Study contracts and certificates
How Smart Documents support study contracts (tuition agreements) and course-completion certificates — dedicated settings sections, mappings, and user Documents workflows.
When your institution enables the related features, Settings → Documents grows beyond the general templates table. Dedicated sections manage study contract templates and certificate templates, and the user Documents tab surfaces those outputs next to ordinary smart documents. Both still use the same idea: a PDF with mapped variables filled from live Fuxam data at generation time.
Why it matters
Study contracts (tuition or study agreements) are high-stakes: they bind personal data, program enrollment, and payment or contractual terms. Generating them from mapped templates keeps wording consistent and ties each PDF to the student record instead of a one-off Word file.
Course-completion certificates prove that a learner finished a course or track. In Fuxam, certificate data can include the student name, course or certificate title, and issue date — and issued certificates may carry a public verification URL when produced through the course-completion path. Using a Certificate object type (or the certificate templates section) keeps those fields in the right data universe.
How it fits
| Related area | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Study programs and cohorts | Program and cohort enrollment feed contract wording and eligibility |
| User Tuition tab | When active, tuition-related data supports contract generation and review |
| Courses / course completion | Completion status and issued certificates relate to certificate documents |
| Use a document template | Same editor and mapping pattern |
| Generate documents in bulk | Bulk Request document for contract campaigns at intake |
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Study contract template | A PDF template maintained in the study-contract section of Settings → Documents, usually User object type with contract and tuition-oriented fields. |
| Certificate template | A template for course-completion (or related) certificates, often using Certificate object type and certificate-specific create/edit actions. |
| Fillable / signature workflow | Contracts frequently become assigned fillable documents that students must complete or sign; status appears as pending, completed, or signed. |
| Issued certificate | A completion certificate record that can include student name, title, issue date, and — when issued through the completion path — a public URL for verification. |
Study contracts
What they are for
Universities and academies use study contracts to formalize enrollment conditions: program of study, financial terms, student obligations, and signatures. In Fuxam, smart-document study contracts replace ad-hoc mail merge while staying next to the same user, program, and tuition data staff already maintain.
How to create or edit a study-contract template
Go to Settings → Documents.
Open the study contract section (visible when tuition management or related settings are enabled).
Use the section-specific create action, or Edit on an existing contract template row.
Upload or adjust the PDF, then map variables in the document editor as with any smart document.
Save. Confirm the Fields count reflects the fields you mapped on the template.
Deletion follows the same rule as other templates: if the template is still referenced by active study-contract configuration, remove those links before Delete succeeds — see Edit a document.
What to map (guidance)
| Region on the contract | Typical data sources |
|---|---|
| Student identity | Name, email, address, custom student ID |
| Study context | Program name, cohort, curriculum context from enrollment |
| Tuition / commercial terms | Fields available when tuition management is active on the user |
| Signature / acknowledgements | Fillable regions for the student (and institution, if designed into the PDF) |
Deep dive on sources: Document variables and data sources.
Generating and tracking contracts
- Single: OrgHub → User Management → [User] → Documents — generate or assign the study-contract template.
- Bulk: Users table → Request document during intake — Generate documents in bulk.
- Status: Watch Assigned fillable documents for pending, completed, and signed states.
Course-completion certificates
What they are for
Completion certificates document that a learner finished a course (including continuing-education style offerings). They are distinct from enrollment attestations: the focus is completion and issuance, not proof of current study.
Certificate data you may see
When certificates are issued through the course-completion path, records commonly include:
| Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Student name | Who earned the certificate |
| Course / certificate name | What was completed |
| Issued at | When it was issued |
| Public URL | Verification link for external parties (when provided by the issuance flow) |
| Completion progress | Whether the course is complete and progress percent — used to decide if issuance makes sense |
Smart-document Certificate templates map certificate-oriented fields in the editor; the certificate section on Settings → Documents uses the same create/edit patterns as other templates, with certificate-specific actions where shown.
How to work with certificate templates
Go to Settings → Documents and open the certificate section when available.
Create a certificate template (section-specific create) or Edit an existing one.
Choose Certificate as the object type when the create flow asks — so certificate data keys are available.
Map fields (student name, title, dates, and other certificate keys your editor lists), then save.
Generate or issue according to your completion workflow; review outputs on the user Documents tab.
Versioning and re-issue
Study contracts and certificates follow the same non-retroactive rule as all smart documents:
- Editing a template changes future generations only.
- Signed or downloaded contracts already on the profile stay as they were.
- Material legal changes → prefer a new named template (or duplicate via Start from template) rather than silent overwrite.
See Edit a document.
Data protection and compliance (guidance)
| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| Limit who can generate contracts | Contracts contain personal and financial terms |
| Store outputs on the profile, not personal drives | Auditability and consistent retention |
| Align retention with legal requirements | Generated PDFs remain until deleted from Documents |
| Separate GKV reporting from contract PDFs | Statutory insurance notices use Health insurance, not study-contract templates |
Best practices
- Stabilize tuition and enrollment data before bulk contract requests.
- Pilot one signed contract end-to-end (generate → student completes → status signed) before a full intake wave.
- Name certificate templates by program or course family when layouts differ.
- Do not delete a contract template still linked in study-contract configuration.
- Communicate re-issues clearly when legal text changes mid-year.
Common pitfalls
| Pitfall | What to do |
|---|---|
| Looking for study-contract UI without tuition settings | Confirm tuition management / related settings with your administrator |
| Using a User enrollment template for completion certificates | Create a Certificate template instead |
| Deleting a linked contract template | Unlink study-contract configuration first |
| Assuming an edited template rewrites signed PDFs | Regenerate / re-assign when a new version is required |
FAQ
Do study contracts appear in the main templates table?
When tuition management is enabled, study-contract templates may appear in a dedicated section on Settings → Documents as well as on the user Documents tab. Management actions follow the same Edit and Delete patterns as other templates.
Can students download certificates themselves?
If your institution configures self-service or exposes issued certificates through the completion / documents experience, eligible users may access them from their dashboard or profile documents. Exact visibility depends on role and feature setup.
Is a certificate public URL the same as a smart-document download?
Not necessarily. A public verification URL is part of certificate issuance. A smart-document PDF is a generated file on the Documents tab. Institutions may use one or both depending on how completion is configured.