Why is the Target Student Section Important?
The descriptions you write in the Target Student section will help students decide if your course is right for them. Additionally, since this information sets the right expectations for students, it can help improve your course's rating when students review the course.
What You Need to Know
When completing the Target Student section, you want to ensure that:
- You have a specific target audience in mind, because the more specific your course is, the better it will do in the marketplace.
- Your audience will learn specific skills that they didn’t already have.
- What you report they will learn or achieve through the course is realistic and achievable.
- You are setting the right expectations; the course will actually deliver on these goals.
Remember, we do check for this as part of our Quality Review Process.
In this article we will cover:
- Best practices for targeting your student
- Minimum requirements to pass our Quality Review Process
- Examples of good targets that have been set for students
Best Practices for Describing Your Target Student
| Prompt | Explanation |
|---|---|
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What will students achieve or be able to do after taking your course?
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Highlight why your course is valuable for students. Students love to hear how a course will help them get better at something or transform their skillset. |
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Who should take this course?
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Students appreciate instructors who set the right expectations by telling them about
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What knowledge & tools are required?
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Students want to feel prepared and ready for the course before they begin. Provide details on
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Minimum Requirements to Pass our Quality Review Process
- Fill out each of the prompts (they cannot be left blank).
- Don’t use generic terms e.g., the course is meant for “everyone”.
- Don’t use the space for marketing to students.
Target Student Examples
| Prompts | Not a good objective | Almost, but not quite | Nailed it! |
|---|---|---|---|
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What will students achieve or be able to do after taking your course?
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Understand the basics of astronomy
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Who should take this course?
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This SQL course is for everyone
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This SQL course is for beginners.
Intermediates and advanced can also learn special skills in this course. |
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What knowledge & tools are required?
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A Mac or PC
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Xcode Software
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Download Xcode, but don’t install it as we will cover this in lecture 3.
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How do you Complete the Target Student Section?
Click here to learn how to complete the Target Student section.