I think the main issue is a matter of motiviation for the classes. And I do not mean people being lazy, but the original impetus behind signing up for these cl

I think the main issue is a matter of motiviation for the classes. And I do not mean people being lazy, but the original impetus behind signing up for these classes. For the Coursera classes I did sign up for, I did it because I am interested in the subject area, know almost nothing currently and wanted to gain some functional understanding. I would say of the classes I signed up for, and probably 50% of those I have seen all the lectures. But then I go off and incorporate into side projects to test out / make sure I understand the materials. I have never turned in an assignment, (almost) never posted on a message board and never opened a final exam. Why should I? I am going straight to the application of the content into my projects, I've already achieved my goal of understanding and expanding my capabilities. What reasons would someone have for wanting official completion of the course? On most courses, you do not gain any officially recognized credit, the certificate has limited (if any) commercial marketability for someone... so again, why would I want to go through the hassle of officially completing the course? Two takeaways from these thoughts are the following: 1) How many people like myself have utilized the content of the course but are not seen as retained due to the fact they do not partake in the academic completion side? 2) What potential motivators can exist in the future to drive completion of the academic side of the coures? (college credit is the first one that comes to mind, but still does not help motivating many users who are above that age). What other drivers could come into being to incentivize?