Stepik received lots of questions on how the platform and courses will work in the near future, so we prepared a collection of the most frequent of them and answers to them. This article will be updated continuously.
The latest update is March 14, 2022.
Above all, we would like to express our support to anyone in a stressful or dangerous situation. If you have any issues with Stepik technical performance, contact us at support@stepik.org.
Will Stepik limit access for users from Russia or other countries in any way?
Stepik doesn’t plan on restricting its functionality for anyone. Unfortunately, we can’t predict every potential issue and limitation, but we would really like to be able to keep our platform available for all our learners and instructors.
Has Stepik already been affected by any restrictions?
No restrictions or sanctions haven’t directly impacted Stepik. However, we use external services and have to adjust our work according to the changes that involve them. For example, it applies to payment systems.
How can I pay for a course now?
For payments in rubles, we use Yookassa. It currently operates normally. However, starting from March 9, 2022, Visa, MasterCard, JCB and American Express card transactions from foreign banks have been suspended (the article is in Russian), so for purchasing a course, you can only use cards issued in Russia.
For payments in USD, we use Paddle. At this moment, it hasn’t introduced any restrictions, but Visa and MasterCard limitations also apply to it, as well as suspension of PayPal services in Russia, starting from March 18, 2022. Please use other cards to pay via Paddle.
Whether payments will work in our apps depends on what system you use. The iOS app uses Apple's own payment system that currently doesn’t accept cards issued by Russian banks. Purchases on Android devices work the same as at the website.
We monitor the situation and will suggest alternative payment methods when possible.
Will the Stepik website and apps work if internet censorship will be implemented in Russia?
We are not familiar with cases of total restriction of access to the internet, and can’t predict what exactly may be disabled and what consequences such a situation may have.
Can learners download courses?
Stepik mobile apps allow downloading of video steps to watch them offline. Instructors can enable downloading in their courses (by publishing the course as open and making every lesson with videos public). Downloading the entire course from the website or mobile apps isn’t possible because courses include not only theoretical text or video steps but also practical assignments that require online access to be checked by our automatic system.
How can I keep track of how you currently function or contact you?
We continue to be active in social media (in Russian): VK, Discord. If you have any questions, contact us at support@stepik.org.
And what about authors and creation of the courses?
In short: we haven’t introduced any changes and continue our work with all authors. Creation of courses is available as always. More information and answers for instructors and corporate clients here: https://support.stepik.org/hc/en-us/articles/4589367823378