I've been quilting for about 20 years, mainly self-taught but did take some classes. For a beginner class I would think the following needs to be covered:
Basic notions - sewing machine, rotary cutter, mat, scissors, pins, iron, thread, presser feet, seam ripper
Fabric Choices
Cutting Fabric (and rotary cutter safety!)
1/4-inch seam allowance
Pressing
Matching seams
Batting choices
Stitch-in-the-ditch quilting
Binding
Be sure the students walk away with a completely finished project. Preferably the project would have a few simple triangles just so you can show them a couple of ways of doing triangles.