PBA Quick Start Guide

Coursera-Illinois Tech Programs

Illinois Tech offers the following degree programs through Coursera:

Topical Webinar Videos

MBA PBA Orientation Webinar on March 2024

A Deep Dive on the Illinois Tech Online Master of IT

Coursera Resources

Admissions

What is Performance-Based Admission (PBA)?

Degree admission is entirely performance-based. You don’t need transcripts, tests, application fees, or other hurdles to begin taking classes. If you pass the initial “pathway courses” with a B or higher grade and fulfill program requirements, you will be automatically admitted to the program you have applied for. Fulfillment of program requirements includes submission of transcripts prior to graduation.

What is the PBA admission process like?

Learner TypeIIT StatusActionRequirements
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) LearnerNAExplore Illinois Tech MOOCs and convert any Illinois Tech MOOCs into a for-degree version with tuition payment.Conversion can happen up to the fifth week of each term in Spring and Fall. 

After the conversion, complete additional for-degree materials and summative assessments to earn credit.
PBA LearnerNon-DegreeRegister for 3 PBA courses to get into the Coursera Illinois Tech program and pass them to be admitted to the program.Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Degree LearnerDegree Seeking - Being admitted to Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programComplete 9 credit hours of course (Master’s program)/ 12 credit hours of course (Bachelor’s program) including 3 PBA courses to be fully admitted to the program. 

Complete the required credit hours of courses for graduation.

Maintain GPA of 3.0 or higher.

 

Submit a transcript confirming your undergraduate degree completion (MIT and MDS, *MBA Exception Policy) and transfer credit and supporting documents (Bachelor’s program) before graduation.

After registration, what’s the next step?

Once your registration is processed at the Coursera Illinois Tech Portal, you will receive a registration confirmation email and you need to link your Coursera account to the degree program. This process can be found in the “Welcome” email from Illinois Tech. Please make sure you check your Illinois Tech email to link your account to your program.

Once your account is linked, you will be redirected to the Degree Home Page on Coursera and you can find your registered course(s) and the new student orientation, which you must complete before you start taking any courses. If you do not link your account and complete the new student orientation, you will not be able to access your registered course(s) in Coursera. If you are a MOOC converter, you still need to link your account and complete the new student orientation to access the for-degree version of the course.

Processing registration can take up to 36–48 hours. If your registration is completed within 24 hours, wait for another day to process your registration. If you still do not see your course after 36 hours, email us at Coursera@iit.edu with more details on your case with your registration confirmation email and tuition payment receipts.

What is a PBA course like?

Each program has three PBA/pathway courses. Each PBA course is one credit hour with 4~6 hours of expected student workload per week. They run for 8 weeks while the content consists of 3 weekly Modules and summative assessment(s). The summative assessment allows one attempt only with the highest weight of the final grade, so be well-prepared for the summative assessment to pass the course.

Where can I submit my transcript?

If you are a master’s student and will be submitting your bachelor’s degree transcript, you may send it to grad.admission@iit.edu, and by mail to:

Illinois Institute of Technology
Office of Graduate Admission
10 West 33rd Street
Perlstein Hall, Room 203
Chicago, Illinois 60616

For the Bachelor of Information Technology applicant, you can check the Coursera Pathway Transfer Credit Evaluation Process for Bachelor of Information Technology website for information on transfer credit and transcript submission process.

Registration

How can I register for PBA courses?

If you are a new student, or if you need to complete the Performance Based Admissions (PBA) courses, enroll today at the Coursera Illinois Tech Portal. Here’s a registration guide for PBA courses.

Can I register for multiple courses at once?

Yes. If you have any trouble with your registration, please contact us at Coursera@iit.edu with detailed information and any supporting documents and screenshots.

After registration, what’s the next step?

Once your registration is processed at the Coursera Illinois Tech Portal, you will receive a registration confirmation email and you need to link your Coursera account to the degree program. This process can be found in the “Welcome” email from Illinois Tech. Once your account is linked, you will be redirected to the Degree Home Page on Coursera and you can find your registered course(s) and the new student orientation, which you must complete before you start taking any courses.

Processing registration can take up to 36–48 hours. If your registration is completed within 24 hours, wait for another day to process your registration. If you still do not see your course after 36 hours, email us at Coursera@iit.edu with more details on your case with your registration confirmation email and tuition payment receipts.

After completion of three PBA courses, what’s next?

Once you have completed your PBA courses successfully, your student status will be changed from a non-degree student to a conditionally-admitted degree-seeking student, and you will be considered a degree-seeking student. Once you have completed 9 (for GR) or 12 (for UG) credit hours, including the PBA courses, in Good Standing, you will be fully admitted to your program. Updates to student records should happen within approximately 2 weeks of receiving final grades from the previous term.

You will be able to register for post-PBA and core degree courses within your program via the Illinois Tech Portal.

I have been taking Illinois Tech MOOC courses. How can I transfer to the Coursera-Illinois Tech program?

To transfer from a MOOC learner to a credit student at Illinois Tech, you must register for the program via the Coursera Course Registration Portal up until the posted deadline in the Coursera Academic Calendar. You will need to pay the corresponding tuition at the time of registration. You need to complete the new student orientation of your program to access your for-credit version of the course. All completed required assignments in the MOOC will be transferred to the credit course, and you will be required to complete additional learning material and module and course summative assessments in the for-credit version of the course to earn credit.

How can I validate that I’m enrolled in the for-credit version of the course?

You will access your for-credit degree courses through the Coursera-Illinois Tech degree homepage after your registration is complete and you have completed linking your account and the new student orientation. In addition, you should be able to check your registration record at the Illinois Tech Portal once your registration is complete.

Coursera-Illinois Tech Degree Homepage

To ensure that you are in your for-credit degree courses, you must link your accounts and complete the new student orientation course of your program. After your conversion from MOOC to for-credit version of the course, you must complete additional learning materials and summative assessments to earn credit. For example, summative course assessments are always different from the Public version, so you always need to take the summative course assessment after transferring to the degree course. For PBA courses, you will see “For Credit” in front of the summative assessments.

Coursera Illinois Tech Degree Homepage for Credit

How do I drop a PBA course?

After checking the Coursera academic calendar to confirm the last day or drop a course, you have to complete one of the two processes below, depending on the course you need to drop:

  • Complete the Coursera Course Drop/Withdraw Form for PBA courses and submit it.
  • The deadline to request a refund is the same as the add/drop date. Fees for courses started via MOOC and completed via a credit-by-proficiency exam will not be refunded under any circumstances.

Can I repeat a PBA course?

Yes. You can retake any of the three PBA courses one additional time at cost to improve your grades.You can go through an academic appeal process for multiple PBA repeat courses from Academic Affairs. The first repeat is for a grade exclusion and any approved PBA repeat after would factor into a student's GPA.

Tuition and Payment

What is the refund policy for dropped courses?

The deadline to request a refund is the same as the add/drop date. Any courses removed after the last day to add or drop a course are subject to forfeiture of tuition. Fees for courses started via MOOC and that are completed via a credit by proficiency exam will not be refunded under any circumstances. You can find more information on the difference between withdrawing from vs. dropping a course at the Office of the Registrar website.

For PBA courses, Requests for refunds due to a dropped course(s) are processed upon submission of the Coursera Course Drop/Withdraw Form.

Do you offer any financial aid or scholarships for Coursera-Illinois Tech programs?

No. Coursera Illinois Tech programs are not currently eligible for United States federal financial aid and there are currently no scholarships available. Illinois Tech encourages you to speak about tuition reimbursement through your employer.

Communication

Which email to use for additional questions?

Please email us at Coursera@iit.edu.

How can I contact you for any technical issues with Coursera?

You can contact Coursera via the learner support link or chat once you log in for 24/7 support.