Is college credit for massive open online courses coming?

November 21, 2012

Some of the 19 Coursera courses on AI and robotics (credit: Coursera)

The American Council on Education (ACE) has announced a wide-ranging research and evaluation effort that will examine the academic potential of massive open online courses (MOOCs).

The ACE College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT) will evaluate for potential college credit select courses offered by Coursera, a leading provider of massive open online courses (MOOCs).

“MOOCs are an intriguing, innovative new approach that holds much promise for engaging students across the country and around the world, as well as for helping colleges and universities broaden their reach,” said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. 

Among the questions ACE will address in research undertaken in collaboration with the University of Illinois Springfield’s Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service are to what extent do MOOCs reach low-income young adult and older adult learners, what is the level of satisfaction of students enrolled in MOOCs, and do MOOCs have the potential to help lead to degrees or certificates.