Do Coursera Certificates Expire? (All You Need To Know)
As a top online education platform, many prospective employers see Coursera certificates as ‘proof of qualification.’ So much so that people enjoy taking Coursera courses just so they can get another qualification under their belt. But, once you have a Coursera certificate, do you keep it for life? Do Coursera certificates expire?
Related: Coursera Review: How Popular Is This eLearning Platform?
Coursera certificates do not expire. Once you have earned that certificate, you can use it for as long as you want. It is not a renewable qualification. It holds the same value as a qualification from any school. It will always show that you have completed a course, and you can use it as evidence.
Let’s explain in more depth because there are some things that you should probably understand about the Coursera qualification certificates.
Do Coursera Certificates Expire?
Do Coursera Certificates Expire? (All You Need To Know)
As we said, Coursera certificates do not expire. Once you have earned them, you have that qualification for life. However, do bear in mind that employers will sometimes see it in a different light.
While the certificate is permanent, the things you learn on a Coursera course are temporary, particularly regarding tech and software. Things change at a rapid pace. So, while you could pick up a qualification in certain front-end development subjects today, that same qualification may not hold the same weight 5-10 years from now.
Coursera is completely fine. It is the way that qualifications work. Even a university degree 10-20 years ago isn’t worth the same as one you pick up today.
So, while Coursera certificates do not expire, you are actively encouraged to keep furthering your education and picking up new qualifications every few years. This way, you can prove that you are willing to learn and understand how the world changes in some areas. Of course, gaining experience in work will also do precisely the same thing.
Can You Reprint Coursera Certificates?
Do Coursera Certificates Expire? (All You Need To Know)
As long as Coursera operates as a business, you can continue to get Coursera certificates.
If you want to reprint old Coursera certificates, log in to your Coursera account and navigate to your ‘Accomplishments’ page. Details of all your completed courses are there. All you need to do is browse through and find the course certificate you want.
Related: Coursera course certificates
These certificates are slightly different from those you would get from a more traditional academic institution. You are printing them off, after all. So, every Coursera certificate will have a verification URL on it. Prospective employers can check that URL to ensure that your certificate is legit.
Of course, if Coursera ever goes down, that URL will no longer be active, which technically means that your Coursera certificate is useless. However, we need to see a situation where Coursera goes down. The business is thriving at the moment. So, your Cousera certificate can always be checked for authenticity for all intents and purposes.Coursera Cours
If You Do Not Complete the Course on Time
Do Coursera Certificates Expire? (All You Need To Know)
We have discussed Coursera certificates expiring after you get them, but what about before you can complete the course? Well, in that case, things are different.
Once you have enrolled in a course, you only have limited time to complete it if you wish to gain a certificate. For most courses, at least. While you can, in theory, complete the course whenever you want (as long as it remains on Coursera), some courses will only award you a certificate if you complete it before a deadline. This deadline is often quite generous, though. As long as you put in a few hours per week on your Coursera course, you will probably be able to hit it.
Related: Assessment Deadlines
This means that if your goal is to complete the course to gain a certificate, then you need to complete it as quickly as possible. If you complete the course after the deadline, you do not technically gain a qualification that you can show your potential employers.
It would help if you also watched for courses with specific ‘features’ on them, e.g., graded assignments. Some of these courses will only offer those features for a while, and once they get cut out, you won’t gain a certificate from them.
Thankfully, Coursera is very good at telling you when a course will likely expire and when your cut-off point for qualifying is. We are sure that if you are paying money for a course, you already know you are willing to commit yourself to that course.
Final Thoughts
Coursera certificates do not expire. Not once you have earned them, at least. You may need to take new qualifications every few years. While a qualification doesn’t expire, some old courses are outdated, so employers look at them differently. However, we are sure you already know that life is all about improving yourself, which means gaining more qualifications.
Remember, if you sign up for a course, you will typically need to complete it within a certain timeframe to get a qualification. You must complete it to enjoy the course content, but you won’t have a usable certificate.
So thinking about our question, “Do Coursera certificates expire? (All you need to know)”, we hope this post has helped to answer the question, but if you would like to know more, feel free to leave a comment.
Also, if you would like to purchase a subscription for Coursera, we have a direct link below. It is an affiliate link, so if you do use it we’ll earn a small commission, so thank you in advance.
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Hey, I’m Kris Taylor. I’m a Learning and Development professional currently in the healthcare field, with over 8 years of experience in the area of corporate education. I have created numerous instructional content for various corporate projects including eLearning, in-person facilitation, and virtual training across a wide variety of learning interventions and sectors. On Taughtup, I discuss topics ranging from how to succeed through K-12 to college all the way to instructional design tips for L&D designers.
