Public companies sometimes share information with investors through SEC filings and earnings calls that they don’t share on their blog or social media.

For example, Class Central exclusively reported that SEC filings indirectly revealed that Coursera’s CEO’s retirement wasn’t entirely voluntary. While it was easy to guess, given Coursera’s stock decline after multiple revenue cuts in 2024, confirmation is always valuable.

Another insight gleaned from the earnings call transcript is a glimpse into Coursera’s 2025 growth strategy: investing in Coursera for Campus and reducing investments in Degrees.

Coursera for Campus: The New Growth Engine

During the earnings call, both outgoing CEO Jeff Maggioncalda and incoming CEO Greg Hart emphasized Coursera for Campus (C4C) as their primary focus for 2025. Hart explicitly stated that among Coursera’s enterprise offerings, C4C is expected to deliver the highest growth, followed by Coursera for Business, with Coursera for Government trailing behind.

But the most interesting insights came from Maggioncalda’s candid assessment of what works and what doesn’t in C4C. When universities use Coursera content without integrating it into their credit-bearing curriculum, it struggles. Students are less likely to engage with the content, and institutions view it as a cost center since they’re not receiving tuition revenue.

The magic happens when institutions grant academic credit for Coursera courses. According to Maggioncalda, these credit-bearing courses see the highest completion rates across Coursera’s entire platform. It’s a win-win: students are more motivated to complete the courses, and institutions can deliver credit hours at a lower cost while still collecting tuition.

Degrees Take a Hit

Coursera plans to reduce investment in its Degrees segment in 2025, despite it being the company’s fastest-growing segment in recent quarters. The company now expects Degrees revenue to decline in 2025.

While Degree enrollments have grown steadily, revenue growth has lagged. In 2024, enrollments grew by 20%, but revenue increased by only 13%. This indicates a decrease in revenue per Degree enrollment.

Coursera now suggests that integrating course content into existing university programs through its “C4C” initiative might be a more scalable approach to capturing a share of the $2 trillion higher education market.

The Geographic Divide

The earnings call also revealed significant regional variations in C4C adoption:

• India is leading the way, with institutions readily integrating online learning into their degree programs
• European universities have been slower to embrace the model
• North American adoption varies, though businesses in the region are showing strong interest in AI-related upskilling

Waiting for Growth Projections

Unlike previous years, Coursera did not provide detailed revenue guidance for 2025. Instead, CFO Ken Hahn mentioned that the company will wait for new CEO Greg Hart to assess growth opportunities before providing more detailed expectations “in the coming months.”

For now, Coursera only shared that they expect:

• Continued positive top-line growth
• Growth in both Consumer and Enterprise segments
• A decline in Degrees segment revenue
• Continued EBITDA margin expansion, though at a slower pace than 2024