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Ahead of Higher Ed: MOOC provider see new regime

UH massive open online course partner and provider Coursera announced a new CEO Monday when Richard C. Levin, formerly president of Yale University assumed the position, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Levin

Levin

“The main thing we will work on is to establish this model so our partner universities feel that offering large-scale MOOCs is an important part of their mission that helps faculty expand their reach and benefits the world,” Levin said to The New York Times.

Levin served as Yale president for 20 years until resigning in 2013 to serve as an adviser to Coursera since January. As a member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which recommended an ease of regulation on MOOC providers, Levin brings a myriad of experience. Coursera also hopes Levin, who has been vocal in advocating for Yale-NUS College in Singapore, aids in the international expansion of the company — a goal of Coursera, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Coursera’s former leaders will shift to different positions: co-founder Daphne Koller becomes president, co-founder Andrew Ng is now chairman of the board and former president Lila Ibrahim assumes the chief business officer position.

Levin’s duties, which will begin in mid-April, include assisting Ng in international affairs.

“In the past few months as an advisor to Coursera, Rick has contributed a strong strategic voice in how we can use technology to educate people at scale and how we can structure our business going forward,” Ng said in the Digital Journal. “As CEO, Rick will be even better positioned to help build on our university partnerships and develop our pedagogy. We are very fortunate to have one of the greatest university presidents of our generation joining Coursera.”

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