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Coursera, Inc. a leading online learning platform, has announced several new generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered features designed to scale assessment creation and grading, strengthen academic integrity, and enhance learning and evaluation. These features, including AI-Assisted Grading, Proctoring, and Coursera’s lockdown browser and AI-Based Viva Exams will help campuses deliver authentic learning to students while increasing the value of online assessments, courses, and certificates.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia advocates for a progressive education system, promoting online learning to bridge skills gaps and enhance graduate employability. The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)’s provision for 30% credits through platforms like Coursera is crucial, but universities must ensure online learning meets the rigorous standards for academic credit. While GenAI introduces new risks for student misconduct, it also provides unprecedented opportunities for universities to enhance academic integrity at 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 at 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 Generative AI-Assisted Features

The new features Coursera is launching 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 seamlessly 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 (currently in pilot).
• Plagiarism Detection. Instantly identifies content similar to previous submissions, deterring plagiarism and educating students on independent thinking and originality (currently in pilot).

Enhance Learning and Evaluation

• Quiz Prep and Prior Learning Recaps with Coursera Coach. Provides a personalised tutor powered by GenAI and grounded in expert Coursera content that provides interactive learning assistance, lecture summaries, guided practice, and tailored pre-assessment reviews (currently in pilot).
• AI Peer Reviews. Facilitates peer feedback with AI-powered insights, evaluating text-based submissions and generating grades using assignment rubrics.
• AI-based Viva Exam. Analyses 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. Enables educators to conduct viva-style written exams, where students show their work and graders receive detailed analysis (currently in pilot).

A Continuing Commitment from Coursera

“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, personalise education, and deliver multidisciplinary learning,” said Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, at Coursera.

In Malaysia, WOU (Wawasan Open University), whose students are mainly working adults under 40, incorporates Coursera content into selected courses, with up to 50% integration for some courses. This partnership gives WOU access to top content from industry leaders like IBM, Google, and Meta, helping students upskill and reskill, and keeps the curricula aligned with evolving industry trends.

Coursera also announced a new course from Vanderbilt University—Generative AI for University Leaders—designed to prepare academic institutions for rapid change brought by GenAI. The free course is taught by Professor Jules White and features guest experts including Andrew Ng, Mayank Shrivastava, and Jeff Maggioncalda. The course covers how GenAI works, its importance, and how university leaders can create a GenAI strategy and ensure its appropriate usage on campuses.

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