Course analytics
Open the course Analytics tab to review Summary, Visits, Engagement, Participation, and User Progress for the whole offering.
The Analytics tab in a course gives you a high-level picture of how students interact with the whole course — not just individual blocks. Where content block analytics zoom in on one step, course analytics summarize cohort behavior: are students returning regularly, spending appropriate time, attending sessions, and progressing through the journey?
Use this view for course owners, programme leads, and teachers who need a term-level dashboard before mid-term reviews, exam boards, or curriculum redesign — then drill into block analytics or individual progress sheets when a section flags a problem.
Why it matters
Individual grades tell you what students achieved; course analytics tell you how the offering behaved as a whole. A module can show acceptable average grades while visit patterns reveal that everyone crammed in the final week — or strong attendance with weak engagement time on core materials.
Universities use these signals for quality assurance, early intervention, and evidence when adjusting credit workload or session scheduling. Course analytics in the LMS are operational — they help you run this cohort now. Institutional reporting and formal exam statistics live in the CMS Statistics Center, which aggregates data across programmes and terms.
How it fits
| Related area | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Content block analytics | Drill down when Summary or User Progress flags a specific step |
| Monitor progress | Per-user Progress sheet and block-level completion |
| View and publish course grades | Grades are entered and published separately from analytics |
| Calendar and attendance | Session attendance feeds Participation metrics |
| Statistics and reports | Institution-wide exports and custom reports in OrgHub |
Key concepts
| Section | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Summary | Key performance indicators — overall completion rates and enrolment counts |
| Visits | Traffic to the course over a selected time period |
| Engagement | Retention and how actual learning time compares to expected learning time |
| Participation | Appointment attendance rates and participant feedback on content |
| User Progress | How many users are at each stage of the learning journey (see Monitor progress) |
How to open course analytics
Open the course.
Click the Analytics tab in the course navigation.
If you do not see Analytics, confirm the feature is enabled for your institution and that your role includes analytics access. Students and many guest roles do not see this tab — see Open a course.
Analytics sections
The Analytics page is organised into four sections:
Summary
Key performance indicators that give an at-a-glance view of course engagement and participation. Metrics include overall completion rates and enrolment counts.
Use Summary first when you open the tab — it orients you before you interpret visits or engagement in isolation.
Visits
Traffic to the course over a selected time period. Use this to see whether students are regularly returning to the course or accessing it only around deadlines.
Spikes only near deadlines may be normal for assessment-heavy modules, but they can also signal that earlier content failed to pull learners in — consider whether formative activities or reminders earlier in the journey would help.
Engagement
Retention data and how actual learning time compares to expected learning time. A large gap between expected and actual time may indicate that content is harder or easier than intended.
Compare Engagement with content block analytics on high-weight blocks to see whether the gap is course-wide or concentrated in a few steps.
Participation
Appointment attendance rates and participant feedback on content. This section combines calendar attendance with content ratings to show how actively students are taking part.
Low participation may reflect scheduling — review Calendar and attendance and whether sessions are visible and convenient for the cohort.
Change the time period
Use the time period selector (where available) to filter analytics data by a specific date range.
Narrow the range when investigating a specific teaching week or deadline cluster; widen it for end-of-term quality review. Not every subsection may respect the same selector — if a metric looks unchanged, check whether that section supports the selected range.
Reference: LMS analytics vs CMS reporting
| Question | LMS course analytics | CMS Statistics Center |
|---|---|---|
| Who is it for? | Teachers and course owners running one offering | Administrators and reporting officers |
| Scope | Single course | Institution-wide |
| Typical use | Mid-term intervention, course redesign | Regulatory exports, custom institutional reports, shared dashboards |
| Handbook entry | This page and Grading and analytics | Statistics and reports |
Use analytics to improve your course
- If Visits spike only near deadlines, consider adding more time-sensitive content earlier in the course.
- If Engagement shows actual learn time far below expected, blocks may be too easy or students may be skipping them.
- If Participation shows low attendance, review whether appointments are scheduled at convenient times.
- If Summary completion lags enrollment, open Monitor progress — start with User Progress, then block analytics on early required steps.
- If grades and analytics tell different stories, remember progress and published grades are separate — see View and publish course grades.
Best practices
- Review Summary and User Progress early in the term — waiting until week twelve limits intervention options.
- Combine Visits with the academic calendar: low traffic during break weeks may be expected; low traffic during teaching weeks is actionable.
- Share anonymized cohort patterns with teaching teams rather than individual analytics in group settings unless your policy allows identifiable data.
- When reporting upward, cite LMS analytics for course health and CMS statistics for formal institutional submissions — do not mix the two without understanding their scope.
- After course changes, compare the same date range before and after redesign where the time selector allows.
Common pitfalls
| Pitfall | What to try |
|---|---|
| Analytics tab missing | Confirm institution analytics feature and your permissions |
| Empty or flat metrics | Check enrollment — see Assign to users |
| High visits, low completion | Drill into block analytics on gating steps |
| Confusing engagement with grades | Grades require separate entry and publication |
| Expecting LMS analytics to replace CMS reports | Use Statistics Center for official exports |
FAQ
Can students see course analytics?
No. The Analytics tab is for users with analytics access — typically teachers and administrators. Students see their own progress in the learning journey.
Is course completion the same as published grades?
No. Completion and engagement metrics track journey activity. Grades are entered and published separately in the Users → Grades view.
Where does User Progress appear?
The User Progress section on the Analytics page shows how users distribute across journey stages. Per-user detail is in the Progress sheet — see Monitor progress.
How does this relate to the CMS Exam Center?
The Exam Center manages formal exams and published exam grades at module level. Course analytics do not replace exam workflows — see Exam Center and reporting.