This fascinating article on the revenue streams of Coursera revealed some of the ways that this company has found to make money by giving away free education. As someone with a background in economics who is studying educational technology, this hits all of my nerd buttons.
According to this reporting, Coursera has tried many different approaches to revenue generation, but the main one which is actually brining in the dough is their Signature Track process, by which students pay a relatively small fee to have their identity verified. This way, students can show to employers or others that they have actually, certifiably attained the educational achievements they've completed in their MOOCs.
If massively open, online education is going to succeed in the long run, it will need both public-sector support and a private-sector model that can uphold the ideals of open education while providing a sound financial basis that can work for everyone.
According to this reporting, Coursera has tried many different approaches to revenue generation, but the main one which is actually brining in the dough is their Signature Track process, by which students pay a relatively small fee to have their identity verified. This way, students can show to employers or others that they have actually, certifiably attained the educational achievements they've completed in their MOOCs.
If massively open, online education is going to succeed in the long run, it will need both public-sector support and a private-sector model that can uphold the ideals of open education while providing a sound financial basis that can work for everyone.