How do I stop a student moving on until they submit something?

Mark the task Required to continue. For future students: the task template's toggle on the service's Journey tab. For a running cohort: open the milestone from the cohort's Materials tab and switch it on. For one student: from their Programme tab.

Does the student have to wait for staff to review before moving on?

No. The moment the file is submitted the next milestone unlocks and they see Submitted, awaiting review. Grading happens later on the Gradebook: saving a grade marks the task complete, and Return for changes sends it back to them to resubmit.

Required to continue — gating progress on a task | Pacten Guides

2026-09-24

Your workspace may call participants Students or Members — same features, your sector's words.

Any participant-facing task can be marked Required to continue. While it's unsubmitted, every later milestone stays locked for that person.

Where to switch it on

For the whole programme (future participants): the task template's toggle on the service's Journey tab — "Must be submitted to move on".
For a running group: open the milestone from the group's Materials tab, edit the task, and switch on "Required to continue" — "Later milestones stay locked until each student submits this." Before you save, the editor shows the blast radius: "21 of 26 students haven't submitted this yet. Saving locks them out of every later milestone until they do."
For one participant only: from their Programme tab — see Customising tasks for one participant.

What the participant experiences

On their hub, locked milestones appear dimmed with a padlock and an actionable reason: "Complete 'Submit your resume' in Onboarding to continue." The task itself carries one action — "Upload & submit" — so a required submission means an actual file, not a box to tick.

Submitting unlocks immediately

The moment the file is submitted, the next milestone unlocks. The participant sees "Submitted · awaiting review". Grading happens later in the Gradebook: saving a grade marks the task complete, and Return for changes sends it back to them to resubmit. Nobody waits on staff to keep moving.

Good to know

The toggle only appears on tasks that are visible to participants — an internal task can't gate anyone.
Requirement gating shows on the participant hub experience; if your programme's public page is the simple status view instead, milestones there are browsable without locking. If you rely on gating, check your participants' hub link is the one that enforces it.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

How do I stop a student moving on until they submit something?: Mark the task Required to continue. For future students: the task template's toggle on the service's Journey tab. For a running cohort: open the milestone from the cohort's Materials tab and switch it on. For one student: from their Programme tab.
What does a student see when a milestone is locked?: Locked milestones appear dimmed with a padlock and a reason, e.g. Complete Submit your resume in Onboarding to continue. The task carries one action, Upload & submit, so a required submission means a real file.
Does the student have to wait for staff to review before moving on?: No. The moment the file is submitted the next milestone unlocks and they see Submitted, awaiting review. Grading happens later on the Gradebook: saving a grade marks the task complete, and Return for changes sends it back to them to resubmit.