Concerning the Misrepresentation and Dismissal of a Legitimate Academic Course

LucasVollet
LucasVollet Posts: 2 observer rank
in Audio and video solutions

As someone with a PhD in philosophy and peer-reviewed publications in reputable journals such as Husserl Studies and Studia Kantiana (yes I WILL mention this from the outsel), I find it troubling that Udemy’s review process appears unprepared to evaluate content that is not even particularly unconventional. My recent course — built from original material and layered with visual metaphors — was rejected on the grounds that it consisted of “AI-generated stock images and text-to-speech audio.” This is, to put it mildly, a mischaracterization.

The use of carefully composed visuals paired with narration — as seen in respected educational formats like BBC’s Cosmos or The School of Life — is not only pedagogically valid but culturally established. My course follows in that lineage: merging philosophical depth with metaphorical clarity, aiming not to reduce effort but to elevate understanding. Now, some might ask: is it at the same technical level as a BBC production? Of course not — but that is hardly the standard for all Udemy courses. And the more pressing question remains: if many accepted courses on the platform use less rigorously constructed materials, why is this particular format rejected?

Of course, the platform has every right to be concerned with standards — and ideally, that would be resolved through concrete, targeted feedback about the course’s quality. Unless, of course, we’re facing something more concerning: a quiet resistance to the use of modern technologies in course creation. That would be unfortunate — especially when you consider that many generic “mindset” courses with lower intellectual density are accepted simply because someone is speaking on camera. If that’s the case, it would at least be understandable if applied universally. But unless they can demonstrate that no other courses rely on similar narration/image formats, the inconsistency becomes hard to defend.

This is no longer just a request for approval — it is a fair and public response to an unfair representation. I ask Udemy: Are your standards obsolete? Are they open to contradiction and defense? Can you point to the exact criteria by which this decision was made — especially regarding how the visual materials allegedly fail to support the content? Until such clarity is offered, one can only conclude that innovation in educational media is being rejected not on the basis of quality, but due to institutional inertia. I take no pleasure in raising this issue, but as an academic, I feel a responsibility to challenge decisions that, if left unquestioned, only reinforce a regressive model of online education.

For my part, I intend to make this issue public — not out of grievance, but out of principle. I’ll go as far as I can within my academic and professional circles to press this point, because I believe that educators who experiment responsibly with format and method shouldn’t be penalized for not conforming to outdated templates. If Udemy wants to position itself as a serious platform for knowledge, then it must be willing to justify its decisions transparently and engage with the people it claims to serve.

Best,
Lucas Vollet

Comments

  • ThomasMitchell
    ThomasMitchell Posts: 536 visionary rank

    Does it consist of AI-generated images and text-to-speech audio?

    Is the audio in the course your voice?

  • RonErez
    RonErez Posts: 393 specialist rank

    Sounds good. You might want to contact Udemy support. Usually when a course is rejected they offer helpful comments/feedback that can easily be corrected.

  • MarinaT
    MarinaT Posts: 2,614 Udemy rank

    Hi @LucasVollet,

    Thank you for your post, and I'm sorry to hear that your course wasn’t approved by our Trust & Safety team.

    While AI-generated content is allowed on Udemy, there are certain quality standards that need to be met to ensure a great learning experience on the platform. I recommend reviewing our Course Quality Checklist: Use of AI for guidance on how to align your course with Udemy’s policies around AI use.

    Since we don’t have access to account details here in the community, the best next step is to reach out to our Policy team directly at policy@udemy.com. They’ll be able to provide more detailed feedback specific to your course.

    We really appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

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