Workshop presentation

1. Online Learning, MOOCs and
the Future of Higher Education
Dave Szatmary, Vice Provost University of Washington

2. Online Learning
• The primary use of Internet technologies for
teaching
• A variety of possible technologies
– Print, video, PowerPoint, audio, simulations,
Second Life
• Instructor-led
• Content and assessment combined
• Interactive

3. Online Graduate Degrees (15)
at the University of Washington
College of Built Environments (2)
• Master of Infrastructure Planning and
Management
• Master of Science in Construction
Management
College of Arts and Sciences (5)
• Master of Science in Computational
Linguistics
• Master of Science in Computational
Finance and Risk Management
• Master of Geographic Information
Systems
• Master of Science in Applied Mathematics
• Master of Supply Chain Transportation &
Logistics (requires 1 week in Seattle at
start of program)
College of Engineering (6)
• Master of Sustainable Transportation
• Master of Aerospace Engineering in
Composite Materials and Structures
• Master of Science in Civil Engineering:
Construction Engineering
• Master of Science in Aeronautics and
Astronautics
• Master of Aerospace Engineering
• Master of Science in Mechanical
Engineering
Information School (1)
• Master of Library and Information Science
School of Nursing (1)
• Master of Science: Clinical Informatics
and Patient-Centered Technologies

4. Online Certificate Programs (40) at the
University of Washington
• Android Application Development
• Applied Biostatistics
• Advanced Applied Biostatistics
• Biotechnology Project Management
• C++ Programming
• Cloud Computing
• Computational Finance
• Construction Management
• Data Science
• Database Management
• Decision-Making for Climate Change
• E-Learning Design and Development
• Embedded and Real-Time Systems Programming
• Facility Management
• Financial Risk Management
• Food, Nutrition & Health
• Gerontology
• Green Stormwater Infrastructure Design
Principles
• Health Economics and Outcomes Research
• Heavy Construction Project Management
• Information Security & Risk Management
• Infrastructure Construction
• iOS and Mac Application Development
• Localization: Customizing Software for the World
• Medical Devices and Commercialization
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Natural Language Technology
• .NET Development
• .NET Advanced Web Development
• Oracle Database Administration
• Paralegal Studies
• Professional Open Source Web Development
• Project Management
• Radiation: Sources, Detection, Imaging & Safety
• SQL Server Specialist
• Statistical Analysis with R Programming
• Sustainable Transportation: Environmental
Issues & Impacts
• Sustainable Transportation Planning & Livable
Communities
• Virtual Worlds
• Web Technology Solutions

5. UW Group Start Pilot Course
Enrollments Summary

6. 15 OpenUW Free Courses
Started in 2001
• The American Civil War
• The American Revolution
• BENEFIT (Fluency with
Information Technology)
• Dance
• Energy, Diet and Weight
• Gulliver's Travels
• Hamlet
• Heroic Fantasy: Tolkien
• HTML Basics
• History of Jazz: New
Orleans
• Political Economy
• Project Management
• Shakespeare's Comedies
• Study of Personality
• World War II

7. Growth in Online Learning
• In fall 2002, 1.6 million college students took at least
one online class
• This represented 9.6% of all college students
• In fall 2011, 6.7 million college students took at least
one online class
• This represented 32% of all college students
• Among Chief Academic Officers in 2012, 69%
indicated that online learning will be critical long-term

8. Impact of Online Learning:
Access
• Allows greater access to the resources of higher
education for a broad-based population
• Importance of the dissemination of broadband access
with interactive discussion boards, video, etc.
– By 2006, 68% of American homes had access to broadband

9. Impact of Online Learning:
Unbundling of Education
Unbundles the educational experience
– Content Development
• Team nature of development (content expert, instructional
designer, technologists such as video editors and
videographers, IT professionals, etc.)
– Content Delivery (Wikipedia, MOOCs)
– Assessment (Competency-based learning)
– Infrastructure (Learning Management System
(LMS) rather than classrooms)
– Different audiences: Traditional & Nontraditional

10. Impact of Online Learning:
Learning Analytics
• Mass of data collected through web-based learning
• Allows instructors and administrators to better revise
and deliver education
• Impact of learning analytics:
– Enhanced retention
– Better graduation rates
– Better and more tested course materials

11. Impact of Online Learning:
Partnerships
Online learning allows universities to collaborate more
fully on programs.
• ASG example: Joint online certificate in Decision Making for
Climate Change with University of Washington, UC-Irvine,
Northwestern and University of British Columbia
• Arizona State University and Pearson collaboration – Allows a very
quick entry into online learning
• Joint marketing agreements – Wisconsin and Washington (ASG)
• Reverse Transfer agreements: Rio Salado, Seattle Community
Colleges and the University of Washington

12. Cost of Online Education
• Online and onsite courses cost approximately the
same.

13. MOOCs
Massive Open Online Courses
• Free classes on peer-to-peer platform
• No instructor to answer questions
• Format: video interspersed with quizzes and
midterm/final exams
• Assessment: Autograded or peer assessed

14. Major MOOCs
• Coursera
• edX
• Udacity

15. MOOC Benefits
• Increased access to new massive audiences
• Increased brand awareness of the UW in general and
of the UW as a leading online innovator
• Increased recognition of top faculty
• Focus on top high-quality institutions and their faculty

16. MOOC Challenges
• Assessment weak link – many answers to exam
questions posted online
• FERPA issues
• State authorization

17. MOOCs by the Numbers
• Coursera had 3.4 million registrants in one year
• 55% never complete one lesson (1.88M)
• 32% of the remainder complete one lesson (490K)
• 32% of the remainder complete two lessons (490K)
• 32% of the remainder complete half the lessons
(490K)
• 3% to 5% complete the class (102K)

18. MOOC Student Profile
• 70% have a baccalaureate degree
• 70% international students
• Most are professional students seeking enhanced
skills
• Older, nontraditional students

19. Coursera
• For-profit company, developed by two Stanford
professors
• 62 academic partners
• 200+ courses with 3 million users
• Proprietary platform featuring video interspersed with
short quizzes with no instructor but peer-to-peer
engagement in the classes
• UW a partner since July 2012 (one of the first 16)
• UW offered 8 classes in winter with 207,000
registrants

20. edX
• Nonprofit company, headed by Harvard and MIT
• 24 partners
• Less than 40 classes
• Open-source platform with no instructor but peer-to-
peer engagement in the classes
• UW signed with edX in May 2013
• Features a research mission and improvement of
classes on campus

21. New MOOC Developments:
Credentials
• Coursera generally provides a letter of
accomplishment from Coursera and the course
developer
• Coursera Signature Track: For $50, the student
receives a credential branded by Coursera and the
institution. Six institutions have done so.
• Credit: ACE offers credit for some MOOC classes for
$110 per class
• Some California schools (e.g. San Jose State) have
agreed to offer credit for MOOCs

22. New MOOC Developments:
Enhanced MOOC
• University of Washington first offered enhanced MOOC
classes with
– Additional content
– More and varied assessment
– Instructor-led
– Fee-based

23. New MOOC Developments:
Partners
• Both edX and Coursera have expanded partners
beyond elite educational institutions
– State systems
– Education professional development (New Teacher Center,
Match Teacher Center)
– Specialty schools (e.g. Berklee College of Music)

24. MOOC Business
• Cost to generate a MOOC: $25K to $100K
• MOOC funding sources:
– Grants
– Business (e.g. Boeing at the University of Washington)
• Neither MOOC has generated significant revenue for
itself or its partners
• UW experiment of enhanced classes has had a
minimal return

25. MOOC Monetization:
Other Options
• Match students and companies
• Make deals with vendors (e.g. book publishers)
• Sell enterprise platform and its content to companies
and universities
• Use the platform as a Learning Management System
(LMS) for a school
• Tutoring services
• Sponsorships
• Transcript service

26. Future of MOOCs
• Free web content will be here to stay
• The challenge of large-scale, meaningful assessment
• University-led MOOCs

27. Final Assessment
• Bricks and mortar classes will not disappear for
traditional students
• The use of technology and its added cost to an onsite
class will create further funding challenge for higher
education
• Online will continue to grow with student demand and
interest among adult, nontraditional students
• Major institutions must deal with online learning to be
considered innovative
• MOOCs will morph