The recent introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the corresponding large participation rates such courses exhibit have drawn the attention of students, educators, and employers. Offered by many prestigious and high-quality universities at no cost, the introduction of MOOCs is likely to affect the business landscape of higher education. In particular, the potential disruption of education via MOOCs may affect the volume of student applications for attending higher-education degree-granting programs in colleges and universities. We shed light on this topic using panel data on nationwide U.S. universities and colleges and conducting a difference-in-difference analysis. Finally, we discuss the implications of the results for policy and guideline formulation.
Session 7A: IT and Industry - #2