When courses are free online, what's left for universities to sell? | MOOCs, SPOCs and next generation Open Access Learning | Scoop.it

by Andrew Norton, Program Director, Higher Education at Grattan Institute.

 

When some of the world’s most prestigious universities – including Harvard and MIT in their edX venture or Stanford and Princeton through Coursera – start putting courses online for free, it tells you one thing for sure – whatever they are selling, it is not their course content.

 

Australian universities are watching the movement in online open education closely, and with another 15 of the world’s top universities joining the Coursera venture this week many are asking how they can compete. But first, we must ask a fundamental question – what is it that universities are really selling?