-hand sidebar provides quick access to your personal content, the marketplaces, and your portal or company. To help you find content faster, a global search feature is available in the top navigation.

To simplify the user interface, courses and internship programs are now merged into a single content type called experiences which has the features of both.

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Customization

It is now possible to customize your portal to align with your brand's look and feel. With Riipen 2.0, each portal has its own unique subdomain - eg. yourschoolname.riipen.com - allowing portal administrators to customize the primary logo, color usage, and terminology.

In Riipen 2.0, we've prioritized offering customization features throughout the platform. For instance, with the addition of custom roles for portal, company, project, and experience members, users can invite others with limited access to only the features they need.

We know that our customers value the ability to tailor their feedback surveys to include the questions that are most relevant for them, which is why we are excited to offer customized feedback surveys for employers upon completion of a project.

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Project management

In the last two years, we've made significant improvements to project management features in Riipen 1.0, including the ability for educators to add document templates to milestones and for learners to add their own milestones to teams.

In Riipen 2.0, we have taken these features a step further by adding some of the most frequently requested features from our learners and employers. For instance, we've integrated Zoom and Google Meet into the meeting invitations sent from messages, and now teams can set their own project dates when enabled by educators.

We're always looking for ways to enhance learner-employer collaboration, and we have exciting plans for further extensions to these features post-launch.

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Matchmaking

In Riipen 2.0, we have added features that were specifically requested by our customers to enhance the matchmaking process. Educators can now propose projects directly to companies for them to accept or decline, and in the match-making process, educators and employers can negotiate the project's content to ensure that it is tailored for each match.

Additionally, requests now require acceptance from both parties to ensure users can send requests with the security that they have the opportunity to confirm or withdraw their request later.

A new feature for both parties is the ability to extend the expiry date on a request if you need more time to evaluate it.

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Private marketplace and portal pass functionality

When invited by an educator, employers can sign up to thatschoolname.riipen.com instead of app.riipen.com, providing a platform experience that is tailored by the institution that invited them.

On the educator side, Riipen 2.0 offers improvements to the way portal passes are granted. Educators can now have employers answer screening questions during their portal intake process, ensuring they are the right fit for the portal. Additionally, educators can grant portal passes in bulk, saving them time.

For educators, a private marketplace featuring projects exclusively from their portal pass holders is now available in parallel to the open marketplace.

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Reports

We are excited to announce that reporting has been given a major upgrade in Riipen 2.0! We understand that our users require detailed and insightful reports to inform their decision-making, which is why we have powered our new reporting functionality with Metabase. This tool enables us to provide more comprehensive and detailed standard reports in each portal, and allows portal administrators to create custom reports that are unique to their needs. These custom reports can be saved in your portal and updated in real-time, providing the latest data insights.

An updated set of help articles launches on help.riipen.com on April 20 detailing all changes and how to navigate them.

You spoke, we listened.

Riipen, the leading work-based learning platform, is excited to announce the launch of Riipen 2.0 this Spring. Our enhanced platform is a direct result of extensive feedback from our community of users, beta testing, and exclusive access to a sandbox. With Riipen 2.0, you can experience key user-driven enhancements that promise to elevate your experience in the most impactful and efficient way.

Over the past five years, thousands of employers of all types and sizes have partnered with academic institutions and student talent through Riipen to accelerate the growth of their businesses. With Riipen 2.0, our employers will access innovative features providing higher flexibility, customization, branding, reporting, control over their processes, focused navigation of the platform, new integrations, and much more.

What does it mean for you?

New terminology

To start, we've listened to your feedback and made significant changes to our terminology:

• Courses & Internship Programs: To simplify the user interface, “Courses” and “Internship Programs” are now merged into a single entity type, "Experience" (note that this vocabulary can be customized by each school), which allows educators to pick and choose which aspects of each experience they want to include. For example, a curricular experience with fixed start and end dates can now have students directly applying to work with companies.
• Students: “Students” are now called “Learners” to better represent project collaborators on the platform, i.e., students and lifelong learners as one single entity.
• Schools: “Schools" are now called “Portals”.

New Platform Navigation Features

We have also enhanced the navigation features on the platform:

Dashboard:

• The dashboard will display up to 5 pending match requests to improve visibility and facilitate request review and approval, and all pending requests will be found in the "Request Center".
• The dashboard will also present up to 4 "upcoming dates" or milestones, such as the start of an experience, the end of an experience, a project milestone, etc.

Platform Navigation:

• Employers will now navigate the platform as a member of one company at a time (if they have multiple companies on Riipen) and will be able to easily switch workplaces (or companies) and navigate through the platform as a member of that workplace (or company) via the sidebar.

Scope Negotiation:

• To ensure that expectations between educators and employers are better aligned before students begin work, we introduced scope negotiation as part of the match request process. As such, an educator may propose changes to an employer project, at which time, the employer can choose to accept or decline these changes before accepting the match.

New Propose Project Functionality

Educators can now directly submit a project to any company in the Riipen ecosystem that they would like to work with. If the company in question approves the project, it will automatically be accepted and added to the educator's experience.

Improved Messaging Functionality

Users will be able to archive conversations and send meeting invitations with videoconference links using Google Meet and Zoom integration. General UI improvements have also been made to make messages easier to navigate and conversations smoother.

Enhanced Employer-Student Feedback

With Riipen 2.0, employers will answer custom questions determined by the educators to ensure their feedback is more relevant to students and better reflects the type of work completed. Feedback will only be shared with the other party after both parties reply to ensure unbiased feedback.

What's Next?

We're always looking to improve our platform, and Riipen 2.0 is just the beginning. Soon, employers will be able to subscribe to new content notifications and be notified each time a new experience is posted that matches their filter parameters, and educators will be able to send mass updates to all employers and/or learners on their experience, allowing them to share their updates more efficiently. Additionally, users will be able to delete sent messages, and employers can add custom agreements to their projects that students will digitally accept, such as non-disclosure agreements or other required policies for their business.

What to Expect?

On April 20, 2023, during the launch of Riipen 2.0, there will be minimal scheduled downtime. Once it's completed, you'll be able to access the platform at the same URL you always have, and all of your existing data will be updated to the new format, ensuring that your access remains unchanged and all of your content and projects in progress are unaffected.

Our top priority post-launch will be actively gathering feedback to make continuous, ongoing improvements to Riipen 2.0. Automated tours and pointers will help all users find new features and identify how existing ones have changed.

Conclusion

Riipen 2.0 brings innovative features that give our users higher flexibility, customization, branding, reporting, control over their processes, focused navigation of the platform, new integrations, and much more. Our new platform is designed to elevate your experience and ensure that our experiential learning platform remains the leading platform in the industry. We're excited to see the impact Riipen 2.0 will have on your business.

If you have questions about how Riipen 2.0 may impact your experience, you can reach out to our Customer Success team at success@riipen.com.

We are thrilled to announce that Riipen 2.0 is launching April 20, 2023, and we can't wait for you to experience it. After listening to your feedback and conducting dozens of user interviews, we have updated and improved the platform to better serve your needs.

Riipen 2.0 maintains the features that you love from the current platform within a new and more intuitive interface. We have reevaluated and enhanced every area of the platform and added new features based on your feedback to make your experience even better.

What to expect

During the launch on April 20 there will be minimal, scheduled downtime, and once it's completed, you will be able to access the platform at the same URL you always have. All of your existing data will be updated to the new format, ensuring that your access remains unchanged and all of your content and projects in progress are unaffected.

Post-launch, our top priority will be actively gathering feedback to make continuous ongoing improvements to Riipen 2.0. As you navigate the new site, automated tours and pointers will help all users find new features and identify how existing ones have changed.

What's new

Navigation

For learners, the interface is transformed with the goal of streamlining and simplifying your experience. As it does today, your dashboard will show you your teams and experiences (previously called courses and internships) that you are a member of.

In the main menu shown on the left above, you will see the most essential pages for your own content, and your portal. Your portal is typically your college or university.

Switch portals

If you're a member of multiple portals (eg. your college and Level UP) you can switch between them by clicking on your user avatar in the top-right of the screen and selecting "Switch workspace."

New features

As you explore, you'll see some improvements such as the ability to send meeting invitations linked to Google Meet or Zoom through messages. Your educator can now access new settings that they may enable for you, including the ability to have teams set their own project dates, and the ability to have employers answer custom feedback questions.

An updated set of help articles launches on help.riipen.com on April 20 detailing all changes and how to navigate them.