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> If MOOC's carried a fraction of the "academic credibility" that college degrees did, Udacity would be a home run already. It is unclear to me that any educat

> If MOOC's carried a fraction of the "academic credibility" that college degrees did, Udacity would be a home run already. It is unclear to me that any educational system that passes such a small percentage of students in Elem Stats would ever have a hope of gaining academic credibility. That's the playing field. What an instructor at SJSU would do that Thrun is not going to do is lots of office hours, question-answering, and mentoring/being there. That's what it seems to require. Personally I think it took a great deal of courage for Thrun to recognize that this is a game he is unlikely to win.

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
>It is unclear to me that any educational system that passes such a small percentage of students in Elem Stats would ever have a hope of gaining academic credibility. Do you think that if they inflated their pass-rates that you'd find them credible? There is too much focus on pass-rates[1]. I shouldn't have to point out to a person who implies having taken statistics that it is silly to compare selective institutions' pass-rates to the pass-rates of open-enrollment institutions. Add the benefits of "free" and "I don't have to leave my home/workplace/etc." as is the case with MOOCs, and you have the potential for greatly expanded enrollment. Why would you think that large enrollment growth would generate better pass rates? [1] I'm an instructor at a two-year college / vocational college where some people seem to never shut up about pass rates. The State also seems to think that pass-rates == quality, and has set about incentive-izing programs with "good" pass-rates. Even worse, one local (large) employer insists upon "B" or above average for anyone it hires. >Personally I think it took a great deal of courage for Thrun to recognize that this is a game he is unlikely to win. Maybe he's not in it for the money, but to make genuine improvement.
- jimhefferon 13y ago
  > I'm an instructor at a two-year college / vocational college where some people seem to never shut up about pass rates. Yes, those people comprise the playing field.

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago

>It is unclear to me that any educational system that passes such a small percentage of students in Elem Stats would ever have a hope of gaining academic credibility. Do you think that if they inflated their pass-rates that you'd find them credible? There is too much focus on pass-rates[1]. I shouldn't have to point out to a person who implies having taken statistics that it is silly to compare selective institutions' pass-rates to the pass-rates of open-enrollment institutions. Add the benefits of "free" and "I don't have to leave my home/workplace/etc." as is the case with MOOCs, and you have the potential for greatly expanded enrollment. Why would you think that large enrollment growth would generate better pass rates? [1] I'm an instructor at a two-year college / vocational college where some people seem to never shut up about pass rates. The State also seems to think that pass-rates == quality, and has set about incentive-izing programs with "good" pass-rates. Even worse, one local (large) employer insists upon "B" or above average for anyone it hires. >Personally I think it took a great deal of courage for Thrun to recognize that this is a game he is unlikely to win. Maybe he's not in it for the money, but to make genuine improvement.

jimhefferon 13y ago
> I'm an instructor at a two-year college / vocational college where some people seem to never shut up about pass rates. Yes, those people comprise the playing field.