MOOC accreditation
“MOOC” standsfor massive open online courses and just last year the New York Times named2012 “the year of the MOOC.” Additionally, several of the nation’s most prestigiousschools have partnered with nonprofit educational organizations such as edX andCoursera to offer free online classes. Consequently, many people view freeMOOCs as a way to provide an Ivy League education to those who either will notor cannot otherwise pay the costs of receiving an education at schools likeHarvard and Yale.
However, one criticismand drawback of MOOCs is that they are not accredited. Consider, the KhanAcademy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to change “educationfor the better by providing a free-world class education for anyone anywhere.” TheKhan Academy has around 6 million regular monthly users, and about 4,000 otherpeople utilize the organization’s online tutorials. While the Khan Academyoffers Ivy League quality courses, people who take the time to study thematerial and do the work often have trouble finding a market for their newlyacquired skills.
If organizationslike the Khan Academy eventually do receive accreditation, what impact if any,will their accreditation have on the nonprofit schools within the traditionaleducation system? Should accreditation have an impact on the nonprofit statuscurrently conferred to MOOCs?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/apr/23/sal-khan-academy-tutored-educational-website
http://www.khanacademy.org/about
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