Coursera wins millions from UPenn and Caltech and a dozen new partners

COURSERA: $3.7 million to Mountain View, CA-based Coursera from UPenn and Caltech, who are among the additional dozen universities that have signed up to contribute content. That brings the Coursera partner count to sixteen, including three universities from overseas. (University of Virginia, which last month ignited a firestorm over the firing of its president for supposedly moving too slow to adopt online courses, is also now onboard.) With previous funding from NEA and Kleiner Perkins, the company has raised a total of $22 million. Latest enrollment numbers according to Forbes hover around 680,000, most from outside the U.S. For Coursera, as well as competitors Udacity and edX, the allure of learning from top-notch professors for basically nothing is surely driving this booming popularity. Given the wildfire number of signups, it's only a matter of time before the programs implement payment options to generate revenue. Udacity aims to to charge students for the privilege of taking tests; Coursera is weighing fees for tests or for certificates. Still unknown will be how these certificates will be received by other schools or potential employers.