Study Groups

All of our courses are pre-recorded and take place exclusively online, on FutureLearn. There is no requirement to attend in person or be online at certain times of day. Some courses may include optional live sessions, and you will find information about these in the course materials if that's the case.

Additional live sessions

Where there are additional live sessions included in a course, this will typically be posted about either in the course itself or in a comment pinned on the course by one of the course team. 

Example of a live session advertised in a course step

Here is an example of a live study session being hosted on Zoom for the course Supporting People with Health Conditions Into Work: Individual Placement and Support (IPS) 

[Image description: screenshot of step 7.7 of a FutureLearn course. The course step advertises a virtual classroom being hosted via Zoom link, for which learners can register via a link posted in the step itself]

Study groups linked to in a course comment

Sometimes a course educator or mentor might post in the comments section of a course to signpost a study session being hosted online, or to link to additional study materials online. Please be very careful when following such links. Check that the person who has posted this link has a label next to their profile name like the one shown in the below screenshot. The label of mentor is appearing next to David's name in a small box- with lines all around the title. The label of mentor is not part of his profile name.

[Image description: screenshot of a course comment posted by a course mentor. The comment has been pinned by the course mentor, with a small blue pin next to the label 'Pinned by Mentor'. The name of the course mentor is written on the next line down, with a small black box next to their name in which 'Mentor' is written]

Please note that real course educators and mentors will never post a link to a WhatsApp group or chat, as we do not allow the sharing of personal contact details like phone numbers on FutureLearn.

Course team members may be labelled with mentor or educator, we do not ever use the terms instructor or moderator to label a course team member. If you see someone posting in a course whose name is written like this 'Jessica Cooper [instructor], 'HILARY“INSTRUCTOR “ COLLINS', or 'Instructor Fiona Gullon-Scott' then those are not real members of the course team.  

Please note that FutureLearn courses are only available to join and learn on within the FutureLearn platform- https://www.futurelearn.com/.
 
FutureLearn does not host courses or study groups external to FutureLearn, including via WhatsApp . 
 
Please remember not to share your personal contact details with anyone on FutureLearn, or to join any Whatsapp groups advertised on FutureLearn as we cannot guarantee the safety of these groups.

None of our real course educators, mentors, or moderators will invite you to join a course or study group on WhatsApp.

Please do not join any such groups, and if you have already joined one please report it to the relevant platform hosts. 

If you see a post on a FutureLearn course which is inviting you to join a study group on any site outside of FutureLearn, such as WhatsApp or Facebook, please use the flag button that’s at the bottom of every comment: to report it to our moderators. 

To read more about Study Groups on FutureLearn, please read our guide- Study Groups