Last week, Coursera’s new CEO, Greg Hart, delivered something the company’s investors had been eagerly awaiting: growth.
In his first full quarter as CEO, Greg’s leadership helped drive Coursera’s stock price up 36% following the earnings call, pushing the company’s valuation past the $2 billion mark.
However, this pursuit of prioritizing Wall Street could come at a cost to learners worldwide. The company is rolling out a “Preview Mode,” a feature that would lock almost all course content, including video lectures.
Coursera’s Monetization Journey: A Quick Recap
Coursera formally launched in January 2012 with the mission statement: “We are committed to making the best education in the world freely available to any person who seeks it.” At that time, Coursera had no business model.
Over the years, Coursera gradually introduced monetization features, including certificates, specializations, and subscription plans, while placing certificates and graded assignments behind paywalls. This transition is detailed in my article, Coursera’s Monetization Journey: From Zero to IPO.
During the Jeff Maggioncalda era (June 2017 to early 2025), Coursera maintained a relatively stable free auditing policy. Under his leadership, learners retained access to video content for most courses, even as certificates and graded assignments required payment.
While competitors like edX and FutureLearn implemented time-based paywalls, restricting all course content, Coursera largely resisted this approach, keeping video lectures accessible to non-paying users.
That appears to be changing under new leadership.
Coursera’s New “Preview” Mode
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