Online students increasingly look to MOOCs to build job-specific skills that can boost their careers. And the three major providers –Coursera, edX and Udacity– are shifting to business models wherein students have options to pay for credentials, verified certificates (at $30 to $150, and that might come with course credit) and multi-course specializations or course series, in some cases enabling them access to additional instructor feedback, supplemental materials, readings and assessments and other services.
“In the beginning, the return to universities came in generally marketing and publicity and giving examples of quality lectures, and showcasing certain faculty members who work for certain departments to prospective students,” Ray Schroeder, an expert from the University of Illinois – Springfield, says on a U.S. News Report article.
Now MOOCs offer a less expensive alternative for students, compared to paying for credit-bearing courses offered by colleges or universities in degree programs.
