Coursera Takes A Big Step Toward Monetization, Now Lets Students Earn “Verified Certificates” For A Fee | TechCrunch

Perhaps Coursera or one of its competitors will become a subsidiary feeder system for LinkedIn; see the full article for more details on "verified certificates"

"Using “sophisticated analytics,” Coursera looks for matches between students and companies. Once it identifies a match, it sends an email to students, seeking their approval, only making an intro if the student gives them the go-ahead. Companies pay Coursera a flat fee for each introduction, with a share of that revenue going to the colleges offering the course. Moving into recruiting and career services is a natural extension, but it can be a difficult thing to do well (and create real value), especially without stirring up privacy concerns. That being said, Udacity has also begun employing a similar model and has started to make money doing it."

Coursera Takes A Big Step Toward Monetization, Now Lets Students Earn “Verified Certificates” For A Fee | TechCrunch