When we are calculating the return on investment of developing e-learning content from an existing face to face course, we typically calculate how long an instructor has to spend delivering the content in a class and calculate their wages as well as any other costs such as room hire, food provided and any other training materials such as manuals. One thing we often forgot is the learners time.
An elearning course usually runs significantly shorter than a classroom delivered course and does not involve time travel to the class location as well as time for breaks and interruptions. Also, don’t forget to factor in the time that the instructor spends preparing and then packing up and dealing with all paperwork arising from the course.
Of course, not all content should be delivered by elearning. If the course is not appropriate for elearning or the elearning is poorly delivered, Return on Investment is not a valid measure as bad training is always a waste of time and resources, regardless of the delivery format.