At Udemy, we’re passionate about protecting learners from upsells and solicitation of personally identifying information (PII). We want the course experience to be focused on learning, and free of promotional content.
That said, we know that setting up for a course often requires additional financial investment into certification, software or material costs. Part of creating a great Udemy course is providing unique selling points such as discounts and resources for the learner.
To make space for these resources but preserve the course experience, they may be shared through the Course Setup Lecture.
What is a Course Setup Lecture?
A Course Setup Lecture is one of the first few lectures of the course, posted after the introduction, but before getting into the learning portion of the course materials. This space can be used to talk through or include a list of required materials needed to complete your course. It is considered a vital tool for learners to refer to when preparing to begin their course experience.
Instructors typically use the Course Setup Lecture to provide:
- Exam vouchers
- Discounts for software taught in the course
- Industry-standard certificates or credits administered by the instructor
- Free interactive labs on an instructor’s website which cannot be offered through the Udemy platform
What are the rules for the Course Setup Lecture?
The Course Setup lecture has several rules to ensure that any resources shared are limited to those essential to the course requirements or learning objectives.
- Only one Course Setup Lecture is permitted per course
- The title of the Course Setup Lecture must include the word “Setup” to easily distinguish it from other lectures. For example: “Course Setup Lecture,” “Setup Lesson,” “Getting Set up for your course,” etc
- If the instructor receives an email from the learner, that learner must consent before being added to any mailing lists
- Recommended: To avoid confusion with other lectures which may include the word “setup” in the title, consider adding a lecture description saying something like “Official Course Setup Lecture”
We ask also that instructors be as transparent as possible on the course landing page and within the Course Setup lecture about what accessing these resources will require from the learner, such as:
- Any associated costs
- Whether a credit card is required to access free trials
- Whether signup is required for another site
- Personally Identifying Information (PII) collected
- How any PII will be handled e.g. if learners will be added to any newsletters or mailing lists
- Whether the resources are provided by third parties, or directly from the instructor
Learners should have a good understanding of where the Udemy experience is ending, and when they are providing PII or payment information to other platforms.
What shouldn’t I put in a Course Setup Lecture?
Any mention of instructor offerings available for purchase, or other resources which might be recommended but are not required should instead be shared through the Bonus Lecture. This includes:
- Course coupons or discount codes
- Instructor offerings with associated fees like labs, coaching, books, etc.
- Recommended readings
- Proprietary instructor certificates that require PII
Escalation policy
When an instructor is clearly going against the spirit of Udemy policies in an attempt to game the system, or if we see a severe negative impact on the student experience (high unsubscribe rates or refund rates), it will be considered a violation of our policies.
Learn what happens when there is a violation of our policies.