If the purpose of college is signaling, then that purpose is not achieved by a MOOC at all. Also, colleges have a lot of other societal value (like research) s

If the purpose of college is signaling, then that purpose is not achieved by a MOOC at all. Also, colleges have a lot of other societal value (like research) so I certainly hope they can still get funded. A reasonable model is that they sell certifications in hard work, perseverance, and maybe intelligence to students and employers so that they can fund scientific advancement. They also sell "meeting peers who might be cofounders", "social experience of living closely with lots of young attractive people", and a number of other similar things.