Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ MOOCs and Regifting

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Actually, I think we should call it regrifting. Because like Jim Groom, when I saw Georgia Tech was charging $7000 for a new Masters in Computing Science MOOC I didn't think it was prticularly low-cost, despite the press (I guess you have to compare it with U.S.-style pricing, which would put the same program at an utterly unreasonable $40K). You also have to be admitted, of course, to be allowed to view the collection of videos and quizzes Georgia will be lining up for you. Groom points out, "You charge $7000 a year tuition with the idea you'll have a 2-year cohort of 10,000 students. If you add that up, you get $140 million. That's massive, especially when you're only hiring eight new faculty to educate those 10,000 students." Related: Alastair Creelman writes, "many fear that MOOC consortia will soon reveal their true colours once they've captured the mass student base and are fearful of the way we are being won over by the lure of 'free'."

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Dec 25, 2024 07:55 a.m.

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