mooc

The un-massive MOOC


The Georgia Institute of Technology’s master’s degree in computer science program based on massive open online courses (MOOCs) started this week with a head-count that’s not all that massive.

moocMore than 2,300 people applied for the program, a number that out-paced all of Georgia Tech’s on-campus computer science master’s degrees. Just over 400 were accepted, and only 375 enrolled.  

“The United States and the world need more computing professionals, and I’m proud that Georgia Tech and our college are leading the way to help educate them,” said College of Computing Dean Zvi Galil in an announcement. “We will treat all of our OMS CS students, and especially this first cohort, as partners in helping to optimize the courses and infrastructure required to support them.”

The courses will eventually function like other MOOCs, opening the material to any student with internet access, but only those officially accepted into the program will receive credit. The program has been billed as the only one of its kind: a fully-accredited degree based on MOOC technology.

The program differs from a traditional master’s degree in other ways, as well.

Of the 375 students, 330 are from the United States, while ninety percent of those enrolled in the on-campus computer science master’s at Georgia Tech are international students.

At 34, the average age of the students is 11 years older than that of their face-to-face brethren.

More than 80 of the students are employed by AT&T, which provided $2 million to Georgia Tech to support the program.

“This program addresses a clear and growing need globally: to provide flexible, high-quality education in vital fields for a price that’s affordable for working professionals,” said Nelson Baker, Georgia Tech’s dean of professional education. “Almost every student enrolled this spring is also working full time, something that would be extremely difficult to do in a traditional program. OMS CS represents a valuable option to a population of students who need it.”

In many ways, the program has officially started at a time when MOOC platforms find themselves at a crossroads.

The courses’ infrastructure will be based on the model of, and maintained by, Udacity, a company whose CEO announced a pivot toward vocational training late last year and called MOOCs a “lousy product.”

One of Udacity’s main competitors, Coursera, recently charged ahead in the opposite direction, debuting their own MOOC approximation of degree programs called “Specializations,” complete with final exams and capstone projects.  

“This new approach is a huge step toward revolutionizing higher education by making an advanced technical curriculum more accessible and affordable,” said Bill Blase, senior executive vice president for human resources at AT&T. “We need highly skilled software engineers, network engineers and data scientists. Through this program, we will enhance training for our current workforce and ensure a great pipeline for these roles and others going forward.”

Follow Jake New on Twitter at @eCN_Jake.

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