Evidence Pack

We're delighted to launch the first of our Evidence Pack functionality, aimed at making it quicker and easier for you to download evidence from Bud.

There are three evidence packs available to download:

1. Application Evidence
2. Portfolio
3. Activities Flagged for EPA

This is a Premium-level feature, so please speak to your Customer Success Manager about enabling it.

This feature enables the export of personal data from Bud, we recommend you to review your DPIAs before enabling this feature.

For further information, please see the following articles:

• Enabling the feature and assigning user permissions
• Requesting a pack to download
• Downloading a pack

We hope to continue adding content to the evidence packs in the future. In the next release, we will include a Messages file for the Portfolio and Activities Flagged for EPA packs which will include all messages sent between the learner and trainer for an activity, including submission feedback.

There will be a webinar walkthrough of Evidence Pack with Matt Wood coming soon. Please keep an eye out for an email invite.

Bug Fixes

In this release, we have fixed the following bugs:

EPA Evidence: Access Denied message when file uploaded - Resolved an issue where, in some cases, users would see an ‘access denied’ message after uploading EPA evidence — even though the file had uploaded successfully. 

LRS function: Bad Request error message shown - We’ve resolved an issue that affected some users accessing the LRS function during OST enrolment. This was caused by incorrect configuration settings, which triggered a generic error message that didn’t clearly explain the problem. We've updated the system to both prevent this error where possible and provide clearer, more helpful guidance when it does occur — making it easier to identify and resolve the issue. 

Programme Build OTJH Calculation improvements - We’ve addressed a discrepancy where the example OTJH figure shown during programme build didn’t always match the figure calculated at enrolment. This was due to slight differences in rounding. The programme build calculation has now been aligned with the rounding logic used elsewhere on the platform.

We’ve also added additional text to clarify that the OTJH figure shown during programme build is an estimate based on programme duration, while the figure shown at enrolment is calculated using the learner’s actual start and end dates — making it more accurate.

Learning Support Funding Claim dates - We have made changes to the suggested date logic for learner support funding claims to start as, in some situations, the dates offered pre-dated the start date of the programme. 

Reg & Cert: Qualification shows as Exempt if it has no units - We have addressed an issue where, if a qualification is added to a programme that has no units assigned to it, it would show as “exempt” on the reg & cert page. The behavior will now be for qualifications to only be shown as exempt if all units assigned have been exempted. 

Learner receives a "Welcome" email when application documents are resigned - We have corrected a bug where “welcome” emails were sent to learners when Application Documents are re-signed, even if the learner is as far through their programme as being in EPA. Learners will no longer receive this email once their application documents are signed for the first time in enrolment. 

Standard mismatch on criteria - We have corrected the behavior of a specific Level 3 Software Development Technician programme that was causing a mismatch between the learning outcome and the associated assessment criteria. 

New Activities propagate into the Learning Plan when the EPAO is changed in the edit flow - We have resolved an issue when changes are made to the programme EPAO details. On occasion this resulted in the learning plan being re-populated with activities that were previously completed or removed, sometimes giving the appearance of activity duplication. 

Data missing from enrolment documents - We have identified and resolved an issue that caused fields to appear blank in certain enrolment documents.

Note, this fix addresses the scenarios we are aware of. However, we’ll continue to monitor it and may make further improvements if needed.

IQA Samples and alerts cannot be completed when the Learners trainer changes - In some scenarios, if an IQA sample is in progress and the Learners trainer changes, the new trainer is unable to complete the IQA sample or dismiss the notification. 

Registration and Certification admin page - We have corrected an issue whereby certain Learner's qualifications were not displayed in the unregistered qualifications list when they should have been. 

Business Intelligence - 17th April 2025 at 14:30

Changes to report references of ESFA - Following the change from ESFA to DfE, all references in reporting of the ESFA have been replaced with DfE.

QAR Report - 23-24 ESFA published QAR data has now been added to the QAR Report in Bud allowing you to view trends over time and league tables for the latest published values! 

Coming Soon

We are currently working on a change to the signature collection method in Apprenticeship applications. While this is subject to change, we anticipate releasing this in our next release: 13th May.

In order to provide the most compliance driven platform possible, we will in the near future be making changes to the Apprenticeship enrolment documents to bring them into line with other areas of the Bud platform. Having already updated the document signature components of OST enrolment and reviews, we will be rolling out the same signature capture method to the Apprenticeship application documents.

Training provider users will be able to request a Learner or Employer signature via email, or click to confirm the signature has been obtained offline.

To add a signature, users will type their signature and select one of two fonts.