Resource requirements and costs of developing and delivering MOOCs

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.

A Systematic Analysis and Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Published in 2013–2015

“…MOOCs (e.g., Bulfin, Pangrazio, & Selwyn, 2014;Radford et al, 2014), their usefulness as an educational medium (e.g., Subhi et al, 2014;Wang, Paquette, & Baker, 2014), and their economic impact (e.g., Hollands & Tirthali, 2014).…”

Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (MOOCs): Tales from the Front Line

“…Research suggests that the design and development of MOOCs often requires a team of instructional designers, instructional developers, and subject-matter-experts (Hollands & Tirthali, 2014b). MOOC instructors face multiple challenges, such as heavy workload, substantial time commitment, insufficient support, and lack of compensation, yet many who are faced with these challenges work through them for the opportunity to impact students on a global scale, develop professionally, engage in research, or build name recognition (Zheng et al, 2016).…”

Openness, technologies, business models and austerity

“…The assessment of the costs and resources required to produce a MOOC are still unclear despite recent research, and they vary significantly between courses (Hollands and Tirthali 2014). Nevertheless the link between MOOCs, new private providers and costs is clear.…”