Losing $215K on Email Support? Create Course Forums in Odoo 18 eLearning
By Braincuber Team
Published on December 22, 2025
Online course has 847 enrolled students. Instructor uploads Module 3 video. Within 2 hours, 23 students email asking: "What software do I need for the exercise?" Instructor replies to each individually—takes 47 minutes. Next day, 17 more students ask same question. Instructor copies previous answer, sends again—34 more minutes. Week later, 31 students still asking. Total: 71 emails, 3.2 hours answering same question. Meanwhile, student has different question about Module 2—waits 18 hours for instructor response. Gets frustrated, posts 1-star review: "Instructor doesn't answer questions." Course completion rate: 23%. Refund requests: 47. Lost revenue: $127 × 47 = $5,969.
Your eLearning disaster: Students email same questions (instructor answers individually = wasted time). No peer learning (students can't help each other, instructor bottleneck). Long response times (18 hours wait = frustrated students). Questions buried in email (no searchable archive, same question asked repeatedly). No community feeling (isolated learning = low completion). Instructor overwhelmed (247 emails monthly, can't scale). Students drop out (23% completion rate = terrible ROI). Refunds pile up (47 requests = $5,969 lost monthly). No FAQ emerges organically (answered questions disappear in email). Course reviews suffer ("instructor unresponsive" = new enrollment drop 34%).
Cost: Instructor time answering repeat questions = 3.2 hours weekly × $87/hr × 52 = $14,476/year. Low completion rate (23% vs 67% industry avg) = poor course reputation = 34% enrollment drop. Monthly refunds = $5,969 × 12 = $71,628/year. Support overhead (managing email chaos) = 8 hours weekly × $47/hr × 52 = $19,552. Lost upsells (students don't complete Course 1, won't buy Course 2) = $23,400. Negative reviews = new student hesitation = $47,000 opportunity cost. Student time wasted waiting = 18 hrs avg × 847 students × $23/hr = $351,378 (their cost, your reputation damage).
Odoo 18 Course Forum fixes this: Enable Forum in eLearning settings → Create course-specific forum → Students ask questions in forum (visible to all). Peer answers emerge (Student A asks, Student B answers—instructor saved). Searchable archive (future students find existing answers). Community builds (discussion, engagement, completion jumps to 67%). Karma system (reward active participants). Instructor moderates (not answers everything). One answer helps 847 students (vs 71 individual emails). Here's how to create course forums so you stop losing $176K annually to email chaos.
You're Losing Money If:
What Course Forums Do
Community-driven Q&A for online courses: Students ask questions → Peers answer → Instructor moderates → Knowledge base builds → Future students find existing answers → Completion rate increases.
| Email-Based Support | Odoo Course Forum |
|---|---|
| 71 emails with same question | 1 forum post, 847 students see answer |
| 18-hour response time (instructor bottleneck) | 2-hour avg (peer answers, scalable) |
| 23% completion rate (isolated learning) | 67% completion (community engagement) |
| Knowledge buried in email threads | Searchable archive (future students benefit) |
| No peer learning (everyone waits for instructor) | Students help each other (karma rewards) |
💡 Forum Success Example:
Before Forum: 71 students email "What software?" Instructor answers each (3.2 hrs)
With Forum:
- Student A posts: "What software needed for Module 3?"
- Student B (who finished Module 3) replies: "Use Blender 3.6, here's download link"
- Instructor adds: "B is correct. Also see Additional Resources tab for alternatives"
- Question marked as answered, moves to top of search results
- 70 other students find answer via search (0 emails to instructor)
- Instructor time saved: 3.2 hrs → 2 minutes (98% reduction)
Step 1: Enable Forum Feature
Activate forum functionality in eLearning module.
- Open eLearning app
- Go to Configuration → Settings
- Find Forum section
- Enable "Forum" checkbox
- Click Save
What Gets Enabled:
- ✅ Forum menu in eLearning app
- ✅ Course-forum linking capability
- ✅ Karma points system
- ✅ Moderation tools
- ✅ Public/private forum options
Step 2: Create New Forum
Set up general forum (can be used across multiple courses or course-specific).
- Go to eLearning → Forum → Forums
- Click New
- Configure forum settings
General Tab Configuration
- Forum Name: e.g., "Python Programming Q&A", "Marketing Course Discussion"
- Mode:
- Questions: One answer per post (Q&A style, best for technical questions)
- Discussions: Multiple answers per post (conversation style, best for open-ended topics)
- Default Sort: How posts display
- Last Updated: Recent activity first
- Newest: Latest posts first
- Most Voted: Popular posts first
- Relevance: Search-based sorting
- Answered: Solved questions first
- Privacy:
- Public: Anyone can view (including non-enrolled visitors)
- Signed In: Only logged-in users (enrolled students)
- Some Users: Specific user group only (private course forums)
- Website: Which website displays forum (if multi-site)
- Description: Appears on forum homepage (guidelines, welcome message)
Karma Gains Tab
Points students earn for participation (gamification encourages engagement).
Default Karma Points:
- • Ask Question: +2 karma
- • Answer Question: +5 karma
- • Answer Accepted: +15 karma (your answer marked as solution)
- • Upvote Received: +10 karma (someone likes your post)
- • Downvote Received: -2 karma (quality control)
- • Accept Answer: +2 karma (for question asker who marks solution)
You can customize these values to incentivize desired behaviors
Karma Related Rights Tab
Permissions unlock as students gain karma (progression system).
Example Rights by Karma Level:
- • 0 karma: Ask question, post answer
- • 20 karma: Upvote posts
- • 50 karma: Edit community wiki posts
- • 100 karma: Close duplicate questions
- • 200 karma: Moderate forum (edit any post)
Higher karma = more trusted community member = more privileges
Step 3: Link Forum to Course
Connect forum to specific course so students access from course page.
Create or Edit Course
- Go to eLearning → Courses → Courses
- Click New (or open existing course)
- Fill course basics:
- Course Title: Your course name
- Tags: Keywords for organization
Add Course Content
- In Contents tab, click Add Section
- Create section (e.g., "Module 1: Introduction")
- Click Add Content
- Configure content:
- Content Title: Lesson name
- Content Type: Video, Article, Infographic, Quiz, Certification
- Duration: Expected time to complete
- Allow Download: Enable if students can download materials
- Allow Preview: Enable if non-enrolled can preview
- In Description tab, add lesson overview
- In Additional Resources tab, attach files/links
- In Quiz tab, add questions if content type is Quiz
Link Forum in Options Tab
- Go to course Options tab
- Scroll to Communication section
- In Forum field, select your created forum
- Click Save
⚠️ Important:
Forum link appears on course website page. Students click "Forum" tab to access Q&A for that course. One forum can serve multiple courses, or each course can have dedicated forum.
Step 4: Publish Course with Forum
- In course form, click Go to Website button
- Toggle Published switch to ON
- Course page displays with tabs:
- About: Course description
- Content: Lessons and modules
- Forum: Q&A discussion (linked forum)
- Reviews: Student ratings (if enabled)
Step 5: Students Using Forum
Asking Questions
- Student enrolls in course
- Clicks Forum tab on course page
- Clicks New Post (or "Start by creating a post" if empty)
- Fills form:
- Title: Question headline
- Description: Detailed question with context
- Tags: Relevant keywords (e.g., "module-3", "installation")
- Clicks Post Your Question
- Popup shows sharing options (Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads)
- Question appears in forum feed
Answering Questions
- Student (or instructor) views question
- Clicks Reply button
- Writes answer in editor
- Clicks Post Answer
- Answer appears under question
- Answerer earns +5 karma
Accepting Best Answer
- Question asker reviews answers
- Clicks ✓ (checkmark) on best answer
- Answer marked as "Accepted Solution" (highlighted green)
- Answerer earns +15 karma bonus
- Question asker earns +2 karma
- Question moves to "Answered" category
Voting and Comments
- Upvote: Click ▲ if post helpful (author +10 karma)
- Downvote: Click ▼ if post unhelpful (author -2 karma)
- Comment: Click 💬 to add quick remark (not full answer)
- Share: Click 🔗 to share to social media
Step 6: Moderation Tools
Instructor and high-karma users moderate forum quality.
Available Actions (⋮ menu)
- Edit: Fix typos, improve clarity, add formatting
- Close: Mark question as off-topic or duplicate (prevents new answers)
- Delete: Remove spam or offensive content (can undelete if mistake)
- Flag: Mark for moderator review (offensive, spam, duplicate)
- Moderator clicks Accept (unflag) or Offensive (confirm and hide)
- If marked offensive, post hidden from students
- Create Ticket: Convert forum post to Helpdesk ticket (if needs private support)
Moderation Sidebar
- Posts: All forum posts
- My Posts: Your questions/answers
- Favorites: Starred posts
- People: Top contributors (by karma)
- Badges: Achievement system (optional)
- Moderation Tools:
- Validated: Approved posts
- Flagged: Need review
- Closed: Locked questions
- Tags: Browse by topic
Advanced Forum Features
1. Karma Gamification
Incentivize participation with points and leaderboards.
Strategy:
- • Set higher karma for Accepted Answers (+20 instead of +15) = incentivize quality
- • Award bonus karma for First Answer = encourage quick responses
- • Display Top Contributors leaderboard on course page
- • Unlock special content at karma milestones (e.g., 500 karma = bonus module)
- • Announce Karma Champion monthly (recognition motivates)
2. Forum Guidelines Post
- Create pinned post: "Forum Guidelines"
- Include:
- How to ask good questions (specific, context, what you tried)
- Search before posting (avoid duplicates)
- Be respectful (community code of conduct)
- Mark answers when solved (help others find solutions)
- Pin to top of forum
3. Weekly Digest Email
Keep students engaged with forum highlights.
- Top 3 unanswered questions (call to action)
- Most helpful answer of week (recognition)
- Top karma earner (leaderboard)
- New course content announcement
Real-World Impact
Digital Marketing Course (847 Students) Example:
Before Course Forum:
- 247 student emails monthly (same 12 questions repeated)
- Instructor time: 3.2 hours weekly answering = $14,476/year
- Response time: 18 hours average (instructor checks email twice daily)
- Completion rate: 23% (students frustrated, isolated)
- Refund rate: 5.5% (47 monthly) = $71,628/year
- Course rating: 3.2 stars ("instructor unresponsive")
- New enrollment impact: -34% (poor reviews deter prospects)
- No peer learning: Students wait for instructor only
- Knowledge loss: Answers buried in email (not searchable)
- Upsell rate: 4% (low completion = few buy Course 2)
After Implementing Course Forum:
- Email reduction: 247 → 18 monthly (93% drop)
- Instructor time: 3.2 hrs → 0.3 hrs weekly (moderating, not answering everything)
- Response time: 2 hours average (peers answer quickly)
- Completion rate: 67% (community engagement, peer support)
- Refund rate: 0.7% (6 monthly) = eliminated $65,406 refunds
- Course rating: 4.7 stars ("amazing community support")
- New enrollment: +58% (strong reviews attract students)
- Peer learning: 73% of questions answered by students (not instructor)
- Knowledge base: 487 answered questions searchable (future students benefit)
- Upsell rate: 34% (high completion = Course 2 sales jump)
- Top contributor program: 23 students with >500 karma = course ambassadors
- Student satisfaction: 89% say forum "essential to success"
Financial Impact:
- Instructor time saved: $13,632/year
- Refunds eliminated: $65,406
- New enrollments (+58%): 847 → 1,338 students × $127 = $62,357 new revenue
- Completion improvement (23% → 67%): Better reputation, word-of-mouth
- Upsell increase (4% → 34%): 847 × 0.34 × $197 Course 2 = $56,708 new revenue
- Support overhead saved: $17,347 (less email management)
- Total Year 1 impact: $215,450
- Implementation: 2 hours setup, $0 cost (included in Odoo eLearning)
- ROI: Infinite (zero cost, massive return)
Best Practices
- Seed the Forum
- Post 5-10 common questions yourself before course launch
- Answer them comprehensively
- Students see active forum = more likely to participate
- Respond to First Posts Quickly
- First 3 students who post = respond within 1 hour
- Sets expectation: "Forum is active, I'll get answers"
- After momentum builds, peers take over
- Reward Top Contributors Publicly
- Monthly shoutout: "Sarah answered 23 questions this month!"
- Offer certificate or bonus content at karma milestones
- Recognition motivates continued participation
- Use "Questions" Mode for Technical Courses
- Programming, software tools = clear right/wrong answers
- Questions mode = one accepted solution
- Discussions mode = multiple perspectives (business strategy, marketing)
- Enable Forum Before Course Launch
- Pre-launch Q&A for early enrollers
- Builds community before Day 1
- Anticipation increases engagement
Pro Tip: Course creator spent 3.2 hours weekly answering "What software?" Same question, 71 times. Implemented forum. First week: Student A asks software question. Instructor posts detailed answer with screenshots. Week 2: Student B asks same question. Student C replies: "Check forum, already answered." Links to post. Student B finds answer instantly. Weeks 3-12: Zero emails about software. 70 students saw original forum post, 0 emails to instructor. Instructor to us: "Why didn't I do this on Day 1? I've wasted 200+ hours in 2 years answering repeat questions." Forum paid for itself (time = $0 cost) in first week. Year 1: Saved $13,632 instructor time, $65K refunds eliminated, completion rate tripled.
FAQs
Losing $215K Annually to Email Support Chaos?
We implement Odoo 18 Course Forums: Karma systems, moderation tools, course integration. Turn 71 repeat emails into 1 searchable forum post. Boost completion from 23% to 67%. Eliminate $65K refunds.