Course Organization

This article outlines how you can navigate the course management dashboard for a course in the building stage, as well as after it has been reviewed and published.

Navigating the Course Management Dashboard for Courses in the Creation Process

The course management dashboard acts as a step-by-step guide, which walks you through the course creation and publishing process. Tips and information are posted on each page so you have the right information for each stage. As you complete and save each section, you’ll see those items checked off on the left hand side.

Once you have completed each section and course requirement, you will be able to submit your course for review. 

Navigating the Course Management Dashboard of Published Courses

Once your course has been published you can manage the course via the Instructor Dashboard. To see how the course management dashboard is organized for published courses, and what sections are located where, please refer to the table below.

We’ve outlined the navigation options and the features available in each. For additional information regarding each subsection, please click on the subsection title, and you will be directed to a relevant support article.
 

If you have any other questions regarding the course management dashboard, please contact Udemy Support.

Creating learning goals for course sections is helpful for both you and your students. Use these goals to help guide your course outline. By creating an outline focused on goals, you can plan lectures that build towards a common objective.

Adding Goals to Sections

When adding a new section, you'll have the option to add learning goals.

1. Scroll to the bottom of the course curriculum
2. Click Add Section
3. Name the section, enter the section's goal and click Save Section
4. Your answer to What will students be able to do at the end of the section? will appear as the course objective.

The answers should be the same as your course learning objectives. Be specific, set achievable goals, and focus on learning outcomes.

Viewing Learning Goals

Once the section is added, your students will see your learning goal at the beginning of a new section.



If you would like to add course goals to the course landing page, read this article.
 

Creating a well-written, optimized course description is one of the most important tools for converting new students into your course.

Adding a Course Description

1. Select your course from the Instructor Dashboard
2. On the left hand-side, select Course Landing Page
3. Write a course description (follow these writing guidelines) to increase your conversion
4. Scroll to the top of the page and click Save

Maintaining an updated course is an important part of teaching online. Sometimes, a single lecture needs to be updated, but the lecture details can stay the same. Instead of deleting a whole lecture only to create a new one, the lecture content can be replaced.

Uploading New Content to an Existing Lecture

Updated content must match the existing lecture type. In other words, if the lecture was originally a video lecture, the new content must also be video. If you would like to create new lecture type, delete the lecture and create a new one.

To update the content of an existing lecture, please follow the steps below:

1. On the left side of the Course Management page, click Curriculum

2. Scroll to the lecture that you wish to edit

3. Click the black dropdown arrow on the right to view the lecture details

4. Click Edit Content 

4. Select the new content

5. The content will finish processing automatically

When you create your course, the descriptions you add in the Target Student page, will help students determine if the course is right for them. In addition, the information you provide can be an effective way to capture a student's interest, and is critical for creating a rewarding student experience.

On the Target Student page, you will be asked the following questions:

• What knowledge & tools are required?
• Who should take this course?
• What will students achieve or be able to do after taking your course?

How to Add Answers

To add answers to the questions above, on the Target Student page, please follow the steps below:

• From the Instructor Dashboard select your course
• On the left-hand side of the Course Management page, click Target Student
• Enter the necessary information
• If required, click Add an Answer and a new line will appear
• When you're finished adding answers each question, click Save

Moving an Answer

If you need to move an answer, after you've created it, simply click on the triple bar icon on the right hand side, and drag the goal into a new position.

Please note that the answer can only be moved within the section of the question it was originally created for.

Deleting an Answer

If you need to delete a course goal you've entered, please follow these steps:

• Navigate to the Target Student page
• Move your cursor to the right of the answer you wish to delete
• Click the trash bin icon that appears

Viewing Answers on the Landing Page

Once you've added your answers on the Target Student page, they will appear in the details of the course landing page. Interested students will be able to review the information before enrolling in your course. 

For more information on how to effectively target students, please refer to this article here.

Adding resources improves the value of your course. Resources must be free, related to your lecture topic, and in no way promotional.

Types of Resources

Downloadable Resources

These resources can be any filetype like .JPG, .PDF, .ZIP, .XLS, .MOV, .MP3, etc. Unfortunately, source code like .HTML, .JS, etc., cannot be uploaded directly, but these files can be uploaded in a .ZIP file. The maximum upload size for any individual file is 1 GB, but there is not a limit to the number of files you can upload. Files can be uploaded to your course directly, or added from your library using the Bulk File Uploader. 

External Resources

Theses resources are hyperlinks to free websites.

Source Code

For development courses, only Python and Ruby files can be uploaded at this time. 

Adding Resources to a Lecture

In order to add a resource to a lecture, you will need to create the lecture first, and add content to it. For information on how to do this, please click here. Once you're ready to add resources, then follow these steps:

1) Navigate to the course curriculum page

2) Click the dropdown arrow on the right hand side of the lecture

3) Click Add Resources

4) Select whether the resource is a Downloadable File, a Source Code or if it's being added from your library. Then, click Select File. If you're adding an External Resource, then enter the resource's title and URL.

If you want to upload multiple resources, upload a .ZIP file for your students to download. 

Previewing a course allows you to see what a student sees.

Preview Your Course as a Student

1. From your Instructor Dashboard click the course icon you wish to preview
2. Navigate to the Curriculum page
3. Click the arrow icon on the lecture you wish to preview, and then select as a Student from the Preview menu

Note: The URL in the address bar is a temporary URL and not the public course URL.

Lectures can be edited and deleted at any time. Please remember, however, that students have lifetime access to courses. As a result, lectures should not be deleted, unless they're replaced with new and improved content.

How to Delete a Lecture

If you need to delete a lecture from your course, please follow the steps below:

1. On the Curriculum page, hover your cursor to the right of the lecture title 

2. A trashcan icon will appear to the right

3. Click the trashcan

4. Confirm that you wish to continue with deleting the lecture

Please note that the lecture and its content cannot be restored once the lecture has been deleted.

For steps on how to edit and update an existing lecture, please refer to our Updating Content for an Existing Lecture article. 

The central building block of your Udemy course curriculum is the lecture. Lectures and other curriculum items (sections, quizzes, coding exercises, practice tests and assignments) can be moved and reorganized at any time on the Course Curriculum page. You can create up to 550 curriculum items for a course (sections, lectures, quizzes, coding exercises, practice tests and assignments). 

Moving a Lecture

To move a lecture to an new location in your course curriculum, please follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the course management page and click Curriculum on the left hand side

2. Hover the cursor over any lecture

3. Click and drag the lecture to the preferred location in your course curriculum

If the order of the lectures has changed, the system will automatically change the number of the lecture to the correct one, as shown below. 

For steps on how to create a new lecture, please click here.

If you have a course on Udemy with more than 10 lectures, it's a good idea to break your course into multiple sections or chapters.

Why Add Multiple Sections?

Grouping lectures into sections helps your students learn in an organized fashion. Organized courses have a higher course rating and completion rate. You can create up to 550 curriculum items for a course (sections, lectures, quizzes, coding exercises, practice tests and assignments). 

Adding Sections

To add sections to your course curriculum, please follow the steps below:

1. From the Instructor Dashboard, select your course
2. Underneath Course Content on the left-hand side of the page, click Curriculum
3. Scroll to the bottom of the curriculum and click Add Section
4. Title the section and add a learning objective 
5. Click Add Section
6. Drag and drop the section anywhere in the course curriculum

Editing a Section

If you need to edit the title or learning objectives of a section you've created, then please follow the steps below:

1. Move your cursor to the right of the section's title
2. Click on the edit pencil icon that appears
3. A dropdown menu will appear and you can edit the section title or learning objective
4. Click Save Section

Deleting a Section

To delete a section you've created, then please follow these steps:

1. Move your cursor to the right of the section's title
2. Click on the trash can icon that appears
3. Confirm you wish to continue

Please note: once a section has been deleted it cannot be restored



If you have any additional questions regarding sections, please contact Udemy support.