Coursera is a superior platform for individuals hoping to advance their careers, learn new skills, or take up higher education. With a selection of courses with credible certification, and a flexible learning timeline, it is one of a kind.
Coursera is a leading online learning platform that provides a vast selection of courses from top institutions and universities globally. Overall, it is an excellent platform for students interested in advancing their education and learning new skills.
The purpose of this Coursera review is to analyze the offerings of this platform on different scales. From pricing to its course structure and customer support, let’s see how well it turns out to be.
In one line – Coursera gives you a pretty good deal allowing you to enroll in accredited courses from global universities sitting at home!
How?
To begin with, one of the standout attributes we cannot miss about Coursera is that they have more than 4000 courses available across different topics, from humanities to business, engineering, and computer science.
Further, they have classes in various languages, making the platform useful to people of different origins across the globe.
Coursera also offers learners a flexible schedule. You can find their classes on demand. So learners can take the sessions at their pace.
With so much to like about Coursera, is it legit? Well, it sure is. Renowned professors and industry experts offer these courses, ensuring top-quality instruction.
Moreover, their courses are project-based. Thus, learners can gather practical exposure in their chosen study area. Another unmissable attribute of Coursera is that they provide a variety of specializations and certificates, giving the learners tangible evidence of the newly-acquired skill.
How Good Is Coursera?
Coursera is good enough to be on your consideration radar when looking for accredited courses online.
| Coursera course range | Over 4,000 courses across various fields, including business, computer science, data science, health, humanities, social sciences, and more |
| No. of Courses | 4,000+ |
| Ideal for | Individuals seeking to learn new skills, professionals wanting to advance their careers, or someone willing to pursue higher education |
| Pricing | $30 to over $1,000 based on the type of course you choose |
| Certification | Offered for most courses, certificates available for a fee |
| Accreditation | Some courses may offer university credit or be part of a degree program |
| Financial aid | Available |
| Class type (online/recorded) | Online, with some courses offering live sessions or interaction with instructors |
| Refund | Some courses may offer a refund within 7-14 days |
| Course Types | Degree – Two to four years
Specialization – 1 to 3 months Individual courses – 4 to 60 hours MasterTrack Certificates- 4 to 7 months Professional Certificate – 1 to 6 months Guided Projects – 1 to 2 hours |
Exploring Coursera, Is It Legit?
As already mentioned – Yes!
Coursera is a legitimate and reputable online platform that partners with top educational institutions and universities. Coursera presently offers certifications, degrees, and classes from some of the most respected organizations and universities, including Google, The University of Michigan, Stanford, and Yale etc to name a few.
These partnerships are genuine, and the courses are drafted and taught by professionals from the same institutions. The platform provides top-quality educational content and offers learners world-class expertise and resources. So there is no doubt about how is Coursera.
In addition, Coursera offers different accreditation and verification options for learners after they complete their courses, including credit transfer and certification.
Coursera Courses Review – Good, Better, Best?
Coursera is a trusted and legitimate platform that also provides students with an opportunity to learn new skills and progress their careers with credible credentials.
Here is a list of the pros and cons associated with Coursera. Weigh them both to form a decision.
| Pros | Cons |
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How Are The Courses Developed and Curated On Coursera?
Coursera offers over 4000 courses and six types of programs. Below we will enlist them.
1. Guided Projects are usually short, two-hour courses that teach you job-relevant skills. You can find more than 2200 guided projects on Coursera. Most of these are in English and cover top subjects like Data Science, Computer Science, and Business.
2. Professional Certificates: These prepare the students for a particular industry or job. They last from a few hours to a couple of months. Data Science and Business are the main subjects for Professional Certificates. Learners have spoken highly of professional certificates in Coursera classes review.
3. Individual Courses: You can find around 1800 free courses with over 1200 in English. These are available on different subjects. You may audit the courses for free. However, you must bear a fee if you need a certification.
4. Specializations contain a series of related courses that help you master a specific skill. Coursera has more than 1500 specializations, with over 1400 in English. Students can take one or more courses from a series or complete all subject-focused courses.
5. Some of the specialization topics are Data Science, Computer Science, and Business. Coursera’s rating for most of them is admirable.
6. MasterTrack Certificates are issued by the universities as part of the Master’s degree program. You can find more than twenty programs available for students to select from.
7. Degrees: Coursera also offers master’s and bachelor’s degree programs from different universities and postgraduate studies for graduate-level learning without committing to a full degree program.
Regardless of your program type, you can find classes on Philosophy, Humanities, Arts, History, Data Science, Business, Personal Development, Math and Logic, Health, Information Technology, Social Sciences, Language Learning, Physical Science and Engineering, and more.
Are Coursera Instructors Good?
Generally, the Coursera instructors are good subject matter professionals and experts in their respective fields with extensive experience and knowledge.
The platform partners with top institutions and universities to provide programs and courses. The instructors come from these institutions or otherwise have a solid professional background. So, if the instructor’s profile is your only criterion for learning and you don’t bother much about Coursera courses review, hands down Coursera is a winner.
The Coursera instructors design and create the course content, including the readings, lectures, and projects. Further, they also deliver the material to students via interactive quizzes, video lectures, and other online tools.
Instructors also offer feedback on assignments and engage the students via discussion forums and other communication channels.
Basis Coursera reviews, the instructors are supportive, engaging, and knowledgeable. They offer an interactive and challenging learning experience. Coursera extends its support to users, including access to a community of staff as well as technical and instructional support to guarantee the course and program quality.
Did We Like Coursera User Experience?
Basis the many Coursera rating and reviews, it is easy to say that Coursera offers a positive user experience for learners. The navigation is easy and seamless.
Coursera has filters available under every category that lets you filter the content by duration, program type, language, level, skills, and creator. So the Coursera feedback from learners is worth all the hype.
Further, Coursera also has discussion forums and communities that let learners collaborate and interact with other learners. But when asked how is Coursera, some of the learners did complain about technical issues with the platform like video playback.
Do Universities & Employers Recognize Coursera?
Yes, several employers and universities recognize the value of Coursera programs and courses. Coursera partners with more than 200 universities and institutions globally, including Ivy League and several other prestigious universities, to deliver programs and classes in different subjects.
Moreover, the instructors are also well-reputed, so the Coursera course’s reviews are good in that regard. The platform delivers top-quality and rigorous coursework, typically equivalent to sessions on campus.
Further, you earn a certification and degrees accredited by recognized institutions like the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. This will help you in your career growth as well.
Obviously, Coursera feedback is good, so employers also recognize the value of Coursera.
Thus, even though recognition may vary by employer and institution, Coursera is vastly recognized as a valuable and reputable partner for online learning.
Is The Coursera Platform Free?
No. The Coursera platform is not 100 percent fee, as several programs and courses demand a fee to access. But you can find some sessions for free as part of their audit mode.
In the audit mode, you can access the course material but you will not receive a credit or certificate for course completion. You do get to read the Coursera reviews for all courses before enrolling and paying the fees.
Is Coursera Plus Expensive?
Keeping in mind its utility, Coursera Plus is not expensive. It is a subscription that lets learners access more than ninety percent of courses and programs in Coursera’s catalog for a flat fee of $399 annually.
Only learners who wish to take multiple programs or classes across the year will find Coursera Plus a cost-effective option.
Typically, the individual classes on Coursera range between $29 and $99 or more per course and you get access to Coursera ratings & reviews before signing up. The cost however adds up as you take multiple sessions. But with Coursera Plus, you get unlimited access to all the classes at a flat fee. It can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Beyond the potential cost savings, Coursera Plus has additional benefits like access to exclusive content for completing the courses and programs and discounts on other Coursera courses. The benefits add more value to the subscription. Thus, a subscription is a favorable option if you want to take more than one course.
Why Is Coursera Bad?
In all honesty, we would not say that Coursera is bad. Coursera reviews are also pretty good. The platform has helped millions of learners globally to access top-quality education and acquire new skills. However, like every other educational platform Coursera has its share of ups and downs. Some of the potential lows that do not work in Coursera’s favor are:
- You have limited options for learners to connect with their peers and instructors.
- The peer review system is not always 100% accurate and justified.
- Some programs require learners to pay extra for textbooks or other materials.
- Even though you earn certifications, it is not free.
- The flexibility in Coursera courses may be a problem for many, as students might struggle to stay disciplined and motivated without a structured learning environment.
- Professional-level degree programs might sound expensive to many.
Coursera Feedback and Review Ratings By Learners
Reviews by Monica C.
Very complete course, with very prepared teachers, and all contents are extremely useful and applied to real work situations. It is not a useless theoretical course! Lots of important theories but applied to real operations.
Reviews by Xiaoqiu Q
Sorry have to point out that it is an unpolite and low-quality assignment peer review system.
Reviews by Natalie g
The content is great, the instructor is great BUT I strongly dislike the peer-review grading and the lack of Coursera support. Also, there is a glitch in the system that marks the course as incomplete even though I have completed everything. And yes, many other students are having the same problem. It seems to be connected with an FB welcome message video on Blurpint that is required viewing. We have all seen it a million times but Coursera doesn’t recognize this fact and so we are marked overdue. Support has been non-existent. I even received a reply saying that it is a known issue but that there is no timeframe for fixing it!!!! Really? So if there is no timeframe for fixing it how do we get our certification at the end of the program? If the course is incomplete? It makes no sense.
Reviews by Fay v B
The course was really interesting. Because they started with the basics, it was really understandable. Furthermore, the assignments helped me to put the theory into practice which was really helpful.
What Can We Conclude From These Reviews?
These Coursera ratings and reviews imply that the course and instructor quality on Coursera is top-notch, and the course content is beneficial and applicable to a real-world situation.
But the lack of support from Coursera and the peer-grading system are areas of concern among learners.
Further, these Coursera course reviews suggest the technical issues with the platform that may cause frustration for students, such as glitch that marks courses as incomplete even after completion.
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Coursera Alternatives
Some of the best Coursera alternatives include:
Final Word – How Good Is Coursera?
Overall, Coursera is an excellent online platform that provides an array of programs and courses from top institutions and universities globally. It offers learners an opportunity to acquire knowledge, and new skills, advance their careers, and access education at a reasonable cost as compared to the in-person education system.
It brings you home the most prestigious courses, blurring all geographical boundaries. Sitting in any corner of the world you could take up a course from an Ivy League or organizations like Meta and Google.
The platform has many benefits but has its share of drawbacks too. As per Coursera reviews some of their courses suffer greatly because of their unreliable peer-review system. The portal is suitable for many but not all, especially those who cherish in-person, hands-on learning.
