Glossary
Outcome
The field that records what the learner achieved on an aim.
In full
Outcome records achievement: whether the learner achieved the aim, did not achieve it, or the outcome is not yet known. It is recorded alongside the outcome date and, where relevant, an achievement date.
Outcome drives the qualification achievement rate. An aim left with no outcome after it has ended is both a data-quality problem and a performance problem.
The rules behind this
Completion status records whether a learner is continuing, has completed, has withdrawn or has temporarily withdrawn. Outcome records what the learner achieved. They answer different questions and both are needed.
Where this comes up
diagnostic
An aim has ended but no outcome has been recorded
The aim has an actual end date, so the system knows it finished, but nothing records whether the learner achieved it. The achievement rate calculation treats an aim with no achievement recorded as a non-achievement.
scenario
A bootcamp outcome is achieved but never recorded
A learner gets a job after a Skills Bootcamp. Nobody records it, and the outcome milestone is not claimed.
scenario
A flagged record turns out to be entirely correct
A learner appears on a monitoring report every period. Each time, investigation shows the record is correct.
diagnostic
A learner is flagged on a data quality or funding monitoring report
A record meets the criteria of a report that identifies data worth checking. That is a request to investigate, not a statement that the record is wrong. Some flagged records are entirely correct and simply need their evidence to be locatable.
diagnostic
A learner left weeks ago but is still showing as continuing
The learner has stopped attending, but the ILR still shows their aim as open with no actual end date, so the system believes they are still in learning and keeps generating funding for them.
scenario
A returning learner is enrolled as a new person
A learner returns after two years. The enrolment search does not find them, so a new record and a new ULN are created.
Sources
These are the official documents this page rests on. Where a figure, a deadline or an exact rule matters, the document is the authority and this page is the explanation.
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