WP course list

another-file.php

<?php

class Some_Class {
	
	/**
	 * This code retrieves course data from an external API and displays it in the user's
	 * My Account area. A merchant has noticed that there's a delay when loading the page.
	 * 
	 * == What changes would you suggest to reduce or remove that delay? ==
	 */
	public function add_my_courses_section() {

		// Use the WordPress function get_current_user_id
		// to get the customer id instead of using a global
		$api_user_id = get_user_meta( get_current_user_id(), '_external_api_user_id', true );

		if ( !$api_user_id ) {
			return;
		}

		$courses = $this->fetch_api_data( $api_user_id, 'user_courses_cache', 'get_courses_assigned_to_user' );
		$sso_link = $this->fetch_api_data( $api_user_id, 'sso_link_cache', 'get_courses_assigned_to_user' );

		$active_course = $_GET['active_course'];

		// I moved the HTML code to a separate template file.
		// I prefer not to have HTML inside PHP.

		// Set variables needed in the template
		set_query_var( 'courses', $courses );
		set_query_var( 'sso_link', $sso_link );
		set_query_var( 'active_course', $active_course );

		// Start the buffer
		ob_start();

		// Get the content from the template
		get_template_part( 'courses' );

		// Store the content of the buffer and delete it
		$output = ob_get_clean();

		echo $output;
	}

	private function fetch_api_data( $api_user_id, $cache_key, $method ) {

		// Cache the result of the API calls using transients
		// to reduce the delay.
		// I set the expiration time quite arbitrarily.

		$result = get_transient( $cache_key );

		if ( false === $result ) {
			$result = $this->get_api()->{$method}( $api_user_id );
			set_transient( $cache_key, $result, 1 * HOUR_IN_SECONDS );
		}

		return $result;
	}
}

courses.php

<?php
    $courses = get_query_var( 'courses' );
    $sso_link = get_query_var( 'sso_link' );
    $active_course = get_query_var( 'active_course' );
?>
<h2 style="margin-top: 40px;"><?php print __( 'My Courses', 'text-domain' ); ?></h2>
<table>
    <thead><tr>
        <th><?php echo __( 'Course Code', 'text-domain' ); ?></th>
        <th><?php echo __( 'Course Title', 'text-domain' ); ?></th>
        <th><?php echo __( 'Completion', 'text-domain' ); ?></th>
        <th><?php echo __( 'Date Completed', 'text-domain' ); ?></th>
    </tr></thead>
    <tbody>
    <?php
        foreach( $courses as $course ) :
        ?><tr>
        <td><?php echo __( $course['Code'] ); ?></td>
        <td><?php echo __( $course['Name'] ); ?></td>
        <td><?php echo __( $course['PercentageComplete'] ); ?> &#37;</td>
        <td><?php echo __( $course['DateCompleted'] ); ?></td>
        <?php endforeach;
            ?>
    </tbody>
</table>
<p><a href="<?php echo $sso_link; ?>" target="_blank" class="button <?php echo $active_course; ?>"><?php echo __( 'Course Login', 'text-domain' ); ?></a></p>