Coursera

Key Partners

Key Activities

Value Propositions

Customer Relationships

Customer Segments

Universities & teachers

Creating & maintaining IT

infrastructure

Access to world-class education

for free

Community

Mass market

Social media
Managing current partners &
acquiring new ones

Helps people improve their lives

Individuals interested in
(prestigious) education

Amazon
Translators

Blog
Wide reach

Developers

Individuals with lower income or

busy schedules

Managing the learning community

Flexible schedule & interactive
tools

Key Resources

Channels

Online platform

Online platform

Partnerships with top universities

Mobile application

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

IT infrastructure

Premium services: Signature Track

Course program

Revenues from career service

Licensing fees: $3000 + additional fee per student
Affiliates program with Amazon: commission on each book sale

Description by Business Model Gallery. Canvas by BusinessModelGeneration.com

Company Information
Education
https://www.coursera.org/
Social entrepreneurship company offering courses online in co-operation
with top universities and organizations around the globe.
Founded: 2012
Employees: 101-1.000
Country: United States
Company Type: Individuals, Startup

About the Business Model

Education platform that offers courses online for anyone for free by
partnering with high-class universities and other educational
organizations worldwide.

Key Characteristics
Coursera is focused on offering content online from most reputed
professors and educational institutions. People who are interested in taking
a course on Coursera can choose from 600+ courses that are offered by
110 high-ranking organizations worldwide. Students can create an own
schedule and embrace the learning experience by watching video lectures,
taking interactive quizzes, completing peer graded assignments, or
interacting with other students and teachers. After having finished a class,
students can receive recognition in the form of a certificate.
While most of the students register to benefit from courses available for
free, Coursera introduced a fee-based Signature Track highlighting the
rewards after having accomplished the course. Students using this service
submit a photo ID and are tracked until the completion based on their
unique typing pattern to be reliably identified. Coursera generates revenues
by providing university-branded certificates that can be purchased by the
students and can serve as an professional development addition on
rsums. Also, it shares revenues with Amazon.com if users buy books
suggested by professors and sells licenses to use the platform and certain
courses. Further, the company maintains an opt-in recruiting service
chargeable for employers that allows students to find and connect with
positions matching their skills and interests.
Key Takeaways
Coursera is one of the most widely used massive open online courses
(MOOC) striving to democratize education by providing extensive access to
learning content from quality teachers. At the beginning of 2014, Coursera
had over 22 million enrollments from 190 students representing countries.

Especially, in the developing countries the service might spread the interest
in higher education thus tapping areas of nonconsumtion that have remain
untouched so far.
The company expressed its interest in maintaining the courses free which
is also due to its marketing advantage it holds by partnering with elite
universities. By primarily monetizing on the end product offered, the
company needs to regard the student intent as some students never plan
to finish a course and some just want to have access to the learning
material. About 70-80% of paying users finish the courses.
In general, the global market for education is currently assessed with $4.6
trillion, while the total market capitalization of companies in the area is just
$50 billion. Hence, there is enormous potential to monetize with a business
model for online education.

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