Faculty Affairs Policies

Revenue Share Distribution Policy for Coursera Revenue

CalArts is a Coursera university partner. As a partner, CalArts can leverage the Coursera platform to build brand visibility, reach new audiences, and expand its impact in their community of more than 92 Million learners. The learning products Coursera offers include: Guided Projects, Courses, Specializations, Professional Certificates, University/MasterTracks, and Degrees.

CalArts has Courses and Specializations (groups of courses) on Coursera.

Coursera Partner Revenue Share

Revenue from these learning products is reported by Coursera quarterly as outlined in their Revenue Share Overview document provided for reference on pages 6-7 of the guidelines. As mentioned in the Overview, distribution fees are shared equally between Coursera and the partner and service fees are subtracted from the gross revenue prior to the 50/50 split with the partner. Relevant terms and descriptions used by Coursera are included on page 8 for your reference.

CalArts Revenue Share Distribution Summary

CalArts Extended Studies is committed to sharing the revenue it receives from the CalArts’ Open Learning initiatives Courses and Specializations on Coursera. These guidelines outline how the revenue is shared and disbursed between the Institute, the participating schools, programs, or offices, the Provost’s Office, and Extended Studies.

From the disbursement CalArts receives from Coursera, all incoming revenue is used to pay off expenses Extended Studies incurred to produce the Course or Specialization. After production expenses have been paid off, Extended Studies will distribute the revenue as follows:

Instructor 10%
Participating school, program, or office 25%
Provost’s office 15%
Extended Studies 25%
Institute & overhead 25%

Details for each recipient are outlined on the following pages.

Coursera Instructor Revenue Share Detail

After production expenses have been accounted for and the Coursera course or Specialization produces a positive net revenue share to CalArts of more than $500, the instructor contracted to develop the course content may receive an annual revenue share equivalent to 10% of the actual net revenue CalArts receives from Coursera.

The revenue share payment will be paid to instructors twice per year after every two quarters of reported revenue (estimated to be paid every January and June) according to the following scenarios:

  • In the case where an individual course is developed by a single instructor, the contracted instructor may receive the amount equivalent to 10% of the revenue received by CalArts attributed to that individual course. In the event two or more instructors contributed to the development of a single course, the contracted instructors split the allocated amount equally.
    • Example: Assuming all production costs have been accounted for and if Coursera reports a single course earns a total of $2,800 in quarterly net revenue, the 50% share to CalArts would be $1,400.  CalArts would distribute an amount equivalent to 10% of the revenue received to the faculty attributed to this single course.  In this example the amount the faculty member would expect to receive is $140.
  • In the case where a Specialization (or group of courses) is developed with multiple instructors, the 10% of the revenue received by CalArts attributed to the Specialization and the courses comprising the Specialization may be divided equally by the number of courses.  The amount will be distributed to the instructors associated with each course.  In the event two or more instructors contributed to the development of a single course within the Specialization, the contracted instructors split the allocated amount equally.
    • Example: Assuming all production costs have been accounted for and if Coursera reports the combined sales of courses within a Specialization earn a total of $35,000 in quarterly net revenue, the 50% revenue share to CalArts would be $17,500.  CalArts would in turn distribute an amount equivalent to 10% of the revenue share among the faculty who are attributed to each course within the four-course cluster. In this example $1,750 would be equally divided by the 4 courses and distributed to the faculty attributed to each course.  Should there be more than one faculty attributed to one course, the per course allocation would be divided equally among the attributed faculty. In this example the two faculty members would each receive ½ of $1,750, or $875.
  • If an individual course or course within a Specialization surpasses 500,000 cumulative total enrollments and/or 50,000 cumulative total completions, the instructor(s) will be eligible to be considered for an increase up to, but not exceeding, 15%. The increase to the instructor over 10% will be absorbed by the Institute & overhead.

The instructor revenue share payment will be delivered only when all criteria outlined in the Instructor Contract and Scope of Work have been met, including any annual reviews and/or associated recommended improvements with course staff. The instructor revenue share will be paid to the instructor for as long as the course remains on the platform. If an instructor chooses to decline their portion of the revenue, it will be reinvested into Extended Studies to support additional initiatives within the learner community, not limited to their course(s) alone.

If CalArts’ net revenue share is under $500, Coursera will roll over the funds until the minimum threshold is met, at which point they will be disbursed to CalArts, and then in turn to the instructor. 

Coursera School, Program, or Office Revenue Share Detail

After production expenses have been accounted for, the participating school, program, or office supporting the course or Specialization may receive an annual revenue share of up to 25% of the forecasted net revenue CalArts will receive from Coursera.

School, program, and office support for the course or Specialization may include, but is not limited to:

  • identifying and recruiting instructors to design and develop the courses.
  • identifying and recruiting contractual staff, such as PAs or RAs, to support course production.
  • offering space, equipment, or expertise (technical or curricular) to help produce the course content.
  • providing access to resources for course content, such as visual archives or student work.
  • helping to market the offering(s) through their own networks and social platforms.

Revenue received by CalArts from Coursera and disbursed to a school, program, or office has to be expended in the year in which it is earned. Because of this, the fiscal year’s revenue for each Specialization or single course running on the platform is forecasted to determine the amount that will go to the participating schools, programs, or offices. Simple revenue forecasting uses previous quarters’ revenue to calculate future earnings.

The revenue share payment will be disbursed at the beginning of the fiscal year according to the following scenarios:

  • Revenue shares for courses directly aligned with a métier go to the program, specifically to the attention of the current program director(s).
  • Revenue shares for courses aligned with a school but no existing program (i.e. video game design) go to the Dean to be allocated at their discretion.
  • Revenue shares for courses directly aligned with an office go to the office, specifically to the attention of the office director(s).
  • Revenue shares for interdisciplinary courses not aligned uniquely with a school, program, or office go to the Provost to be allocated at their discretion.

The school, program, or office revenue share will be budgeted to a revenue account. This revenue share budget will be allocated to the school, program, or office for as long as the course remains on the platform. If a school, program or office chooses to decline their portion of the revenue, it will be reinvested into Extended Studies to support additional programming within the learner community, not limited to their course(s) alone.

When forecasted revenue exceeds $20,000, schools, programs, or offices will be asked to submit a spending plan to the Provost's Office before funds will be disbursed.

When a school, program, or office’s disbursement amount exceeds $5,000 of what they can spend in a year, the school, program, or office may make a request to the Provost’s Office to retain the funds to be applied to their capital improvements in following fiscal years.

When a school, program, or office’s disbursement amount exceeds $25,000 of what they can spend in a year, the school, program, or office may make a request to the Provost’s Office to make a permanent transfer to an endowment fund.  Future distributions may be utilized at the department’s discretion with a preference for student scholarships or faculty development.

If CalArts’ net revenue share is under $500, Coursera will roll over the funds until the minimum threshold is met, at which point they will be disbursed to CalArts. In the meantime, since schools, programs, and offices receive a revenue share based on forecasted revenue, if it is expected that the revenue for the current fiscal year will exceed the $500 threshold, CalArts Extended Studies will distribute the calculated school, program, or office revenue share “in good faith.” 

Coursera Provost’s Office Revenue Share Detail

After production expenses have been paid off, the Provost’s Office may receive an annual revenue share of up to 15% of the forecasted net revenue CalArts will receive from Coursera.

Provost’s Office support for the course or Specialization may include, but is not limited to:

  • identifying and recruiting instructors to design and develop the courses.
  • identifying and recruiting contractual staff, such as PAs or RAs, to support course production.
  • offering space, equipment, or expertise (technical or curricular) to help produce the course content.
  • providing access to resources for course content, such as visual archives or student work.
  • helping to market the offering(s) through their own networks and social platforms.

Revenue received by CalArts from Coursera and disbursed to the Provost’s Office has to be expended in the year in which it is earned. Because of this, the fiscal year’s revenue for each Specialization or single course running on the platform is forecasted to determine the amount that will go to the Provost’s Office. Best efforts are made to estimate revenue shares to help the Provost’s Office plan their budget accordingly.

The Provost’s Office revenue share will be transferred to an account specified by the recipient. Their revenue share will be paid out for as long as the course remains on the platform. If the Provost’s Office chooses to decline their portion of the revenue, it will be reinvested into Extended Studies to support additional programming within the learner community, not limited to their course(s) alone.

When the Provost Office’s disbursement amount exceeds $25,000 of what they can spend in a year, the  Provost Office may  make a permanent transfer to an endowment fund.  Future distributions may be utilized for strategic priorities.

Coursera Extended Studies Revenue Share Detail

The revenue CalArts Extended Studies receives from the earnings generated by the CalArts courses on Coursera is estimated each year during the annual budget cycle. This estimate is based on the most recent actual revenue and available market data and informs the revenue budget for Extended Studies each year.

Extended Studies overall expense budget includes the revenue share disbursements to the schools/programs, Provost’s Office, Instructors, and Institute (i.e. net revenue).

Separately Extended Studies uses the estimated distribution percentage allocated on page 1 to budget expenses related to managing and producing the Coursera courses. These expenses include, but may not be limited to:

  • staff and student wages to manage the year-round courses once they are live on the platform
  • production costs for new and refreshed content including videography, editing, graphic design, temporary support staff, marketing, and any necessary travel expenses.
  • instructor wages and guest artist honorariums for new and/or refreshed course content
  • production equipment costs including cameras, audio support, screen capturing software, expendables, etc.
  • ongoing costs including licensing fees
Coursera Institute Revenue Share Detail

The Institute takes the balance of the Extended Studies net revenue at the end of the fiscal year. Included in this is any remaining portion of the Coursera revenue received by CalArts Extended Studies, after the disbursements to the schools/programs, Provost’s Office, Instructors, and Extended Studies Coursera production and overhead costs are incurred.

Additional Information from Coursera

Product types

  • Courses
  • Specializations
  • Degrees (if you have a Degree Agreement with Coursera)
  • MasterTrack Certificates (if you have a MasterTrack Agreement with Coursera)
  • Coursera Plus

Coursera Business Lines include the following

  • B2C: Revenue data resulting from enrollments through the public course catalog.
  • B2B Organizations: Data resulting from enrollments in your content through a Coursera for Organization plan (Coursera for Campus, Business, and Governments).
  • B2B Teams: Data resulting from enrollments in your content through a Coursera for Business Team plan (for small- and medium-sized organizations).
  • Degree: Data resulting from enrollments where Coursera has collected tuition from learners in a degree program or MasterTrack Certificate and then remitted revenue share to your institution as part of the quarterly revenue share process. Currently, the amounts reported include only MasterTrack revenue where tuition is collected by Coursera. This is because the purpose of the dashboard is to provide you with visibility into the revenue share earned from amounts that Coursera is responsible for collecting.

Relevant Terms and Descriptions as defined by Coursera

  • US Sales Tax Amount: Sales taxes Coursera is required to pay in order to provide access to our electronic services to consumers in those states. This amount is provided for informational purposes, as the Quarterly Net Sales column is already adjusted for the sharing of these taxes.
  • International Tax Amount: The taxes that Coursera is required to pay in order to provide access to our electronic services to consumers in countries that have implemented value added taxes (VAT, GST, or JCT). This amount is provided for informational purposes, as the Quarterly Net Sales column is already adjusted for the sharing of these taxes.
  • Site-Wide Subscription (SWS) Amount: Revenue data resulting from our discontinued subscription product, which allowed learners to access content from across the Coursera platform. Although it is no longer marketed, Coursera has customers who continue to subscribe to and pay for this product. This amount is provided for information only, as it’s already included in the Quarterly Net Sales column.
  • Distribution Costs: To bring additional new learners to partner content on Coursera, we sometimes promote partner content via marketing distribution partnerships and online advertising. Per standard practice in online marketing, we track the revenue coming from these placements at the partner level. We attribute these distribution costs to each partner proportionally to the revenue benefit each partner received from advertising and distribution efforts.
  • RFP Advance: In certain cases, Coursera may agree to fund content development. This advance is generally recouped through Coursera withholding revenue share payments once content is launched. The 2 RFP fields represent the beginning and ending balances of the advance for the particular quarter. Once an advance is recouped, you'll begin to receive revenue share payments for that content.
  • Partner Adjustment Amount: A final adjustment, post-revenue-share calculation for specific events/circumstances. This is only included in the Total Revenue Share table and should be added to or subtracted from the Partner Revenue Share Amount to calculate the final expected revenue disbursement amount. If there’s a balance in this field, reach out to your Partnership Manager for details.
Policy Category:
Faculty Affairs
Adopted Date:
May 2022