8 Metrics That Every Course Creator Must be tracking 8 Metrics Every Course Creator Should Track
Course designers are always searching for methods to enhance their course. One way to do this is to be attentive to your learners.
The issue is that the students you teach won't be able to tell you how it's going within your class. They'll drop out, cancel their account, or even complete the course only to disappear and you won't ever know the whole story.
Tracking online course metrics helps you determine what learners think of your course and how you can enhance it.
There's more to metrics than tallying up course completion rate. A course isn't guaranteed to have the perfect finish when life intervenes, or if a learner's motives change or the circumstances alter.
Let's look at the eight online course metrics you should be tracking and how you can use the data to increase your chances of success.
Progression and Performance of Learners
Metric 1: Course Progression
In a nutshell those who are able to complete your class at a fast speed are probably interested and engaged. That could indicate strong courses that you could duplicate or show to other students.
While monitoring course progress, consider asking these questions:
- How long will it take an individual to finish an entire class?
- How quickly do they advance through each topic and lesson?
- What ideas seem simple, and which seem too difficult?
- If students consistently struggle, how can I make it clearer?
Learner Satisfaction And Approval
Metric 2. Exit surveys
Just because a learner finished the course doesn't mean that they loved the experience. It is advisable to conduct an assessment after the course finishes (and when learners understand that their opinions won't impact the outcome of their grade.) A quick exit survey can capture initial impressions.
Metric 3: Class reviews
4-Metric 4: Instructor efficacy
The best instructors may waver when presenting an online class. Be sure to observe how instructors react to requests from students and how they're communicating with learners. It is particularly important to monitor if instructors change however, not the content of the course. Are there any changes in student engagement?
Metric 5: Discussions and Comments
Online discussion threads are a great way for learners to work through materials together, and to feel the sense of being part of a community. Monitor group discussions to examine what learners are discussing and engaging with the content. Certain levels of involvement on the board of discussion could be a sign of validity!
Professional Competency of Learners and Skills
Metric 6: Quiz Scores
Metric 7 The quality of Assignment Submissions
The quality and depth of assignments helps you get a sense for how learners engage with your class. If possible, offer students their own feedback after each task (or review the feedback that an instructor leaves). This can help you see what students have to overcome. It can also lead to better achievement rates (and reviews!) for learners who have individual needs.
Metric 8 Certificates Vs Retakes
How long do learners stay engaged in the course and are they returning for more? How many finish your course with a diploma and how many have to retake the final test? A strong completion rate is an easy statistic you can monitor without having the students to submit an exact exam.
Does Your LMS Have Metrics that can be customized?
- Check out a quick snapshot of your enrollment and pending assignments at the time you sign in
- Keep track of student progress live and monitor how students progress throughout the course and keep tabs on scores from tests.
- Manage assignments by approving or deleting assignments
- Run advanced reports and export course data to a CSV or Excel spreadsheet
Are you interested in seeing it in action? Watch our Webinar replay on ProPanel to learn the way these tools work within your next class.
If you're looking to take on the game, try ProPanel through our live demo.