by Douglas Belkin, Wall Street Journal
Rick Levin, Chief Executive of Coursera, gestures at a session in Davos, Switzerland while president of Yale University in 2011. Mr. Levin said his company’s new offerings will enable companies to expand the global pool of available talent. One of the largest providers of massive open online courses is teaming up with several major financial and technology companies to offer new classes this fall, the latest sign MOOC providers are scaling back their ambitions to upend the world of academia to make a profit. Coursera’s new offerings are sponsored—and partially designed by—several major financial and technology corporations. Instead of the Great Books, they focus on skills training and professional development. Rick Levin, Coursera’s CEO, said the courses—dubbed the Global Skills Initiative—will enable companies to expand the global pool of available talent in their respective industries and help universities provide courses that are in tune with what employers want.
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