Class Quality Guidelines

While we are an open platform, all classes on Skillshare need to meet the following criteria.

Our Moderation team reviews every new class that is submitted to our platform with these guidelines in mind. For more information about why we moderate classes and what that process looks like for teachers, refer to the article Class Moderation.

Teach on a Permitted Topic

Skillshare classes cover a wide variety of topics related to creativity, the arts, design, freelance, entrepreneurship, lifestyle, and productivity. There’s a lot of room for unique and specific skills and expression within these fields, but some topics are off-limits. To learn more, review our Restricted Class Topics list.

Meet Minimum Standards of Our Class Formats

Classes longer than 15 minutes in length need to include an introduction, outro, a class project that can be posted in the project gallery section, and several lessons to be considered complete.

Short-form classes can be as short as 2 minutes and as long as 15 minutes in length. Short-form classes need to include a class project but do not need to include a formal introduction or outro video lesson to be considered complete.

*Please note that all first lessons in each class continue to be free. That means that if you publish a class that contains only one lesson (however long it may be), that one-lesson class will be offered for free and you won't earn any royalties from it.

Include an Introduction Video

Your intro video is basically the movie trailer for your class. It’s the first thing students see when they click on your class and the only part of your video content that non-members can see. At a minimum, the intro video should:

  • Be the very first lesson in your class.
  • Stand on its own and clearly explain what the class is about.
  • Let students know what they’re about to learn and what they can expect.
  • Provide more information on your experience with the class topic and background.
To learn more about what makes a compelling introduction video, refer to the section Planning Your Intro Video in the article Outline Your Class.

Include a Class Project

At Skillshare, we believe real learning happens through doing. As such, all classes on Skillshare need to have a clear and engaging project component. At a minimum, it should include:

  • Clear instructions that specify what students should do or make during or after taking your class.
  • Instructions on what they should upload to your class’s project gallery.
Need more direction on how to develop a successful project for any type of class? Refer to the article Craft Your Class Project.

Include Well-Organized Content

Great instruction requires a solid structure based upon a lesson plan or course outline. At a minimum:

  • Each of your video lessons must have a clear title that reflects the content of the lesson.
  • Each class or video section should only be uploaded once. Classes that are overly repetitive in content may be removed.
For additional guidance on how to organize and plan your lesson content, refer to the article Outline Your Class.

Meet Standards for Audio & Video Quality

High-quality audio and video ensures that students can stay focused on learning. Keep in mind:

  • The audio in your class must be clear and easy to understand. It should also be free of distracting background noises, such as hums, fuzziness, crackling, or echoes.
  • Your audio should sync with your video footage and come out of both channels.
  • Your video must be high resolution (1080p) and shot with a steady camera, clear lighting, and framing.
  • Your video must be filmed in 16:9 aspect ratio (horizontal) for slides and video.
  • Screencasts, images, and text must be sharp, not blurry or pixelated.
  • Narration, commentary, and/or voiceovers should be natural and clear without the use of computer-generated voices.*

To ensure you’re capturing the best quality video and audio, refer to our articles in the Filming & Editing section.
*Exceptions apply, please email teach@skillshare.com if you require an accommodation

Vary Visual Presentation

We require that teachers include a variety of visuals and/or visual formats, such as adding in on-screen text, slides, or example images, help emphasize key takeaways or explain complex ideas. Even switching up camera angles can break up static shots and keep students engaged. Classes should not showcase one static picture or slide for the entirety of a lesson.

In addition to varied visuals, within each class:

  • Talking head shots need to be well-lit with professional backdrops.
  • Slides need to be well-structured and visually appealing.
  • Avoid rambling, ums, or excessive pauses.

Limit Self-Promotion

Teaching on Skillshare is a great way to grow your brand and build your audience. As long as your activities remain aligned with our Community Guidelines, Teaching Policies, and Terms of Service, we encourage you to engage with your followers regularly and link to your website and social media accounts from your Skillshare profile.

Within your classes though, marketing of your brand must be limited so that students can stay focused on learning. To that end, self-promotion within your classes (e.g., discussing your personal brand or business; encouraging students to follow you on social media or visit your website; sharing logos or other personal branding) should only happen within your introduction and conclusion videos. We will make exceptions for short-form classes that do not need to include an introduction or conclusion lesson.

You are permitted to refer to any of your previous Skillshare classes anywhere within a class as long as the reference is in support of student learning (e.g., it provides prerequisite information or complements your teaching in the current lesson).

Foster Genuine Learning

We support authentic, inspired learning and all classes on Skillshare are, first and foremost, educational. Therefore:

  • Classes may not consist simply of a walkthrough, review, or demo of a certain website or tool without any added knowledge-based value from the teacher.
  • We don’t permit classes that guarantee or promise a specific outcome or are geared primarily towards helping students achieve a static or monetary reward (i.e., “get rich quick” schemes) or a follower count on a platform (i.e., “hacks” for growing your Instagram audience).

Share Unique Educational Value

Skillshare values creativity, original thought, and teachers bringing their unique perspectives to their class topics. Keep in mind that:

  • Your video lessons should include narration throughout as you impart your expertise through tips, best practices, frameworks, concepts, theory, and/or examples that are your own. Your personal knowledge, experience, and insight are the most valuable things you have to share!
  • Classes may not draw from external materials that did not originate with the teacher for a significant portion of the class.
  • Classes should be made for Skillshare, and not branded for any other online teaching platforms.

Meet Our Minimum Class Performance Requirement

All classes on Skillshare are required to meet a minimum threshold of engagement performance, which will apply once your class has been on the platform for a year. Classes will be subject to removal if all of the following are true:

  1. Your class has been on Skillshare for more than a year (at least 365 days); AND
  2. Your class has less than a 2.5 average rating or no reviews at all, or has not received a positive review in the last 12 months; AND
  3. Your class has accrued fewer than 900 minutes watched in each month in the past year; AND
  4. Your class has accrued fewer than 600 minutes watched total across the past 3 months (90 days).

A class’s average review rating is calculated by adding the value of your reviews, for example “Not really” = 1 and “Exceeded!” = 4, and dividing by the total number of reviews. Note that from time to time, we may find that there are classes that fulfill certain student or programming needs outside of their engagement level. We reserve the right to exclude classes from the class performance requirement as needed to best serve our users.

For more information about this policy and why we have it, please read our announcement Class Performance Requirement for All Skillshare Classes (Updated January 2023).

Adhere to Our Community Guidelines and Teaching Policies

We take the safety of our community seriously. All classes must meet our Community Guidelines, which protect all users within the Skillshare community.

Teachers using Skillshare to publish their learning content are also bound by our Teaching Policies, Teacher Rules and Requirements, and Terms of Service.