One auxiliary thing to consider with MOOCs and higher education is how it changes the power balance between administration and faculty. Faculty members own the

One auxiliary thing to consider with MOOCs and higher education is how it changes the power balance between administration and faculty. Faculty members own their course notes and take them with them when they retire or move universities. My understanding with MOOCs, and certainly it could be incorrect, is that the administrator of the MOOC owns the course and material even if the faculty member leaves. This leaves a clear conflict of interest for the administration because if MOOCs do take off in a substantial way, they can not only reduce the number of faculty, but reduce their negotiating power as well. That would shift power at a university. Now, this has nothing to do with the quality of MOOCs. Mostly, it's just to say that I think there are conflicts to be mindful of as certain people and organizations either support or not support these courses.