How to write a compelling Course Description

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Course descriptions within CourseSales.com are primarily for providing a brief summary to the visitor of your website about the course you are offering. That way these are used on both the public pages and the wordpress pages is to show, by default, the short content, then to show Section 1 when the ‘open’ icon (a + symbol) is clicked. This should be sufficient information to meet any regulartory obligations as well as providing a sufficient marketing incentive for the user of the website to want to purchase the course.

What information should I include?

The Australian government website myskills provides a surprisingly good set of questions that can help you know what questions a student might ask. Not all of these will be relevant - but the student might know know this so it could be worth mentioning answers in any case. To read more about their ‘table to compare Registered Training Organisations’ follow this link. Here is a summary of the questions to might like to answer in your course description:

Availability

  • Do they have places available?

Course details

  • Where will I need to go to attend classes/workshops?

  • Is it full-time or part-time?

  • When does it start?

  • How long does the course go for?

  • How is the course delivered - face to face, online or a mix?

  • How many ‘face to face’ (or classroom) hours will there be each week and what are the expected hours of work in your own time?

  • How many students are in each class?

  • Is Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) or credit transfer available for the course?

  • Do they teach on industry standard equipment i.e. a simulated workplace environment?

  • What course electives do they offer?

  • How will I be assessed? Exams, assignments, presentations, class participation?

  • How long have they been delivering the course?

  • Who is the trainer and what experience do they have?

  • What industry and employer links do they have?

  • Do they organise work placements with an employer as part of the course?

Course outcomes:

  • Does the course lead to a nationally recognised qualification?

  • Will this course enable me to get the licence or ticket I need to work in my chosen industry? If so, what do I need to do following the course to get this licence/ticket?

  • Can I build on this training or qualification in the future?

  • What percentage of course participants have found jobs in the field following the course?

  • What assistance do they offer to secure a job after finishing the course?

Course costs and refunds

  • How much does the course cost?

  • Will I be eligible for a government subsidised training place?

  • Will I be eligible for a concession?

  • Can they provide a breakdown of the costs (including administration and books/material fees)?

  • What are the rules in regards to withdrawing from a course or course refunds?

Course requirements

  • Are there any prerequisites or assumed knowledge for the course?

  • What level of computer literacy does the course require and do they offer support?

Training facilities

  • Can I visit an open day?

  • Do they offer support services to help with my study?

  • Do they have computer and printingfacilities? If so, is there a cost?

  • Do they have car parking/ public transport access?

  • Do they have child care facilities?

How should I display the information?

The course description allows HTML content, and you can include styles so that you can add interactivity with javascript.