{"id":46051,"date":"2018-11-21T11:55:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T19:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=46051"},"modified":"2018-11-21T11:55:47","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T19:55:47","slug":"moocs-good-promotion-tools-for-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/moocs-good-promotion-tools-for-universities\/","title":{"rendered":"MOOCs, good promotion tools for universities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nWhen MOOCs (\u00a0<\/span>massive open online courses<\/span><\/em>\u00a0) first appeared in the early 2010s, some thought they were the death knell for some of the institutions of higher education.\u00a0Clayton Christensen has, among other things,\u00a0<\/span>predicted the impending bankruptcy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of many universities.\u00a0This professor at Harvard Business School is primarily known for developing the theory of breakthrough innovation, often better known as the theory of disruptive innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to this, a newcomer can disrupt long-standing institutions in a market by selling a lower-quality product or service, but at a lower price.\u00a0Focusing first on a segment of the market neglected by duly established institutions, this new player can then, by progressively improving its technology, disrupt more deeply the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

Complementary courses<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

To be verified in the educational context, this theory assumes that MOOCs, and more generally online courses, are good substitutes for programs offered within our institutions.\u00a0A hypothesis recently questioned by several empirical works, which showed their lower quality in terms of learning outcomes (see among others\u00a0<\/span>Alpert, Couch and Harmon (2016)<\/span><\/a>and\u00a0<\/span>Bettinger, Fox, Loeb and Taylor (2017)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0).<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of online distance education on higher education institutions is undeniable, but it is of another nature: more than replacing the current offer, it is a complement.\u00a0The use of information and communication technologies can be a way to improve the quality of education, or even reduce the cost of some training.\u00a0But it can also be a showcase for promoting institutions of higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a\u00a0<\/span>recent scientific article<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, it is this latter hypothesis that we have put to the test of facts.\u00a0In order to measure the impact of free online courses on enrollment in traditional programs organized by universities, we mobilized data from the FUN platform and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Increase in registrations<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Since its launch by the French government in cooperation with several French universities in 2013, this MOOC platform has welcomed more than 1.5 million different students in more than 400 courses, developed by a hundred different institutions – mainly universities.<\/span><\/p>\n

From this analysis, it appears that offering such open access courses tends to increase the number of new students enrolled in other programs offered by these universities.\u00a0This trend is relatively stronger for universities located in the provinces and those best placed in the highly influential “Shanghai ranking”.\u00a0This first result echoes that of\u00a0<\/span>Goodman, Melkers and Pallais (2019)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on the effects of the online duplication of a Master’s program in Computer Science, also offered face-to-face at the Georgia Institute of Technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

While these two courses were similar in terms of content and difficulty, the one that was available online was less selective and six times cheaper than the one taught in the walls of the Atlanta-based institution.\u00a0In these different research contexts, it appears that offering an online alternative to the current\u00a0<\/span>in situ<\/span><\/em>\u00a0does not reduce enrollment in the latter, on the contrary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Orientation Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

What are the plausible explanations for this positive link between the MOOC online and the increase in demand from the institutions responsible for such pedagogical innovations?\u00a0The analysis of registration data for these MOOCs and their media coverage distinguishes two:<\/span><\/p>\n