Course Quality Standard
Having extraordinary material is not always enough – you also need to present it right. You can prepare the most interesting content and include the most useful examples, but if the video is grainy and the students can barely hear the audio, it's highly unlikely they will complete the course. The experience of learning is just as important as the actual knowledge you're sharing.
To make sure BitDegree learners only have the most engaging, effective, and satisfactory learning experience, we came up with a quality standard all the courses uploaded to the platform should meet. Use this checklist to make sure your course meets our requirements.
Format
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Video lectures |
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Recommended |
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Video lectures with practice assignments (tests, quizzes, open-ended questions, etc.) |
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Highly recommended |
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Video and text lecture combination |
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Recommended |
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Video and text lecture combination with practice assignments (tests, quizzes, open-ended questions, etc.) |
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Highly recommended |
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Text lectures are possible, but if a course only contains text lectures, this will affect your pricing (it has to be half the price as a video alternative would be). |
DON’T Upload
- Hate speech and content that promotes discrimination or violence in any way
- Unlawful or illegal content, endorsement or promotion of unethical or illegal behavior
- Scammy, fake, dishonest, or misleading content
- Sexually explicit material
- Content infringing upon the rights of a copyright holder
- Content promoting other online education platforms, including trademarks (i.e., video lectures with a logo of another learning platform in the corner)
- Duplicated content
Audio
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Clear and audible sound (check our recommendations here) |
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Required |
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No background noises or hums |
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Required |
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No echo (avoid recording in a large, empty room) |
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Recommended |
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No sound effects that are distracting or sharp and sudden (don’t startle your students!) |
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Recommended |
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Synced to the video |
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Required |
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Stereo sound (check if it's streaming in both speakers/earbuds) |
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Required |
Video
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HD quality, at least 720p with a 16:9 aspect ratio |
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Recommended |
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The image should be clear, not blurred |
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Required |
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A static shot or, if the camera is in motion, image stabilization |
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Recommended |
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Professional lighting (we suggest 3-point lighting) |
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Recommended |
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General tidiness (non-distracting environment, no unnecessary objects in the background) |
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Recommended |
Content
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The content must be about digital, business or workplace (soft and hard) skills |
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Required |
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The uploaded content must be the instructor’s original creation and not infringe on any copyright, trademark, etc. (can be a combination of publicly available reading resources and originally drafted assignments/quizzes/tests) |
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Required |
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The content of the course cannot be older than one year in terms of relevance (especially if it’s related to digital skills). It should also be reviewed every 6 months and updated if needed |
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Required |
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A course should contain one introductory lecture about the key points it will cover (a 2–5 minute video or a short text lecture) |
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Highly recommended |
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A course should contain at least 1 hour of video content. Shorter courses will have smaller prices |
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Recommended
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A text course should contain at least 10,000 words |
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Required |
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A course should contain at least 5 separate lectures |
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Required |
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Lectures should last from 2 to 12 minutes in length |
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Recommended |
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Each lecture should be structured around a single topic |
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Recommended |
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Each lecture should provide in-video visuals that help students grasp the key points |
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Recommended |
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Each lesson should incorporate lively examples, storytelling, and anecdotes to keep the student engaged |
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Recommended |
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Each section should have a quiz and/or attachments to help students understand the topic better |
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Recommended |
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A course has to be directed to BitDegree users (if you are uploading videos that were available on another platform before, make sure that you don’t talk about it in the video and confuse the users) |
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Required |
Delivery
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Fluency in English (for the international locale) or another language (for other locales) |
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Required |
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Good pronunciation |
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Required |
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Confident delivery and a straightforward style of speaking (no “umms” or “ahhs”) |
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Required |
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Calm but enthusiastic tone of voice, pauses to emphasize important points |
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Recommended |
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Relaxed body language (sit or stand – choose the position that allows you to feel comfortable) |
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Recommended |
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Smile, because you’re making the world a better place by doing what you love – teaching |
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Recommended |
Publishing
In addition to meeting course requirements, BitDegree instructors must also know how to build their audience and publish the course in a way that attracts more students. You will need:
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A catchy and informative course title and subtitle, which includes relevant keywords |
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Required |
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An honest course description of at least 300 words, which lets the students know what they will learn |
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Required |
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A short instructor’s bio and picture |
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Required |
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Clearly specified course requirements listed in bullet-point style |
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Required |
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Students' expectations listed in bullet-point style |
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Required |
Pricing
The courses that you charge for on BitDegree cannot be offered for free elsewhere, like Udemy, YouTube, your own site, other sites, etc. People will always look for free alternatives, and we want to make sure you and we can make sales happen.
Text courses must be cheaper than video courses.
- The courses that contain under 20K words (40 pages with single spacing) can’t be priced over $7.99;
- 30K words can’t be priced over $9.99;
- 40K words (80 pages with single spacing) can’t be priced over $12.99;
- 50k words (100 pages with single spacing) can’t be priced over $14.99; etc.
The price of video courses depends on their duration.
- If your course has 1 hour or more video content, you can choose the price without any limitations.
- If it’s less than 1 hour, but more than 30 minutes, the price should depend on the topic: $7.99 is good for digital skills (such as programming, software, or using specific tools), and $5.99 is fair for a theory course (e.g., best marketing strategies).
- As for courses that are under 30 minutes, you should charge $4.99 for complex topics, and $2.99 for others.
If the course has outdated information that has not been updated for more than 6 months (especially if the content is related to digital skills), the price should be reduced, based on the relevance of the content and its usefulness.
- Outdated courses with information that is older than 2 years should not cost more than $4.99.
- If the content is 1–2 years old, the price should not be higher than $8.99.
- Only the newest and most relevant courses with information not older than 1 year can be priced over $9.99.
Make sure that your course meets our guidelines and requirements. If you believe your course has been judged unfairly or you’ve noticed any inappropriate content uploaded to the platform by another instructor, please contact us at [email protected]. We would also welcome any suggestions you might have for improving the rules!
