Students and Lecturers' Perspectives on Coursera MOOCs: Insights from Public and Private Universities in Surakarta

Khansa Khalida Kennedy, Chilya Ulil Fitria, Resya Falisha, Mutiara Anjeli Aldrin, Retno Wulan Damayanti

Abstract

The digitization of education through platforms like Coursera offers opportunities for delivering more inclusive and high-quality learning experiences. This study aims to investigate the perceptions of both faculty and students regarding Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the Coursera platform at public and private universities in Surakarta. A total of 25 lecturers and 181 students participated, with data collected through questionnaires (using a 5-point Likert scale) and semi-structured interviews. The survey results revealed strong positive perceptions: for example, 89–96% of students agreed that system manuals and technical support facilitated their engagement, and over 92% reported high motivation and satisfaction with the platform. Faculty members recognized the potential of MOOCs to enhance teaching innovation, with approximately 80% agreeing that MOOCs improved student learning experiences. However, challenges were also reported, including limited interaction with instructors, difficulties in monitoring academic honesty (reported by 40% of faculty), outdated or incomplete materials, and issues with time management. Qualitative interview responses supported these findings, emphasizing both the flexibility and the need for stronger contextualization of content to the Indonesian higher education setting. These results suggest that while MOOCs provide significant benefits for learners and instructors, universities must address issues of engagement, content relevance, and academic integrity to maximize their effectiveness.

Keywords

digital learning; higher education; MOOCs; user perception

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/ictte.2025.114525

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