What's the difference between Competencies and Learning Outcomes

D2L has two separate tools that seem to provide overlapping features: Competencies and Learning Outcomes.

Learning Outcomes is a new tool created to provide learning outcome alignment with achievement tracking. At the organization level, this tool allows you to define scales for measuring achievement. At the program level, you can import or create outcomes that can be shared down to courses. At the course level, you can import or create new outcomes, align outcomes to course content in the New Content Experience, and integrate with Brightspace Portfolio, Quizzes, Discussions, Assignments, and Rubrics.

Use Learning Outcomes if the following list describes your Brightspace implementation:

• You have clearly defined learning outcome statements which align to purposes of curriculum mapping and assessment to discreet content topics and/or assessment activities.
• You are using learning outcomes which are available from the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) or you can enter your outcomes into the Learning Outcomes tool.
• You are interested in providing visibility to learners of their performance related to assessment activities aligned to learning outcomes.

Competencies is a legacy tool that helps track information about the knowledge, skills, and abilities learners acquire as they participate in courses or other learning experiences. Competencies can be used with the legacy Content tool and ePortfolio.

Use Competencies if the following list describes your Brightspace implementation:

• You have clearly defined learning outcome statements at the course and the program level (across multiple courses)
• You need aggregated data and reporting on the learning achievement of those learning outcomes

Clients cannot use both the Competencies Tool and the Learning Outcomes tool in the same course. It is possible to continue using Competencies in some courses and use Learning Outcomes in others. If you are using one, all instances of the other are now hidden from view. For a new, empty shell course, both the Competency tool and Learning Outcomes tool appear in the Course Administration page. However, as soon as you decide to use the Learning Outcomes tool or the Competency tool, then the link to the other tool is hidden

The Competency tool is considered to be in use when at least one learning objective is aligned to activities in the course. When this is the case, the Learning Outcomes tool is hidden on the Course Administration page.

The Learning Outcomes tool is considered to be in use when an intent list is created by importing or creating at least one learning outcome in the course. When this is the case, the Competencies tool is hidden on the Course Administation page, and the Objectives Progress column in Class Progress is no longer visible.