Building Your Credential

Building a credential with Mapademics is a guided, seven-step process that takes you from selecting target jobs to creating a fully optimized stackable credential. This guide walks you through each step of the workflow, showing you exactly what to do and what to expect along the way.

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The Credential Building Process

Here’s an overview of the seven steps you’ll complete: Let’s walk through each step in detail.

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Step 1: Select Target Jobs

The first step is choosing which jobs you want your credential to prepare students for. The Credential Builder will analyze the skills required by these jobs and find course sections that best cover those requirements.

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Accessing Job Selection

When you open the Credential Builder, you’ll see:

• Sidebar on the left showing your configuration summary
• Main content area with three tabs: Jobs, Course Filter, and Settings
• Start on the Jobs tab

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Job Selection Interface

The Jobs tab provides two ways to select jobs, accessible via tabs at the top: SOC Jobs Tab - Standard Occupational Classification database

• Browse or search all national SOC jobs
• Each job shows SOC code and job title
• Example: “15-1252 - Software Developers”
• Use the search box to filter by job title or SOC code

Your Jobs Tab - Custom jobs created by your organization

• Browse jobs you’ve added to Mapademics
• These are typically employer-specific positions
• Example: “Marketing Coordinator” or “Junior Data Analyst”

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How to Select Jobs

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Selection Summary Features

The Selection Summary card at the top of the Jobs tab shows:

• All currently selected jobs as removable badges
• Individual remove buttons (X icon) for each job
• Clear All button to remove all selections and start over

Your selected jobs also appear in the sidebar under “Selected Jobs” with the same remove functionality.

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How Many Jobs Should You Select?

Best practices for job selection:

• Start with 1-3 jobs for best results and faster optimization
• Choose related jobs in the same career cluster or field
• More jobs = longer optimization time - each additional job increases complexity
• More jobs = broader coverage but potentially longer credentials

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Example Job Selection Scenarios

Focused Micro-Credential:

• Select 1-2 highly specific jobs
• Example: “Web Developer” and “Front-End Developer”
• Result: Tight, focused curriculum with minimal extra courses

Career Pathway Certificate:

• Select 2-4 jobs in a progression
• Example: “Junior Data Analyst”, “Data Analyst”, “Senior Data Analyst”
• Result: Comprehensive credential covering the full career pathway

Industry Credential:

• Select 3-5 jobs in the same industry
• Example: Healthcare administration positions
• Result: Broader credential preparing students for multiple roles

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Step 2: Filter Courses (Optional)

The Course Filter tab lets you limit which courses the AI can use when building the credential. This step is optional - if you don’t select any course filters, the AI will consider all available courses in your organization.

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When to Use Course Filters

Use course filters when you want to:

• Limit to specific departments - Only use Business courses, not Engineering
• Focus on specific programs - Create credentials within a single program
• Use only certain course levels - Restrict to 100-200 level courses
• Work within existing credentials - Build on courses already in a certificate
• Exclude certain courses - By selecting only the courses you want to allow

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Course Selection Interface

The Course Filter tab provides three selection modes: Manual Selection Tab - Browse and search all courses

• Search by course code or name
• Select individual courses with checkboxes
• Paginated list for easy browsing

By Program Tab - Hierarchical selection by academic program

• Expand programs to see their courses
• Select entire programs or individual courses
• Visual indicators show selection state (all, some, or none)

By Credential Tab - Select courses from existing credentials

• Expand credentials to see associated courses
• Select entire credentials or individual courses
• Perfect for building stackable pathways

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How to Filter Courses

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Understanding Hierarchical Selection

When using By Program or By Credential modes:

• Checkbox states:
  • ✓ Checked: All courses in the group are selected
  • ⊟ Indeterminate: Some courses in the group are selected
  • ☐ Unchecked: No courses in the group are selected
• Selecting a parent (program or credential) automatically selects all its courses
• Expanding and selecting individual courses gives you precise control
• A course can appear in multiple places - selecting it once selects it everywhere

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Step 3: Configure Optimization Settings

The Settings tab lets you adjust how the AI balances competing goals when selecting course sections. These settings use sliders to control three optimization weights that determine what’s most important in your credential.

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Understanding Optimization Weights

The genetic algorithm tries to maximize three competing objectives:

1. Maximize skill coverage - Ensure all required job skills are taught
2. Minimize redundancy - Avoid teaching the same skills multiple times
3. Minimize course count - Keep the credential achievable with fewer sections

Since these goals can conflict (more courses might provide better coverage but less efficiency), the weights let you control which goals matter most.

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The Three Optimization Weights

Each weight is adjustable from 0% to 100% using sliders: Overlap Penalty

• What it controls: How much the AI penalizes redundant skill coverage
• Higher values (70-100%): Prefer credentials with minimal skill overlap between courses
• Lower values (0-30%): Allow skills to be reinforced across multiple courses
• When to adjust: Increase if you want an efficient credential with minimal redundancy; decrease if skill reinforcement is valuable

Undercoverage Penalty

• What it controls: How much the AI penalizes missing job requirements
• Higher values (70-100%): Strongly prioritize covering all required skills
• Lower values (0-30%): Allow partial coverage if it results in a more efficient credential
• When to adjust: Increase when job readiness is critical; decrease if partial coverage is acceptable

Section Count Penalty

• What it controls: How much the AI penalizes using many course sections
• Higher values (70-100%): Strongly prefer credentials with fewer sections
• Lower values (0-30%): Allow more sections if needed for complete coverage
• When to adjust: Increase for short micro-credentials; decrease for comprehensive certificates

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Accessing Settings

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Weight Settings Guide

Here’s when to adjust each weight from the default: For Efficient Micro-Credentials:

• Overlap Penalty: High (70-90%)
• Undercoverage Penalty: Medium (40-60%)
• Section Count Penalty: High (70-90%)
• Result: Short, focused credentials with minimal redundancy

For Comprehensive Certificates:

• Overlap Penalty: Low (20-40%)
• Undercoverage Penalty: High (70-90%)
• Section Count Penalty: Low (20-40%)
• Result: Thorough coverage with skill reinforcement, more sections

For Job-Ready Programs:

• Overlap Penalty: Medium (40-60%)
• Undercoverage Penalty: Very High (80-100%)
• Section Count Penalty: Medium (40-60%)
• Result: Balanced credential ensuring all job skills are covered

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Settings Summary in Sidebar

Your optimization weights always appear in the sidebar under “Settings” → “Optimization Weights” showing:

• Overlap Penalty: X%
• Undercoverage Penalty: Y%
• Section Count Penalty: Z%

This summary helps you keep track of your configuration as you work through the optimization process.

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Step 4: Run the Optimization

Once you’ve selected jobs and configured settings, you’re ready to run the AI optimization. This triggers a genetic algorithm that explores thousands of possible course section combinations to find the best curriculum.

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Starting the Optimization

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What Happens During Optimization

When you click Run Optimization:

1. Background job starts - A Trigger.dev background job begins processing
2. Genetic algorithm runs - The AI iterates through multiple generations, keeping the best solutions and using them to generate even better options
3. Real-time updates appear - Progress indicators update via WebSocket connection
4. Button changes - “Run Optimization” becomes “Cancel” in case you need to stop

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Progress Indicators

During optimization, you’ll see four real-time progress indicators: Current Generation

• Shows which iteration is running (e.g., “Generation 45/100”)
• Higher generations typically produce better solutions
• Total generations depends on configuration

Best Fitness Score

• Shows how well the current best solution meets your goals
• Higher percentages indicate better alignment
• Updates as the algorithm finds improvements

Elapsed Time

• Shows how long the optimization has been running
• Helps you gauge progress and estimated completion

Progress Bar

• Visual indicator of completion percentage
• Based on generations completed vs. total generations

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Canceling an Optimization

If you need to stop the optimization:

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When Optimization Completes

Upon successful completion:

1. Progress indicators show 100% completion
2. Interface automatically switches to the Results mode
3. Summary tab displays with your optimization results
4. Success notification appears confirming completion
5. Sidebar updates to show result statistics

You’re now ready to review and refine your optimized credential!

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Step 5: Understand the Results

After optimization completes, the interface automatically switches to Results mode with two tabs: Summary and Curriculum. The Summary tab gives you a high-level overview of the optimization results and shows detailed skills coverage analysis.

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Results Mode Interface

The main content area now shows:

• Summary Tab - Overview with key metrics and skills coverage report
• Curriculum Tab - Interactive list of recommended course sections
• Sidebar - Updated with result statistics and actions

Start on the Summary tab to understand the overall quality of the optimization.

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Optimization Results Card

The top card displays key metrics and overall status: Status Indicator Icon

• ✓ Green checkmark: Fully satisfied all requirements
• ⚠ Yellow warning: Partial coverage, some gaps exist

Overall Score

• Displayed as a percentage in the top-right badge
• 90-100%: Excellent alignment, all or nearly all requirements met
• 70-89%: Good alignment, most requirements met
• 50-69%: Partial alignment, significant gaps exist
• Below 50%: Poor alignment, major gaps in coverage

Key Statistics

• Jobs Analyzed: Number of target jobs in your configuration
• Course Sections Active: How many of the recommended sections are currently active (starts at all selected sections)
• Course Sections Selected: Total number of sections recommended by the AI

Overall Status Message

• Explains whether all job requirements can be fully satisfied
• Indicates if there are gaps requiring attention

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Understanding Your Score

The score represents how well the selected course sections cover the required skills across all target jobs, accounting for your optimization weights. What affects the score:

• Skill coverage - Are all required skills taught?
• Proficiency levels - Do sections teach skills to the required depth?
• Redundancy - Is there unnecessary overlap between sections?
• Section count - Is the credential achievable with a reasonable number of courses?

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Skills Coverage Analysis

Below the results card, you’ll see an embedded Skills Coverage Analysis report. This is a full Job Skill Contribution report showing: Job Requirements

• All skills required by your target jobs
• Required proficiency levels (Core vs. Relevant)
• Which jobs require which skills

Course Contributions

• How each course section contributes to skill coverage
• Proficiency levels taught by each section
• Cumulative coverage across all active sections

Coverage Indicators

• Color-coded cells showing coverage status:
  • Green: Skill fully covered at required level
  • Yellow: Skill partially covered (below required level)
  • Red: Skill not covered
• Progress indicators showing overall skill achievement

Visual Layout

• Skills as rows
• Course sections as columns
• Overall progress column showing cumulative coverage

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Create Credential Button

At the bottom of the Optimization Results card, you’ll find the Create Credential button. This is your primary action for finalizing the credential once you’re satisfied with the results. Clicking this button:

1. Opens a credential creation sheet
2. Lets you name and describe the credential
3. Saves the credential with all active course sections
4. Redirects you to the credential detail page

You can also access the Create Credential button from the Curriculum tab.

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What to Do Next

After reviewing your results, you have several options: If you’re satisfied with the results:

• Proceed to Step 6 to refine the curriculum (optional)
• Skip to Step 7 to create the credential

If you want to improve the results:

• Click the Jobs, Course Filter, or Settings tabs to adjust your configuration
• Click Run Optimization again to get new recommendations
• Compare the new results to the previous ones

If the score is low:

• Check the Skills Coverage Analysis to see which skills are missing
• Consider adding more course sections by removing course filters
• Verify your course section syllabi have been processed for skills
• Add more jobs if current selections have very specific skill requirements

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Step 6: Refine the Curriculum

The Curriculum tab provides an interactive interface for refining the AI’s recommendations. You can toggle course sections on and off to see exactly how each change affects job readiness across all your target careers.

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Accessing the Curriculum Tab

After reviewing your results on the Summary tab:

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Curriculum Interface

The Curriculum tab shows: Summary Statistics Cards

• Active Course Sections: Shows “X of Y Active” (e.g., “8 of 10 Active”)
• Skills Alignment Score: Current optimization score (updates as you toggle sections)

Course Section List

• Numbered sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.)
• Each section shows:
  • Course code and name (e.g., “CS 101 - Introduction to Programming”)
  • Section name (e.g., “Section A - Fall 2024”)
  • Toggle switch for activating/deactivating
  • Badge showing skill count (e.g., “15 skills”)
  • Expandable details showing all skills taught

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How Section Toggles Work

Every course section has a toggle switch with two states: Active (Toggle ON)

• Switch icon: ToggleRight (green)
• Section appears in normal brightness
• Skills contribute to job readiness calculations
• Section will be included if you create the credential

Inactive (Toggle OFF)

• Switch icon: ToggleLeft (gray)
• Section appears dimmed/faded (50% opacity)
• Skills do NOT contribute to job readiness calculations
• Section will be excluded if you create the credential

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Using Interactive Impact Analysis

The most powerful feature of the Curriculum tab is hover-to-see-impact tooltips:

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Understanding Impact Tooltips

Impact tooltips show different information depending on whether the section is currently active: When Hovering Over an Active Section (considering deactivation): Tooltip title: “Skills Dropping Below Threshold If Section Is Deactivated” Shows:

• Jobs that would lose required skill coverage
• Skills that would drop below required proficiency levels
• Level changes showing decrease (e.g., “Current: 75 → New: 45”)
• Core vs. Relevant skill designations

When Hovering Over an Inactive Section (considering activation): Tooltip title: “Skills Meeting Threshold If Section Is Activated” Shows:

• Jobs that would gain required skill coverage
• Skills that would meet required proficiency levels
• Level changes showing increase (e.g., “Current: 35 → New: 65”)
• Core vs. Relevant skill designations

When a Section Has No Impact: Tooltip message: “No skills will drop below threshold” or “No skills will meet threshold” This means toggling this section won’t affect whether any job requirements are satisfied.

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Real-Time Updates

As you toggle sections, the interface updates immediately: Summary Statistics Update

• Active section count changes (e.g., “7 of 10 Active”)
• Alignment score recalculates and updates
• Score may go up or down depending on your changes

Visual Feedback

• Toggled sections fade or brighten based on state
• Toggle icons change (ToggleRight ↔ ToggleLeft)
• Colors change (green ↔ gray)

Sidebar Updates

• Course Sections Active count updates
• You can review your changes at any time

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Refining Strategy

Here’s a recommended approach to curriculum refinement:

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Example Refinement Scenario

Starting Point:

• 10 sections recommended by AI
• Alignment score: 92%
• All sections active

Goal: Reduce to 7-8 sections while maintaining 85%+ alignment Process:

1. Hover over each toggle to review impact
2. Find 3 sections showing “no skills will drop below threshold”
3. Deactivate those 3 sections
4. New state: 7 sections active, score: 88%
5. Review remaining sections for any other low-impact options
6. Decide 7 sections with 88% score achieves the goal

Result: More efficient credential while maintaining strong job readiness

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Viewing Section Skills

Each section is expandable to see detailed skill information: This helps you understand exactly what each section contributes to the credential at a granular level.

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Step 7: Create the Credential

Once you’re satisfied with your optimized curriculum, the final step is creating the stackable credential. This saves your credential configuration and makes it available throughout the Mapademics platform.

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Accessing the Creation Sheet

You can create the credential from either the Summary or Curriculum tab:

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Credential Creation Form

The creation sheet shows: Sheet Header

• Title: “Create Credential”
• Description: “Create a new credential with the selected course sections”

Form Fields Name (Required)

• Text input for credential name
• Must be filled before you can create
• Example: “Web Development Micro-Credential” or “Business Analytics Certificate”

Description (Optional)

• Multi-line text area for credential description
• Helps explain the credential’s purpose to students and advisors
• Example: “Prepares students for entry-level web development positions through foundational HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills”

Info Alert

• Shows how many sections will be included
• Example: “8 sections will be added to this credential”
• Only includes active sections (not inactive ones)

Action Buttons

• Create Credential: Primary action (disabled until name is provided)
• Cancel: Closes the sheet without creating

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Creating the Credential

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What Happens When You Create

Behind the scenes, Mapademics:

1. Creates a new stackable credential record in the database
2. Associates all active course sections with the credential
3. Saves the credential metadata (name, description)
4. Makes the credential available throughout the system

The credential is now a first-class entity in Mapademics that you can:

• View and edit on its detail page
• Use in reports and analytics
• Filter by in the Report Designer
• Display to students via widgets
• Track student progress toward completion

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After Creation

On the credential detail page, you can:

• View all associated course sections with their skills
• Edit credential information (name, description)
• Add or remove course sections manually if needed
• Delete the credential if it’s no longer needed
• Use it in reporting to analyze program effectiveness

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Credential Naming Best Practices

Good Names:

• “Cybersecurity Essentials Micro-Credential”
• “Data Analytics Certificate”
• “Digital Marketing Foundations Badge”
• “Healthcare Administration Pathway”

Characteristics of Good Names:

• Descriptive and specific
• Indicates credential level (micro-credential, certificate, badge, etc.)
• References the subject area or career field
• Meaningful to students and employers

Avoid:

• Vague names like “Credential 1” or “Test Credential”
• Internal codes that don’t mean anything to students
• Extremely long names (keep under 60 characters)

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Next Steps After Creation

Once your credential is created:

1. Review the credential detail page to verify all sections are correct
2. Share with faculty to get input on the recommended curriculum
3. Create reports using this credential to track skills coverage over time
4. Promote to students as a stackable pathway toward their goals
5. Monitor enrollment and completion rates
6. Update as needed by adding or removing sections based on feedback

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Troubleshooting

Here are solutions to common issues you might encounter while building credentials:

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“Optimization is taking a long time”

Normal behavior: Complex optimizations can take 3-5 minutes Possible causes:

• Many jobs selected (each job increases processing time)
• Many available course sections (more options to evaluate)
• No course filters (AI must consider all courses)

Solutions:

• Reduce job count: Start with 1-2 jobs to test, then add more
• Add course filters: Limit the AI to specific programs or departments
• Wait patiently: Optimizations under 10 minutes are normal
• Contact support: If optimization runs longer than 10 minutes, email support@mapademics.com

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”Score is low (below 70%)”

Possible causes:

• Target jobs require skills not taught in available courses
• Course section syllabi haven’t been processed for skills
• Course filters are too restrictive
• Optimization weights prioritize other goals over coverage

Solutions:

• Review Skills Coverage Analysis: Identify which specific skills are missing
• Check syllabus processing: Ensure all course sections have been processed for skills extraction
• Remove course filters: Let the AI consider all available courses
• Adjust weights: Increase Undercoverage Penalty to prioritize complete coverage
• Select different jobs: Choose jobs that better align with your existing curriculum
• Add courses: Create new courses or sections to teach missing skills

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”No sections found”

Possible causes:

• No courses teach the required skills
• Course filters exclude all relevant courses
• Course section syllabi haven’t been processed

Solutions:

• Verify syllabus processing: Go to course sections and confirm skills have been extracted
• Remove all course filters: Start with no restrictions
• Select different jobs: Try jobs that better match your curriculum
• Check for processed sections: Ensure at least some course sections have skills data
• Contact support: If courses should have skills but don’t, email support@mapademics.com

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”Optimization failed”

Possible causes:

• Server error or timeout
• Invalid configuration
• Database connection issue

Solutions:

• Refresh the page: Try loading the Credential Builder again
• Simplify configuration: Reduce to 1-2 jobs and remove course filters
• Try again: Click Run Optimization again
• Check background jobs: Go to Background Jobs page to see error details
• Contact support: Email support@mapademics.com with the error message and your configuration details

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”Can’t toggle sections on Curriculum tab”

Possible causes:

• Browser issue
• Interface not fully loaded
• JavaScript error

Solutions:

• Confirm you’re on Curriculum tab: Make sure you’re not on Summary tab (only Curriculum tab has toggles)
• Refresh the page: Reload the Credential Builder
• Try a different browser: Test in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari
• Check browser console: Open developer tools to see any JavaScript errors
• Contact support: If issue persists, email support@mapademics.com

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”My configuration disappeared”

Issue: Lost your job selections, course filters, or settings Causes:

• Page was refreshed
• Browser session ended
• Navigated away from Credential Builder

Important to know:

• Credential Builder configurations are not saved until you create a credential
• If you navigate away or refresh, you’ll need to reconfigure
• Only the final created credential is persisted

Prevention:

• Complete the optimization process in one session
• Don’t refresh the page mid-workflow
• Create the credential as soon as you’re satisfied with results

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”Results don’t match my expectations”

Possible causes:

• Optimization weights don’t reflect your priorities
• Misunderstanding of how the AI interprets goals
• Course data doesn’t accurately represent curriculum

Solutions:

• Review optimization weights: Adjust weights to emphasize what matters most to you
• Re-run optimization: Try different weight configurations and compare results
• Check course skills data: Verify that course section skills accurately represent what’s taught
• Adjust job selection: Try different combinations of jobs
• Seek consultation: Email support@mapademics.com to discuss your goals and get recommendations

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Still Need Help?

If you’re experiencing issues not covered here, our support team is ready to assist: Email: support@mapademics.com Include in your message:

• Description of the issue
• What you were trying to do
• Any error messages you saw
• Your organization name
• Screenshots if applicable

We typically respond within 24 hours on business days.

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Next Steps

Now that you know how to build credentials, explore these related topics: