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MOOC completion rates matter if we live in a world where they have replaced traditional colleges. Not the overall completion rates, because that includes people
by scott_s 12y ago
MOOC completion rates matter if we live in a world where they have replaced traditional colleges. Not the overall completion rates, because that includes people who start them on a whim - which is possible since the cost of entry is so low.
But if we discover that a significant number of people who would have completed a traditional college program are not completing a commensurate MOOC program, then that would be a problem. That would mean that more people are getting even less education than they are now. I don't think we have the data for that, though, as I don't think we have a large enough population of college-age students who opted for MOOC-only programs instead of traditional college.
To be clear, I am not arguing that all of the problems you pointed out are not problems. They are problems, and they are huge ones. Student loan debt is a paralyzing social and economic issue, and the cost of college is an enormous barrier to social mobility.
- gamesbrainiac 12y ago"Even less education" I think we definitely need less education and more learning done. The point should never to be more "education", that just gives you ammunition to defend that you've done something meaningful in life at a dinner table. The point is to use that education to do something useful. Education is a means to an end and not the end in and of itself.
- scott_s 12y agoI think a charitable reading of what I wrote would imply "less education" to mean "less learning." If you don't agree that one is implied by the other, then just pretend I said "less learning".