Coursera,
a leading massive open online course (MOOC) provider, today announced a
pilot program with several of the top higher education publishers to
expand the availability of their high-quality content and resources, to
be facilitated by Chegg, the student hub where students can access the
tools and materials they need to succeed.
Starting today, publishers Cengage Learning, Macmillan Higher Education,
Norton, Oxford University Press, SAGE, and Wiley will experiment with
offering to Coursera students, at no cost for the duration of the
course, versions of their e-textbooks, delivered via Chegg’s
DRM-protected e-Reader. Coursera is also actively discussing pilot
agreements and related alliances with Springer and additional
publishers. The importance of rigorously developed pedagogical resources
to learning outcomes has been well documented, and today’s announcement
will link Coursera’s content to this enhanced learning process. While
professors teaching Coursera's broad course offerings have until now
been able to assign high-quality content freely available on the Web,
they will now be able to work with top publishers to provide an even
wider variety of carefully curated teaching and learning materials at no
cost to the student.
The involvement of several key publishers in this announcement aligns,
for the first time, their long-standing commitment to and investment in
online education with Coursera’s mission, which includes working within
existing frameworks to improve educational access. In addition to
gaining insight into worldwide usage data, publisher will be able sell
full versions of their e-textbooks to students for continued personal
learning.
Coursera’s collaboration with leading publishers and Chegg, like its
collaboration with top universities, is an innovative step forward for
free online education, providing students who previously might not have
had easy access to textbooks with the deeper and more comprehensive
learning experience that these resources provide.
“We recognize the importance of forging partnerships with other
stakeholders in the education space in order to help students overcome
barriers and evolve the way they access education. By collaborating with
publishers, we are able to provide access to some of the world’s best
resources to Coursera students, supporting our goal of learning without
limits,” said Daphne Koller, Co-founder of Coursera.
For more information about today’s announcement, or to register for your
next course, visit Coursera.org.
About Coursera:
Coursera is on a mission to change the world by educating millions of
people by offering classes from top universities and professors online
for free. Coursera's comprehensive education platform combines
mastery-based learning principles with video lectures, interactive
content and a global community of peers, offering students from around
the world a unique online learning experience. Coursera has partnered
with top-tier universities to provide courses across a broad range of
disciplines, including medicine, literature, history and computer
science, among others. Coursera is backed by leading venture capital
firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates.
For more information, visit Coursera.org.
About Wiley:
Wiley is a global provider of content-enabled solutions that improve
outcomes in research, education, and professional practice. Our core
businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly
journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising;
professional books, subscription products, certification and training
services and online applications; and education content and services
including integrated online teaching and learning resources for
undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners.
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa, JWb), has been a
valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years,
helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their
aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works
of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature,
Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with
operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The
Company's website can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com.
