Use the following best practices, as shared by WebJunction Volume Course Purchase Administrators, to effectively share and use your Course Coupon Code.
Promoting Course Enrollments
- Computer-shy staff may be nervous about online courses. Assure them that it’s okay if they are new to online learning. Show them this video preview of WebJunction's self-paced courses.
- Plan how you will collect staff feedback on courses, even if they don’t complete them.
- Follow up with staff to find out how they are applying course knowledge in the workplace.
- Clearly communicate the value of a course, especially if staff are enrolling for free.
- Present this new resource at a library staff day. Allocate staff time to create their WebJunction member account, browse the catalog and enroll in a course.
- Survey staff to understand and target learning needs. What topics are most important to staff?
- Link to specific courses in the WebJunction catalog from your intranet or website.
- Point staff to discussion boards and article content related to a course topic.
- Feature a “Competency of the Month” to help staff identify which courses will fill the gaps in their knowledge. Supplement with face-to-face or live online discussion.
- Encourage directors/managers to allow staff time to take a course. For example, 30 minutes/week is a reasonable amount of time to complete a course, a little bit at a time.
- Relate courses to the library’s certification or training program.
- Encourage staff to apply their learning directly to a project or professional development goal.
- Ask each staff to review the competencies online at WebJunction and select at least one to work toward.
- Assign competencies to staff by department, common job role or task. Require each staff to complete at least one course supporting an assigned competency. Encourage staff to create cohorts taking the same courses.
Controlling Course Enrollments and Ensuring Completion
- Contact staff/directors directly, communicating course policies for your state/organization.
- Develop a usage policy that requires staff to obtain approval before enrolling in a course.
- Follow up with staff who have not finished their course(s). Remind staff of deadlines for completing a course.
- Encourage staff to complete their course within a shorter time period (3-6 months) than the coupon expiration period. It’s tempting for staff to put off taking a course if they know they have a whole year to complete it.
- Don’t be afraid to “nudge” your staff about course completion. A lot of nudging tends to get good response.
- Encourage staff to read the course description before they sign up in order to avoid having staff take a course they don’t intend to complete.
This list is a work in progress. Share your recommendations for successful use of WebJunction courses on WebJunction, on the Training Program Management discussion board.
