Help
Who is who on Sterling Academy
Learner
An employee of a client organisation.
Takes the courses the organisation assigned, answers the practice questions, sits the final exam and receives the certificate. Signs in with a personal link or an e-mailed code. No password.
Client administrator
The client's own training coordinator, named by the client.
Adds the organisation's employees (including himself or herself, if taking the course), assigns courses, follows who has finished and downloads the status report. Sees status and dates, never answers or scores. Not a Sterling employee.
Sterling consultant
A member of the Sterling team.
Adds the client with at least one course, names the client administrator and follows the status of his or her own clients in the Sterling team console, with the Microsoft 365 sign-in. Does not add employees: that is the client administrator's job.
Learners sign in on the learner sign-in page, client administrators on the client administrator sign-in page, Sterling consultants in the Sterling team console.
Questions learners ask
I have not received my link or code
Messages normally arrive within two minutes. Look in the junk or spam folder. Messages come from sterling-grc.com; if your organisation filters outside mail, ask your IT team to allow that sender.
Make sure you enter the e-mail address your organisation enrolled you with. For your security the page gives the same answer whether or not an address is enrolled.
My link has stopped working
Personal links expire, and a newer link replaces the oldest one. Go to sign in, enter your work e-mail address and a new link will be sent.
The video does not play
Use a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. If your organisation blocks video, ask your IT team to allow this site. Your place in the module is saved every few seconds, so nothing is lost by closing the page.
My name is wrong
You can correct it once, on your first visit. After that, ask the client administrator at your organisation.
Who to ask
Questions about who should take a course, due dates and names go to the client administrator at the organisation where you work.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sterling Academy?
Sterling Academy is the online training service of Sterling International Consulting, a GRC consultancy with 20+ years in business and 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries. It offers self-paced video courses on ISO management systems, information security, privacy and GRC for individuals and whole teams, built by experts with 30+ years of experience.
What is the pass mark for the final exam?
The pass mark for each course's final exam is 70%. Practice questions after modules let learners check their understanding along the way, with the reason for each answer, before they sit the final exam. Learners who reach the pass mark receive a Sterling Academy Certificate of Completion for the course.
How long do I have access to a course?
Access to a course lasts 12 months. Within that time learners can study at their own pace, pause and return, and complete the modules in one sitting or across several sessions. The course page shows each course's structure and approximate video runtime, and the practice questions and final exam add some extra time.
How can someone check a Sterling Academy certificate?
Every Certificate of Completion carries a unique certificate number and a QR code. Anyone, such as an employer, client or auditor, can check it online on Sterling's certificate check (the Training tile) by entering the certificate number and the holder's surname, or by scanning the QR code. The check confirms the certificate is genuine.
Are the courses captioned, and in which language?
All courses are delivered in English, with captions. The video modules are designed to be followed with or without sound, which helps learners in shared offices, on the move or whose first language is not English. Each course also includes practice questions after modules and a final exam.
How do we manage training for a whole team?
An organisation enrols its learners and names one or more client administrators, who track their team's progress through each course. Team discounts apply: 20% for 11 to 50 learners and 30% for 51 to 200 learners, with 201 or more learners priced on request. Send an enquiry and Sterling sets up your team's enrolment.
We are a Sterling consulting client. How do we enrol?
Sterling consulting clients qualify for preferential course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant. Speak to your consultant, who arranges enrolment for your organisation and its client administrators. Complimentary awareness training may form part of a consulting engagement; your consultant can confirm what applies to yours.
How do we pay for a course or ask about pricing?
Prices are shown on each course page in US dollars, excluding taxes: US$19 for awareness courses, US$29 for management topic courses and US$149 for practitioner courses (US$99 until 31 December 2026). ISO 9001:2026 Transition Training is free. To enrol, send a request or enquiry, and Sterling confirms final pricing, enrolment and payment.
How quickly does Sterling reply to an enquiry?
Sterling replies to Academy enquiries promptly. Use the enquiry form on the contact page to ask about a course, team enrolment, pricing or a course that is not yet open. Learners already enrolled can also have questions on course content answered by a Sterling consultant.
Is a Sterling Academy certificate the same as ISO certification?
No. A Sterling Academy Certificate of Completion is a training certificate: it shows that one person completed a course and reached the pass mark in its final exam. It is not certification of an organisation to any standard, and Sterling does not certify organisations. Organisations are certified by an independent certification body after its own audit.