In the White Paper on Post-School Education and Training of 2013, the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) encourages the use of digital technology where appropriate to enhance access, improve communication and generally optimise student engagement. As a consequence, higher education and open and distance learning (ODL) must contemplate a transformation that requires high quality teaching and learning. Faculty teaching staff must therefore be reskilled not only to teach in this digitised environment, but also to become technocratic learners. In this article, we report on a literature review and an exploratory study that we conducted of sources published from 2003 to 2014 in order to map the requirements for the planning of an online course. We identify the elements needed to ensure student success in this environment, focusing on course design and the self-efficacy of students. We end with an attempt to explain why many online courses do not seem to reflect a scholarly approach.