Premium (paid for) business model

Unlike upgrade short courses, learners pay a fee up front to access premium courses.

Premium courses appear on public course listings and recommendations as well as search engines alongside upgrade short courses.

FutureLearn works with partners to set prices for premium courses, by evaluating a number of factors relating to the course material. We do this on a case-by-case basis with partners. We will evaluate courses between runs and adjust pricing based on performance.

Speak to your Partnership Manager if you are considering developing a course for the premium business model. When ready submit your course proposal as normal.

If you decide to offer a premium course, consider the below features, to differentiate from upgrade courses.

	Upgrade courses	Premium courses
Content	Broad appeal content, that attracts a large audience Useful for 'try-before-you-buy' i.e. a degree taster short course Access to course materials is for a limited period, or learners upgrade for unlimited access	Specialist content, that will attract those expecting to pay Exclusive content where rights restrictions make it cost-prohibitive to deliver high-quality content for free Unlimited access to course materials
Social	The presence of large cohorts, with diverse views and experience, improves social learning	Tasks and exercises with small cohorts who have a similar level of experience and knowledge improves social learning Experiences where a committed cohort is necessary
Facilitation	Facilitation windows are possible, but most often courses are available on demand, with little or no facilitation	More likely to offer course team facilitation (but not essential) Smaller cohorts should mean that educator interactions can be more tailored towards individuals
Moderation	Moderation is provided across the platform	Moderation is provided across the platform
Assessment and proof	Formative assessments are free Upgrade to access summative assessments and Certificate of Achievement	Certificate of Achievement available upon completion. If possible including professional endorsement or accreditation

Terminology on this page that you aren’t familiar with? Check out our glossary.

Contact FutureLearn

Articles in this section

Comments

Articles in this section

Related articles