Course Organization

The New Course Management Dashboard includes an updated design and navigation-related changes making it easier to use, and better looking! No existing functionality has been removed but improvements to functionality have been made throughout.

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

For detailed information on the new course management dashboard, please refer to this article.

Navigating the New Course Management Dashboard for Courses in the Creation Process

The new 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 New 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 new 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 new 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
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.

1. On the left side, click Curriculum
2. Find the lecture that you wish to replace
3. Click the black dropdown arrow  to view lecture details
4. Click Edit Content underneath the lecture details
5. Upload the new content. The content will process automatically

The Curriculum is where you can organize your course into sections and lectures. You will also upload all of your course material here. You can add up to 550 sections and lectures to your course.

Sections and Lectures

The course curriculum is organized into lectures, the actual content of the course, and sections that group related lectures. To see the course curriculum

1. Select the course you wish to edit from the Instructor Dashboard (or click Create a Course if you are just getting started)
2. On the left side of the page, click curriculum
3. To edit the title of the first section, click the pencil icon to the right of "start here" (it appears when you hover over the word)
4. To edit the title of the first lecture, click the pencil icon to the right of "Introduction" (it appears when you hover over the word)
5. Click Add Content to upload files to the lecture.
6. For additional lectures and sections to complete your outline, click Add Lecture or Add Section at the bottom of the page

Course Curriculum

After adding lectures and sections to your course, the course curriculum should look organized and well planned. Try grouping your lectures by topic and organizing in a way that is easy to follow. You can reorganize lectures by hovering over the lecture title, then click and drag.
 




 

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

Preview Your Course as a Student

1. From My Courses and click go to course roadmap to select the course you would like to change
2. From the course dashboard, click preview in the upper right-hand corner.

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

Lectures can be edited at any time. Remember that students have lifetime access to course content. Course material cannot be deleted unless it is replaced with new and improved content.

Deleting a Lecture

1. Hover the mouse over the lecture title and click the pencil that appears.​
2. A trashcan will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of the lecture.
3. Click the trashcan to delete the lecture

The central building block of your Udemy course curriculum is the lecture. Lectures can be edited easily and can be reorganized at any time.

Moving a Lecture

1. Hover the cursor over any lecture
2. Drag and drop the lecture to the preferred location in your course.

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.

Below is an example of a course with and without sections.



The example on the left is chaotic. Your students will have trouble understanding the course outline.

In the example on the right, however, a student can easily understand how the course is organized and what topics will be covered. 

Adding Sections

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 edit pencil icon that appears
3. A trashcan will appear on the bottom right of the dropdown menu
4. Click on the trashcan, and 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.