discuss the customer, customer segment and what do customer value and why.

The recent increase in demand for online education has caused the industry to develop at unprecedented rates. COVID$-19$ caused the already stable growth of the sector to increase exponentially as in$-$person learning was put to a complete stop in most areas of the United States. Online learning tools such as video conferencing, digital testing services, and online counseling were heavily invested into by Congress. Established universities realized how convenient these tools would be for professors and students even after the pandemic. They capitalized on this trend by expanding their offerings of online classes in combination with in$-$person classes, as well as exclusively online programs. Research by Statista shows that as of Fall $2021,$ over $60\%$ of all college students in the United States were enrolled in online classes or fully online programs. For reference, between $2012$ and $2019$ the percentage of college students taking at least one online class only increased from $26\%$ to $37\%.$

Universities were not alone in capitalizing on the trend of online education. Platforms such as Coursera offer thousands of courses, certifications, and even degrees to students. These courses and certifications are appealing to students as they are much more affordable than a college degree, and are tailored to the specific skill set a student hopes to gain. According to Statista, Coursera has around $100$ million registered users and nearly $40$ million course enrollments $(2021).$ As the leader of the online course trend, Coursera achieved revenues of $$415$ million in $2021$ and a compound annual growth rate of $41\mathrm{.}5\%.$

It is worth mentioning that many critics of online education believe that online degrees from universities are illegitimate and not accredited. This could not be further from the truth. Research published in $2023$ from Champlain College shows that $90\%$ of adults find online education effective in equipping students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in their careers$$ as well as that $64\%$ of adults believe the value of an online degree for the tuition dollar is equal to or more than the value of an on$-$campus degree $($a $20\%$ increase from $2017).$ Similar arguments are made against the credibility of online courses through platforms like Coursera. Unfortunately for critics, these claims are baseless as a large majority of courses offered by Coursera are offered by prestigious universities and Fortune $500$ and S&P $500$ companies. As online education continues to rapidly trend upward, the stigma against it trends downward.