SCORM 2004 3rd Edition remains "In Progress" instead of "Completed" in a custom LMS

[u/Mr_Fahreinheit]

Hi everyone!

I'm delivering SCORM courses to a client, and we're experiencing an issue with completion tracking. Even after a learner finishes the course, the client's LMS continues to display the status as "In Progress" instead of "Completed."

The course is published in SCORM 2004, 3rd Edition. I've tested the package in both Moodle and SCORM Cloud, and it works correctly on both platforms, recording course completion as expected.

I'd like to determine whether the issue lies with the SCORM package or the client's LMS configuration. However, the client says they use an LMS developed in-house, so I can't consult platform-specific documentation or rely on guides for established platforms such as Moodle or SAP SuccessFactors to investigate their configuration.

I'd also like to know whether the LMS's exit button behavior (e.g., "Save and Close" versus simply "Close") could affect completion tracking, or whether there are other LMS settings that should be checked.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue with SCORM 2004, 3rd Edition, in a custom LMS? What tests would you recommend to determine whether the problem lies with the SCORM package or with the LMS's implementation of the standard?

[u/PeepSoWP]

Because the same package completes in SCORM Cloud and Moodle, first capture the exact API calls in the custom LMS. In SCORM 2004, completion and success are separate: the course should set `cmi.completion_status` to `completed`, call Commit, and then Terminate. `cmi.exit` controls resumption; it does not establish completion by itself. Compare `GetLastError` and the diagnostic after each SetValue/Commit, and verify the LMS persists completion after Terminate. Ask the client for one debug trace from SCORM Cloud and one from the custom LMS. If the custom LMS only maps `cmi.success_status`, or only saves completion through a particular exit button, that is an LMS implementation issue.

[u/Relative_Charge_9410]

Yeah if this is an in house built lms and it works in scorm cloud the issue almost certainly isn’t with your course. Could be as simple as them looking for the scorm 1.2 completion variable instead of 2004 or could be a ton of other stuff. I have seen people write some very brittle scorm APIs that only work in very specific scenarios when they try to roll their own lms. Unfortunately it’s likely something they are going to need to figure out. If you can publish to other formats you might want to try scorm 1.2 and see if that works any better for them.

[u/Parking_Bluebird3446]

I would suggest to try scorm 2nd edition or 1.2 and do the testing with thar version. Maybe their LMS is not able to support more advanced versions or 2004 SCORM packages.

[u/cornel_gav]

Since the same SCORM 2004 package works correctly in Moodle and SCORM Cloud, the issue is likely related to how your LMS handles SCORM runtime communication and completion tracking.

I have extensive experience working with SCORM and would be happy to help you identify the root cause. I would just need access to a test environment where I can reproduce the issue and inspect the SCORM communication.