Do massive open online courses offer a viable solution for essential problems in higher education?

Abstract

Higher education institutions have been suffering from serious problems for decades. Many reform programs have been implemented to overcome these problems. Some of the solutions have worked well but others have failed. As a promising initiative, the movement of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has generated enormous excitement among educators. Many prestigious universities have created educational partnerships and offered MOOCs worldwide. The market has been expanded with the joining of commercial establishments, and millions of students around the world have registered to such courses. However, the average completion rate is extremely low and a great majority the students attend these courses for enjoyment than for credentials. Similarly, almost none of the universities, which include the leading providers, do not recognize the credits earned through these courses for their diploma programs. There is also a serious concern that MOOCs may cause hegemony of the Ivy League institutions on other universities.