Course Objectives
Course objective (CO) templates define what each course teaches and how those objectives map to curriculum competencies—bridging day-to-day coursework and accreditation structure.
Overview
Open Templates → Course Objectives (/templates?tab=co). Admins author CO templates here. This tab is part of the curriculum mapping stack on eligible Intelligence plans (alongside Competency Map, Program Outcomes, and Courses & Assignments).
What course objectives are
Think of the curriculum layers this way:
| Layer | Template tab | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Competencies | Competency Map | Shared competency framework |
| Course objectives | Course Objectives | What each course is designed to achieve |
| Program outcomes | Program Outcomes | Highest-level program goals |
| Courses & assignments | Courses & Assignments | Where student work is organized |
Course objectives sit between competencies and program outcomes. You map COs down to competencies, and map program outcomes up to COs so evidence can roll through the framework.
Author a CO template
- Open Templates → Course Objectives.
- Create a template and give it a clear name (for example by program or catalog year).
- Add course objective items with codes and descriptions, grouped by course.
- Keep wording measurable and aligned with your syllabus language.
You can import or export spreadsheets when building large catalogs.
Map to competencies
Select a Competency Map template for the CO template, then map each course objective to the competencies it supports.
- Map intentionally—prefer direct alignment over linking everything to everything.
- Optional AI-assisted mapping may be available when educator AI is enabled for your institution; always review suggestions before relying on them for accreditation.
Relationship to courses, assignments, and outcomes
- Courses & Assignments templates organize courses and student work. Mapping there (and inherited links from skills and evaluations) helps performance evidence connect to COs.
- Program Outcomes templates map POs to course objectives from a CO template you select—so author COs before you expect PO mapping to work well.
- Skills and evaluation templates can also link into the same competency framework, which feeds CO- and PO-level views in Reports and Agents.
Tips
- Stabilize your Competency Map before large CO mapping projects.
- Use consistent codes (for example CO1.1) so Reports and Agents stay easy to read.
- After major curriculum changes, revisit CO ↔ competency maps and any PO mappings that depend on them.
- Archive outdated CO templates instead of deleting when prior cycles still need historical context.
Troubleshooting
Course Objectives tab missing
Confirm you are an admin on a plan that includes curriculum mapping (Intelligence). Vision-only and starter setups may hide this tab.
Cannot map to competencies
Select a Competency Map template first, and confirm that template has competencies defined.
Program Outcomes cannot map to my COs
In the PO template, select this CO template, and confirm the CO template has items to map.
Import failed
Use the downloadable spreadsheet template, keep required columns, and re-upload. Fix duplicate or empty codes before retrying.
Related features
- Templates: All template types, including Course Objectives
- Curriculum-Objective-Templates: Competency Map authoring
- Program-Outcome-Templates: Mapping POs to course objectives
- Courses-Assignments: Courses and assignments that carry student work
- Agents: Course Objectives insight report
Support
For course objective or curriculum mapping questions: [email protected]