The shares, which sold for $33 in the IPO, closed at $45 Wednesday in New York trading, giving the company a market value of $5.86 billion.

After institutions and individual experts, Coursera now lets their learners create free online courses.

While peer-assessed assignments can be a great learning tool, the credibility of online courses will not endure unless providers take strong action against cheating.

After introducing an annual subscription earlier this year, Coursera is testing a monthly subscription.