Considering enrolling in an online course? Chances are, you’ve come across numerous positive testimonials about Coursera, accompanied by invitations to register for your inaugural class.
However, does this online educational platform truly merit its favorable reputation, or is it merely inflated acclaim?
Before committing to a Coursera course—or any online class, for that matter—it’s crucial to understand precisely how the platform operates and what value you receive for your investment. In this comprehensive review of Coursera, we’ll delve into the following and more:
- Selecting the most suitable Coursera courses
- Enrolling in a Coursera course
- Understanding the mechanics of the Coursera learning platform
- Coursera pricing
As someone who regularly engages in online courses to enhance professional skills, including platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and Fiverr Learn, I have extensive experience across various online learning platforms. Hence, I believe I can effectively highlight the primary advantages and disadvantages of Coursera. By the conclusion, you’ll be well-informed about whether Coursera aligns with your requirements for an online course, or if you might find better alternatives elsewhere.
What Is Coursera?
Coursera stands as an online course platform that collaborates with top universities to provide online education. Its offerings span from brief courses, also referred to as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), to specialized programs in specific subjects and even online degrees, offering a diverse array of options for learners.
Coursera boasts a faculty of proficient instructors sourced from prestigious universities, ensuring a high standard of instruction. Given that many renowned companies utilize Coursera for employee development, you can confidently expect to acquire the necessary job skills as well. Courses are exclusively delivered online, utilizing a blend of videos, textual resources, downloadable materials, and quizzes to assess your understanding.
Browsing Through the Coursera Course Catalog
The initial step in exploring course offerings on Coursera is to navigate through its course catalog. This catalog encompasses certificate and degree programs accredited by universities. Coursera categorizes its courses into five main types:
- Courses: These are straightforward courses with auto or peer grading, culminating in a Coursera certificate upon completion.
- Specializations: These are clusters of courses curated to aid in mastering a career skill, incorporating practical projects.
- Professional Certificates: These entail training for job-specific skills to gain experience or prepare for industry certification.
- MasterTrack Certificates: These courses confer career credentials and contribute towards an online degree, often including real-world projects.
- Degrees: This option offers modular degree learning, enabling you to earn your degree remotely and at your own pace.
Each listing in the catalog is accompanied by a colored label, providing a quick visual indication of the type of course it represents.
What Can You Study on Coursera?
As you explore the Coursera course catalog, you’ll quickly realize the extensive range of offerings available. The catalog encompasses courses in arts and humanities, sciences, business, IT, languages, personal development, and various other fields.
Every primary subject is subdivided into various subtopics, providing numerous potential course selections. Whether your interest lies in health and well-being or computer algorithms, there exists an online learning program tailored to your needs.
Numerous subject areas offer individual courses as well as the opportunity to pursue full degrees. You can easily identify which courses are part of a degree program by visiting the course listings page. Language courses are typically delivered by institutions situated in the respective countries of origin.
Moreover, course listing pages feature trending and popular courses, certificates, and programs, serving as helpful starting points if you’re uncertain about where to begin your exploration.
Discovering the Top Coursera Courses
One aspect I appreciate about Coursera is its robust on-site filtering tools. These tools streamline the process of finding your ideal course with just a few clicks. You can narrow down the courses displayed by skills, job title, level, language, type, and creator.
Another notable feature is that language is not a barrier when taking a Coursera course. Many courses offered in English provide subtitles in various languages such as Spanish, Arabic, and more. This information can be found on the course description page, along with details regarding:
- Duration
- Level
- Deadlines
- Whether it’s part of a specialization or a degree program
Once you’ve identified a course of interest, click on the link for additional information. At the top of the page, you’ll find details about the partner institution (typically a university or corporation), the number of reviews, the enrollment count, the average time commitment required, and the overall course rating. From my exploration, I found that all the courses had a rating of at least 4.5 stars.
You can also examine the course schedule, which is segmented into weeks with suggested completion times for each section. It delineates the videos and resources covered each week. While a suggested start date is provided, most courses offer flexibility, allowing you to adjust lessons and deadlines to accommodate your schedule.
Further down the page, you’ll find a link to explore the course instructor’s profile. Personally, I felt that this section could benefit from additional details, but there were links available to access more information.
How Much Does Coursera Cost?
One of the key inquiries, undoubtedly, revolves around the cost of this high-quality online training. Well, the pricing structure of Coursera varies significantly, depending on the subject of study and the mode of study.
You have the option to audit numerous courses on Coursera for free. This grants you access to the majority of course materials, although you won’t receive grading or earn a certificate.
Alternatively, you can opt for the graded version of the course and receive a certificate upon completion. The majority of courses we encountered were priced around $100, although pricing did exhibit some variance.
Specializations, which encompass multiple courses, are available through monthly subscription, and costs can quickly accumulate, especially for courses spanning several months (or depending on the duration it takes you to complete the materials).
However, there’s some positive news: Coursera provides a seven-day money-back guarantee. This enables you to experience the entire course, including grading, at no cost.
So far, everything seems promising. But what’s the experience like once you’ve enrolled in a course?
Is Coursera a Valuable Investment? When Should You Opt for It?
Hence, is Coursera a worthwhile option for online education? Well, it depends. While you can’t beat the unbeatable price (which is free) for auditing courses, the cost of certification can become significant depending on the course you opt for.
If you’re a Fiverr seller aiming to enhance your marketing skills, utilizing Fiverr Learn is likely more cost-effective and provides a useful profile badge. Alternatively, if you’re solely interested in learning and aren’t concerned about whether your instructors are experts in their respective fields, then Udemy is worth exploring. LinkedIn Learning also serves as a viable alternative to Coursera, especially since it’s free with a Premium account.
Nevertheless, Coursera’s extensive range of courses, affordable pricing, and interactive teaching approach make it an excellent option for online learning and skill enhancement. In my opinion: go for it! What do you have to lose?
