Coursera

Coursera hosts thousands of courses for adult learners. Most courses are intended for college-level students or for professionals seeking career advancement or a career change.

Coursera hosts thousands of courses for adult learners. Most courses are intended for college-level students or for professionals seeking career advancement or a career change. Courses that may be of particular interest for ABE include:
- English for the workplace
- College preparation courses for English, writing, math, or other subjects
- Career preparation courses, such as creating a resume
- Courses for exploring and gaining foundational skills in various careers
- Courses where learners earn a career certificate, such as the Google Professional Certificate courses. Note that ABE programs can apply for FREE licenses for these courses through December 18, 2024.
Learners will need at least intermediate-level English proficiency and digital literacy skills to successfully access Coursera. Learners must join courses by opening and accepting an email invitation from their teacher.
Teachers will need to review course materials to ensure that the content complies with the Minnesota ABE Eligible Content Policy and that it is appropriate for their learners. Please keep in mind that most Coursera materials were developed for postsecondary learners, so ABE and ESL learners will probably need additional support and scaffolding.
Recommended prerequisites for learners:
- ESL reading level 5+
- ABE reading level 3+
- Passing the Northstar Internet Basics and Using Email modules

Coursera can be used in an internet browser or in its mobile app.

ABE programs should purchase a Coursera plan with administrative capabilities. It would be very difficult or impossible for programs to collect DL proxy hours for learners using individual Coursera accounts. One Coursera plan could be shared by multiple programs/consortia. Please refer to this document for more information about Coursera’s pricing structure.
Proxy Hours Equivalent: Clocktime, as recorded through the platform’s time-on-task functionality; multiply the amount of clocktime recorded by 1.25 and round to the nearest quarter hour.
Proxy Hour Documentation: The Usage Report, which can be found on the Home page in the Admin section. Here is a screencast which explains how to run the report. Briefly: Adjust the report period date range. Report is sent to the instructor's email. Download, save an electronic copy, and use the times under the Estimated Learning Hours column. The Proxy Hour Award Formula spreadsheet can be used to calculate the additional 25% time.