Study shows who’s taking open online college courses
When prominent universities began giving free access to courses online, some proponents hailed it as a way to open education to the vastly underprivileged in countries around the world. But a new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania published Wednesday by the journal Nature says that isn’t what has happened. Instead, the researchers found, a vast majority of students enrolled in “Massive Open Online Courses” – commonly known as MOOCs – already hold college degrees and are taking the courses primarily to advance in their jobs. “MOOCs are not providing this revolutionary access that some have claimed,” said Gayle Christensen, executive director for global initiatives at Penn.
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by Susan Snyder, The Inquirer.