Paid, full-access subscribers will receive an official certificate that indicates having met the required contact hours and is valid for earning continuing education credits or units from a certifying body or institution of higher education.

To complete the IHI Open School Basic Certificate Program, you will need to complete the following courses: PS 101-105, QI 101-QI105, PFC 101, TA 101, and L101:

1. Navigate to the "Completed" tab of your Learning Center
2. After Completing the 13th course, a 14th item will appear in your completed tab titled "Open School Basic Certificate English." Scroll until you find this and click the "Claim Credits" button. Please note the Basic Certificate may not be the first thing that appears on your completed tab, as it appears below. You may have to scroll to find it. If you do not see this item, please verify that you have completed all 13 courses. (PS 101–105, QI 101–105, PFC 101, L101, TA 101)
3. Check the box to select the credit type. Click Submit. A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm your selection.
4. You will return to your Learning Center.
5. To find your certificate, visit the Certificate Center. You can find the Certificate Center from the Learning Center by clicking "Print Certificates, view your course history and claimed credits in My IHI" located underneath the completed tab in the Learning Center.
6. Once you have navigated to the Certificate Center, scroll down until you find the "Open School Basic Certificate English".  Please note that the name of the certificate changed during the platform upgrade and the "Open School Basic Certificate English" is the same as the "Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety."
7. To create a printable/downloadable certificate click on the "Credit Type."
8. On the following screen, click the button just above your certificate to download a PDF of your certificate. 
    

For additional guidance, view the steps described above accompanied with images.
 

Note: Students and residents who are affiliated with a Higher Learning and Residency Programs group subscription will only be able to claim a certificate of completion at the end of the Basic Certificate Program. Subscribers who are members of a subscription plan that includes Continuing Education credits will receive a certificate valid for Continuing Education credits and contact hours per course at the completion of the Basic Certificate Program. See subscription options for Hospitals and Health Systems and Individuals.

1. Go to education.ihi.org and log in
2. Once you are logged in, go to “Browse Catalog”
3. On the top of the right-hand side of the page, you will see a box titled "Enter Access Code". Put your code in that box and press enter. Once you see a green bar on the top of the screen acknowledging your successful input of a valid code, all the Open School courses available to you will say “enroll”
   Note: Please input your access code before attempting to enroll in a course. If you enroll in a course (such as a free sample course) before entering the access code, that course will not appear on your organization's reports.
4. After enrolling in a course, return to your Learning Center and click "launch" to begin the course

For step-by-step help, visit this guide 

To maintain fairness and consistency for all Higher Learning and Residency Programs users, we are unable to grant extensions. Learn more about the changes to free student accounts here.

As of May 2025, IHI no longer offers free student accounts. Colleges, universities, and residency programs must enroll in the updated Higher Learning and Residency Programs group subscription to integrate IHI Open School into their curriculum. 

The Open School for Higher Learning and Residency Programs group subscription provides:

• 12-month access to all 13 courses in the Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety
• Cost: $25 per user
• Administrative access for designated administrators, which includes:
  • Administrative dashboard
  • Completion reports
  • Educator's Toolkit

The group subscription costs $25 per user. There are no additional fees.

Students and residents do not pay IHI directly for the Higher Learning and Residency Programs subscription. This is a group subscription initiated and managed by the institution.

Some colleges and universities may choose to pass the cost along to students internally (e.g., through course fees or tuition), but IHI does not bill students or residents individually. 

A minimum of 10 users is required to initiate a group subscription.

To sign up for a subscription, follow these steps:

• Complete the Higher Learning and Residency Programs group subscription request form at the bottom of this page.
• Identify 1–3 administrators who will manage the account and a billing contact.
• Ensure all administrators and billing contacts have an IHI account (create an account).
• After submitting the form, the Open School team will send an attestation form for signature.
• Once signed, you’ll receive:
  • An access code to be distributed to your students
  • Instructions for how to begin courses
  • An invoice

Subscriptions begin on the first day of the selected month. Please indicate your preferred start month on the request form.

Include all users who will need access during the 12-month period. If faculty members wish to access the courses, they must be counted as users. 

You cannot reduce the user count after the subscription is created. You can add users with a minimum of 10.  All added users will share the same end date as the original subscription. 

Yes, but they must be included in the subscription count and will be charged the $25 per user rate. Administrators receive complimentary access to the dashboard and reports, but not to course content. 

Your institution must have a group subscription. Contact your instructor or program leadership and share this link with them for more information. 

No. Free student accounts were discontinued in May 2025. If your institution requires IHI Open School, confirm that they’ve arranged a group subscription. 

No. Students and residents do not purchase subscriptions individually. Your institution is responsible for arranging access. 

Visit the IHI Knowledge Base for support and resources.