Trends in 2017 revealed an overall slowing of enrolment growth in the MOOC landscape. However, there were still 78 million students enrolled in the programme in 2017. This is an approximate 35 percent increase compared to 2016. Hence, despite the seemingly slowdown, the positive growth has been viewed as a move forward by higher education providers.
2017 is also seen as a time for MOOC providers to readjust their focus on students that are willing to pay for online learning. The revenue models for MOOCs now range from options for students to pay additional fees to earn certificates or course credits to enrolment in full degree programmes to larger corporate training programmes. The increased popularity of the programme can be attributed to “lifelong career learners”. Therefore, some MOOC providers have expanded their options for mid-career professionals through extensive corporate training programmes. In addition, some are continuing to expand their full-degree offerings. Also, new effort has been put in place to implement a series of “MicroBachelor” programmes, built around the idea for those who may opt to use any such micro credentials as a ladder to degree studies online or on campus.
These trends and examples demonstrated an obvious competition among higher education institutions to attract mid-career professionals to enrol into their programmes. However, there are critical strategic connotations institutions should take into consideration if they are looking at expanding their recruiting efforts or programming for mid-career professionals or other lifelong learners who have been unable to pursue conventional degree programmes on campus.
MOOC may have also transformed how working professionals access continued learning and career advancement opportunities.
Source: ICEF Monitor
Join us in the upcoming QS-APPLE 2018 from 21-23 November 2018 in Seoul, South Korea, as we discuss the topic on “Future Universities in the Asia-Pacific: The Changing Face of Higher Education”.