Massive open online courses and completion rates: does academic readiness and its factors influence completion rates in MOOCs?

With the increase in the cost of an education and the flat employment rate, many institutions and students are looking to online learning to solve this academic dilemma. Online education is thought to be a low-cost academic alternative to brick and mortar courses. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) goals include issues of equity in higher education, the rising costs of a college education, and funding concerns. MOOCs can be taken from anywhere as long as the participant has a computer and access to the Internet is available. Also, traditional MOOCs do not require any financial commitment and do not have academic prerequisites or an admissions process. Completion rates among learners taking MOOCs are low, begging the question of whether they actually address matters of escalating college costs and higher education equity. The purpose of this study is to explore whether academic readiness in the context of the likelihood the learner completing the course. This study focuses on one component of the many factors in MOOCs - the likelihood of course completion and academic readiness. Academic readiness in MOOCs is not a requirement, but a component that may determine whether a learner has the tools needed to complete a MOOC. Academic readiness suggests a level of knowledge and cognitive abilities necessary to understand the course content and to navigate the course technologically. Theories addressing structural elements within MOOCs include Clow's funnel of participation, behaviorism, and constructivism. Of these theories, constructivism provides the theoretical framework for understanding learners' abilities and willingness to learn in the study. This quantitative study attempts to evaluate the likelihood of course completion and the factors that may influence these outcomes using secondary data from Duke's MOOC pre- and post-course surveys. Logistic regression analysis with the dependent variable (a learner completes a Duke's MOOCs) and the independent variables (academic readiness and its factors -- college degree; age; race; gender; previous experience with course subject, course level -- beginner, intermediate; or advanced; and STEM or non-STEM) will be used to estimate the likelihood that these variables will encourage learners to complete MOOCs or understand why learners do not

Have disruptive innovations arrived at the gates of academia?

Disruptive technologies in education and particularly Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) continue to be one of the polarising and most controvertible topics in postsecondary education, as they have yet to deliver on their promises. Existing academic literature on MOOCs, the main example of disruptive technology of this thesis, is primarily concerned with student participation, persistence, completion rates and learning in MOOC platforms. There seems however to be very limited scholarly research in the UK investigating the democratising effects and impact of disruptive technologies in Higher Education, particularly the extent to which MOOCs might unlock the gates to accessibility and their impact on universities, teaching and academics, through the lens of critical theory. It is however crucial to evaluate their impact (s) to inform policy decision-making on technology enhanced-learning implementation at tertiary institutions and design of curricula. The Main Research Question (MRQ) and sub-question designed for this study were addressed by conducting eighteen semi-structured interviews (Skype and face-to-face) with participants (academic and senior administrators) from nine countries and nine institutions. The research methods used were primarily qualitative. This thesis contributes to the field of technology-enhanced learning by addressing the current pedagogical limitations of the MOOC format which seem to be the critical impediments that prevent MOOCs, as they are currently designed, from genuinely democratising Higher Education to those who most need it in developed and developing countries. My main original contribution to knowledge is an integrated and adaptive model with critical success factors that would influence the MOOC model’s effectiveness, which, to the best of the author’s knowledge, is unique in the published literature. The findings of this study indicate that MOOCs have democratised access to Higher Education to a certain degree but they are not considered comparable to an on-campus experience and not suitable, in their current form and design, to the needs of the underrepresented in higher education, in developed and developing countries. The findings also indicate that MOOCs are challenging the current economic, business and pedagogical models and delivery mechanisms of traditional Higher Education and these might have an important effect on the academic role and identity. Furthermore, this investigation finds that MOOCs have aroused institutions and academics’ interest in and exploration of technology-enhanced learning, particularly blended learning approaches. Finally, the findings of this study indicate that MOOCs have impelled institutions and academics to rethink the design of more engaging courses and programmes and refocus on student learning to improve online and face-to-face teaching and this added pressure might have created a schism between the educational conservatives and the advocates of reform