Syncing Merged Courses from Blackboard LMS to Outcomes
This guide assumes you already merge course sections in Blackboard LMS. Refer to Merge and Separate Courses in the Blackboard LMS Administrator site for more information about that setup as well as what to sync into Outcomes once a merge exists.
How merged courses sync to Outcomes
Outcomes site administrators choose which Institutional Hierarchy units, Programs, Subjects, and course sections to sync from Blackboard LMS, using Outcomes Settings > Organization Tree. Refer to Syncing Data from Blackboard to Outcomes for more information.
In a merge course, grade achievement is entered and stored only in the parent course. That makes the parent the sole source of achievement data for the merged course group. It does not transfer or aggregate to a child course once synced.
Tip
Sync only the parent course of a merged course relationship into Outcomes. Leave the child courses out of your synced course sections. A synced child never carries achievement data of its own. If both are synced anyway, both will be visible in your Outcomes hierarchy, but the achievement data still lives only under the parent.
When child courses sit in a different hierarchy unit or program
Academic Programs and Subjects can be tied to different Institutional Hierarchy units, so a child course can end up assigned to a different unit or program than its parent. If both are synced in that case, the unit or program holding the child will show no results. Its achievement data lives only under the parent's unit or program. Outcomes data cannot be aggregated to different child course units.
Quick reference
If you sync... | What shows in Outcomes |
|---|---|
Only the parent course is synced (recommended) | The parent course appears in the Outcomes hierarchy with its full achievement data, reporting correctly to its assigned Hierarchy unit or program. |
Parent and child are both synced, assigned to the same Hierarchy unit or program | Both courses appear in the hierarchy. Achievement data displays only under the parent; the child shows no achievement data of its own. |
Parent and child are both synced, assigned to different Hierarchy units or programs | Both courses appear in the hierarchy, but the unit or program holding the child course shows no results; achievement data exists only under the parent's unit or program. |