Katherine ThompsonAssociate Registrar, College of DuPage

MOOC - 101

IACAC March 6, 2014

Massive Open to several hundred or several thousand students no seat caps

OpenNo admission or enrollment requirementsopen to anyone with access to the internet

OnlineNo travelno classroom

CoursesA number of lectures and activities in a specific

subject area

IACAC, 2014

MOOC Basics

2007 – 1st MOOCsExperiment to serve large numbers of students in

online coursesGraduate level courses in educationUtilized blogs and wikis

2008 – the 1st course to be called a MOOCGraduate course open to students paying for

credit and anyone else for free2300 people enrolledFlexible design and non-credit option made it

possible for students to make the course work for them

IACAC, 2014

Where Did They Come From?

180+ institutions in 20 countries offer MOOCsThe majority are still offered for FreeCertificates of Completion

Coursera’s Signature Track offers identity verification and proctored exam for a fee

Offered for credit Excelsior College Credit-by-Exam programGeorgia Institute of Technology, offering MOOC

Computer Science Masters degree in 2014ACE has recommended 5 MOOCs for credit, and

has a grant to review more

IACAC, 2014

Where Are They Now?

ACE has recommended the following courses for creditPre-Calculus, University of California at Irvine

3 hours lower division mathematics Introduction to Genetics and Evaluation, Duke University

2 hours lower division biology or general scienceBioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach, Duke University

2 hours upper division biology or biomedical engineeringCalculus: Single Variable, University of Pennsylvania

3 hours lower division mathematicsAlgebra (developmental), University of California at Irvine

3 hours developmental math; does not meet general education requirements

MOOCs For Credit

IACAC, 2014

Google “MOOC” and you get:September 2013, 3 million resultsOctober 2013, 4.9 million resultsMarch 2014, 33.9 million results

Everyone has an opinionMOOCs will be the downfall of higher educationOnly the Top 10 institutions will surviveMOOCs will save higher educationMOOCs are nothing but a passing fancy

There is a lot of hype and a lot of negativity, some of which is coming from the same sources.

IACAC, 2014

The Talk About MOOCs

IACAC, 2014

Where Are They Headed?

AccessibilityHigh-demand courses (California)

AffordabilityUnfunded financial aid programsHigh cost of borrowing

IACAC, 2014

Issues that MOOCs Might Solve

Retention & Completion rates average 10%Identity VerificationLearning AssessmentAwarding CreditTranscription and Credit VerificationDo MOOCs have a student code of conduct?

IACAC, 2014

Issues that MOOCs Bring

Proponents claim MOOCs are the solution for:Low-income

often 1st generationRemedial courses Introductory courses

Educators say online courses are best for:Motivated studentsSelf-startersOrganized & disciplined

studentsThose with good time

management skillsSelf-learnersThose who need little or

no personal interaction to stay engaged

MOOC Mismatch

IACAC, 2014

University of Pennsylvania Study35,000 responses from MOOC students who

completed at least 1 lecture34% come from the US24% were age 30 and under

the majority of students were 51+6.6% were unemployed86% already have a college degree

Who are MOOC Students?

IACAC, 2014

50% Personal Enrichment (fun)44% Skill building for their current job17% Skill building to get a new job13% To gain knowledge toward a degree

Why take a MOOC?

IACAC, 2014

64% said MOOCs could eventually reduce the cost of a college degree at their institution

86% said MOOCs could eventually reduce the cost of a degree in general

72% said MOOC students do not deserve credit from their institution

66% said their institution is unlikely to award credit

79% said MOOCs are worth the hype

MOOC Faculty Survey

IACAC, 2014

81% said teaching a MOOC caused them to divert time from other duties such as research, committee service, traditional teaching

Nearly ½ thought their MOOC wasn’t as rigorous as the traditional versionBut they designed it

The average MOOC requires 100 hours of faculty preparation, and 10 hours a week when course is in session

15% taught a MOOC at the behest of a superior2/3 of faculty were tenuredMost faculty had no prior experience with online

teaching

Faculty Survey

IACAC, 2014

Altruism – a desire to increase access to higher education

Didn’t want to be left behind the trendIncrease their own visibility

39% among colleagues within their discipline34% with the media and general public

Improve their classroom teaching (38%)Elite faculty wanted to remain elite in a new domainIncrease in pay - 6% hoped for a raise1 faculty member taught a MOOC to help get tenure

Why Teach a MOOC?

IACAC, 2014

MOOCs are Free100 hours of faculty time to create10 hours a week to teachUp to $200,000 to launch a MOOC

While faculty aren’t being compensated for teaching a MOOC, the institution is paying to launching it

Who’s Paying?

IACAC, 2014

Enhanced rigor of online coursesAbility to build and conduct online courses

with much higher seat capsAutomated assessment tools

Flip-the-Classroom, Hybrid courses

Lessons Learned From MOOCs

IACAC, 2014

1. Excelsior College, Credit-by-Exam2. Georgia Institution of Technology

Master degree in computer science3. University of Maryland University College

6 introductory coursesproctored exam, or prior learning assessment

4. Central Michigan University5. Western Carolina University6. State University of New York Empire State College7. Kaplan University8. American Public University9. Regis University

Who Is Awarding Credit?

IACAC, 2014

“Problems arise only when we think of MOOCs as university courses rather than as learning for the masses.”

What is a MOOC?

IACAC, 2014

Katherine ThompsonAssociate RegistrarCollege of DuPagethompsnk@cod.edu

Sources available upon request

Thank You!

IACAC, 2014