№ 2018/2

The article examines the international experience of massive open online courses (MOOCs) providers regarding the development and implementation of various monetization models, which are the main source of their financial support. The authors systematize and conduct comparative analysis of the traditional and hybrid business models of the largest educational online providers: Coursera, Edx and Udacity. It is determined that for all online providers it is characteristic to charge a subscription for courses or their separate specialization. It has been established that the list of the most common traditional ways of receiving revenue by the providers includes: the opportunity to get funds from the implementation and increase of the number of specialist programs, the use of various models of "freemium" and syndication, the provision of certificates, and cooperation with employers who are willing to pay for access to information about the students’ academic performance.
It has been shown that the greatest successes in this financial segment have been achieved by Coursera and Udacity, with an annual demand of 1,000 students. In order to facilitate the placement of graduates who successfully passed the examinations, Udacity's leadership has launched the Job Placement Program, which has made profiles of the best students available to interested employers, including Bank of America, Facebook, Google, Twitter, TrialPay, Bu.mp and Greylock Venture Partners. The most profitable are the ones related to the development of courses for the corporate sector and the sale of certified master's programs.
It has been found that additional sources of revenue include funds from advertising, collaboration with Amazon and creation of own online stores, as in the case of Coursera. Particular attention is paid to hybrid models of monetization, which are designed to solve business problems and bring benefits on the market for providers of MOOCs and their university partners. It has been substantiated that in order to encourage a greater number of students the most prominent providers resort to financial discounts for early completion of the course and for students from low-income families. The article shows that it is possible for individuals who act as teachers to monetize their own experience, which can earn tens of thousands of dollars.

Keywords: massive open online courses (MOOCs), educational start-up, honor code certificate, freemium model, screening technologies, specialized programs