Resource Requirements and Costs of Developing and Delivering MOOCs

Autor/inn/en	Hollands, Fiona M.; Tirthali, Devayani
Titel	Resource Requirements and Costs of Developing and Delivering MOOCs
Quelle	In: International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15 (2014) 5, S.113-133 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1492-3831
Schlagwörter	Online Courses; Costs; Higher Education; Curriculum Development; Cost Effectiveness; Resources; Interviews; Administrators; College Faculty; Researchers; Foreign Countries; Canada; China; United Kingdom; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Online course; Online-Kurs; Cost; Kosten; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse; Kosten-Nutzen-Denken; Betriebsmittel; Hilfsmittel; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Fakultät; Researcher; Forscher; Ausland; Kanada; Großbritannien; USA
Abstract	Given the ongoing alarm regarding uncontrollable costs of higher education, it would be reasonable to expect not only concern about the impact of MOOCs on educational outcomes, but also systematic efforts to document the resources expended on their development and delivery. However, there is little publicly available information on MOOC costs that is based on rigorous analysis. In this article, we first address what institutional resources are required for the development and delivery of MOOCs, based on interviews conducted with 83 administrators, faculty members, researchers, and other actors in the MOOCspace. Subsequently, we use the ingredients method to present cost analyses of MOOC production and delivery at four institutions. We find costs ranging from $38,980 to $325,330 per MOOC, and costs per completer of $74-$272, substantially lower than costs per completer of regular online courses, by merit of scalability. Based on this metric, MOOCs appear more cost-effective than online courses, but we recommend judging MOOCs by impact on learning and caution that they may only be cost-effective for the most self-motivated learners. By demonstrating the methods of cost analysis as applied to MOOCs, we hope that future assessments of the value of MOOCs will combine both cost information and effectiveness data to yield cost-effectiveness ratios that can be compared with the cost-effectiveness of alternative modes of education delivery. Such information will help decision-makers in higher education make rational decisions regarding the most productive use of limited educational resources, to the benefit of both learners and taxpayers. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10