Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) giant Coursera has lifted restrictions to students in Iran put in place earlier this year in compliance with US export control regulations.
The restrictions on providing online courses to students in Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan came into force this year when the US government released “a clearer interpretation” of how export control regulations relate to MOOCs, some of which are considered “services” and therefore subject to existing restrictions, according to Coursera.
“We’re glad to see government action and look forward to helping them navigate issues of access in other sanctioned countries”
“Online courses are a new frontier for learning in many ways,” David Liu, General Counsel at Coursera, told The PIE News. “Naturally, questions arise when an organisation or institution begins sharing information freely across borders, as we have experienced in recent months.”
Coursera restored access for Iranian students to the majority of its courses this week after working closely with the US government to negotiate licenses and permissions enabling it to offer these online courses while complying with existing regulations, Liu said.
General License G, released by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, now states that US institutions may offer undergraduate-level online courses in the humanities, social sciences, law or business, provided they are the equivalent of courses ordinarily required for completion of undergraduate programmes in these disciplines.
However, some restrictions remain in place and educational institutions are still banned from offering specified subjects including those in advanced Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines.
As a result, Coursera will continue to block any user with an Iranian IP address from enrolling on these courses.
“We’re glad to see government action and look forward to helping them navigate issues of access in other sanctioned countries,” Liu commented.
He said that the online learning platform hopes to restore access to Cuba and Sudan “as soon as possible”.
“Our mission at Coursera is to expand access to education around the world, and part of that is working with governments and other parties to understand and navigate local regulations,” he added.
According to Coursera, more than 20,000 learners in Iran have taken courses through its website to date.
“We’re glad to open our (digital) doors again to these learners, and hopefully many more!” a spokesperson said.
