Coursera

Learner Guide

Authored by Coursera
Version 2.5 - Aug 2021
Coursera © Copyright 2020.
All rights reserved. 1
Welcome to Coursera!
Congratulations on joining your organization’s Coursera
learning program! This guide is written to help you navigate
the Coursera platform and start learning.

What is Coursera?
Coursera is the world's leading online learning platform. With
Coursera, you can easily offer world-class content and
credentials from the world’s top universities and companies,
drive skill development with with role-based learning, and
track and benchmark skill proficiency against over 60 million
learners.

Why learn on Coursera?

While learning on Coursera you will...
✓ Learn new skills to help you excel in your current role.
✓ Learn to prepare for your dream job.
✓ Refresh your education & keep your competitive edge.
✓ Become better informed on a variety of topics.
✓ Access content from 200+ universities & 30+ industry
partners.
✓ Be part of a community of over 90+ million global learners.
Joining your
Organization’s
Learning program on
Coursera
Joining Coursera

Joining your
Organization’s
Learning Program
There are two different ways by which you
can join your organization’s Learning
Program on Coursera and it depends on how
the admin from your organization has invited
you...

★ Clicking the link “Join Now” from the

email invitation you have received or

★ Clicking through the Program URL

(shared by the admin from your
organization) and signing into
Coursera using your official email
address with which you are invited

Note: Please note that this is different from visiting coursera.org and signing up as a new user. Doing so will mean that you are using Coursera’s
consumer site and not your organization’s learning program, and hence you will not be able to enjoy the enterprise benefits.
Joining Coursera

Joining your
Organization’s
Learning Program
Once you click on “Join Now” or the
program URL, you will be directed to your
organization’s learning program. In order
to join, you need to first log in to the
Coursera platform.

To do so, click on “Join for Free” or the

“Log In” button in the top right corner.

Note: Please note that if you are already logged into Coursera with the same email address on which you have been invited for this program,
you will directly see “Join Program” button
Setting Up

Create your
account
Once you click on “Join for Free”, you’ll
be directed to Welcome to Coursera
page where you will have 2 options for
account setup:
A) If you don’t have an existing
Coursera account, select “I’m a
new Coursera user”
B) If you do have an existing
Coursera account (either with
the same email to which you This option only appears when you try to join the
have been invited or a different program for the first time, so please be sure to select
it if you have an existing account.
personal email), select “I’m an
existing Coursera user”. This is If you’ve gone past this step and need help merging a
critical to keeping all of your pre-existing Coursera account, you can visit the
Learner Help Center and start a chat with a Coursera
past/future accomplishments
Support agent for assistance.
and progress in one place.

Note - Please note that if you have accessed the program link before you will not see the “Welcome to Coursera” page - you will directly see the
pop up to login with your account or sign up for a new account to access the learning program.
Setting Up

Create your
account
A. If you select - “I am an existing
Coursera user”, you will land on
the first screen where you will
be asked to enter your existing
set of username and password.
Once done, your existing
account will be linked to your
new email.

A. If you select - “I am a new

Coursera user”, you will land on
the second screen where you
will be asked to create a
password for your new account
Enrolling in a Course You will be able
to see your
organization’s
logo here

Begin learning by
enrolling in your
first course
Once you have created your account, you
will land on the learning program page
where you will see two tabs -

1. My Courses - Once you have

enrolled in your first course, they
will start appearing here
2. Browse Catalog - Here you will be
able to see the recommended
courses by your organization

Note: Refer to the next section to understand how you can enroll in your first course and begin learning in detail
 Login Using SSO

Note: Please note that there could be different ways to login through SSO in the Coursera Platform, please reach out to your program admins for more details
Joining Coursera

Click
“Log in with your
organization”
If your organization is using SSO, the
first two steps will remain the same
where you get an invitation email and
then click on “Join for Free”.

Login with SSO: Next click on Log in

with your organization to join the
program through your organization’s
SSO authentication.

You will be redirected to you SSO

authentication page.
Enrolling in a Course
Enrolling in a Course

Choose your
course
After you create a new Coursera
account or log in with an existing
Coursera account, you’ll be taken to
the program home page.

Click on the Catalog tab to browse the

courses curated for your program.
Once you have chosen a course that
interests you, click on the course tile to
access the course details.

Click on a
course tile to
access the
course details
Enrolling in a course

Enroll in course
The course description page has detailed
information to help your enrollment decision.

The description includes:

✓ Skills that you will gain
✓ Level
✓ Workload
✓ Rating
✓ Detailed syllabus

If you decide to enroll, click on the “Enroll for

free” button – it will then change to “Go To
Course”. Once you enter the course, you can
start watching videos and taking quizzes
immediately.

Note: While most courses are on-demand and learner can start learning immediately, there are a
few courses that have a specific start date. While you can enroll in these courses at any time, you
will have to wait for the session to begin learning.
Starting a Course
Starting a Course

Go to your
course
After you enroll in a course, it will show
under the My Courses tab on your
program home page. Click on Resume
or Preview on the right to enter the
course.

You can also get to your course under

the Catalog tab on your program
page. Navigate to the class tile, click
into it, and then click on Go to Course.
Starting a Course

Access
course
materials
When you enroll in a course, you will
be taken to the Course Page. The
course will be broken down by weeks
in the left navigation bar, and links to
assignments, videos, and readings will
appear in the right fields.

Click on Start to access the first

module in the course.

Click on Resume to return to a course

to start where you last left off.
Starting a Course

View your
course
progress
Every course page has a timeline to
help you easily see how you are
progressing through a course. You can
see what you have completed, and
what you need to do next.

The Resume button takes you back to

where you last left off—even if it was in
the middle of a watching a video.
Starting a Course

Resetting
Deadlines
1

Reset Deadlines: Start/due dates are

suggested to keep you on track—you
can reset if things get busy (you will be
prompted to do so).

You can do so by clicking on the Reset

Deadlines option either from:
1) In-course page
2) Program home page
2

3) Unenroll from a course : This

option is available only within 14 days
of enrollment. Please unenroll within
this window if you don’t plan to
continue with the course, especially if 3
you have enrollment limits.

Click on the three dots

on the course card to
see this option
Starting a Course

Keep track of
your grades and
completed
assignments
On the Grades tab, you can:

✓ View all the quizzes and assignments

in the course.
✓ See which assignments are due or
overdue
✓ See all your graded quizzes, and
completed assignments.
✓ Retake quizzes and assignments from
this page if you need to improve a
score or if you did not pass the first
time.
Starting a Course

Discussion
forums for your
course
You’ll have the opportunity to exchange
feedback on assignments and discuss ideas in
your course discussion forums as you work
together to master new concepts and best
practices.

Discussion forums are accessed through the

left-hand menu on your course page. These
are available for most courses.
Starting a Course

Connect beyond
your course in
the Coursera
Community
Visit www.coursera.community while logged
in to your Coursera account.
Click on Login at top right to get started.

In the Community, you can:

✓ Dive deeper into topics of interest

✓ Ask and answer questions
✓ Meet other people using Coursera to
improve personally and professionally
✓ Get and share study tips
✓ Attend online events
Starting a Course

Finding
video
segments
with
Coursera’s
interactive
& searchable
transcript
The full transcript of each video
can be clicked and jump to the
corresponding point in the video. C
Search the transcript if you’re A E
Download D
B
looking for a particular lesson videos for
Change video
Your saved
notes will be
Fully interactive offline
Change
concept. transcripts that language of
viewing playback
speed
stored here
correspond to the the subtitles
video timestamps
Starting a Course

Graded quizzes
to help reinforce
concepts
Quizzes include multiple question types
from the instructor to test learners
through the course.

You can retake quizzes and assignments if

you need to improve a score or if you did
not pass the first time.
Mobile App

Download the
Coursera mobile app
to learn on the go!

Ease of use Unparalleled accessibility Intuitive classroom

experience
Place your Coursera is available anywhere
screenshot here 95% of the 4000+ courses on at any time. Courses are
Coursera can be taken from available offline, over 35 Coursera keeps lectures and
beginning to end on your languages subtitled, with lessons short, so learners can
make meaningful progress in
mobile phone, laptop, or tablet. availability across Android and
just a few minutes a day.
iOS.
Accessing Multiple
Learning Programs
Managing Programs

How to switch
programs?
You can be a part of multiple programs set up
by your organization.

To switch to a different program, first click on

the dropdown at the top-left corner of your
learner home page, and then select the
desired program.

Afterwards, you can start to browse the

courses available as part of the chosen
program.

Please note that if you click on My Coursera you will be

redirected to the Coursera consumer (non-Enterprise) website.

If you try to enroll for a course from there that is not included in
the program sponsored by your organization, you will be
directed to the payment page.
Accessing a Guided
Project
Guided Projects

Choose your
Guided
Project
Guided Projects allow Learners to use
a pre-configured cloud desktop that is
accessible from their web browser to
learn a new tool by completing
instructor-led tasks.

You can find all the projects by typing

in “Rhyme” in the search bar.Once you Click on a
have chosen a project that interests project tile to
you, click on the project tile to access access the
details
the details and click on the “Enroll”
button for access.

Note: Guided Projects need to be accessed via a desktop or a laptop

Starting a Course

Access Guided
Projects
When you enroll in a guided project,
you will be taken to the Course Page.
The course will consist of modules in
the left navigation bar –look for
External Tool assignment to access
the project exercise

Click on “Open Tool” to access the

guided project interface

Other lessons in the module such as

reading material help you gain a better
understanding of the Project.

To obtain a certificate for the

completed guided project, come back
to the course page after finishing the
project and pass the quiz.
 Desktop

Guided Projects* New course type that offers learners short-form, hands-on learning

Hands-on
learning

Learners instantly go hands-on

with virtual cloud desktop

Instructor-led

Easily follow along with visuals

from instructor in a convenient
split screen interface
Accessing Skillsets
SkillSets

SkillSets
SkillSets are job-based learning
programs that help you develop
proficiencies in certain skills. Each
skill has a score based on
assessment performance and a
proficiency target set by your
organization.
SkillSets

Seeing
SkillSets
To view SkillSets available to you,
switch to your learning program.
You’ll see two tabs that give you
different ways to explore SkillSets:

● Browse Catalog - Click this tab to

see a list of SkillSets alongside
relevant courses, then click View
SkillSet to see more details on the
SkillSet page.
● SkillSets - Click this tab to see a
list of all SkillSets with their skills
and proficiency targets, then click
Explore SkillSet to see more
details on the SkillSet page.
SkillSets

View and save

SkillSets
Once you’ve found a SkillSet that’s
right for you, click Save SkillSet in
the top-right of the SkillSet page.
This adds personalized course
recommendations to your My
Courses tab, which you can take in
any order.
Sharing your
accomplishments
Sharing
accomplishments

Access and share

certificates of
completion

You can access your certificates of completion

under the Accomplishments option from the
dropdown in top-right corner, displaying your
name.

Once here, you will be able to view and

download the certificate, as well as share it
directly on LinkedIn.
Sharing
accomplishments

Coursera
credentials are
the second
most popular
on LinkedIn
Coursera certificates are the second
most popular credential on LinkedIn.
When you complete a course, you have
the option to upload your certificate to
LinkedIn where it will appear in your
profile.
Getting help
Getting Help

Learner Support
You are supported 24 hours, 7 days a week
by our support team through chat and email.

We provide support through our Learner

Help Center. This is a great place to learn
about how Coursera works and get answers 1
to your specific questions & issues.

You can access the Help Center from:

1) Top menu of your Coursera account

2) Bottom of the Program Home page and in-
course pages

2
Getting Help

Learner Support 1

Once you enter the Help Center, take these

steps to access support:

1. Click “Log In” 2

2. Find answers by browsing Help Topics or
using the search bar
3. Check out the Enterprise Help Section
4. If you need further assistance, use the 4
chat window on the bottom right of the
page

Note: For questions about specific course

content or help with assignments, please visit
the 5) Discussion Forum (accessible from
the Course) and review existing posts by your 3
peers / make a new post.

5
 Getting Help

Additional Support Refer to this table to know who to reach out to for additional support.
Issue Type Go to Coursera Support if... Go to your Coursera Program Admin if...

Accepting ● You click Join Now and nothing happens or there is an error. ● Your invitation was deleted by your admin or your organization contract
Invitation ended (invite is no longer valid). In this case you will see an error like
“Failed to Join” either your organization has hit the license limit they have
purchased or your invitation was removed by the admin.

Enrollment ● You can’t pay for a course that is not in the Learning Program or after ● You can’t enroll in the course you want because it is not included in the
you’ve reached your organization’s enrollment limit. learning program or if you see the message, “You don't yet have access to
● You want to unenroll from a course (within 14 days or outside of 14 days). X Learning Program. However, you can still browse everything Coursera
● You have a question about how long you have to take courses. has to offer.”
● You can’t enroll in a course because your organization’s subscription has
expired.
● You want to enroll in an additional course for free.
● You want to be removed from the program or don’t want to be on
Coursera anymore.
● You want to take more courses and have hit your enrollment limit.
● You have a question about how many courses you may take.
● You want more time to take courses.

Courses & Content ● You have questions about how courses or specializations work. ● You have questions about how the courses relate to your work at your
● You encounter broken videos, content missing, or inaccurate course organization.
content. ● You need help on which courses to take first to follow your career
trajectory.
● You have recommendations about which courses to take —you can also
use the Recommendations tab in My Coursera

Accomplishments ● You have Certificate troubleshooting issues. ● You have questions about learning progress being reported to your
organization.
● You have questions around how credits will be allocated by your university
for Coursera courses
 Getting Help

Additional Support What do these messages mean?

Issue Type Messages Reasons and Solutions

Enrolling in the ● Your organization has hit the license limit they have purchased and no
organization more learners can join
learning program

Payment for the r ● If you are seeing this screen where you are being asked to make a payment
course for the course to get certificate, one of these could be the reasons -

- You are accessing Coursera site directly and not as part of your
organization’s learning program. Please click on the toggle on the top left
corner of your account. If it says “My Coursera” it means you are on the
non-enterprise platform. Always make sure your access the platform using
the program link of your organization. If you have checked this, then move
to the reasons below :

1. The course is not a part of the Coursera Enterprise offering,

“My Coursera”
please take a look at the unavailable courses here
means Coursera 2. If the course is not in the list given above and still you are being
Consumer site asked for payment that means the admins from your
organization have decided to not add the course to their
learning program, please reach out to them to get the course
added

Getting the ● You have completed the course but are still not able to get the certificate.
certificate for your Please note if you see this on your course page this means you have to
verify your account to be able to receive a certificate
course
○ Some courses on Coursera only require the learner to verify
their name
○ Some courses may require an ID verification and you will be
asked to upload valid id proof
Have fun learning!