Triangulating MOOCs Mapping Your Strategy for Massive Open Online Courses

By Stephen G. Pelletier

o coin a phrase, when it comes efforts, the first MOOC that really drew The other major corporate player—at to Massive Open Online widespread attention was “Introduction least so far—is Coursera. Also founded Courses (MOOCs), there’s to Artificial Intelligence,” taught in by Stanford academics, and also funded something happening here, but 2011 by Peter Thrun and Peter Norvig by venture capitalists, Coursera has what it is isn’t exactly clear. at Stanford University. As offered in its partnered with more than 30 prominent TAnd there’s the rub for presidents of conventional form on campus, the course universities—including Brown, Columbia, AASCU institutions. University leaders had previously enrolled fewer than 200 Duke, Princeton and Stanford—to today face the discomforting challenge students. But when the faculty members offer their content via MOOCs. With of needing to map a position for their decided to offer the course widely online, the tagline “Take the World’s Best institution within the Massive Open for free, as an experiment, some 160,000 Courses, Online, For Free,” Coursera Online Courses space—when so far, few students from 190 countries wanted in. says “we envision a future where the compass points in that space have come It didn’t take long for the venture top universities are educating not only into focus. capitalists to get engaged. Funded by thousands of students, but millions.” So when it comes to MOOCs, how Charles River Ventures—and Thrun In January, The New York Times does your institution find its own true himself—the company Udacity has reported that Coursera was enrolling new north? What factors need to go into your quickly moved to scale up a portfolio of students at a rate of 70,000 per week. Also thinking as you plot a MOOC strategy for free online courses. Launched in January that month, Coursera announced plans your institution? 2012, Udacity started offering courses the to offer some courses for a fee; students next month—a speed that The Economist would earn certificates of completion The Rise of MOOCs noted was “a nanosecond by the standards bearing the brand of the university While some experts trace the concept of old-style university decision making.” offering the course, but the plan stops shy behind MOOCs to Buckminster Fuller’s By the end of 2012, Udacity was offering of awarding full college credit. thinking in the 1960s, the first MOOCs courses in computer programming, Harvard and MIT are the forces as they have come to be defined today computer science, mathematics, general behind another major player, edX, a started just a few years ago. sciences, and entrepreneurship to nearly not-for-profit venture designed for Following earlier experimental half a million users. “interactive study via the web.”

2 Public Purpose n Winter 2013 Many other firms, including established companies and start-ups, are MOOCs are disruptive. also dipping into MOOCs. Udemy and 2U, for example, are often mentioned in the context of MOOCs but differ in that They have sparked a conversation they charge for access to courses. Many other players, from the Khan Academy in higher education that is leading to iTunes U, post educational content— essentially components of courses— online. many educators to rethink The one AASCU member institution to partner so far with Udacity, San Jose State University (Calif.), is pilot-testing fundamental aspects of academe. the online teaching—for credit and to both SJSU and non-SJSU students—of remedial and introductory courses in algebra and statistics. The hope is that revising these critical entry-level courses, which traditionally have high failure temporarily, in part because UVA’s Tool for Transformation rates, will improve student engagement trustees didn’t think she was moving fast John D. Haeger is president of and lead to better learning outcomes. enough to join the MOOC parade. Northern Arizona University (NAU), Easily accessible online, the pilot courses So, in the face of all the hype and an AASCU school that has extensive will also be affordable; at $150 each, they hoopla, how should university leaders experience in online learning. Haeger will cost about the same as a course at think about MOOCs? Are they, in fact, says MOOCs bring two new factors to the California’s community colleges. the disruptive force that many make them table. One is scale, he says: the number State systems of public universities out to be? of people that MOOCs can reach. The are also pushing further into this space. The reality is that MOOCsare other notable thing, he points out, is The University of Texas System joined disruptive. They have sparked a that prominent universities that have edX last fall, with initial plans to offer four conversation in higher education that not traditionally been major players courses on that platform. In January, the is leading many educators to rethink in the online space are spearheading State University of New York announced fundamental aspects of academe, from experiments in MOOCs. a planned 2014 launch of Open SUNY, assumptions about classroom learning to “I think MOOCs will create a lot of which will include 10 online bachelor’s the basic construct of university teaching interest in online learning,” Haeger says. degrees—some of which may be three- to the reality that corporations can That’s one plus for institutions that can year programs—and access to online successfully compete with universities offer a robust catalog of online classes. But degree offerings at every SUNY campus to educate students. But at the same Haeger says the real potential of MOOCs through common online tools. time, MOOCs may not be quite as goes deeper, to what he characterizes as revolutionary as some would have us “the extent to which MOOCs can fuel Are MOOCs a Game- believe. other transformations.” changer? Perhaps a better word for MOOCs is One such transformation is in Unless perhaps you have been “evolutionary.” Susan Aldridge, a former teaching and learning. NAU is developing on sabbatical way, way off the grid, president of the University of Maryland pedagogy based on “flipping” the discussions about MOOCs have been University College who now serves as classroom, or using technology to move hard to miss. In a headline late last year, senior fellow at AASCU and has extensive lectures and core content outside the The New York Times dubbed 2012 “The experience in online learning, suggests classroom, reserving class time for Year of the MOOC.” MOOCs are front that MOOCs are a logical extension of discussion and interaction. Haeger says and center as an agenda item in many a progression in technology mediated that offers a lot of promise. “If we can a campus meeting. And although she models of education that started with do our introductory courses where the quickly got her job back, one public distance education and early efforts in content is on the web and we reserve class university president—Teresa Sullivan at online learning. time for interactivity, we think we can the University of Virginia— was fired,

Winter 2013 n Public Purpose 3 The key question might be how public universities can transform themselves to adapt to the changes that MOOCs bring—and more importantly, capitalize on those changes.

make students more successful. That’s the a key for better assessment of student Boon to Universities transformation that I think is there.” learning. While many argue that MOOC The potential promise of MOOCs The other side of that coin is saved education can’t match the quality of a doesn’t stop at the classroom. Lost in the costs, of course. “It’s back of the envelope,” classroom course, advocates of MOOCs “sky is falling” chatter about MOOCs is Haeger says, “but I think if we adopted counter that while we generally don’t another reality: For all their disruption, flipped classrooms in lots of introductory yet have good tools for assessing the MOOCs might actually help universities classes across the campus, we could quality of classroom learning outcomes, reach more students. In a recent AASCU probably reduce the expense of offering MOOCs have a powerful multiplier meeting, the president of a university with those courses by some 15 to 20 percent.” effect in their inherent ability to gather extensive experience in online learning George Mehaffy, vice president basic information about learning from suggested that MOOCs delivered well for academic leadership and change large numbers of students. “MOOCs could help the university publicize its at AASCU, puts it this way: “If every have certainly propelled forward the brand to a wider market of potential institution offers four sections of conversation about learning assessment,” students. “I think there is some value in Psychology 101, and we multiply that Mehaffy says. the MOOCs as a way to bring potential times 4,000 institutions, that means “Given the numbers of students students to your institution,” this leader every fall we teach 16,000 sections of taking MOOCs, they give us an said. “I think we can think of these as a Psych 101 as if it has never been taught opportunity to do data mining at a level potential recruitment device.” Moreover, before. Really? Do we really do that still?” we have not been able to do before,” MOOCs have the capacity to publicize In presentations around the country, Aldridge says. “Web-based education and promote a university’s top faculty Mehaffy urges campus leaders to think provides us with an opportunity to amass members. about how they can capitalize on flipped the type of data that we have wanted Another education leader at the same classrooms to better deploy faculty to help us determine how students meeting said “there’s a lot of opportunity resources. learn and what interventions really here. It may open up new roles for Haeger acknowledges that such contribute to student success. Because universities that we can’t conceive of quite change can be perceived as a threat to we can track information more readily yet.” Some education leaders think, for faculty. If you can get departments to do a in a web-based environment, we are example, that MOOCs create channels uniform course at the introductory level, learning more than we ever have before. for a new era in lifelong learning, opening he says, overall you would probably need We are creating metrics and analytics the door for universities to draw new fewer faculty for those courses. But the that give our institutions opportunities student populations from the ranks of upside of that, he says, is that “then you to intervene where students need our adults in the workforce who need or want can move the faculty’s time to working help and support. We’re reassessing the additional education. with students on higher order skills. If role of faculty members and where they that happens on a big scale, then we have intervene with the students to help them Challenges to Address really changed the pattern of instructing learn.” All of these factors, Aldridge says, As AASCU presidents shape their students on university campuses. And that move us forward toward better student own institution’s strategy around MOOCs, would be a transformation.” access to college and more successful several challenges come immediately to Yet another positive dimension of degree completion. the fore. One is monetization. No one MOOCs is that they potentially hold seems to have quite figured out a way

4 Public Purpose n Winter 2013 to make money from MOOCs, which PASSHE is working with the Council messy. But from invigorating students obviously come with an operating cost for Adult & Experiential Learning to be masters of their own learning to and, for viability’s sake, need to contribute to develop better ways to assess and capitalizing better on faculty expertise to something to an institution’s bottom standardize measures of the learning improving our understanding of learning line. Mehaffy says one key challenge for that a student obtains from a number of outcomes, the winners in this race have AASCU institutions is the business model sources, including MOOCs. That work a real shot at transforming teaching and around MOOCs, and what it will take to also links to assessment of prior student learning in potentially profound ways. compete in this space. learning for credit. This past November, Experts suggest that AASCU Revenue models that have been the American Council on Education presidents experiment in the MOOC discussed in the MOOC space include announced a separate initiative, funded space now to determine what paths are the possibility of having students pay by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, right for their institutions. For example, for earning a certificate in what would to examine the academic potential Aldridge suggests that presidents otherwise be a free course. For-profit of MOOCs. As part of that project, “think about the strategies that they MOOC pioneers also hope to reap researchers will evaluate select Coursera have on their campuses, and utilize revenue from employers willing to courses for college credit by the ACE technologies to enhance their current pay for information about current or College Credit Recommendation Service. strategies. There aren’t sufficient resources potential employees who have successfully ACE subsequently announced a similar to do everything, but there may be completed a MOOC. project to evaluate four Udacity courses. opportunities to conduct pilot tests of “I think in the short term the different modes of delivery across classes, money will be made with certificates,” Conversation for AASCU and to research them and determine the Aldridge says. “When you put a brand Institutions extent to which they are having a positive name on a course, that conveys a lot of MOOCs obviously offer both impact on student learning, student status, especially with students overseas, opportunities and challenges for the progression and student success.” and an opportunity to compete in very leaders of AASCU institutions. Given MOOCs and related innovations in competitive employment markets. So I that MOOCs are indeed disruptive forces, education may help public universities think certificates will be an opportunity the key question might be how public deal with the double sword of lower for revenue. I don’t think 40,000 students universities can transform themselves to state appropriations and constraints in will pay for certificates, but given the adapt to the changes that MOOCs bring— the ability to expand tuition. AASCU numbers of students in a MOOC course, I and more importantly, capitalize on those institutions “need to be looking down the think there’s an opportunity there.” changes. road,” Haeger says. “The transformation The possibility of paying for Mehaffy, for example, likes to ask in the way that students learn and the certification dances up to another thorny college audiences how they are using way we teach is under way. It promises problem with MOOCs, credentialing. MOOCs to reduce costs, increase access to be a wild ride probably, but it could Colleges, of course, need to take pains to or increase learning outcomes. “As you totally change everything. We’re going to decide what kind of credit to award for can imagine,” he says, “there is deafening have more students, we’re going to have any educational offering. That is certainly silence.” Yet that may be the very kind less money from the state, we’re going to true with MOOCs. of conversation that public universities have less money from tuition—something “Just because you can post a need to be having if they are to compete has to allow us to offer the same quality series of lectures on the web doesn’t efficiently in a fiercely more competitive programming, and it could be that make it a good MOOC,” says John C. education marketplace. technologies are sophisticated enough P Cavanaugh, then chancellor of PASSHE, Campuses delivering MOOCs now to let that happen.” the Pennsylvania State System of Higher will need to learn how to deliver high Education. (Cavanaugh has since been quality online education to large groups named head of a university consortium of students. They will have to figure in Washington.) “Like anything else on out how to make money from those iTunes U or whatever, just because you courses, and how to award credit for can post it doesn’t mean that it’s high- them. Fundamental aspects of academic quality. And just because a student claims culture, including the traditional faculty to have taken a MOOC, the question role, may need to be re-envisioned. Those is whether they have actually learned Writer/editor Stephen G. Pelletier is based in are no small challenges, and in the short Rockville, Md. anything.” term, this change could get extremely

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