University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iMBA
Building “the world’s MBA”
The opportunity
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Gies College of Business was exploring new channels to extend their programs beyond campus. The team saw an opportunity to redesign its MBA experience for an online audience, and the key was to find the right partner who could provide strategic guidance and support the college’s mission to provide business education to all.
The solution
Gies partnered with Coursera based on vision alignment, Coursera’s global reach, and an interest in the stackable content model. Starting with two very successful Specializations, Gies went on to launch the world’s first MOOC-based Master’s degree on Coursera.
The impact
- Grew from 114 to 3,839 students (Fall 2020)
- Alumni network spans over 90 countries and 46 US states
- More than 1,000 program graduates since 2018
- 93% program retention rate (Fall 2020)
Our relationship with Coursera has been a really valuable step in the ongoing evolution for online education, and we've really been excited to see not only the technology improve but also our understanding of teaching pedagogy and learning styles.
The University of London Bachelor’s in Computer Science Online
Expanding access to career-transforming credentials
The opportunity
The University of London had the ambitious goal of creating an accessible online bachelor’s degree that met the rigor of an on-campus program. A computer science degree was identified as the best choice as an in-demand program that could reach learners, including those without a traditional academic background, who are seeking practical learning options at scale.
The solution
The University of London saw huge potential in Coursera’s fast-growing global learner base. Coursera’s robust platform analytics and integrations also provided reassurance that it could support a large-scale, global degree program. With a shared goal of expanding access to quality education worldwide, the University of London launched its Bachelor of Computer Science degree and included an admissions pathway for learners from the Google IT Professional Certificate program to serve many underserved, mature learners searching for in-demand careers.
The impact
- Students come from 143 countries
- 54% of applicants had less than a Bachelor degree
- 3X applications received and program enrollments compared to projections in 2020
- Roughly 36% of students enrolled in the degree also took the Google IT Professional Certificate program. (Q2 2021)
My main motivation for teaching on Coursera was to be able to deliver my programming knowledge to thousands of students around the world. The experience has been very rewarding: receiving the positive feedback and above all the words of appreciation from students from different countries means a lot to me, it tells me that it was worth the effort.
