Coursera Blog • Introducing Signature Track

Introducing Signature Track

Over the past few months, we’ve been working to expand opportunities for students who complete Coursera courses. From working with ACE on credit equivalency to launching Career Services, we aim to help students apply their learning in meaningful ways.

Today, we’re excited to announce Signature Track, a new option that will give students in select classes the opportunity to earn a Verified Certificate for completing their Coursera course. Signature Track securely links your coursework to your identity, allowing you to confidently show the world what you’ve achieved on Coursera.

Signature Track offers:

Identity Verification. Create a special profile to link your coursework to your real identity using your photo ID and unique typing pattern.
Verified Certificates. Earn official recognition from Universities and Coursera for your accomplishment with a verifiable electronic certificate.
Sharable Course Records. Share your electronic course records with employers, educational institutions, or anyone else through a unique, secure URL.

Signature Track will be initially available for the following courses (with more to come!):

Introduction to Genetics and Evolution, Mohamed Noor, Duke University. January 4th
Microeconomics Principles, José J. Vázquez-Cognet, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. January 28th.
Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Katie Ferraro, MPH, RD, CDE, University of California, San Francisco. January 28th.
Computational Investing Part I, Tucker Balch, Georgia Tech. February 8th
Clinical Problem Solving, Catherine R. Lucey, MD, University of California, San Francisco. February 11th.

If you’re excited to participate or want to learn more, simply enroll in one of the above courses and you will be notified when you can join.

The price for joining a course’s Signature Track will be between $30-100 per course. As part of our mission to make education available to everyone, Coursera will also offer students with economic need the opportunity to register for financial assistance.

So, how does Coursera’s Signature Track work?

To join Signature Track, you’ll build a Signature Profile that links your coursework to your identity. Your Signature Profile includes your photo ID, as well as your Signature Phrase, a biometric profile of your unique typing pattern. Every time you submit coursework, you’ll easily authenticate your identity by typing your Signature Phrase.

When you successfully complete a course’s Signature Track, you’ll receive a Verified Certificate issued by the participating university and Coursera. You’ll also be able to electronically share your course performance in a verified format via our Certifiable Course Records page. Your Verified Certificate does not include credit towards a degree, nor does it make you a student at the issuing university. Instead, the Verified Certificate proves you met the passing criteria of your rigorous online course.

Joining a course’s Signature Track is optional. You can still fully participate in the course if you decide not to join, and you will still receive the standard Statement of Accomplishment if you successfully complete the free course.

Peter Lange, Provost of Duke University had these comments, “When we started offering our courses on Coursera, we aimed to extend the reach of our university’s intellectual strengths beyond our own halls, to a global classroom, now, we hope that these credentials, while they will not contribute directly toward a degree, will afford students around the world, of all ages, backgrounds and resources an opportunity to have a legitimate credential for their work in order to advance their career or fulfill themselves personally.”

We hope that offering verified certification for our courses will open up many new and valuable opportunities for students, while also giving partner universities on Coursera the ability to continue to invest in providing high-quality free courses to students around the world. Happy learning!