Online courses are seeing a significant rise across the world. (read previous post: Why Online Courses are Popular?) After a student registers for an online course, there are a few things which he/she should expect from the course. Here are a few pointers that you can look at:

• Course syllabus – Students should be aware of the skill level assigned to each course: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced/Expert. They should also see whether the course syllabus provide an in-depth information on topics; how much of it will be covered and thereby determine the course difficulty level. Students often criticize that the course taught was too basic, but the point in fact is that online courses do publish the skill level required for each course. When you are investing in the course by spending your time and money, you can choose the course level according to your requirement
• Course duration – All online courses have a set number of sessions (both live as well as recorded). The course is divided into milestones and students are expected to complete the sessions before moving on to the next milestone. Planning is critical to the course completion. Be an active participant.
• Availability – There are a few critical expectations regarding availability:
  • Course materials availability – Online courses provide both live sessions as well as recorded or on-demand sessions. Most online courses do not provide downloadable course materials (pdfs, presentations, etc.). App-based online courses allow content to be saved offline but only for in-app reading. Students are expected to log in and access all course content on the web portal.
  • Tutor availability – Students need constant feedback and guidance on the course, assignments etc. and hence tutor availability is important. Live sessions have a Q&A discussion at the end which enables students to interact. Students can also email their queries and feedback to the tutors and expect a response within a stipulated time frame (within 24-48 hours).
  • Student availability – Students are expected to regularly check their email in case of rescheduling their classes, update on assignments, availability of on-demand classes, etc.
• Course completion – Most courses need to be completed within a stipulated time frame. In case, a student is unable to complete the course; he or she should inquire about the process involved in rescheduling the course or course refund if available.
• Course feedback – On course completion, students should provide course feedback as it helps both the tutor and the institution to improve their course and also help potential students select the right course.

Students take up online courses to fulfill their goals to achieve personal success hence have high expectations from these courses. Institutions should always aim for constant improvements in their online course offerings to match the students’ expectations.