I work in the academic space, and I think this is a great initiative. New ways to get more people more skills are always welcomed, and Google can bring with it a lot of attention and prestige.

What I will be interested to see in the coming months/years is (a) whether Google will put their money where their mouth is and be willing to hire their own graduates (even over those applicants from prestigious institutions), and (b) whether or not this actually sticks around - at this stage I personally would be very hesitant to sign up for any new Google-run program. Since they're being hosted on Coursera I will hope that they will persist even if/when Google loses interest.