How Early Course Design Can Drive Online Learner Completion

Course Management

Sat, 18 Jan 2025

Designing an online course is crucial. It establishes the tone, sets expectations, and can determine a learner’s commitment to completing the course. At Atlanta College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (ACLAS), we prioritize course design that ensures our learners feel supported, engaged, and motivated right from the start.

Our course development team continuously analyzes data and feedback which have been received from our students to identify which elements are most impactful after their studies and how best to enhance our course quality. 

In our research, we’ve found:

1. Practice Makes Perfect

More practice opportunities generally enhance learning, but there is an ideal balance. During the course study, always take notes and refer back to the certain tutorial if you find that you are not familiar with the topic. 

2. Flexible Assessment for Continuous Improvement 

Complete the assessments in each course of your program every time when you have finished the tutorials. If you failed in your assessment, it’s fine. The advantage of designing online tutorials is that our students can always refer back to your tutorial and it allows them to redo the assessments until they are satisfied with their current grade. 

3. Short Videos Are Essential

When presenting video content, keeping it concise and segmented is crucial. Short videos (under 10 minutes) maintain engagement and support better retention. We’ve observed that having between four to thirteen videos in the first week is optimal, with each video ideally lasting three to six minutes.

Now, Here are Some Tips for a Successful First Week… 

Here are some tips to help you get ready for the studies. To help learners succeed, we recommend:

• Complete your assessment after studying the online tutorial videos. This can help you to retain key concepts of what you have just learnt and test your knowledge immediately. 

• Always refer back to the tutorial videos. Always remember, re-watching the tutorial videos can help you to refresh your memory on key topics and solidify complex concepts. 

• Engage with the Content Actively. Interact with the material by taking notes, highlighting key points, and summarizing concepts in your own words. Active engagement improves retention and understanding.

Start your online course with ACLAS College and experience the difference a well-designed first week can make in achieving your educational goals!