Sounds like the class pacing was well thought out. When I took my beginning class, it was broken into 2 sessions: Quilting 1 and 2. You would enroll in the classes separately. The first class was basic piecing, and at the end of the course you either had a finished top for a small throw, or at least had the skills to finish the top. The second class was finishing. You brought your finished top from the first session, and they told us about batting (types, pros/cons etc.) sandwiching, basics domestic machine quilting and how to bind a couple different ways. Having the courses separated allowed slower students to finish their top at their own speed and just register when they were ready.