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MOOCs have been a fast-paced and well-publicized educational trend. Designing and delivering a MOOC is a time-intensive endeavor and as such requires careful consideration before becoming involved. Our public research university has yet to become a MOOC provider, but we have been pushed to consider what role our Instructional Systems program and faculty members might play should MOOCs become an institution-supported endeavor-or even as leaders or experimenters in this realm. We conducted a SWOT analysis focusing at the program level to assess the conditions related to designing and delivering a MOOC. Our findings show that reputational issues come heavily into play, as does the need for resources. We conclude that for a motivated faculty member who can identify sufficient personal rewards for the time expended on a MOOC, it may be worth the effort.

MOOC course offerings and enrollments continue to show an upward spiral with an increasing focus on completion rates. The completion rates of below 10 percent in MOOCs pose a serious challenge in designing effective pedagogical techniques and evolving assessment criterion for such a large population of learners. With more institutions jumping on the bandwagon to offer MOOCs, is completion rate the sole criterion to measure performance and learning outcomes in a MOOC? Learner interaction is central to knowledge creation and a key component of measuring learning outcomes in a MOOC. What are the alternate assessment techniques to measure performance and learning outcomes in a MOOC? MOOCs provide tremendous opportunity to explore emerging technologies to achieve learning outcomes. This chapter looks beyond the popularity of MOOCs by focusing on the assessment trends and analyzing their sustainability in the context of the MOOC phenomenon. The chapter continues the discussion on ‘ePedagogy and interactive MOOCs' relating to ‘performance measurement issues.'

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