Coursera

There are a number of alternatives to Coursera, some of them are paid while some are entirely free. Coursera is one of the most trusted platforms for online learning because of its wide range of courses and collaborations with multiple universities that are offering their degrees using this platform. These courses vary widely in subjects and topics inculcating every niche like technical, arts, science, business management, linguistics, etc. Another benefit of taking the Coursera course is that you can learn anything from anywhere in this entire world as the platform offers fully remote learning.

With all these pros, Coursera has a few cons as well like the platform is not free of cost. The certificate will cost you nothing, however, you can audit some courses in the free plan. The other issue with Coursera is that you can’t simply manage it in your free time. The courses and degree programs are a bit lengthy and take a lot of time to finish.

These things make people reconsider the need for Coursera and hunt for its alternatives. Coursera undoubtedly is a good platform with global outreach and a great reputation for learning and high-quality content but the sky is the limit and there is always a chance for improvement when one shoe does not fit all.

Free Alternatives to Coursera

The alternatives of Coursera are preferable by many students because of the microlearning opportunities, pricing models, course layout, student experience, etc. Let us start by exploring the free alternatives to Coursera first:

1. Khan Academy

Khan Academy is an online platform specifically for high and elementary school students. It started in 2008 as a non-profit to help students with extra explanations by tutoring the simple concepts of their textbooks. Salman Khan started it with the aim of teaching his cousin who was having difficulty understanding basic concepts in subjects like chemistry, physics, maths, etc. It is equipped with modern ways of learning like whiteboard animations to help with fast learning. However, the content is not aligned with the modern curriculum. The time limit for each course is short so students can easily manage these by side of their studies. An issue with this learning platform is the absence of certificates. You cannot grow your profile with them but you can only learn skills. The onboarding instructions for the students are also limited making it hard for them to navigate.

1. EdX Audit Track

EdX Audit offers courses in the technical domain covering topics like blockchain technology, digital transformation, biotechnology, data policies, etc. The mode of learning is online. In the audit track, the instructors do not generate direct revenue from the students who can take any course for free. This helps them with building their brand identity and polishing skills in the job market. The assignments are however not graded in the audit track but you will have the chance to learn from the world’s leading institutes like Google, Berkeley, AWS, Harvard, etc. The courses start at a defined time and go on a cohort basis, so you need to get enrolled timely.

1. Alison

Alison Academy is yet another great alternative to Coursera for developing professional skills to apply in your current field. You can upskill your career with their free courses provided virtually. This platform earns revenue from advertising but not directly from the students being free of cost. The offered courses are short so one can take multiple courses at one time. The instructors, however, are not selected on a rigorous vetting process, so any person can slip in as your teacher impacting the quality. Since they do not draw much money from Alison Academy, so they often lack the enthusiasm to put energy into their courses. However, being free the platforms reach many areas worldwide providing free education to students belonging to different backgrounds.

1. MIT OpenCourseWare

This learning platform is specifically created for university-level students to help them with their courses by extra preparations. It is a product of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but students can get enroll in other universities as well. The lesson contents are provided free of cost to students. You can benefit from the reputation of MIT. The content that you are being taught can come from the pre-existing lectures of university professors as only those people can become instructors who are already associated with MIT. The website of MIT is outdated making it complex for students to search for appropriate courses. The courses are present online but can be accessed only after downloading which makes it difficult for some people who study using different devices.

1. Saylor Academy

This is one of the best alternatives to Coursera providing free online courses to all since 2008. Its motto has not changed over the years making it one of the biggest nonprofits in the domain of open learning. The big news is that the credits that you earn from Saylor Academy’s courses can be used as degree credits in your institute. No direct revenue is generated from the students. Great people enlighten young minds with their thought-provoking leadership fostering a culture of innovation in education. The instructors teaching should be qualified enough to deal with a degree equal to college. However, the website layout is getting outdated now making it harder to understand it.

If you can’t afford Coursera paid courses, it has got you covered by a cost-effective strategy where it provides you with financial aid as an alternative to the free courses.

But what actually is Coursera Financial Aid? This is a relaxation for career-oriented and ambitious individuals who want to grow academically and professionally but the financial constraints are a consistent hurdle in their way. Considering these problems, Coursera has introduced its financial aid to polish your skills at low costs. In this opportunity, you will be able to grab maximum discounts. This way the course will be offered to you at a price that will not be a burden on your pocket.

The next question arises who is eligible to get Coursera Financial aid? The answer is simple and straight, the deserving people. Previously, the policy to provide aid to deserving people was much more lenient but as a result, people started exploiting it. Therefore, now Coursera has opted for a strict policy where only deserving individuals with an enthusiasm to learn can avail of the premium services at low cost. The transparency has increased but the process has become more complex comparatively.

All students, young learners, and professionals who consider themselves weak financially are eligible to apply for financial aid. The financial status of an individual decides his eligibility. As discussed earlier, the requirements were different a few years ago. Coursera used to offer discounts even to individuals having strong academic records and good professional skills. Now, your bank account decides your discount, not your merit.

As we are discussing the procedure has become difficult now. So, what documents are required for the aid? No official documents or degrees are required to be submitted but only one application can do wonders. It should give your comprehensive introduction indicating your qualifications, experience, expertise, goals, skills, etc. You need to give reasons to Coursera why are you applying for its financial aid. The tricky part is that you can not exceed 150 words. This word limit is given on the website on which the application is submitted. Be precise while writing down the application but do not forget to mention every important detail that might prove to be a reason for your selection. We will provide you with some beneficial tips that you can follow while writing the application:

1. The application should have all the important details about you like your major degrees, major experiences, etc.
2. The clever wordplay comes into action while writing the future goals. Everybody has a number of goals that they consider important but they are not important in actuality. Here only those goals need to be highlighted that match your profession and experience. Also, the details should align with the courses you are willing to take.
3. In the last part of your application, write about the causes that are pushing you to ask for Coursera Financial aid. Writing reasons does not mean you have to request or beg for the discount as it will not bring any result. Instead, give solid and legitimate reasons rather than lame excuses as this part mostly moves the decision of the management.

After writing and proofreading the application, you should submit it. After this step, a pop-up labeled ‘submitted successfully‘ will appear on your screen. You will have to wait for two to four weeks to hear back from them. This is a standard time taken by Coursera management for reviewing the application and formulating their approval or disapproval. If you get selected, you will either get an email or the update will be shared on your application by the Coursera management. For that matter, you should keep on checking your profile about the possible status after submitting the application in the updates section. Once approved, you will become eligible to claim a discount on the selected course.

Just to prepare you for the worst, the other side of the coin could be your destiny as well. You might not get selected and the Coursera management might disapprove your application. Let us see and learn what could be the possible mistakes that motivated their decision:

1. The form might not be completely and carefully filled.
2. The course you have selected might not have enough discount options.
3. Your financial status might not be that low to make you a suitable candidate for financial aid.
4. You might not be credible enough comparatively.

But with every bad news, there is a piece of good news as well. In this case, it is that you can send unlimited free applications to them to claim your discount. Do not worry and apply again with a more powerful application this time. It is a user-friendly platform so if you are not getting aid for one course you might get it for another course. Keep trying.

One last thing that is worth mentioning here is that aid does not come free but with a time limit. If you have got a discount, then you will have to complete the course in 180 days or 6 months. After this period, the discount expires. However, you can apply again for the discount if you have not availed in the first place not otherwise because the screening system has become rigid now because of the misuse of aid previously. It has established an Honor Code, where you agree that all information provided is true. And you also agree to pay legal penalties if you are caught fraudulent.

Another way to access Coursera courses, if the application for financial aid gets disapproved, is to audit the course. In this way, you will have access to the important fragments of the course but not the entirety. Coursera has introduced it for the newbies to learn new things. In this option, you can only avail the bare minimum of the course and will not be able to build skills with practical steps. You will not be able to approach assignments and will not get any personalized feedback. This way you will not get any certificate but if you pay for it at the end then you will also be able to access the entire course.

There is no rigid or objective answer to this question as the cost varies according to the courses. The good news is that some courses are entirely free of cost. We will get into the details later in this answer but here we will just briefly describe the pricing in various situations. For a student, the price of the course can range from $9.99 to $300 on each purchase. But if the individual wants to get enrolled in multiple courses then he can also avail the option of a premium subscription plan where he will have to pay $59 every month. But if some organization is trying to get its employees to enroll in the courses then the cost of the courses will differ. The price will depend on the average number of employees and the size of the organization.

The pricing options of Coursera are quite vague because they depend on the type of course you are willing to take. There are two types of payments that Coursera offers. One option is of monthly subscription and the other one is the upfront payment. In the case of a monthly subscription, you are supposed to pay a monthly fee based on which you will be given the certification and daily training. The prices of the courses vary according to the university as these courses are provided by very prestigious institutes of the world including Johns Hopkins University, Harvard, Macquarie University Yale University, Stanford University, Duke University, and University of Colorado. You can get these courses anywhere in the world. No matter if you want to pay as a single purchase or in a subscription plan you will be offered a 7-day trial which is entirely free to see and have an idea about the program and its contents. This will help you in making further decisions.

Option 1: One of the options to get a Coursera course is to get enrolled in some program for free. Once the course is complete you can give a $29 fee to get the certificate. This way you will be able to enjoy the benefits of a paid course.

Option 2: You can also pursue the Coursera guided projects that only cost you around $9.99 and their average time limit is just 2 hours.

Option 3: Another option is to take the professional courses whose time limit is around 6 months. But these are a bit expensive courses whose specialization mostly starts from $39.

Option 4: Another valid option to do the Coursera course is the Master Track Certificate. The starting amount for this is $2000 and it can go as high as $50,000. But it is offered by any partner university only which is offering an online degree as this is just a remote offer. The partner universities of Coursera include the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Yonsei University. It is a professional credential that is either a master’s or a bachelor’s degree. The time limit to complete each of these degrees can range from 2 to 4 years.

Option 5: Coursera Plus

Another great option to engage in ninety percent of Coursera programs without highly paying them is the Coursera Plus.  The majority of the Coursera programs including professional certificates, specializations, courses, and guided projects are available in this offer. However, you might not be able to access some professional credentials, master track certificates, and degrees. You will not have to pay the same amount instead you will only buy the Coursera subscription plan. If you choose to pay monthly, you will have a fee of around $59 but if you are willing to pay the fee annually, then you will have to pay $399 once a year. If you want to try it for free to get the insights then for a monthly subscription you will be offered a 7-day free trial, however, if you choose to subscribe yearly then you will get a 14-day free trial with a money-back guarantee. The payment method can be Master card, American Express credit card, Visa, JCB, or Discover. However, the American Express card is only for the courses whose price is mentioned in United States dollars. With the Coursera Plus plan, you can reach out to 7000 courses mentioned in its catalog.