I don't have the data. But I guess that although Coursera has 20 million members, their overall engagement rate is decreasing. Because without new courses, many users will likely not return to the site.
In my opinion rather without free Statement of Accomplishment many users will likely not return to the site. It might be different in the US, but in Germany there is a culture of "certificate or it did not happen". I have heard that the same holds in Brazil, too. Thus being German I stopped attending Coursera courses as soon as free Statements of Accomplishment were dropped. I also have the impression that after this step the quality of courses dropped.
Originally I remember that it was seriously considered that as a way of monetizing MOOC sites there was the thought that MOOC participants are people that love to learn new stuff on their own. This is something many employers like. So the idea for monetizing was: why not allow employers give (for money) access to the list of participants to find potential employees. Does anybody know why this route to monetizing MOOCs was left?
Did you feel that being able to list the free statements of accomplishment has some specific value to you as an employee or a job seeker? (But, presumably, not sufficient value to pay for a certificate?)
Otherwise, it seems a bit of an odd attitude. Do you avoid reading books for educational purposes or watching videos on professional topics because you don't get a certificate for doing so?
I do get that there's value in some certifications. But, except for some limited circumstances (continuing education requirements, as something to show in the absence of a traditional degree) my impression is that Coursera certifications don't have a lot of value. Which has been sort of their problem.
I have never been in this situation (but I will be in near future), so take the following with a grain of salt. I think employers see Coursera Certificate of Accomplishments not as a qualification that I know the topic inside out. But having a Certificate of Accomplishment to show for MOOCs that I took is a clear sign to potential employers that I'm willing to invest a lot of my free time to learn about new topics on my own. Which shows willingness to learn, being able to work independently on hard topics on my own under difficult circumstances (only help in the forum instead of having a tutor etc.). This is something that I think employers like.
> Do you avoid reading books for educational purposes or watching videos on professional topics because you don't get a certificate for doing so?
I read lots of books for educational purposes. But I read them because I'm deeply interested in the topic. I will probably never get any monetary gain from it (as I said: certificate or it did not happen). Videos on professional topics are rather uncommon in German culture (as I see it in opposite to the US-American culture). One reason for this is indeed that they don't deliver a certificate.