Currently, the Coursera platform has updated the user experience through Coursera Plus, which will be presented in this article.
With professional and academic demands increasingly focused on the technological environment, the online courses market has been gaining more and more followers, since professional training through the internet greatly facilitates training for the job market.
Thus, several projects stand out for their ability to offer qualified courses for the areas of greatest growth in the market, helping in the continuous training of professionals from different areas. And the Coursera platform is one of the most credible platforms in this scenario.
Therefore, if you are looking to update your professional knowledge and want to know what Coursera Plus is, check out its main features below.
What is the Coursera platform
In order to understand more precisely the main advantages and characteristics of Coursera Plus, it is important to remember what the Coursera platform is and what are its main differentials in this niche market.
Founded by computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, Coursera is an online course platform that stands out for its partnership with the world’s largest universities. In this way, the courses offered by the platform are produced by members of the faculty of such universities, ensuring the student the quality of the content that makes up such courses. In addition, after completing the course, the student receives a certificate that informs which university is responsible for the course taken, thus increasing their perception of value in the academic and professional market, since Coursera establishes partnerships with universities such as:
- Copenhagen Business School
- Duke University
- Eindhoven University of Technology
- Lemann Foundation
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Imperial College London
- Indian Institute for Human Settlements
- Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
- Indian School of Business
- Johns Hopkins University
- Michigan State University
- New York University
- Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- The Pennsylvania State University
- University of Florida
- Yale University
Because it works mainly with MOOC courses ( Massive Online Open Courses ), Coursera has several free courses , in addition to some paid courses. The free courses on the Coursera platform can be accessed in two different ways:
- Listener mode: the client who takes a course in the listener mode will have absolutely no cost involving enrollment or access to classes. However, you will not receive a certificate after the end of classes and, in some cases, you may be deprived of possible complementary content. Still, you will receive qualified training and have access to most of the course content.
- Modality student with certification: the student who opts for certification will have access to the content of the classes as well as the listening student. However, in specific cases, you will be able to access exclusive content, and will receive a certificate after the completion of each course, paying only the amount necessary to issue the certificate (something commonly between US $ 29.00 and US $ 50.00).
Although both modalities are usually perceived as satisfying experiences for users, Coursera sought to improve the cost-benefit ratio for its customers. Thus, Coursera Plus appears, which aims to further facilitate access to its courses.
How Coursera Plus works
The Coursera Plus works as a subscription service of the Coursera platform , which allows the user to have continuous access to different Coursera courses simultaneously. Thus, instead of paying individually the amount of each desired course, the student will be able to take as many courses as he / she deems necessary without any additional cost, if he / she chooses courses included in the Coursera Plus program.
In addition, courses that may not be included in the Coursera Plus plan can be purchased individually, with the student being responsible for the enrollment and related costs. However, it is important to remember that currently Coursera Plus provides unlimited access to more than 3,000 courses, thus covering different areas of interest.
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What courses are available through Coursera Plus
Among the more than 3 thousand courses offered through Coursera Plus , there are different courses in areas such as:
- Data Science
- Business
- Computer science
- Cheers
- Humanities
- Personal development
All of these courses are developed by the largest universities in the world, following the quality standard adopted by the Coursera platform. It should be noted, however, that Coursera Plus does not include MasterTrack TM graduations or certificates , but does include technical-level professional courses with updated content and in line with the requirements of the labor market.
Coursera Plus is worth it
The Coursera Plus service model is worthwhile for those who are available to take several courses, as well as for those who adapt to the online courses model and are looking to invest in continuing education.
Coursera Plus Price
The price of Coursera Plus is US $ 399.00 for the annual subscription, which is equivalent to US $ 33.25 per month. Considering the possibility of taking different courses each month, this option represents an excellent cost-benefit ratio, after all, the average cost of a single professional course is usually close to or even higher than the equivalent of one month of access to the benefits of Coursera Plus.
Does Coursera Plus have any guarantees
It is usual for a digital product to have at least 7 days warranty, after all this is a consumer right legally guaranteed in many countries. Thus, in compliance with legal guidelines, Coursera Plus offers 14 days to test your platform . During this period the student can enroll in different courses and take as many classes as they are interested in. At the end of this period, the student can cancel his subscription or remain linked to Coursera Plus, accepting the terms and conditions of the service.
It should also be noted that Coursera Plus reserves the right to cancel the subscription at any time it deems necessary. However, if you cancel your subscription while you are still taking a course, you may be unable to continue the course in progress, especially if the course has estimated modules for the following months. As the certificate of completion requires the course to be fully followed, interrupting the subscription to Coursera Plus may be an obstacle to receiving certification for a course that has already started. In this case, when canceling the subscription of Coursera Plus with courses in progress, you must pay individually for the courses you wish to receive certification after completing.
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Important precautions to avoid double payment courses
A frequent question about Coursera Plus is how to proceed to avoid double payment, since many students looking to register with Coursera Plus are students already familiar with the platform and with courses in progress during the time of hiring Coursera Plus. In this case, it is important to note whether the course in progress is included in the various courses of Coursera Plus or not , as if it is a course not included with such courses, as occurs, for example, with undergraduate courses or MasterTrack TM certificates , you will need to pay separately.
However, if you are previously enrolled in any of the courses included in Coursera Plus, before subscribing to Coursera Plus you must cancel your subscription to the course in question, especially in the case of a long-term course, with multiple payment installments. This way you avoid double payments and can continue taking your course without being harmed.
Coursera Plus has discount coupon
The Coursera platform has a discount coupon for those who fulfill some requirements, such as being a student of the platform and referring friends to also enroll in the course. However, these discount coupons on the Coursera platform tend to be more focused on courses purchased in particular, and therefore do not include courses taken through Coursera Plus.
It is important to remember, however, that Coursera Plus offers a guarantee, being possible to test the platform without any cost.
Advantages and benefits of Coursera Plus
Among the advantages and benefits of Coursera Plus, the following stand out:
- Cost-benefit ratio
- Practicality
- Stimulus to keep updating knowledge constantly
1 — Cost-benefit ratio
Knowledge is an investment and, like any investment, the cost-benefit ratio of the means to acquire knowledge is always taken into account. Thus, it is not surprising that the cost-benefit ratio of Coursera Plus is one of its great differentials. Although the annual investment of Coursera Plus may seem high, when analyzing the monthly investment, an excellent cost-benefit ratio is perceived, since the amount invested to have unlimited access to all the more than 3 thousand courses included in Coursera Plus it is close to the amount that would be invested in a single private course.
2 — Practicality
Undoubtedly, practicality is among the great differentials of Coursera Plus. Even though the Coursera platform is very intuitive and is constantly seeking to improve its features focused on the user experience, it is undeniable that Coursera Plus ends up making the user experience even more practical and simplified. This is because, when you are registered on Coursera Plus, you will not need to confirm your payment and registration data again with each new course taken.
In addition, when browsing the course options offered by Coursera Plus, the user is faced with the feeling of having already paid for all the available courses, with no thought of blocking in relation to finance, for example.
3 — Stimulus to keep updating knowledge constantly
Professionals who study Marketing, Advertising and even notions of Neuroscience and Behavioral Psychology applied to consumer behavior know that there are different factors that influence consumer decision making. And a factor often stimulated by these professionals is the use of mental triggers, that is, ways to stimulate the content of the client’s thinking to induce him to certain actions.
According to experts, the main mental triggers are:
- Scarcity
- Urgency
- Authority
- Reciprocity
- Social Proof
Although in an indirect and very subtle way, programs like Coursera Plus can positively stimulate user behavior due to the mental triggers of scarcity and urgency. By knowing that the amount invested will be the same, regardless of how productive and disciplined the student is within the platform, the client may feel motivated to take as many courses as possible, in order to increase the feeling of profit in the investment.
In acting in this way, even if such behavior is suggestive of a conscious search for gain, the individual ends up acting motivated to avoid the loss (that is, avoid facing the sensation of scarcity) and seeking to maximize the time spent in their training (motivated, in this case, by the urgent mental trigger).
Coursera plus has certificate
Whenever investing in complementary training, it is common that the student is counting on a certification after completing the course. After all, the certificate of completion is the document that proves the student’s experience, thus increasing their perception of value in the professional environment and in the academic environment. Therefore, it is important to highlight that Coursera Plus has a certificate for those who take their courses fulfilling all the stipulated criteria.
The digital certificate of Coursera Plus can be used for both academic and professional purposes, as it is a validated document containing both information about Coursera and information about the university that produced the course (often one of the most renowned universities in the world). world). Often, students who take courses on the Coursera platform share their certificates on Linkedin to increase their visibility in the job market, and this can also be done with the certificates you will receive after completing Coursera Plus courses .
Conclusion
This article sought to present the main characteristics of Coursera Plus , discussing its advantages and benefits in relation to the usual way of taking courses on the Coursera platform. In summary, it is an innovative project, which encourages professionals from different areas to constantly improve their training and stand out in the job market.
Coursera Plus represents an excellent cost-benefit ratio, in addition to having more than 3,000 professional courses in different areas of interest. The only caveat concerns not having undergraduate courses and a MasterTrack TM certificate in your program. Still, Coursera Plus is an excellent investment for your professional training!
