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Why CE Learners Benefit From Single Sign On (SSO)

illustration depicting a computer screen shot displaying a sign in page.Software should help professionals complete tasks, not hinder their progress. But if that’s true, why does it take so long to log in and get things done?

To complete Task A, you’ve got to log in to Application B. To complete Task C, you’ve also got to log in to Application D, but wait – don’t you have to use a different username for that one? Does the password need to contain a special character? An uppercase letter? A number?

The seemingly simple act of logging in in can easily take longer than doing whatever you were trying to do, especially if you forget your password. That’s why many organizations, including providers of continuing professional education (CE), have started using single sign on, or SSO.

Who needs “clunky,” anyway?

When learners have to log in to different systems just to complete simple tasks, the whole experience feels clunky.

Consider the hospital CME provider whose learners already log into a website for access to records, schedules, or employment-related information. Or what about the professional association whose learners already access membership data via an online account? When these institutions implement a learning management system for continuing education, will they make those learners log in to yet another piece of software?

In the bad old days, they did. With SSO, they don’t have to.

“Single” sign on means exactly what it says. Learners don’t have to log in to a separate system when it’s time to complete tasks related to continuing education. Instead, they log in once via your website – often using existing login credentials – and have access to CE activities, event registration, and personal records.

The process isn’t clunky at all. It’s seamless.

How does single sign on work?

When you choose a learning management system with SSO, you’re getting software that “trusts” the existing user login credentials associated with your website.

For example, let’s say you’re a professional journal that offers CE to subscribers who pay an annual or monthly fee. Those subscribers already have login credentials for your website, which they use to access publications and manage subscription preferences.

Instead of saying, “This is our new continuing education software, and by the way, you’ve got to remember another password,” those subscriber-learners would be able to move between the subscriber area of your website and the CE options inside your LMS without logging in again.

Basically, single sign on helps you make continuing education more accessible to your learners. It provides an overall better experience.

Yes, Rievent is SSO-ready

Given our praise for SSO, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that Rievent is 100% SSO-ready!

Most CE providers using Rievent prefer an SSO arrangement in which learners can seamlessly navigate between the provider’s website and the Rievent Learning Portal. Rievent uses a standard “Trusted Handoff Protocol” for SSO that’s secure and easy to set up.

If you’re using systems that require separate login credentials, SSO helps you nix the clunky experience and make CE more accessible to learners. One username and one password is all they’ll need to quickly complete CE and non-CE tasks.

And they’ll get things done a whole lot faster.