Massive Online Education and the Changing World of Higher Education GlobalTech Workshop, May 2013
THE MAJOR PLAYERS
KNOWN ISSUES of MOOCS Monetizing Accreditation, Credit, Certification, Degrees Security and compliance Impact on various higher education sectors and K-12 Changing role of instructors, classrooms
RISING CONCERNS Amherst College declined to join edx by a faculty vote of more than 60 percent (April 2013) Duke University withdrew from 2U because professors voted against awarding credit for classes (April 2013) San Jose State Professors refuse to use Harvard s course offered in edx (May 2013) Outsourced Lectures Raise Concerns About Academic Freedom, Chronicle of Higher Education (May 30, 2013)
IMPLICATIONS OF MOOCS Article in The New Yorker provides analysis and explores many questions on the issues MOOCs are future of higher education? MOOCs offer enticing business opportunities? Class system among universities: elite vs. nonselective schools Rise of for-profit universities Effects of MOOCs on academic job market
IMPLICATIONS OF MOOCS Broader Rising Tensions Public vs. Private Universities Governor, Board of Regents, Taxpayers
WHAT TO DO? The hardest thing to do at a university is to try something new. But, if we do not define our own agenda, it will be defined for us.
GEORGIA TECH S VISION define the technological research university of the 21 st century
DRIVERS of ONLINE EDUCATION at GT Center for 21 st Century Universities (C21U) Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE) Center for Teaching and Learning Provost s Office
ONLINE EDUCATION IS NOT NEW TO GEORGIA TECH The Professional Education (PE) unit at Georgia Tech has provided online education for 35 years o Delivers around 90 online courses each semester o Enrolls close to 28,000 students annually o Employs a team of faculty with technical and instructional design expertise
HOW DID GEORGIA TECH ENGAGE? July 2012, Georgia Tech announces MOOCs with Coursera. Georgia Tech also has a MOOCs agreement with Udacity.
WHAT IS GEORGIA TECH DOING? COURSERA Eight courses, with a combined current enrollment of 355,000 students The Gates Foundation awarded funding to develop three general education courses English Composition, Physics 101, and Introductory Psychology 10-15 more courses under development Non-exclusive agreement
WHAT IS GEORGIA TECH DOING?
INITIAL STRATEGY Expand our presence in the online education space do it quickly and let innovation juices flow Provide increased global access to our educational offerings Experiment with new methods, platforms and ideas in the delivery of education Enhance the learning options and convenience for our own students
CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT Sept. 2012, Provost s Town Hall on Online Education Nov. 2012, Campus-wide meeting to solicit research questions regarding MOOCS Dec. 2012, Provost s Town Hall on Online Education May 2013, Initial reports from research groups Engagement of governance structure Encourage units to come up with ideas
OUR STRATEGIC INTENT Phase 2: As We Look Forward to the Next 20 Courses What courses do we want to produce and why? What is the range of online courses and platforms we want to consider? How do instructional finances and resources need to be changed if at all to account for the impact of online course production?
Online Master of Science in CS What is new about your approach? The first professional Online Master of Science degree in computer science that can be earned completely through the massive online format
Online Master of Science in CS Why is Georgia Tech doing this? This model brings an unprecedented opportunity to extend access to high-quality education to an exponentially larger number of people, from around the world, than we can accommodate on a physical campus. Opportunity to lead, not follow. Taking first real step in education revolution.
Online Master of Science in CS Can you share details of the Udacity agreement? 60/40 GT/Udacity split (also for losses) Georgia Tech degree/processes (admissions, registration, payment, assessment, evaluation, degree certification) Georgia Tech IP, Udacity platform Initial production by Udacity; transition to GTPE
Online Master of Science in CS What are Georgia Tech s expectations? We believe this program can establish corporate acceptance of high-quality and 100 percent online degrees as being on par with degrees received in traditional on-campus settings.
Online Master of Science in CS What are Georgia Tech s biggest concerns? We must deliver a quality program. Period. What if our financial model is wrong?
BOTTOM LINE We can be part of the revolution and share the risk that may entail, or we can be followers, betray our Vision and run the risk, alone, of becoming second class.
QUESTIONS?