Coursera, Inc., a leading online learning platform, has unveiled several new GenAI-powered features aimed at transforming assessment creation and grading, strengthening academic integrity, and enriching the learning experience. These innovations, including AI-Assisted Grading, Proctoring and Lockdown Browser, and AI-based Viva Exams, are designed to help educational institutions deliver authentic and valuable online assessments, courses, and certificates.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, advocates for a progressive education system that promotes online learning to bridge skills gaps and enhance graduate employability. The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) allows for 30% of credits through platforms like Coursera, but universities must ensure online learning meets rigorous academic standards.
While GenAI introduces new risks for student misconduct, it also offers unprecedented opportunities for universities to enhance academic integrity on a large scale.
“We’re excited to empower Malaysian universities with new tools to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in online learning, ensuring students receive an authentic and verified education that is respected by employers,” said Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera.
“By prioritizing Malaysia as a key market for the launch, we are advancing the country’s vision for scaling high-quality online education and making digital and AI skills accessible to everyone.”
Coursera’s new features include:
Scale Assessment Creation and Grading:
– AI Assessment Generator: Saves educators’ time by generating diverse math, text, and multiple-choice assessments tailored to courses and integrating them into assignments.
– Question Banks and Variants: Provides a variety of questions and multiple variants for robust testing, making exams difficult to predict and easier to author.
– AI-Assisted Grading: Streamlines grading by suggesting scores and feedback based on assignment analysis, with final decisions remaining with graders.
Strengthen Academic Integrity:
– Graded Item Locking: Requires students to complete all ungraded items, watch videos, and complete readings, promoting comprehensive learning and preventing skipping ahead.
– Time and Attempt Limits: Controls exam attempts to ensure fairness, discourage trial and error, and limit outside resource access, encouraging meaningful engagement and reflection.
– Proctoring and Lockdown Browser: Maintains exam integrity by blocking unauthorized resources and detecting unauthorized assistance during high-stakes exams.
– Plagiarism Detection: Instantly identifies content similar to previous submissions, deterring plagiarism and educating students on independent thinking and originality.
Enhance Learning and Evaluation:
– Quiz Prep and Prior Learning Recaps with Coursera Coach: Provides a personalized tutor powered by GenAI, offering interactive learning assistance, lecture summaries, guided practice, and tailored pre-assessment reviews.
– AI Peer Reviews: Facilitates peer feedback with AI-powered insights, evaluating text-based submissions and generating grades using assignment rubrics.
– AI-based Viva Exam: Analyzes free-form written submissions and grading criteria to dynamically generate custom follow-up questions to test the authenticity and critical thinking behind the student’s submission.
“Our new academic integrity features provide a robust solution, addressing both the opportunities and challenges presented by GenAI. Institutions can now increasingly leverage online learning to bridge curriculum gaps, personalize education, and deliver multidisciplinary learning,” said Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Coursera.
In Malaysia, institutions like Wawasan Open University (WOU) integrate Coursera content into selected courses, offering up to 50% integration for some courses. This partnership provides students access to top content from industry leaders like IBM, Google, and Meta, helping them upskill and reskill to align with evolving industry trends.
Coursera also announced a new course from Vanderbilt University, “Generative AI for University Leaders,” designed to prepare academic institutions for the rapid changes brought by GenAI.
This free course, taught by Professor Jules White, features guest experts including Andrew Ng, Mayank Shrivastava, and Jeff Maggioncalda, covering how GenAI works, its importance, and how university leaders can create a GenAI strategy and ensure its appropriate usage on campuses.
