Coursera's "new economic model"

[Vle045]

I like the idea of Coursera, a centralized marketplace for online degrees, but here's what I don't get: with the profit sharing model, the school develops their online program and then markets it through Coursera and Coursera then gets a piece of the action. If said school were to just host the program themselves, they get 100% of the action. Other than being a centralized marketplace, what is Coursera providing to the schools to justify giving up that percentage? If the Covid pandemic taught schools anything, it's that it isn't that difficult to transition from tradition B&M to online formats. Sure there were blocks in the path, and plenty of learning lessons, but they've all experienced that it can be done.

I think what Coursera does is it connects students with colleges.  As I have been taking courses on Coursera, I have been getting various offers to “finish my degree” with XYZ college.  It’s targeting me with specific programs based on what I have chosen on Coursera.  So if I took a course with Macquarie University for example, and really enjoyed the instructors, I might look further into that school.  Without Coursera, I would never have heard of that school.