Measuring the effectiveness and success of your online courses is essential. After all, you’ve spent time researching, planning, and creating a beautiful online course. The last thing any creator wants is none of it to work as intended. 

However, most learners will not blatantly tell you what’s wrong. Instead, they’ll drop out without you ever knowing why. 

So, you need several ways to measure the success of your course. Here are some to get you started: 

1. Track course completion
2. Assess assignment scores
3. Conduct scenario-based learning
4. Follow student progress
5. Monitor interaction and engagement
6. Send exit surveys or polls
7. View retention and return rates
8. Watch employee performance
9. Read reviews and testimonials
10. Calculate ROI

Let’s dive in. 

1. Track course completion 

Course completion is not a useful metric on its own. There will always be some learners who never finish the course. 

However, it’s still a good idea to see how many learners make it to the end, especially learners who seemingly were a good match or previously engaged with the course. If they’re struggling, it may be time to re-evaluate the course. 

2. Assess assignment scores 

A tried-and-true way to measure the success of online courses is to view scores. Check how learners are doing on tests, quizzes, and other assignments. If learners are having difficulty, perhaps the course material isn’t thorough enough. 

Assessing assignment scores is also a great way to quantify learning progress. For example, viewing average scores for a quiz can help you see if that section is effective. If the average grade is only 67%, adjust your quiz questions or redo that course section. On the other hand, if every quiz comes back with a perfect score, it may be too easy. 

3. Conduct scenario-based learning

Scenario-based training is a hands-on approach to learning. It uses realistic, interactive scenarios to aid your learners through stories or situations. Not only is it a great way to demonstrate concepts to learners, but also helps you see how learners are applying their knowledge. 

Try conducting scenario-based learning to see if the course material is properly used. If many students make incorrect choices, you may need to revisit that course section. 

4. Follow student progress

Apart from course completion and application of knowledge, you can check how learners progress through the course. Following student progress is more useful in courses where learners are self-paced and don’t have a lot of assignments. 

Keep tabs on what and how many lessons are started, how long each takes to complete, and how quickly they advance through the course. Learners should be engaged yet challenged, so make sure they’re not advancing too fast or slow. 

5. Monitor interaction and engagement

Engaged learners will spend time interacting with others–not just the course. 

If your course features gamification elements, keep an eye on them. It can give you insight into how many students are actively engaged with the course. Alternatively, visit discussion boards, social media groups, and other forums. You’ll see firsthand how many and how often learners are interacting with one another. 

6. Send exit surveys and polls 

If you’re not already, sending surveys and polls during and after a course is a great way to measure success. This is direct feedback from learners. 

While learners are still taking the course, keep surveys and polls brief. Make it one-click, such as a thumbs up or down. 

At the end of the course, you can send a longer survey asking them to rate the course, explain what they liked most, and whether they would recommend it. 

7. View retention and return rates 

Many course creators offer multiple online courses. If the courses have similar topics, past learners may enroll in additional courses. 

Viewing these retention and return rates helps you measure success by seeing how many learners found your course effective. If they liked the outcome of one course, they know and trust you and will probably enroll again. 

8. Watch employee performance

Employees who learn and engage with the course will apply their new skills and knowledge. If your courses are for training purposes, watch employee performance or productivity after your course. It will help you figure out if your courses are successful. 

9. Read reviews and testimonials 

Reviews and testimonials are the best way to learn how your course was perceived. They’re also a great way to gather feedback, find specific areas of improvement, and measure your course success. 

If learners don’t voluntarily leave feedback, ask for it using a tool like the LearnDash Course Reviews add-on. They’ll be more likely to leave a review. Be sure to check social media for informal feedback and reviews, too. 

10. Calculate ROI  

 Every course has a goal, whether that’s signups, revenue, or improved employee productivity. Compare your course outcomes with these goals to measure the success of your course. 

Also, consider the costs of running your course, such as the time you spent creating content, LMS fees, and website maintenance. A positive return on investment is a strong indicator of a successful course. 

Measure success with LearnDash LMS 

Measuring the success and effectiveness of your online course is vital to achieving your goals. You should do so by using multiple measuring methods and keeping tabs on important metrics. 

For more robust and easier measuring, ProPanel from LearnDash LMS has you covered. The ProPanel add-on lets you track things like enrollments, pending assignments, and real-time activity. You can use filters to find the results you need and use the Reporting tool for visual data. Explore the demo to try LearnDash LMS and ProPanel today!