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Would you rather have a degree from Harvard with no education, or a harvard education with no degree? If you prefer the degree to the education than you likely

by bko 9y ago

Would you rather have a degree from Harvard with no education, or a harvard education with no degree? If you prefer the degree to the education than you likely value the signaling more than the human capital argument for education

77pt77 9y ago
> If you prefer the degree to the education This could be seen quite blatantly in the first years of MOOC courses. People became really angry at the end because there was no real certification being given. It got really ugly.
- lr4444lr 9y ago
  Source? (Not that I doubt you, I just want some entertaining reading.)
  - 77pt77 9y ago
    I'm specifically talking about the very first Electronics courses associated with MIT People became quite enraged in the forums because the "diploma" was not issued by MIT and also because at one point there was no grade in the diploma. Similar things happened in the Stanford associated courses, though not as ugly from my recollection.
- robax 9y ago
  I'm trying to find a source to support your argument but I'm not having any luck. Coursera's original course offerings gave free certificates upon completion. My understanding is that MOOCs started charging for certifications in an effort to pay the bills. The jury is still out on whether these certifications are taken seriously or not.
  - 77pt77 9y ago
    They did give certificates, but a vocal minority was not happy that they were not Stanford/MIT,... issued certificates. It boils down to your last sentence: > The jury is still out on whether these certifications are taken seriously or not. Many people were taking those courses under the expectation that the certification would be highly prestigious and felt defrauded when that wasn't the case. The fact that they paid nothing only made matters worse because people feel more entitled when they pay nothing for a service.
gowld 9y ago
Harvard has both! They have elite departments in many fields, such as math and computer science, attended by students on scholarships, and also they have wealthy elites paying exorbitant tuition and donations for a do-nothing political science degree to round out the bottom of the class.

by bko 9y ago

77pt77 9y ago

> If you prefer the degree to the education This could be seen quite blatantly in the first years of MOOC courses. People became really angry at the end because there was no real certification being given. It got really ugly.

lr4444lr 9y ago
Source? (Not that I doubt you, I just want some entertaining reading.)
- 77pt77 9y ago
  I'm specifically talking about the very first Electronics courses associated with MIT People became quite enraged in the forums because the "diploma" was not issued by MIT and also because at one point there was no grade in the diploma. Similar things happened in the Stanford associated courses, though not as ugly from my recollection.
robax 9y ago
I'm trying to find a source to support your argument but I'm not having any luck. Coursera's original course offerings gave free certificates upon completion. My understanding is that MOOCs started charging for certifications in an effort to pay the bills. The jury is still out on whether these certifications are taken seriously or not.
- 77pt77 9y ago
  They did give certificates, but a vocal minority was not happy that they were not Stanford/MIT,... issued certificates. It boils down to your last sentence: > The jury is still out on whether these certifications are taken seriously or not. Many people were taking those courses under the expectation that the certification would be highly prestigious and felt defrauded when that wasn't the case. The fact that they paid nothing only made matters worse because people feel more entitled when they pay nothing for a service.

gowld 9y ago

Harvard has both! They have elite departments in many fields, such as math and computer science, attended by students on scholarships, and also they have wealthy elites paying exorbitant tuition and donations for a do-nothing political science degree to round out the bottom of the class.