Beyond Grades: How to Leverage Transcripts in SmarterU LMS

A transcript is a document that records a learner’s training history. It typically includes details such as course names and grades. Available in SmarterU LMS, a transcript maps out a learner's progress and achievements, guiding them to improve their skills continuously. Additionally, it offers valuable insights to administrators to fine-tune the learning experience.

Benefits of Transcripts to Learners

Transcripts play a crucial role in the learning process by giving learners a record of their training history. Let’s examine the benefits of giving your learners access to their transcripts. 

• Track progress: Transcripts provide a comprehensive overview of an individual’s learning journey from start to finish. They detail the courses a learner has completed so that they can celebrate their achievements and identify gaps in their training. 
• Encourage learning: Transcripts detail a learner’s accomplishments and areas for improvement — encouraging continuous learning and development. As learners see an increase in the knowledge and skills documented in their transcript, they often feel more confident in their abilities. This increased confidence can fuel them to tackle new challenges and explore unfamiliar areas. 
• Assess performance: Learners can objectively assess their performance to identify their strengths and weaknesses and develop an improvement plan. Consistently high grades across multiple courses can help learners identify their strengths. By reviewing their grades, learners can pinpoint areas where they may have struggled or performed below expectations. 
• Inform decision-making: Learners can use transcripts to make informed decisions about their goals, which empowers them to take ownership of their learning. Whether pursuing higher education, applying for a job, or earning a certification, the transcript is their compass. 

Benefits of Transcripts to LMS Administrators and Supervisors

Transcripts foster a culture of growth, accountability, and recognition. As an LMS administrator, you can support your learners’ success by giving them access to this game-changing feature in SmarterU LMS. But did you know that the benefits of transcripts extend beyond learners? Here’s how.

• Track continuing education: Transcripts assist with monitoring professional development points or CEU credits needed to maintain certification or licensure. This data lets you track whether team members complete necessary training within designated timeframes.
• Ensure compliance: When learners must meet government or regulatory requirements, supervisors can refer to transcripts to verify the completion of specific educational activities. For example, you can use transcripts to verify that healthcare professionals have completed training demonstrating their understanding of HIPAA regulations.
  You can track compliance training using the Learning Plan Report.
• Support organizational goals: Transcripts allow managers to identify individuals who qualify for available roles and new projects. This analysis ensures that candidates have the necessary skills and competencies developed through coursework, giving them a solid foundation to excel. 
• Facilitate career growth: Transcripts are invaluable tools during performance reviews, serving as a common reference point to discuss goals, professional development, and needs. They help supervisors provide personalized guidance, track performance, and offer support where needed. For learners interested in transitioning to a different role, transcripts provide insight into potential knowledge gaps they should fill. 

Viewing a Transcript as a Learner in SmarterU LMS

Within SmarterU LMS, learners can view their transcript from the timeline page in the learner dashboard. The timeline page provides a visual representation of a learner’s completed courses.

Learners can drag the controls at either end of the chart to view their course completions for a specific time period. This gives them the flexibility to display what’s relevant to them. 

In the example below, the timeline displays February 1, 2024 to April 30, 2024. To include courses completed from December 1, 2023, the learner drags the control on the left to include December.

Learners can also use the timeline page to download a transcript of all their completed training.

The transcript lists each completed enrollment along with the learner’s grade, time spent in the course, completion date, and more. 

Learners can also view the points they’ve earned, adding a layer of gamification to their experience. 

Viewing a Learner’s Transcript as an Administrator in SmarterU LMS

As an LMS administrator, you can view a learner’s completed enrollments by running the Enrollment Report. 

The Enrollment Report lets you see enrollment details such as the learner’s name, course name, enrollment date, and more.

The report also provides detailed insights into a learner’s progress in an online course; simply click the percentage in the Progress column to see the learner’s status for the course’s tasks.

If you want to customize the Enrollment Report’s columns, you can create a custom Enrollment Report. This customization lets you see the most essential details to you, such as the number of points a learner has earned.
You can even save your customized report and schedule it to run automatically, delivering the information to your inbox.  

Leveraging Your Transcript Data

The benefits of transcripts are far-reaching. For example, you can use transcript data to identify performance trends: How did changes to a course affect learners’ grades? Do learners in certain groups perform better than others? Do specific courses have a lower rate of completion than others? 

Transcripts can also help identify knowledge gaps in your courses and curriculum. If many learners consistently perform poorly on specific topics or assessments in a course, it indicates a need to enhance or expand the training. If learners perform poorly in advanced-level courses, it may indicate a need to review the content or create prerequisite courses to provide them with the knowledge and skills they lack.

By analyzing transcript data, you can make strategic decisions on allocating resources that enhance the quality of your learner experience. This ongoing evaluation and improvement supports not only learners but also the curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. 

In conclusion, giving learners access to their transcripts isn't just about data; it's about empowerment, motivation, and recognition. With SmarterU's Timeline feature, you can unlock the full potential of your learners' journeys, guiding them toward success at every step.

Questions? Contact our Success Desk.