Moocs can transform education—but not yet

Posted on December 22nd, 2016

Times Higher Education looks at MOOCs over the last few years and their potential impact on higher education in the future. Former Stanford University President John Hennessy states that MOOCs are “not the kind of revolutionary thing I think people were hoping for.” MOOCs, despite their growth in the past few years, have faced much criticism. Some have claimed that MOOCs are too impersonal, have low completion rates, and have not been improving access to education as much as expected. However, Rick Levin, chief executive of the MOOC provider Coursera, argues that MOOCs can still transform higher education. Levin notes that MOOCs have made a large impact on professional development and the development of fully online post-graduate degrees, which have significantly lower tuition fees than on-campus degrees. According to the article, “it is clear that continuing innovation will be needed if Coursera is indeed to live up to the initial hype surrounding MOOCs.”

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/massive-open-online-courses-moocs-can-transform-education-but-not-yet