“I want to say yes, except that the number of naysayers has been going down,” he said. “We hear from students that they wanted to prove to employers that they were the ones who did the work. There is value in the informal statements of completion that we were handing out. Employers were starting to take that seriously.”
Ng said that many students in Coursera’s user base already have earned traditional degrees, and that it is common for Coursera students to list their completed Coursera courses alongside their traditional degrees on resumes.
“Employers view that as a very positive thing, especially if a student didn’t go to a Princeton or a Penn,” said Ng. “If they can show that they can compete with that academic rigor, that means something.”
In addition, by including Coursera courses on a resume, employers understand that the applicant is keeping up with the latest technology and prioritizes expanding his or her knowledge beyond the traditional classroom setting.
Ng said that when he first launched Coursera with fellow co-founder and CEO Daphne Koller last April, they had a clear vision in mind.
“We felt very strongly that it [had] to be accessible even to the most vulnerable and needy people in our society,” said Ng.
To prevent interested users from gaining knowledge through the site “would just be tragedy,” he said.
As a result, while designing Signature Track, Coursera decided to offer a financial aid option to students who want to receive a verified certificate for the completion of the courses, but lack the funds to pay for it.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” said Ng.
Students who request financial aid are asked to answer a few short questions regarding their circumstances before being allowed to join Signature Track free of charge.
“We’re all about the students,” said Ng. “Every day we wake up and ask how we can serve the students. I’m excited to give students another way to show off their [accomplishments].”
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