My '101 Beginner Quilt class' was a sampler quilt. I learned so, so much. Not all the blocks were done in the class, some were 'homework'. By doing some of my blocks at home it gave me confidence that I could do this on my own.
IMHO learning to quilt is not just learning to do the 'simple' patterns, it is learning that there is a lot to quilting. So if a teacher can 'squeeze' as many techniques into 101 classes, they will have confident quilters.
good luck on your class!