Coursera's MOOCs Start Generating Revenue: Have We Reached a Tipping Point in Education?

An April 8th, 2013 article in Inside Higher Ed reports that Coursera, the provider of free online courses known as MOOCs, is beginning to make money.

In the first quarter of 2013, after Coursera started charging for "verified completion certificates," its co-founders reported $220,000 of revenue:

"The vast majority of users are just dropping in to take free courses, but the company introduced a “Signature Track” to try to put more weight behind the end-of-course awards issued by universities that offer courses through its platform. Users who pay for this have to submit a photo ID of themselves to the company and are also tracked based on their “unique typing pattern” to ensure that people who take tests or turn in assignments are who they say they are. Prices are set around $50 so far."

The profitability of Coursera will depend on many factors - including whether Coursera begins compensating their teachers adequately.

Thanks to film educator Gabrielle Kelly for the link.