Barrier to entry is pretty tightly coupled (or at least correlated) to exclusivity. I'm sure it depends on the context, but in terms of knowledge based domains,

Barrier to entry is pretty tightly coupled (or at least correlated) to exclusivity. I'm sure it depends on the context, but in terms of knowledge based domains, universities/labs/peer reviewed journals are generally going to be the most prestigious. Occasionally a private company might have something exciting and new, but either way its not going to be something readily digestible or accessible. MOOC's service everyone else, who can't digest or access the "prestigious" stuff. At least by this definition of "prestige".