diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/dashboard-no-cert-course.png b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/dashboard-no-cert-course.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ee531b7f55
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/dashboard-no-cert-course.png differ
diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/building_course/setting_up_student_view.rst b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/building_course/setting_up_student_view.rst
index b917d8cabb..3dfd09b110 100644
--- a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/building_course/setting_up_student_view.rst
+++ b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/building_course/setting_up_student_view.rst
@@ -170,27 +170,42 @@ yet started:
 The Course End Date
 ***********************************
 
-When your course is completed, students see the course end date on their
-dashboards.
+The course end date is the date after which students can no longer earn credit
+toward certificates. Students who have earned certificates can view them after
+the course end date.
 
-.. note:: For courses on edX.org_, you must communicate the course end date to
+.. important::
+ If you do not set a course end date, students will not be able to access
+ earned certificates.
+
+.. note:: 
+ For courses on edX.org_, you must communicate the course end date to
  your edX Program Manager, to ensure the date is accurate on the course
  summary page.
 
-If grades and certificates are not yet issued, or if students enroll in an
-archived course after it has ended, the course appears in the dashboard as in
-the following example:
+After grades and certificates are finalized, students see the course end date
+on their personal dashboards, as shown in the following examples.
 
-.. image:: ../Images/dashboard-wrapping-course.png
- :alt: Image of a course on the student dashboard that has ended, but not been
-     graded
+* If grades and certificates are not yet finalized, students can see the course
+  end date and a message:
 
-If grades are complete and certificates are issued, students see the course, the
-end date, and the message as in the following example:
+  .. image:: ../Images/dashboard-wrapping-course.png
+   :alt: Image of a course on the student dashboard that has ended, but not
+     been graded
 
-.. image:: ../Images/dashboard-completed-course.png
- :alt: Image of a course on the student dashboard that has ended, but not been
-     graded
+* When grades and certificates are finalized, students who have not earned a
+  certificate see their score and the score required to earn a certificate:
+  
+  .. image:: ../Images/dashboard-no-cert-course.png
+   :alt: Image of a course on the student dashboard that has ended, but not
+     been graded
+
+* Students whose final score is equal to or higher than the required score can
+  click **Download Certificate** to get their certificates as PDFs:
+
+  .. image:: ../Images/dashboard-completed-course.png
+   :alt: Image of a course on the student dashboard that has ended, but not
+     been graded
 
 
 .. _Describe Your Course:
diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/change_log.rst b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/change_log.rst
index 5139fd4c56..df3b7a7fb7 100644
--- a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/change_log.rst
+++ b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/change_log.rst
@@ -2,6 +2,23 @@
 Change Log
 ############
 
+
+***********
+July, 2014
+***********
+
+.. list-table::
+   :widths: 10 70
+   :header-rows: 1
+
+   * - Date
+     - Change
+   * - 07/01/14
+     - Updated :ref:`The Course End Date` to specify when students can earn and
+       access certificates.
+   
+
+
 ***********
 June, 2014
 ***********
@@ -13,7 +30,8 @@ June, 2014
    * - Date
      - Change
    * - 06/20/14
-     - Added a :ref:`Preface` with resources for course teams, developers, researchers, and students. 
+     - Added a :ref:`Preface` with resources for course teams, developers,
+       researchers, and students.
    * - 06/18/14    
      - In the :ref:`View and download student data` section, updated the
        example report to include the new User ID column.