If laboratory exercises are not constructively aligned with lectures, problem solving exercises, or the final examinations there is a risk that students’ commitment decreases, and they are less likely to engage in a deep learning approach. The authors of this work have experienced that laboratory exercises are at risk of being poorly connected to the rest of the course activities. To investigate this hypothesis a survey was sent out to three courses to examine the students, course and lab supervisors’ perception of the laboratory exercises and what knowledge complexity level the lab targets. All course supervisors and, to the authors’ surprise, the majority of the student respondents are aware of the course learning outcomes. This was not the case for lab supervisors. The perceived purpose of the lab activities is found to differ between the groups. The main conclusion is that students and lab supervisors in most cases agree fairly well whereas course supervisors’ opinions stand out. The discrepancy is, however, not as clear as anticipated, and a low response rate likely affects the outcome. Suggested measures for improvement include pre- and post- laboratory meetings where lab supervisors and course supervisors ensure alignment, especially since a minority of lab supervisors are aware of the intended course learning outcomes.